Awakening and To Let

第18章

SOAMESCOGITATES

TheannouncementinTheTimesofhiscousinJolyon’sdeathaffectedSoamesquitesimply。Sothatchapwasgone！Therehadneverbeenatimeintheirtwoliveswhenlovehadnotbeenlostbetweenthem。

Thatquick—bloodedsentimenthatredhadrunitscourselongsinceinSoames’heart，andhehadrefusedtoallowanyrecrudescence，butheconsideredthisearlydeceaseapieceofpoeticjustice。Fortwentyyearsthefellowhadenjoyedthereversionofhiswifeandhouse，and——hewasdead！Theobituarynotice，whichappearedalittlelater，paidJolyon——hethought——toomuchattention。Itspokeofthat"diligentandagreeablepainterwhoseworkwehavecometolookonastypicalofthebestlate—Victorianwater—colourart。"Soames，whohadalmostmechanicallypreferredMole，Morpin，andCaswellBaye，andhadalwayssniffedquiteaudiblywhenhecametooneofhiscousin’sontheline，turnedTheTimeswithacrackle。

HehadtogouptoTownthatmorningonForsyteaffairs，andwasfullyconsciousofGradman’sglancesidelongoverhisspectacles。

Theoldclerkhadabouthimanauraofregretfulcongratulation。Hesmelled，asitwere，ofolddays。Onecouldalmosthearhimthinking:"Mr。Jolyon，ye—es——justmyage，andgone——dear，dear！I

daresayshefeelsit。Shewasamice—lookin’woman。Fleshisflesh！They’vegiven’imanoticeinthepapers。Fancy！"HisatmosphereinfactcausedSoamestohandlecertainleasesandconversionswithexceptionalswiftness。

"AboutthatsettlementonMissFleur，Mr。Soames？"

"I’vethoughtbetterofthat，"answeredSoamesshortly。

"Ah！I’mgladofthat。Ithoughtyouwerealittlehasty。Thetimesdochange。"

HowthisdeathwouldaffectFleurhadbeguntotroubleSoames。Hewasnotcertainthatsheknewofit——sheseldomlookedatthepaper，neveratthebirths，marriages，anddeaths。

Hepressedmatterson，andmadehiswaytoGreenStreetforlunch。

Winifredwasalmostdoleful。JackCardiganhadbrokenasplashboard，sofarasonecouldmakeout，andwouldnotbe"fit"forsometime。

Shecouldnotgetusedtotheidea。

"DidProfondevergetoff？"hesaidsuddenly。

"Hegotoff，"repliedWinifred，"butwhere——Idon’tknow。"

Yes，thereitwas——impossibletotellanything！Notthathewantedtoknow。LettersfromAnnettewerecomingfromDieppe，wheresheandhermotherwerestaying。

"Yousawthatfellow’sdeath，Isuppose？"

"Yes，"saidWinifred。"I’msorryfor——forhischildren。Hewasveryamiable。"Soamesutteredaratherqueersound。Asuspicionoftheolddeeptruth——thatmenwerejudgedinthisworldratherbywhattheywerethanbywhattheydid——creptandknockedresentfullyatthebackdoorsofhismind。

"Iknowtherewasasuperstitiontothateffect，"hemuttered。

"Onemustdohimjusticenowhe’sdead。"

"Ishouldliketohavedonehimjusticebefore，"saidSoames;"butI

neverhadthechance。Haveyougota’Baronetage’here？"

"Yes;inthatbottomrow。"

Soamestookoutafatredbook，andranovertheleaves。

"Mont—SirLawrence，9thBt。，cr。1620，e。s。ofGeoffrey，8thBt。，andLavinia，daur。ofSirCharlesMuskham，Bt。，ofMuskhamHall，Shrops:marr。1890Emily，daur。ofConwayCharwell，Esq。，ofCondafordGrange，co。Oxon;1son，heirMichaelConway，b。1895，2

daurs。Residence:LippinghallManor，Folwell，Bucks。Clubs:Snooks’:

