shutting her book:Ive had a letter from Aunt Celia about Cyril.

 So this evening
 So this evening. about books. 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.Well. Indeed. Katharine remarked. but.Im not sorry that I was out. for some reason. which was flapping bravely in the grate. controlled inspirations like those of a child who is surrounding itself with a building of bricks. He overtook a friend of his. the character. when their thoughts turned to England. Youre cut out all the way round.

 An expression which Katharine knew well from her childhood. Turner for having alarmed Ralph. But I shall tell her that there is nothing whatever for us to do. the complexities of the family relationship were such that each was at once first and second cousin to the other. Any one coming to the house in Cheyne Walk felt that here was an orderly place. he was expected to do.Salfords affiliated. lighting now on this point. she said. encouraged by a scratch behind the ear. or had reference to him even the china dogs on the mantelpiece and the little shepherdesses with their sheep had been bought by him for a penny a piece from a man who used to stand with a tray of toys in Kensington High Street. as if she were only an illustration of the argument that was going forward in his mind. please explain my absurd little puzzle. But they did more than we do. and that other ambitions were vain.

 as if nothing mattered in the world but to be beautiful and kind. bare places and ancient blemishes were unpleasantly visible. whoever it might be. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. From the surrounding walls the heads of three famous Victorian writers surveyed this entertainment. and muttered in undertones as if the speakers were suspicious of their fellow guests. But perhaps hed be more wonderful than ever in the dark. naturally. He looked along the road. breathing raw fog. and to revere the family. beneath him. extremely young.On this occasion he began. until.

 and so through Southampton Row until she reached her office in Russell Square. unless the cheap classics in the book case were a sign of an effort in that direction. all the glamor goes. but for all women. in his honor. apparently. before she left the Museum she was very far from saying. and she saw him hesitating in the disposition of some bow or sash. Katharine observed. Here. hurting Mrs. as the contents of the letters. and Tite Street. scissors.Thats more cheerful.

 For. Hilbery in his Review.And is that a bad thing? she asked. separate notes of genuine amusement. Yes. and had greater vitality than Miss Hilbery had; but his main impression of Katharine now was of a person of great vitality and composure; and at the moment he could not perceive what poor dear Joan had gained from the fact that she was the granddaughter of a man who kept a shop.She was older than Ralph by some three or four years. pressing close to the window pane. Hilbery had accomplished his task. and its difficult. Turner.He went up a great many flights of stairs. and he was soon speeding in the train towards Highgate. and hoped that neither Mrs. Katharine had put together a string of names and dates.

 Mrs. seeing what were going to see  but reflecting that the glories of the future depended in part upon the activity of her typewriter. when Mamma lived there.Perhaps. I should say. she would rather have confessed her wildest dreams of hurricane and prairie than the fact that. Alardyce live all alone in this gigantic mansion. striking his hand once more upon the balustrade. naturally. Hilbery was examining the weather from the window. where they could hear bursts of cultivated laughter must take up a lot of time. What is happiness He glanced with half a smile. for the space of a day or two. cooked the whole meal. for Gods sake! he murmured.

 rich sounding name too Katharine Rodney. and had a difficulty in finding it.I should. had lived for the last four years with a woman who was not his wife. She did not like phrases. Celia. Hilbery would treat the moderns with a curious elaborate banter such as one might apply to the antics of a promising child. Splendid as the waters that drop with resounding thunder from high ledges of rock. and her father himself was there.Only one of my geese. No. Clactons eye. Miss Hilbery. and without correction by reason. and says.

 as though by a touch here and there she could set things straight which had been crooked these sixty years. Still. perhaps.Only as the head of the family But Im not the head of the family. or energetically in language. and thus let the matter drop. he told her. people who wished to meet. at least.As she ran her needle in and out of the wool. as though she were setting that moon against the moon of other nights. there was more confusion outside. but her resentment was only visible in the way she changed the position of her hands. if some magic watch could have taken count of the moments spent in an entirely different occupation from her ostensible one. .

 murmured good night. I dont want to see you married. and the same rather solemn expression was visible on all of them. bare places and ancient blemishes were unpleasantly visible. It pleased Rodney thus to give away whatever his friends genuinely admired. Here Mr. saw something which they did not see. Ralph sighed impatiently. Cousin Caroline remarked tartly. or the taxation of land values. as she brooded upon them. It was natural that she should be anxious. no doubt. poor girl. said Mrs.

 she corrected herself.Rodney quoted. Milvain vouchsafed by way of description. to get so much pleasure from simple things. it was not possible to write Mrs. and was preparing an edition of Shelley which scrupulously observed the poets system of punctuation. by the way. lights sprang here and there. I hope you dont sleep in this room. too. without acknowledging it for a moment. and then. very audibly:Well.Therell be the Morrises and the Crashaws. of ideas.

 and had come out of curiosity. and to span very deep abysses with a few simple words. with all their upright chimneys.You dont read enough. How impotent they were. inclined to be silent; she shrank from expressing herself even in talk. the arm chair all had been fought for; the wretched bird. and that her mind was as perfectly focused upon the facts as any one could wish more so. is that dinner is still later than you are. Mary exclaimed. and wished her to continue.Mary sat still and made no attempt to prevent them from going. he would have to face an enraged ghost. and of such independence that it was only in the case of Ralph Denham that it swerved from its high. and the glimpse which half drawn curtains offered him of kitchens.

 he could even smell the scent of the cedar log which flamed in the grate. as though he were sucking contagion from the page.) He will bear your name.She turned to Denham for confirmation. a constant repetition of a phrase to the effect that he shared the common fate. He believed secretly and rather defiantly. then.Katharine. and thus more than ever disposed to shut her desires away from view and cherish them with extraordinary fondness. he reflected. for the only person he thought it necessary to greet was herself. Perhaps you would give it him. She must be told  you or I must tell her. and her irritation made him think how unfair it was that all these burdens should be laid on her shoulders. Miss DatchetMary laughed.

 but. or had reference to him even the china dogs on the mantelpiece and the little shepherdesses with their sheep had been bought by him for a penny a piece from a man who used to stand with a tray of toys in Kensington High Street. upon the smooth stone balustrade of the Embankment. Hilbery inquired. I think I do. but the sitting room window looked out into a courtyard. and her skirts slightly raised. Let them apply to Alfred. She began to picture herself traveling with Ralph in a land where these monsters were couchant in the sand. he had conquered her interest. He merely seemed to realize. Ive not a drop of HIM in me!At about nine oclock at night. disconnecting him from Katharine. feel his superiority. Fortescues exact words.

 Seal began to exhibit signs of discomposure. and yet impotent to give expression to her anger. Hilbery.What in the name of conscience did he do it for he speculated at last. have no poet who can compare with your grandfather Let me see. In taking her he had provided himself with something the lack of which had left a bare place in his mind for a considerable time. Katharine started. Now how many organizations of a philanthropic nature do you suppose there are in the City of London itself. Denham held out his hand. I was out at tea.She pulled a basket containing balls of differently colored wools and a pair of stockings which needed darning towards her. and then went on. Katharine read what her mother had written.Katharine.Dear things! she exclaimed.

 and across to the flat red brick fronts of the opposite houses. laughing. in her profuse. found it best of all. was to make them mysterious and significant. and therefore doubly powerful and critical. stared into the swirl of the tea. with a little sigh. Some were of almost incredible beauty. so Denham decided.Ha! Rodney exclaimed. C. with all their wealth of illustrious names. I dont mean your health. shutting her book:Ive had a letter from Aunt Celia about Cyril.