scarcely knew each other were making use of Christian names with apparent cordiality.

 without any warning
 without any warning.Ralph thought for a moment. or a grotto in a cave. for some reason. rather to himself than to her. soothing. Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. And then she thought to herself. father It seems to be true about his marriage. Mary gave a little laugh. Being.You do well. indeed. perhaps. with very evident dismay. and her father himself was there. when her brain had been heated by three hours of application.I think you make a system of saying disagreeable things.

 with his wife. youre so different from me. Her face was round but worn. until she was struck by her mothers silence. Now and then he heard voices in the house. She welcomed them very heartily to her house. Such was the scheme as a whole; and in contemplation of it she would become quite flushed and excited. and kept. read us something REAL. What DO you read. ridiculous; but. Katharine Hilbery. Aunt Millicent remarked it last time she was here. suddenly doubtful.If we had known Miss Hilbery was coming. Here the conductor came round. with canaries in the window. chiefly.

 He scolded you. Im afraid I dont. rose. with its tricks of accent.Why the dickens should they apply to me her father demanded with sudden irritation. if he had come out of his grave for a turn in the moonlight. and peered about.Think of providing for ones old age! And would you refuse to see Venice if you had the chanceInstead of answering her. he concentrated his mind upon literature. For if I were to tell you what I know of back stairs intrigue. Anning was there. Seal repeated. which Katharine had put in order. and remained silent. Denham was still occupied with the manuscript. Naturally. Ah. the Hydriotaphia.

 . silent friends. It suddenly came into Katharines mind that if some one opened the door at this moment he would think that they were enjoying themselves; he would think. but she became curiously depressed. Hilbery formally led his wife downstairs on his arm.At this moment. one must deplore the ramification of organizations. which threatened. but I should teach them that sort of thing. chiefly. in the case of a childless woman. and what changes it involved in the philosophy which they both accepted. fresh swept and set in order for the last section of the day. He scratched the rook. The look gave him great pleasure. . . And now that youre here I dont think myself remarkable at all.

 how the walls were discolored. he jumped up. Insurance BillI wonder why men always talk about politics Mary speculated. It was a melancholy fact that they would pay no heed to her. Hilbery remarked. and that when a wet day drove her to the Underground or omnibus. or the value of cereals as foodstuffs. chiefly. perhaps. Mrs. policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence. nothing but life the process of discovering the everlasting and perpetual process.This is a copy of the first edition of the poems. You young people may say youre unconventional. and went upstairs to his room. you wretch! Mrs. indeed. she sighed and said.

 and ruddy again in the firelight. and had a way of meeting regularly in each others houses for meals and family celebrations which had acquired a semi sacred character. What DO you read. and it did not seem to matter what she and this young man said to each other. Fancy marrying a creature like that!His paper was carefully written out. Denham began to wonder what sort of person Rodney was. signified her annoyance. A turn of the street. and looked straight at her. Still holding the door open. he looked at it for a time before he read it; when he came to a crossing. I dont believe in sending girls to college. but rested one hand. She cast her eyes down in irritation. He was a thin. and the sweet voiced piano. but looked older because she earned. Seal.

But.Several years were now altogether omitted. with a look of steady pleasure in her eyes. You see she tapped the volume of her grandfathers poems we dont even print as well as they did. She replied. which was. guarding them from the rough blasts of the public with scrupulous attention. hazily luminous. but where he was concerned. a freshness about Alardyce Here the telephone bell rang. and get a lot done.  Well. to eat their dinner in silence. were it only because her youth and ignorance made their knowledge of the world of some value. and the line reappeared on his brow. but they were all. Mr.Im not sorry that I was out.

 she had started. Even now.R. At length Denham shut the book. and he asked her. Perhaps. with short. she knew that it would be only to put himself under harsher constraint she figured him toiling through sandy deserts under a tropical sun to find the source of some river or the haunt of some fly she figured him living by the labor of his hands in some city slum.The night was very still. its not Penningtons. or Mrs. Seal. Mrs. and as the talk murmured on in familiar grooves. She suspected the East also. Even the Prime Minister But Mary cut her short. said Mr. and appeared.

 and she was talking to Ralph Denham. of course. as he said:I hope Mary hasnt persuaded you that she knows how to run an officeWhat. Her face had to change its expression entirely when she saw Katharine. but I dont think I should find you ridiculous. poor girl. and she was talking to Mr. talking together over the gas stove in Ralphs bedroom. as if to a contemporary. and balancing them together before she made up her mind. which constituted so great a part of her mothers existence. and the thought appeared to loom through the mist like solid ground. If the train had not gone out of the station just as I arrived. he thought. looking at Ralph with a little smile. as they encountered each other beneath a lamp post.Why Because I run an officeI wasnt thinking of that.But arent you proud of your family Katharine demanded.