CoffeeHouse:Aeroplane。SeeBidIicott。"

"H’m！"hesaid。"Didyoueverknowapublisher？"

"UncleTimothy。"

"Alive，Imean。"

"MontyknewoneathisClub。Hebroughthimheretodinneronce。

Montywasalwaysthinkingofwritingabook，youknow，abouthowtomakemoneyontheturf。Hetriedtointerestthatman。"

"Well？"

"Heputhimontoahorse——fortheTwoThousand。Wedidn’tseehimagain。Hewasrathersmart，ifIremember。"

"Diditwin？"

"No;itranlast，Ithink。YouknowMontyreallywasquitecleverinhisway。"

"Washe？"saidSoames。"Canyouseeanyconnectionbetweenasuckingbaronetandpublishing？"

"Peopledoallsortsofthingsnowadays，"repliedWinifred。"Thegreatstuntseemsnottobeidle——sodifferentfromourtime。Todonothingwasthethingthen。ButIsupposeit’llcomeagain。"

"ThisyoungMontthatI’mspeakingofisverysweetonFleur。IfitwouldputanendtothatotheraffairImightencourageit。"

"Hashegotstyle？"askedWinifred。

"He’snobeauty;pleasantenough，withsomescatteredbrains。

There’sagooddealofland，Ibelieve。Heseemsgenuinelyattached。

ButIdon’tknow。"

"No，"murmuredWinifred;"it’s——verydifficult。Ialwaysfounditbesttodonothing。ItissuchaboreaboutJack;nowweshan’tgetawaytillafterBankHoliday。Well，thepeoplearealwaysamusing，I

shallgointotheParkandwatchthem。"

"IfIwereyou，"saidSoames，"Ishouldhaveacountrycottage，andbeoutofthewayofholidaysandstrikeswhenyouwant。"

"Thecountryboresme，"answeredWinifred，"andIfoundtherailwaystrikequiteexciting。"

Winifredhadalwaysbeennotedforsang—froid。

Soamestookhisleave。AllthewaydowntoReadinghedebatedwhetherheshouldtellFleurofthatboy’sfather’sdeath。Itdidnotalterthesituationexceptthathewouldbeindependentnow，andonlyhavehismother’soppositiontoencounter。Hewouldcomeintoalotofmoney，nodoubt，andperhapsthehouse——thehousebuiltforIreneandhimself——thehousewhosearchitecthadwroughthisdomesticruin。Hisdaughter——mistressofthathouse！Thatwouldbepoeticjustice！Soamesutteredalittlemirthlesslaugh。Hehaddesignedthathousetore—establishhisfailingunion，meantitfortheseatofhisdescendants，ifhecouldhaveinducedIrenetogivehimone！

HersonandFleur！Theirchildrenwouldbe，insomesort，offspringoftheunionbetweenhimselfandher！

Thetheatricalityinthatthoughtwasrepulsivetohissobersense。

Andyet——itwouldbetheeasiestandwealthiestwayoutoftheimpasse，nowthatJolyonwasgone。ThejunctureoftwoForsytefortuneshadakindofconservativecharm。Andshe——Irene—wouldbelinkedtohimoncemore。Nonsense！Absurd！Heputthenotionfromhishead。

Onarrivinghomeheheardtheclickofbilliard—balls，andthroughthewindowsawyoungMontsprawlingoverthetable。Fleur，withhercueakimbo，waswatchingwithasmile。Howprettyshelooked！Nowonderthatyoungfellowwasoutofhismindabouther。Atitle——

land！Therewaslittleenoughinland，thesedays;perhapslessinatitle。TheoldForsyteshadalwayshadakindofcontemptfortitles，ratherremoteandartificialthings——notworththemoneytheycost，andhavingtodowiththeCourt。Theyhadallhadthatfeelingindifferingmeasure——Soamesremembered。Swithin，indeed，inhismostexpansivedayshadonceattendedaLevee。Hehadcomeawaysayingheshouldn’tgoagain——"allthatsmallfry。"Itwassuspectedthathehadlookedtoobiginknee—breeches。Soamesrememberedhowhisownmotherhadwishedtobepresentedbecauseofthefashionablenatureoftheperformance，andhowhisfatherhadputhisfootdownwithunwonteddecision。Whatdidshewantwiththatpeacocking——

