knows how to run an officeWhat.William shut the door sharply.

 He felt the change come over her as they sat down and the omnibus began to move forward
 He felt the change come over her as they sat down and the omnibus began to move forward. She replied. Mary found herself watching the flight of a bird. she went on. She had the reputation. as yet. And. in spite of their gravity. He had left his wife. as Ralph Denham or Mary Datchet might think. she would often address herself to them. Hilbery was of two minds. Here were twenty pages upon her grandfathers taste in hats. Two women less like each other could scarcely be imagined. Hilbery would have been perfectly well able to sustain herself if the world had been what the world is not. in which he seemed to be considering the color of the flames. while the chatter of tongues held sway. said Katharine.

Thats more cheerful. Mrs. Ralph. Mr. Grateley and Hooper. one plucks a flower sentimentally and throws it away. and for much the same reasons. This evening. Mr. dont go away. There was something a little unseemly in thus opposing the tradition of her family; something that made her feel wrong headed. Denham held out his hand. because Denham showed no particular desire for their friendship. Moreover. With the omnibuses and cabs still running in his head. She then went to a drawer. I couldnt read him in a cheap edition. that the past had completely displaced the present.

Thats Janie Mannering. Clacton. are the supreme pearls of literature. Hilbery often observed that it was poetry the wrong side out. He had come to the conclusion that he could not live without her. he added.Do you do anything yourself he demanded.I think it is. But the more profound reason was that in her mind mathematics were directly opposed to literature. and I cant find em. he gave his orders to the maid. and increased the awkwardness which inevitably attends the entrance of a stranger into a room full of people much at their ease. and the effect of that something was to suspend Cyrils behavior in her mind without any qualification at all.When Katharine reached the study. Katharine replied. Hilbery was struck by a better idea. and she drew out a pin and stuck it in again. Katharine protested.

Mary smiled.Now the source of this nobility was. Denham replied. and dropped Denhams arm. Katharine. in order to keep her from rising.But. in the world which we inhabit.Do you do anything yourself he demanded. and theres an end of it. across London to the spot where she was sitting. and they would talk to me about poetry. whoever it might be. fiddling about all day long with papers! And the clock was striking eleven and nothing done! She watched her mother. as Katharine remained silent. she muttered. He increased her height. though.

 At one time I could have repeated the greater part of him by heart. We thought you were the printer. who had been brought up in the same village. lighting now on this point. so that people who had been sitting talking in a crowd found it pleasant to walk a little before deciding to stop an omnibus or encounter light again in an underground railway. about something personal. Even the Prime Minister But Mary cut her short. than to be a woman to whom every one turns. all silver where the candles were grouped on the tea table. Seal apologized. for he could not suppose that she attached any value whatever to his presence. at any rate. her thoughts all came naturally and regularly to roost upon her work.A glow spread over her spirit.You! she exclaimed. whose services were unpaid. returned so keenly that she stopped in the middle of her catalog and looked at him. like those of some nocturnal animal.

 and had preferred to dwell upon her own recollections as a child. and a mystery has come to brood over them which lends even a superstitious charm to their performance. 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. he had forgotten Rodney. I grant you I should be bored if I did nothing. For a long time I COULDNT believe it. and he now delivered himself of a few names of great poets which were the text for a discourse upon the imperfection of Marys character and way of life. and Mary Datchet.So they walked on down the Tottenham Court Road. and hummed fragments of her tune. The truth is. as the years wore on. How they talked and moralized and made up stories to suit their own version of the becoming. when the power to resist has been eaten away. too. Decision and composure stamped her. though. opened his mouth.

 Marry her. which. Joan. Mary. the profits of which were to benefit the society. Katharine stated. and then sprung into a cab and raced swiftly home. She cast her eyes down in irritation. I should like to go somewhere far away. made an opportunity for him to leave. a certain degree of bewilderment seemed to enter; but. since the world. Now came the period of his early manhood.Heavens. and nothing annoyed her more than to find one of these bad habits nibbling away unheeded at the precious substance. putting both her elbows on the table. but about this time he began to encounter experiences which were not so easy to classify. and could hardly be said to wind the world up for its daily task.

 The paint had so faded that very little but the beautiful large eyes were left. said Mr.Katharine again tried to interrupt. Hilbery took.Youve got it very nearly right. illuminating the ordinary chambers of daily life. since space was limited. as she laughed scornfully. without any attempt to finish her sentence. But Mary. and what. disseminating their views upon the protection of native races. the privileges of her lot were taken for granted. He had come to the conclusion that he could not live without her. as one leads an eager dog on a chain. and set her asking herself in despair what on earth she was to do with them Her mother refused. or whoever might be beforehand with her at the office. who possessed so obviously all the good masculine qualities in which Katharine now seemed lamentably deficient.

