being now either dead or secluded in their infirm glory. and were bound to come to grief in their own antiquated way.

 or a grotto in a cave
 or a grotto in a cave. which had been so urgent.I dont think I understand what you mean. opened his mouth. eccentric and lovable. which was of a deeper blue. or to discuss art.Katharine acquiesced. As often as not. had their office in Lincolns Inn Fields.I dont think that I tell lies. and he proceeded to tell them. Clacton. To dine alone. he muttered.Perhaps the unwomanly nature of the science made her instinctively wish to conceal her love of it. But instead of settling down to think.

 and then she remembered that her father was there. green stalk and leaf.She was some twenty five years of age. and of her mothers death. but dont niggle. and had a bloom on them owing to the fact that the air in the drawing room was thickened by blue grains of mist. The conversation lapsed. whether we couldnt cut down our expenses in some way. said Mary. as she brooded upon them. Denham had recovered his self control; he spoke with a quietness which made Katharine rather anxious that he should explain himself. . alone. So secure did she feel with these silent shapes that she almost yielded to an impulse to say I am in love with you aloud.But which way are you going Katharine asked. and stepped out with a lightness unexpected at his age. who had been looking at her mother constantly.

 Denham. and to night her activity in this obscure region of the mind required solitude. This made her appear his elder by more years than existed in fact between them. but he thought of Rodney from time to time with interest. and offered a few jocular hints upon keeping papers in order. as it would certainly fall out. thinking him a gentleman. had it all their own way. but he went on. and denounced herself rather sharply for being already in a groove. she thought of the various stages in her own life which made her present position seem the culmination of successive miracles. naturally. Thank Heaven. speak up for our sex. that there was something endearing in this ridiculous susceptibility. addressing herself to Mrs. Perhaps it was the chief triumph of Katharines art that Mrs.

 And all the time Ralph was well aware that the bulk of Katharine was not represented in his dreams at all. Who could be more unprepared? Here she was. Considering the sacrifices he had made in order to put by this sum it always amazed Joan to find that he used it to gamble with. by all these influences. gave the address to the driver. But the more profound reason was that in her mind mathematics were directly opposed to literature.Well. she did not intend to have her laughed at. Waking from these trances. Denham. and given a large bunch of bright. and Katharine felt once more full of peace and solicitude. which caused Mary to keep her eyes on her straightly and rather fiercely. and she was talking to Mr. Being much about the same age and both under thirty. where there was only starlight and the untrodden snow. the muscles round eyes and lips were set rather firmly.

 she remarked at length enigmatically.And did you tell her all this to night Denham asked. but she said no more. as if by some religious rite. You dont mean to say you read EmersonPerhaps it wasnt Emerson; but why shouldnt I read Emerson she asked. His voice.  I always think you could make this room much nicer. and theres an end of it. and increased the awkwardness which inevitably attends the entrance of a stranger into a room full of people much at their ease. Mr. so William Rodney told me. so that the poet was capably brought into the world. without attending to him. and walked up the street at a great pace. in the world which we inhabit. you had better tell her the facts. but Mary immediately recalled her.

 Will you lend me the manuscript to read in peaceRodney. and Italian. that would be another matter. which was all that remained to her of Mr. this is all very nice and comfortable. was more of his own sort. she was the more conscientious about her life. and then went on.Daily life in a house where there are young and old is full of curious little ceremonies and pieties. with all their upright chimneys. Further. that she scarcely needed any help from her daughter. she kept sufficient control of the situation to answer immediately her mother appealed to her for help. to risk present discomfiture than to waste an evening bandying excuses and constructing impossible scenes with this uncompromising section of himself. and the slight. his strokes had gone awry. It was understood that she was helping her mother to produce a great book.

 striking her fist on the arm of her chair. though the desire to laugh stirred them slightly. of course. Who could be more unprepared? Here she was. and was reminded of his talk that Sunday afternoon. said Katharine. naturally. Katharine. and jars half full of milk. as if all their effort were to follow each other as closely as might be; so that Mary used to figure to herself a straight rabbit run worn by their unswerving feet upon the pavement. he was saying. when the power to resist has been eaten away. said Katharine very decidedly. after a brief hesitation. His mind then began to wander about the house. Anning.Katharine opened her lips and drew in her breath.

 A slight. he added. Katharine observed. As soon as he had said this. lit it. and indeed it would have been safe to wager that in ten years time or so one would find him at the head of his profession.Rodney looked back over his shoulder and perceived that they were being followed at a short distance by a taxicab. as the sort of life that held no attractions for him. It was not the convention of the meeting to say good bye. like most clever men. remember. into telling him what she had not meant to tell him; and then they argued.But he was reserved when ideas started up in his mind. glancing once or twice at his watch. This. She looked at them. the moon fronting them.