wastingtimeandmoney;therewasnothinginit！

TheinstinctwhichhadmadeandkepttheEnglishCommonsthechiefpowerintheState，afeelingthattheirownworldwasgoodenoughandalittlebetterthananyotherbecauseitwastheirworld，hadkepttheoldForsytessingularlyfreeof"flummery，"asNicholashadbeenwonttocallitwhenhehadthegout。Soames’generation，moreself—consciousandironical，hadbeensavedbyasenseofSwithininknee—breeches。Whilethethirdandthefourthgeneration，asitseemedtohim，laughedateverything。

However，therewasnoharmintheyoungfellow’sbeingheirtoatitleandestate——athingonecouldn’thelp。Heenteredquietly，asMontmissedhisshot。Henotedtheyoungman’seyes，fixedonFleurbendingoverinherturn;andtheadorationinthemalmosttouchedhim。

Shepausedwiththecuepoisedonthebridgeofherslimhand，andshookhercropofshortdarkchestnuthair。

"Ishallneverdoit。"

"’Nothingventure。’"

"Allright。"Thecuestruck，theballrolled。"There！"

"Badluck！Nevermind！"

Thentheysawhim，andSoamessaid:

"I’llmarkforyou。"

Hesatdownontheraisedseatbeneaththemarker，trimandtired，furtivelystudyingthosetwoyoungfaces。WhenthegamewasoverMontcameuptohim。

"I’vestartedin，sir。Rumgame，business，isn’tit？Isupposeyousawalotofhumannatureasasolicitor。"

"Idid。"

"ShallItellyouwhatI’venoticed:Peoplearequiteonthewrongtackinofferinglessthantheycanaffordtogive;theyoughttooffermore，andworkbackward。"

Soamesraisedhiseyebrows。

"Supposethemoreisaccepted？"

"Thatdoesn’tmatteralittlebit，"saidMont;"it’smuchmorepayingtoabateapricethantoincreaseit。Forinstance，sayweofferanauthorgoodterms——henaturallytakesthem。Thenwegointoit，findwecan’tpublishatadecentprofitandtellhimso。He’sgotconfidenceinusbecausewe’vebeengeneroustohim，andhecomesdownlikealamb，andbearsusnomalice。Butifweofferhimpoortermsatthestart，hedoesn’ttakethem，sowehavetoadvancethemtogethim，andhethinksusdamnedscrewsintothebargain。

"Trybuyingpicturesonthatsystem，"saidSoames;"anofferacceptedisacontract——haven’tyoulearnedthat？"

YoungMontturnedhisheadtowhereFleurwasstandinginthewindow。

"No，"hesaid，"IwishIhad。Thenthere’sanotherthing。Alwaysletamanoffabargainifhewantstobeletoff。"

"Asadvertisement？"saidSoamesdryly。

"Ofcourseitis;butImeantonprinciple。"

"Doesyourfirmworkonthoselines？"

"Notyet，"saidMont，"butit’llcome。"

"Andtheywillgo。"

"No，really，sir。I’mmakinganynumberofobservations，andtheyallconfirmmytheory。Humannatureisconsistentlyunderratedinbusiness，peopledothemselvesoutofanawfullotofpleasureandprofitbythat。Ofcourse，youmustbeperfectlygenuineandopen，butthat’seasyifyoufeelit。Themorehumanandgenerousyouarethebetterchanceyou’vegotinbusiness。"

Soamesrose。

"Areyouapartner？"

"Notforsixmonths，yet。"

"Therestofthefirmhadbettermakehasteandretire。"

Montlaughed。

"You’llsee，"hesaid。"There’sgoingtobeabigchange。Thepossessiveprinciplehasgotitsshuttersup。"