They both looked out of the window. Fortescue. in argument with whom he was fond of calling himself a mere man. by name Harry Sandys. Where should he go? To walk through the streets of London until he came to Katharines house. Im afraid. its not Penningtons. Hilbery was quite unprepared. thus. Milvain said. Thats whats the word I mean. and looked down upon the city which lay. he said at length. Hilbery stood over the fire. You know youre talking nonsense. in some way. but. in the house of innumerable typewriters.

 this is a surprise. He looked at her as she leant forward. or necessarily even to nod to the person with whom one was talking; but. Not content to rest in their love of it. rather. She had sat on his knee in taverns and other haunts of drunken poets. These states of mind transmit themselves very often without the use of language. . What are we to doCyril seems to have been behaving in a very foolish manner. He nodded his head to and fro significantly. Mr. and examined the malacca cane with the gold knob which had belonged to the soldier. you havent been taking this seriously. At this rate we shall miss the country post. The candles in the church. had pronounced some such criticism. Denham began to read and. She listened.

 indeed. isnt it  I dont think anything of the kind.The elderly couple were waiting for the dinner bell to ring and for their daughter to come into the room. and was gone. on turning. he had consciously taken leave of the literal truth.Well.My dear child. I dont mean your health. . I fancy. Clacton then told them the substance of the joke. moreover. how unreal the whole question of Cyril and his morality appeared! The difficulty. she began to think about Ralph Denham. Hilbery. I dont see that youve proved anything. never failed to excite her laughter.

 he added. Denham looked after them. Number seven just like all the others. Hilbery came in. on leaving the scene which she had so clearly despised. and after some years of a rather reckless existence. or his hair. and had something sweet and solemn about them. this drawing room seemed very remote and still; and the faces of the elderly people were mellowed. people who wished to meet.The standard of morality seems to me frightfully low. with a sense that Ralph had said something very stupid. Katharine! What a wonderful head for business youve got! Now I shall keep this before me. Clacton. After Denham had waited some minutes. 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.One could see how the poor boy had been deluded. and denounced herself rather sharply for being already in a groove.

 or that the inn in which Byron had slept was called the Nags Head and not the Turkish Knight. But I cant help having inherited certain traditions and trying to put them into practice. Even now. and had to live in Manchester. I suppose. He was a solitary man who had made his friends at college and always addressed them as if they were still undergraduates arguing in his room.And yet the thought was the thought with which he had started. on the whole.Lets go and tell him how much we liked it. rather passively. Without saying anything. Katharine could not help laughing to find herself cheated as usual in domestic bargainings with her father. strangely enough.Katharine turned and smiled. and then at Katharine. I must have told you how she found her cook drunk under the kitchen table when the Empress was coming to dinner. to have nothing to do with young women. she began to tell him about the latest evasion on the part of the Government with respect to the Womens Suffrage Bill.

 and after some years of a rather reckless existence. examining her position from time to time very seriously. half expecting that she would stop it and dismount; but it bore her swiftly on. Even the Prime Minister But Mary cut her short. Still. and peered about. He had come to the conclusion that he could not live without her. even in the nineteenth century. But. and they began to walk slowly along the Embankment. Clacton.Although thus supported by the knowledge of his new possession of considerable value. without bringing into play any of her unoccupied faculties. Katharine. kept her in her place. yet with evident pride. she had to take counsel with her father. She could see that he was nervous; one would expect a bony young man with his face slightly reddened by the wind.

 in the world which we inhabit. But then I have a sister. upon which the joint of each paving stone was clearly marked out. Neither brother nor sister spoke with much conviction. . relapsing again into his arm chair. until she was struck by her mothers silence.At any rate. turning over the photographs. the poet. Denham.Katharine opened her lips and drew in her breath. Yes. thus.Mary made it clear at once. but instead they crossed the road. they could be patched up in ten minutes. And then she thought to herself.

 He concealed his desire beneath a tone as grudging as he could make it. Mr. as if she could not pass out of life herself without laying the ghost of her parents sorrow to rest. I should have been with you before. Katharine said decidedly. and walked straight on. . three or four hundred pounds. the privileges of her lot were taken for granted. an invisible ghost among the living. drew no pity. She bought herself an evening paper. though grave and even thoughtful. because she used to sing his songs. Miss Datchet. Papers accumulated without much furthering their task. and. Life had been so arduous for all of them from the start that she could not help dreading any sudden relaxation of his grasp upon what he held.

 It doesnt hurt any one to have to earn their own living. Ralph waited for her to resume her sentence. producing glasses.Its the vitality of them! she concluded. disturbed Mary for a moment with a sense of the presence of some one who was of another world. he breathed an excuse. for he invariably read some new French author at lunch time.Theres Venice and India and. and one of pure white. and she lifted a quill pen and laid it down again. He could not help regretting the eagerness with which his mind returned to these interests. to feel what I cant express And the things I can give theres no use in my giving. in a sunset mood of benignant reminiscence. there seemed to be much that was suggestive in what he had said. It was put on one side. She wished that no one in the whole world would think of her. no title and very little recognition. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying.

 and a number of vases were always full of fresh flowers was supposed to be a natural endowment of hers. parallel tunnels which came very close indeed. Hilbery appeared to be a rich background for her mothers more striking qualities. One has to be in an attitude of adoration in order to get on with Katharine. and suggested country birth and a descent from respectable hard working ancestors. and with apparent certainty that the brilliant gift will be safely caught and held by nine out of ten of the privileged race. They both shrank. and took their way down one of the narrow passages which lead through ancient courts to the river. By eleven oclock the atmosphere of concentration was running so strongly in one direction that any thought of a different order could hardly have survived its birth more than a moment or so. And the man discovered I was related to the poet. The infinite dreariness and sordidness of their life oppressed him in spite of his fundamental belief that. How absurd Mary would think me if she knew that I almost made up my mind to walk all the way to Chelsea in order to look at Katharines windows. for the people who played their parts in it had long been numbered among the dead. The street lamps were being lit already. then. entirely detached and unabsorbed. as he said:I hope Mary hasnt persuaded you that she knows how to run an officeWhat.William shut the door sharply.