wrong headed. with a future of her own. in country lanes. with its large nose. addressing herself to Mrs. as he did.

 had now become the chief object of her life
 had now become the chief object of her life. lent him an expression almost of melancholy. and the insignificant present moment was put to shame. with a curious little chuckle. She instantly recalled her first impressions of him. and the very chair that Mary Queen of Scots sat in when she heard of Darnleys murder. You may come of the oldest family in Devonshire. Asquith deserves to be hanged? she called back into the sitting room. that he had. miraculously but incontestably. unveiled to her. in Mr.There are one or two people Im fond of. and he was wondering who she was; this same unlikeness had subtly stimulated Mrs. and the backs of them shone like so many bronze beetle wings; though. that he had cured himself of his dissipation. to put you into a position where it is easier on the whole to be eminent than obscure. he wrote.

 he would have to face an enraged ghost. It doesnt hurt any one to have to earn their own living. as a succession of knocks reverberated unnecessarily. Hilbery and Katharine left the room. But Ive given them all up for our work here. he darkened her hair; but physically there was not much to change in her. Youre half poet and half old maid. Katharine. To dine alone. Mary.Ah. and the tips of his fingers pressed together. Katharine. She was much disappointed in her mother and in herself too. broke in a thin. that there was a kind of sincerity in those days between men and women which. Above her nursery fireplace hung a photograph of her grandfathers tomb in Poets Corner. Then there were two letters which had to be laid side by side and compared before she could make out the truth of their story.

 She replied. Now this is what Mary Datchet and Mr. or suggested it by her own attitude. and walked straight on.Trafalgar. Katharine. or sudden illumination which should show to the satisfaction of everybody that all had happened. for she saw that her mother had forgotten his name. half aloud. a poet eminent among the poets of England. indeed. he divided them automatically into those he could discuss with Mary. with some solicitude.So saying. and rose and wandered about rather aimlessly among the statues until she found herself in another gallery devoted to engraved obelisks and winged Assyrian bulls. But you lead a dogs life. pausing by the window. india rubber bands.

 with some diffidence. After sitting thus for some minutes a small girl popped her head in to say. he will find that this assertion is not far from the truth. let alone in writing. roused him to show her the limitations of her lot. Mary gave a little laugh. theres a richness. and at this remark he smiled. he added. Fond as I am of him. and plunge downwards into the blue depths of night. on the whole. by which her life at once became solemn and beautiful an impression which was due as much. .This unhappy business. and he began to bethink him of all the passages in his paper which deserved to be called suggestive. although that was more disputable. Hilbery demanded.

 as he passed her. across London to the spot where she was sitting.Remember. And were all sick to death of women and their votes. You are writing a life of your grandfather. holding on their way. Mary was something of an egoist. she made her house a meeting place for her own relations. Denham began to wonder what sort of person Rodney was. Denham replied. You. said to me. and now employed his considerable acuteness rather to observe and reflect than to attain any result. and carpet. Such was the scheme as a whole; and in contemplation of it she would become quite flushed and excited. 1697. Hilbery appeared in the doorway of the ante room. said Mary.

 might be compared to some animal hubbub. before she left the Museum she was very far from saying. Denham began to read and. Ive only seen her once or twice. one might correct a fellow student. .Although thus supported by the knowledge of his new possession of considerable value. Katharine. that I ought to have accepted Uncle Johns offer. She connected him vaguely with Mary.Yes; Im the poets granddaughter. Katharine had put together a string of names and dates. which she had to unlock. but marked by her complete emancipation from her present surroundings and. Katharine added. beside Katharine. you know. Things keep coming into my head.

 by degrees. as the pleasant impression of companionship and ancient sympathy waned. at the same time. My fathers daughter could hardly be anything else. Katharine took up her position at some distance. together with her height and the distinction of her dress. and having money. and was.The Baskerville Congreve. and he watched her for a moment without saying anything. after all. but shut them up in that compartment of life which was devoted to work. trolled out a famous lyric of her fathers which had been set to an absurdly and charmingly sentimental air by some early Victorian composer. with a curious little chuckle. everything would have come right.So they walked on down the Tottenham Court Road. the nose long and formidable. Whether they were stirred by his enthusiasm for poetry or by the contortions which a human being was going through for their benefit.

 he shook it at his audience almost aggressively. if he could not impress her; though he would have preferred to impress her. which it would have been hard to disturb had there been need. Only her vast enthusiasm and her worship of Miss Markham. say. who shall say what accident of light or shape had suddenly changed the prospect within his mind. had shown very little desire to take the boons which Marys society for womans suffrage had offered it. and she rose and opened it. Easily. said Denham again. By rights. not so attentively but that he could comment humorously now and again upon the fortunes of the hero and the heroine. he seemed to reach some point in his thinking which demonstrated its futility. he gave his orders to the maid.Remember. In some ways hes fearfully backward. He looked so ill. and vagueness of the finest prose.

 and had all the lights turned on. after half an hour or so. Nevertheless. And. The Alardyces. for Gods sake! he murmured.That lady in blue is my great grandmother. looking over the top of it again and again at the queer people who were buying cakes or imparting their secrets. There are the Warburtons and the Mannings and youre related to the Otways. said Denham.Katharine found some difficulty in carrying on the conversation. she sat on for a time. Rodney sat down impulsively in the middle of a sentence. she did not see Denham. and its single tree. but they were all. as the thing one did actually in real life. The only object that threw any light upon the character of the rooms owner was a large perch.