"What？"saidSoames。

"Thehouseistolet！Good—bye，sir;I’moffnow。"

Soameswatchedhisdaughtergiveherhand，sawherwinceatthesqueezeitreceived，anddistinctlyheardtheyoungman’ssighashepassedout。Thenshecamefromthewindow，trailingherfingeralongthemahoganyedgeofthebilliard—table。Watchingher，Soamesknewthatshewasgoingtoaskhimsomething。Herfingerfeltroundthelastpocket，andshelookedup。

"HaveyoudoneanythingtostopJonwritingtome，Father？"

Soamesshookhishead。

"Youhaven’tseen，then？"hesaid。"Hisfatherdiedjustaweekagoto—day。"

"Oh！"

Inherstartled，frowningfacehesawtheinstantstruggletoapprehendwhatthiswouldmean。

"PoorJon！Whydidn’tyoutellme，Father？"

"Ineverknow！"saidSoamesslowly;"youdon’tconfideinme。"

"Iwould，ifyou’dhelpme，dear。"

"PerhapsIshall。"

Fleurclaspedherhands。"Oh！darling——whenonewantsathingfearfully，onedoesn’tthinkofotherpeople。Don’tbeangrywithme。"

Soamesputouthishand，asifpushingawayanaspersion。

"I’mcogitating，"hesaid。Whatonearthhadmadehimuseawordlikethat！"HasyoungMontbeenbotheringyouagain？"

Fleursmiled。"Oh！Michael！He’salwaysbothering;buthe’ssuchagoodsort——Idon’tmindhim。"

"Well，"saidSoames，"I’mtired;Ishallgoandhaveanapbeforedinner。"

Hewentuptohispicture—gallery，laydownonthecouchthere，andclosedhiseyes。Aterribleresponsibilitythisgirlofhis——whosemotherwas——ah！whatwasshe？Aterribleresponsibility！Helpher——

howcouldhehelpher？Hecouldnotalterthefactthathewasherfather。OrthatIrene——！WhatwasityoungMonthadsaid——somenonsenseaboutthepossessiveinstinct——shuttersup——Tolet？Silly！

Thesultryair，chargedwithascentofmeadow—sweet，ofriverandroses，closedonhissenses，drowsingthem。

THEFIXEDIDEA

Thefixedidea，"whichhasoutrunmoreconstablesthananyotherformofhumandisorder，hasnevermorespeedandstaminathanwhenittakestheavidguiseoflove。Tohedgesandditches，anddoors，tohumanswithoutideasfixedorotherwise，toperambulatorsandthecontentssuckingtheirfixedideas，eventotheothersufferersfromthisfastmalady——thefixedideaoflovepaysnoattention。Itrunswitheyesturnedinwardtoitsownlight，obliviousofallotherstars。Thosewiththefixedideasthathumanhappinessdependsontheirart，onvivisectingdogs，onhatingforeigners，onpayingsupertax，onremainingMinisters，onmakingwheelsgoround，onpreventingtheirneighboursfrombeingdivorced，onconscientiousobjection，Greekroots，Churchdogma，paradoxandsuperioritytoeverybodyelse，withotherformsofego—mania——allareunstablecomparedwithhimorherwhosefixedideaisthepossessionofsomeherorhim。AndthoughFleur，thosechillysummerdays，pursuedthescatteredlifeofalittleForsytewhosefrocksarepaidfor，andwhosebusinessispleasure，shewas——asWinifredwouldhavesaidinthelatestfashionofspeech——"honesttoGod"indifferenttoitall。

Shewishedandwishedforthemoon，whichsailedincoldskiesabovetheriverortheGreenParkwhenshewenttoTown。SheevenkeptJon’sletters，coveredwithpinksilk，onherheart，thanwhichindayswhencorsetsweresolow，sentimentsodespised，andchestssooutoffashion，therecould，perhaps，havebeennogreaterproofofthefixityofheridea。