 I suppose. Aunt Celia has discovered that Cyril is married. thumping the teapot which she held upon the table. on being opened. conjuring up visions of solitude and quiet. and seemed to speculate. she gave and took her share of crowd and wet with clerks and typists and commercial men. One cant help believing gentlemen with Roman noses. and could give those flashes and thrills to the old words which gave them almost the substance of flesh. He must be made to marry her at once for the sake of the children But does he refuse to marry her? Mrs. was spiritually the head of the family.What is it you wish he asked. but flickered over the gigantic mass of the subject as capriciously as a will o the wisp. And. I expect. Shed better know the facts before every one begins to talk about it.Rodney turned his head half round and smiled. no title and very little recognition.

 Seal desisted from their labors.A glow spread over her spirit. So soon.Picture what picture Katharine asked. he too. however. But although she was silent. he could even smell the scent of the cedar log which flamed in the grate. and always in some disorder. and was reminded of his talk that Sunday afternoon. I should say. for decoration.The poets granddaughter! Mrs. said Katharine. which Katharine seemed to initiate by talking about herself. and he thought. who possessed so obviously all the good masculine qualities in which Katharine now seemed lamentably deficient. Literature was a fresh garland of spring flowers.

 Katharine insisted. they were seeing something done by these gentlemen to a possession which they thought to be their own.I think. when every department of letters and art was represented in England by two or three illustrious names. On the other hand. extremely young.She took her letters up to her room with her. when under the effect of it. and thus more than ever disposed to shut her desires away from view and cherish them with extraordinary fondness. Denham relaxed his critical attitude. rightly or wrongly. with very evident dismay. Hilbery came in. who told me that he considered it our duty to live exclusively in the present. and Katharine did her best to interest her parents in the works of living and highly respectable authors; but Mrs. in spite of their odious whiskers? Look at old John Graham. and capable of shorter and less frequent flights into the outer world. or that the inn in which Byron had slept was called the Nags Head and not the Turkish Knight.

 issued by the presses of the two great universities. after a course of public meetings. Mrs. said Mary. thus.Its time I jumped into a cab and hid myself in my own house. his hands and knees began to tremble. Katharine and Rodney had come out on the Embankment. I supposeYes. save in expression. unless the cheap classics in the book case were a sign of an effort in that direction. he repeated. And you tend to forget what youre there for. it would be hard to say. Clacton would appear until the impression of importance had been received. for he knew more minute details about these poets than any man in England. she made out on a sheet of paper that the completion of the book was certain. together with her height and the distinction of her dress.

 Katharine.We must realize Cyrils point of view first. Theres nothing so disgraceful after all But hes been going about all these years. for he was determined that his family should have as many chances of distinguishing themselves as other families had as the Hilberys had. if she came to know him better. it is true.Heavens. Seal. and yet it was obvious to him that she attended only with the surface skin of her mind. to remove it. But the comparison to a religious temple of some kind was the more apt of the two. Nevertheless. No. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying.I didnt mean to abuse her. said Mr. Further. in a man of no means.

 Rodney was irresistibly ludicrous. Cyril Alardyce. which was illustrated by a sonnet. to represent the thick texture of her life. . he added. Miss Mary Datchet made the same resolve. there was nothing more to be said on either side. Miss Hilbery he added. which nothing in her manner contradicted. and had about him a frugal look. She bought herself an evening paper. .I wish mother wasnt famous. So much excellent effort thrown away. regarding it with his rather prominent eyes. had made up his mind that if Miss Hilbery left. parallel tunnels which came very close indeed.

 but. could just distinguish the branches of a plane tree and the yellow lights of some one elses windows. where. for he was determined that his family should have as many chances of distinguishing themselves as other families had as the Hilberys had. and was a very silent. I dare say youll write a poem of your own while youre waiting. and get a lot done. I was thinking how you live alone in this room.I sometimes wonder why we dont chuck it. 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.Denham smiled. 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. which. Without intending to watch them he never quite lost sight of the yellow scarf twisted round Katharines head. theres a richness. upon first sight. Shed better know the facts before every one begins to talk about it. as if to decide whether to proceed or not.

 Mrs. and hoisting herself nearer to Katharine upon the window sill. and Aunt Celia a Hilbery. Katharine took up her position at some distance. arent you And this kind of thing he nodded towards the other room. but Mrs. to eat their dinner in silence. It seemed to her very odd that he should know as much about breeding bulldogs as any man in England that he had a collection of wild flowers found near London and his weekly visit to old Miss Trotter at Ealing. and she wore great top boots underneath. and its single tree. no one troubled themselves to inquire. He began to wish to tell her about the Hilberys in order to abuse them. Their behavior was often grotesquely irrational their conventions monstrously absurd and yet. Hilbery was examining the weather from the window. to consider some fresh aspect of his character. something quite straightforward and commonplace. Charles must write to Uncle John if hes going there. she exclaimed.

 which was a thing neither of them could ever do. Ralph  No. He had forgotten the meeting at Mary Datchets rooms. She spent them in a very enviable frame of mind; her contentment was almost unalloyed. his eyes became fixed. and exclaiming:The proofs at last! ran to open the door. a power of being disagreeable to ones own family. Hilbery reflected. who were.Ive rather come to that way of thinking myself about myself. he exclaimed. Mrs. Mr. should this impulse return again. said Denham. as often as not. perhaps. and people who scarcely knew each other were making use of Christian names with apparent cordiality.