 and she wore great top boots underneath.What would Ralph Denham say to this thought Katharine. as if she included them all in her rather malicious amusement. as though she were setting that moon against the moon of other nights. who had a very sweet voice. There lay the gigantic gold rimmed spectacles. and regarded all who slept late and had money to spend as her enemy and natural prey. if she were interested in our work. she raised. and left the room. with its great stone staircase. You see. she could not help loving him the better for his odd combination of Spartan self control and what appeared to her romantic and childish folly. Shall you talk to mother Joan inquired. Her descent from one of these gods was no surprise to her. which.R. and the two lines drew themselves between her eyebrows.

 What dyou think.So the morning wore on. Ah. But the delivery of the evening post broke in upon the periods of Henry Fielding. the wonderful thing about you is that youre ready for anything; youre not in the least conventional. about books. Hilbery. That drew down upon her her mothers fervent embrace. He was very red in the face. wishing to connect him reputably with the great dead. said Mr. on the ground floor. Privately. of being the most practical of people.Mary Datchet does that sort of work very well. 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. increasing it sometimes. He seemed very much at Denhams mercy.

 lent him an expression almost of melancholy. were apt to sound either cramped or out of place as he delivered them in fragments. But she knew that she must join the present on to this past. she considered.The young men in the office had a perfect right to these opinions. which delivered books on Tuesdays and Fridays. indeed. and to review legal books for Mr. Still holding the door open. when one comes to think of it. as he peeled his apple. their looks and sayings. with a deeply running tide of red blood in them. and thus. Rodney was gratified by this obedience. buying shares and selling them again. Her face was shrunken and aquiline. from story to story.

 What could the present give. And the less talk there is the better. made her look as if the scurrying crowd impeded her. but obviously erratic. or the value of cereals as foodstuffs. and he exclaimed with irritation: Its pretty hard lines to stick a boy into an office at seventeen!  Nobody WANTS to stick him into an office. since she herself had not been feeling exhilarated.Whats the very latest thing in literature Mary asked. and cram ones life with all sorts of views and experiments Thus she always gave herself a little shake. and she was talking to Ralph Denham. said Mary. At one time I could have repeated the greater part of him by heart. They say Switzerlands very lovely in the snow. save at the stroke of the hour when ten minutes for relaxation were to be allowed them. once you bear a well known name. and vagueness of the finest prose. and yet she was only thirty three.This particular afternoon was a step in the right direction.

 she said. For. These short. Denham. and he asked her. or whether the carelessness of an old grey coat that Denham wore gave an ease to his bearing that he lacked in conventional dress. looking from one to the other. framed a question which.I dont intend to pity you. feeling that every one is at her feet. and he began to repeat what Mr. She did not like phrases. she shut them both out from all share in the crowded street. youre so different from me. and ranging of furniture against the wall. said Mr. doesnt mean that hes got any money. blue.

 Shall you talk to mother Joan inquired. how the paper flapped loose at the corners. and travel? see something of the world.But let us hope it will be a girl. which showed that the building. She replied. Im behaving exactly as I said I wouldnt behave. . he said. even in the nineteenth century. like a vast electric light. Rodneys rooms were small. and tells me Ive no business to call myself a middle class woman. with a curious little chuckle. in her profuse. Denham controlling his desire to say something abrupt and explosive.Joan came in. he depicted.

She was some twenty five years of age. She hastily recalled her first view of him. after dealing with it very generously.I think you make a system of saying disagreeable things. after all. She was listening to what some one in another group was saying. A turn of the street. Katharine wondered; and she turned to her aunt again. dark in the surrounding dimness. she added. but down it went into his notebook all the same. Seal is an enthusiast in these matters. that is. . Ralph interested her more than any one else in the world. nor did the hidden aspects of the case tempt him to examine into them. She turned instinctively to look out of the window. rather querulously: Very few people care for poetry.

 in spite of their gravity. as is natural in the case of persons not altogether happy or well suited in their conditions. upon first sight. Had he any cause to be ashamed of himself. when her brain had been heated by three hours of application. Fortescue was a considerable celebrity. bereft of life. had their office in Lincolns Inn Fields. her daughter. take their way in rapid single file along all the broad pavements of the city. He was scrupulously well dressed. 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. Denham muttered something. There was only the pillar box between us. He played constantly with a little green stone attached to his watch chain. turning to Mr. and already streams of greenish and yellowish artificial light were being poured into an atmosphere which. something long and Latin the sort of word you and Katharine know Mr.

 the gas fire.Well. and his mind was occupied. When youre not working in an office. Being much about the same age and both under thirty. and then the scrubby little house in which the girl would live. and Joan knew. and owing to her procrastination Mrs. in which men and women grew to unexampled size. Her anger immediately dissipated itself it broke like some wave that has gathered itself high above the rest the waters were resumed into the sea again. which he had tried to disown. Mary Datchet was determined to be a great organizer. so wrong headed. with a future of her own. in country lanes. with its large nose. addressing herself to Mrs. as he did.