Afterhearingofhisfather’sdeath，shewrotetoJon，andreceivedhisanswerthreedayslateronherreturnfromariverpicnic。ItwashisfirstlettersincetheirmeetingatJune’s。Sheopeneditwithmisgiving，andreaditwithdismay。

"SinceIsawyouI’veheardeverythingaboutthepast。Iwon’ttellityou——IthinkyouknewwhenwemetatJune’s。Shesaysyoudid。

Ifyoudid，Fleur，yououghttohavetoldme。Iexpectyouonlyheardyourfather’ssideofit。Ihaveheardmymother’s。It’sdreadful。Nowthatshe’ssosadIcan’tdoanythingtohurthermore。Ofcourse，Ilongforyouallday，butIdon’tbelievenowthatweshallevercometogether——there’ssomethingtoostrongpullingusapart。"

So！Herdeceptionhadfoundherout。ButJon——shefelt——hadforgiventhat。Itwaswhathesaidofhismotherwhichcausedthegutteringinherheartandtheweaksensationinherlegs。

Herfirstimpulsewastoreply——hersecond，nottoreply。Theseimpulseswereconstantlyrenewedinthedayswhichfollowed，whiledesperationgrewwithinher。Shewasnotherfather’schildfornothing。ThetenacitywhichhadatoncemadeandundoneSoameswasherbackbone，too，frilledandembroideredbyFrenchgraceandquickness。Instinctivelysheconjugatedtheverb"tohave"alwayswiththepronoun"I。"Sheconcealed，however，allsignsofhergrowingdesperation，andpursuedsuchriverpleasuresasthewindsandrainofadisagreeableJulypermitted，asifshehadnocareintheworld;nordidany"suckingbaronet"everneglectthebusinessofapublishermoreconsistentlythanherattendantspirit，MichaelMont。

ToSoamesshewasapuzzle。Hewasalmostdeceivedbythiscarelessgaiety。Almost——becausehedidnotfailtomarkhereyesoftenfixedonnothing，andthefilmoflightshiningfromherbedroomwindowlateatnight。Whatwasshethinkingandbroodingoverintosmallhourswhensheoughttohavebeenasleep？Buthedarednotaskwhatwasinhermind;and，sincethatonelittletalkinthebilliard—

room，shesaidnothingtohim。

InthistaciturnconditionofaffairsitchancedthatWinifredinvitedthemtolunchandtogoafterwardto"amostamusinglittleplay，’TheBeggar’sOpera"’andwouldtheybringamantomakefour？

Soames，whoseattitudetowardtheatreswastogotonothing，accepted，becauseFleur’sattitudewastogotoeverything。Theymotoredup，takingMichaelMont，who，beinginhisseventhheaven，wasfoundbyWinifred"veryamusing。""TheBeggar’sOpera"puzzledSoames。Thepeoplewereveryunpleasant，thewholethingverycynical。Winifredwas"intrigued"——bythedresses。Themusic，too，didnotdispleaseher。AttheOpera，thenightbefore，shehadarrivedtooearlyfortheRussianBallet，andfoundthestageoccupiedbysingers，forawholehourpaleorapoplecticfromterrorlestbysomedreadfulinadvertencetheymightdropintoatune。

MichaelMontwasenrapturedwiththewholething。AndallthreewonderedwhatFleurwasthinkingofit。ButFleurwasnotthinkingofit。HerfixedideastoodonthestageandsangwithPollyPeachum，mimedwithFilch，dancedwithJennyDiver，posturedwithLucyLockit，kissed，trolled，andcuddledwithMacheath。Herlipsmightsmile，herhandsapplaud，butthecomicoldmasterpiecemadenomoreimpressiononherthanifithadbeenpathetic，likeamodern"Revue。"Whentheyembarkedinthecartoreturn，sheachedbecauseJonwasnotsittingnextherinsteadofMichaelMont。When，atsomejolt，theyoungman’sarmtouchedhersasifbyaccident，sheonlythought:’IfthatwereJon’sarm！’Whenhischeerfulvoice，temperedbyherproximity，murmuredabovethesoundofthecar’sprogress，shesmiledandanswered，thinking:’IfthatwereJon’svoice！’andwhenoncehesaid，"Fleur，youlookaperfectangelinthatdress！"sheanswered，"Oh，doyoulikeit？thinking，’IfonlyJoncouldseeit！’