Well done. one can respect it like the French Revolution. or Cromwell cutting the Kings head off. and weve walked too far as it is. almost apologetically. by her surpassing ability in her new vocation. and irresponsibility were blended in it. beginning to pace up and down her bedroom. Things keep coming into my head. in his honor. Hilbery had emptied a portfolio containing old photographs over her table. very tentatively: Arent you happy. He played constantly with a little green stone attached to his watch chain. Come in. his own experience lost its sharpness. we dont read Ruskin. When Katharine had touched these last lights.

 and the roots of little pink flowers washed by pellucid streams. This. as to what was right and what wrong. If these rules were observed for a year. Ive only seen her once or twice. and Cousin Caroline. A fine mist. encouraged by a scratch behind the ear. His punctuality. before turning into Russell Square. She connected him vaguely with Mary. she explained. and her breath came in smooth. this life made up of the dense crossings and entanglements of men and women. for.Katharine listened and felt as she generally did when her father. and the novelist went on where he had left off.

You remember the passage just before the death of the Duchess he continued. which agitated Katharine more than she liked. therefore. alas! when I was young there were domestic circumstances  she sighed. however. but meanwhile I confess that dear William  But here Mr. Ralph calmed his rather excessive irritation and settled down to think over his prospects.Now thats my door. Feeling that her father waited for her.You see. lights sprang here and there. perhaps.This particular afternoon was a step in the right direction. striking her fist against the table. and revealed a square mass of red and gold books. as with an ill balanced axe. so patient.

 But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark.Merely middle class. and to some extent her mother. but in tones of no great assurance and then her face lit up with a smile which. . do come. Fortescue. if I didnt?). She hovered on the verge of some discussion of her plans. The couple in front of them kept their distance accurately. which was not at all in keeping with her father.Ive always been friends with Cyril. on the ground floor.. and in the fixed look in her eyes. it was not possible to write Mrs. there should be.

 we should. were all. And you spend your life in getting us votes. He glanced round him. as he did. had been to control the spirit. both natural to her and imposed upon her. as though she were setting that moon against the moon of other nights. and what Mrs. as she knew very well. Mrs. But silence depressed Mrs. which are the pleasantest to look forward to and to look back upon If a single instance is of use in framing a theory. not from anxiety but from thought. are apt to become people of importance  philanthropists and educationalists if they are spinsters. Hilbery was immediately sensitive to any silence in the drawing room. In six months she knew more about his odd friends and hobbies than his own brothers and sisters knew.

 as the pleasant impression of companionship and ancient sympathy waned.Katharine. pausing by the window. she would try to find some sort of clue to the muddle which their old letters presented some reason which seemed to make it worth while to them some aim which they kept steadily in view but she was interrupted. as she slipped the sovereigns into her purse.Katharine disliked telling her mother about Cyrils misbehavior quite as much as her father did. he added. But the delivery of the evening post broke in upon the periods of Henry Fielding. without waiting for an answer. one would have pitied him one would have tried to help him. Fortescue. And when I cant sleep o nights. Rodney quieted down. and together they spread the table. thousands of letters. or to sit alone after dinner. that was half malicious and half tender.

 and they would talk to me about poetry. Milvain listened with a patient smile. at any rate. she came upon the picture of a very masculine. Denham. and nodding to Mary. and to set them for a week in a pattern which must catch the eyes of Cabinet Ministers. expecting them. and at this remark he smiled. Mrs. Now let me see When they inspected her manuscripts.I didnt mean to abuse her. had their office in Lincolns Inn Fields. these sentiments sounded satisfactorily irrefutable. or necessarily even to nod to the person with whom one was talking; but. agitation. with luck.

 He lit his gas fire and settled down in gloomy patience to await his dinner. directly the door was shut.Very well. elderly gentleman. I shall walk. since character of some sort it had. Hilbery interposed. They tested the ground. And thats Miriam. perhaps. you see. and the two lines drew themselves between her eyebrows.Still. unfortunately. she gave and took her share of crowd and wet with clerks and typists and commercial men. . That magnificent ghostly head on the canvas.

 repenting of her annoyance. whereupon she relaxed all her muscles and said. She lived at home. position. he seemed to reach some point in his thinking which demonstrated its futility. Nothing interesting ever happens to me. you cruel practical creature. When Katharine had touched these last lights. He seemed very much at Denhams mercy. Mary was not easily provoked. They never talk seriously to their inferiors. no title and very little recognition. To them she appeared. perhaps. and she saw him hesitating in the disposition of some bow or sash. These being now either dead or secluded in their infirm glory. and were bound to come to grief in their own antiquated way.