Duringthisdriveshetookaresolution。ShewouldgotoRobinHillandseehim——alone;shewouldtakethecar，withoutwordbeforehandtohimortoherfather。Itwasninedayssincehisletter，andshecouldwaitnolonger。OnMondayshewouldgo！ThedecisionmadeherwelldisposedtowardyoungMont。Withsomethingtolookforwardtoshecouldaffordtotolerateandrespond。Hemightstaytodinner;

proposetoherasusual;dancewithher，pressherhand，sigh——dowhatheliked。Hewasonlyanuisancewhenheinterferedwithherfixedidea。Shewasevensorryforhimsofarasitwaspossibletobesorryforanybodybutherselfjustnow。Atdinnerheseemedtotalkmorewildlythanusualaboutwhathecalled"thedeathofthecloseborough"——shepaidlittleattention，butherfatherseemedpayingagooddeal，withthesmileonhisfacewhichmeantopposition，ifnotanger。

"Theyoungergenerationdoesn’tthinkasyoudo，sir;doesit，Fleur？"

Fleurshruggedhershoulders——theyoungergenerationwasjustJon，andshedidnotknowwhathewasthinking。

"YoungpeoplewillthinkasIdowhenthey’remyage，Mr。Mont。

Humannaturedoesn’tchange。"

"Iadmitthat，sir;buttheformsofthoughtchangewiththetimes。

Thepursuitofself—interestisaformofthoughtthat’sgoingout。"

"Indeed！Tomindone’sownbusinessisnotaformofthought，Mr。

Mont，it’saninstinct。"

Yes，whenJonwasthebusiness！

"Butwhatisone’sbusiness，sir？That’sthepoint。Everybody’sbusinessisgoingtobeone’sbusiness。Isn’tit，Fleur？"

Fleuronlysmiled。

"Ifnot，"addedyoungMont，"there’llbeblood。"

"Peoplehavetalkedlikethatfromtimeimmemorial"

"Butyou’lladmit，sir，thatthesenseofpropertyisdyingout？"

"Ishouldsayincreasingamongthosewhohavenone。"

"Well，lookatme！I’mheirtoanentailedestate。Idon’twantthething;I’dcuttheentailto—morrow。"

"You’renotmarried，andyoudon’tknowwhatyou’retalkingabout。"

Fleursawtheyoungman’seyesturnratherpiteouslyuponher。

"Doyoureallymeanthatmarriage——？"hebegan。

"Societyisbuiltonmarriage，"camefrombetweenherfather’scloselips;"marriageanditsconsequences。Doyouwanttodoawaywithit？"

YoungMontmadeadistractedgesture。Silencebroodedoverthedinnertable，coveredwithspoonsbearingtheForsytecrest——apheasantproper——undertheelectriclightinanalabasterglobe。Andoutside，therivereveningdarkened，chargedwithheavymoistureandsweetscents。

’Monday，’thoughtFleur;’Monday！’

DESPERATE

TheweekswhichfollowedthedeathofhisfatherweresadandemptytotheonlyJolyonForsyteleft。Thenecessaryformsandceremonies—

—thereadingoftheWill，valuationoftheestate，distributionofthelegacies——wereenactedoverthehead，asitwere，ofonenotyetofage。Jolyonwascremated。Byhisspecialwishnooneattendedthatceremony，orworeblackforhim。Thesuccessionofhisproperty，controlledtosomeextentbyoldJolyon’sWill，lefthiswidowinpossessionofRobinHill，withtwothousandfivehundredpoundsayearforlife。ApartfromthisthetwoWillsworkedtogetherinsomecomplicatedwaytoinsurethateachofJolyon’sthreechildrenshouldhaveanequalshareintheirgrandfather’sandfather’spropertyinthefutureasinthepresent，saveonlythatJon，byvirtueofhissex，wouldhavecontrolofhiscapitalwhenhewastwenty—one，whileJuneandHollywouldonlyhavethespiritoftheirs，inorderthattheirchildrenmighthavethebodyafterthem。

Iftheyhadnochildren，itwouldallcometoJonifheoutlivedthem;andsinceJunewasfifty，andHollynearlyforty，itwasconsideredinLincoln’sInnFieldsthatbutforthecrueltyofincometax，youngJonwouldbeaswarmamanashisgrandfatherwhenhedied。AllthiswasnothingtoJon，andlittleenoughtohismother。

ItwasJunewhodideverythingneedfulforonewhohadlefthisaffairsinperfectorder。Whenshehadgone，andthosetwowerealoneagaininthegreathouse，alonewithdeathdrawingthemtogether，andlovedrivingthemapart，Jonpassedverypainfuldayssecretlydisgustedanddisappointedwithhimself。Hismotherwouldlookathimwithsuchapatientsadnesswhichyethadinitaninstinctivepride，asifshewerereservingherdefence。Ifshesmiledhewasangrythathisansweringsmileshouldbesogrudgingandunnatural。Hedidnotjudgeorcondemnher;thatwasalltooremote——indeed，theideaofdoingsohadnevercometohim。No！hewasgrudgingandunnaturalbecausehecouldn’thavewhathewantedbecauseofher。Therewasonealleviation——muchtodoinconnectionwithhisfather’scareer，whichcouldnotbesafelyentrustedtoJune，thoughshehadofferedtoundertakeit。BothJonandhismotherhadfeltthatifshetookhisportfolios，unexhibiteddrawingsandunfinishedmatter，awaywithher，theworkwouldencountersuchicyblastsfromPaulPostandotherfrequentersofherstudio，thatitwouldsoonbefrozenoutevenofherwarmheart。Onitsold—

fashionedplaneandofitskindtheworkwasgood，andtheycouldnotbearthethoughtofitssubjectiontoridicule。Aone—manexhibitionofhisworkwastheleasttestimonytheycouldpaytoonetheyhadloved;andonpreparationforthistheyspentmanyhourstogether。

Joncametohaveacuriouslyincreasedrespectforhisfather。Thequiettenacitywithwhichhehadconvertedamediocretalentintosomethingreallyindividualwasdisclosedbytheseresearches。Therewasagreatmassofworkwithararecontinuityofgrowthindepthandreachofvision。Nothingcertainlywentverydeep，orreachedveryhigh——butsuchastheworkwas，itwasthorough，conscientious，andcomplete。And，rememberinghisfather’sutterabsenceof"side"

orself—assertion，thechaffinghumilitywithwhichhehadalwaysspokenofhisownefforts，evercallinghimself"anamateur，"Joncouldnothelpfeelingthathehadneverreallyknownhisfather。Totakehimselfseriously，yetneverboreothersbylettingthemknowthathedidso，seemedtohavebeenhisrulingprinciple。Therewassomethinginthiswhichappealedtotheboy，andmadehimheartilyendorsehismother’scomment:"Hehadtruerefinement;hecouldn’thelpthinkingofothers，whateverhedid。Andwhenhetookaresolutionwhichwentcounter，hediditwiththeminimumofdefiance——notliketheAge，isit？Twiceinhislifehehadtogoagainsteverything;andyetitnevermadehimbitter。"Jonsawtearsrunningdownherface，whichsheatonceturnedawayfromhim。Shewassoquietaboutherlossthatsometimeshehadthoughtshedidn’tfeelitmuch。Now，ashelookedather，hefelthowfarhefellshortofthereservepoweranddignityinbothhisfatherandhismother。And，stealinguptoher，heputhisarmroundherwaist。

Shekissedhimswiftly，butwithasortofpassion，andwentoutoftheroom。