第8章

"Diditseemtoconvincehim？"inquiredPenelope。

Hermotherdidnotreply。"Iknowonething，"shesaid。

"He’sgottotellmeeveryword，orthere’llbenosleepforhimTHISnight。"

"Well，ma’am，"saidPenelope，breakingdowninoneofherqueerlaughs，"Ishouldn’tbeabitsurprisedifyouwereright。"

"Goonanddress，Irene，"orderedhermother，"andthenyouandPencomeoutintotheparlour。Theycanhavejusttwohoursforbusiness，andthenwemustallbetheretoreceivehim。Youhaven’tgotheadacheenoughtohurtyou。"

"Oh，it’sallgonenow，"saidthegirl。

AttheendofthelimitshehadgiventheColonel，Mrs。Laphamlookedintothedining—room，whichshefoundbluewithhissmoke。

"Ithinkyougentlemenwillfindtheparlourpleasanternow，andwecangiveituptoyou。"

"Ohno，youneedn’t，"saidherhusband。"We’vegotaboutthrough。"Coreywasalreadystanding，andLaphamrosetoo。"Iguesswecanjointheladiesnow。

Wecanleavethatlittlepointtillto—morrow。"

BothoftheyoungladieswereintheparlourwhenCoreyenteredwiththeirfather，andbothwerefranklyindifferenttothefewbooksandthemanynewspapersscatteredaboutonthetablewherethelargelampwasplaced。

ButafterCoreyhadgreetedIreneheglancedatthenovelunderhiseye，andsaid，inthedearththatsometimesbefallspeopleatsuchtimes："Iseeyou’rereadingMiddlemarch。

DoyoulikeGeorgeEliot？"

"Who？"askedthegirl。

Penelopeinterposed。"Idon’tbelieveIrene’sreadityet。I’vejustgotitoutofthelibrary；Iheardsomuchtalkaboutit。Iwishshewouldletyoufindoutalittleaboutthepeopleforyourself，"sheadded。

Buthereherfatherstruckin——

"Ican’tgetthetimeforbooks。It’sasmuchasIcandotokeepupwiththenewspapers；andwhennightcomes，I’mtired，andI’drathergoouttothetheatre，oralecture，ifthey’vegotagoodstereopticontogiveyouviewsoftheplaces。ButIguesswealllikeaplaybetterthan’mostanythingelse。Iwantsomethingthat’llmakemelaugh。

Idon’tbelieveintragedy。Ithinkthere’senoughofthatinreallifewithoutputtingitonthestage。

Seen’JoshuaWhitcomb’？"

Thewholefamilyjoinedinthediscussion，anditappearedthattheyallhadtheiropinionsoftheplaysandactors。

Mrs。Laphambroughtthetalkbacktoliterature。"IguessPenelopedoesmostofourreading。"

"Now，mother，you’renotgoingtoputitallonme！"

saidthegirl，incomicprotest。

Hermotherlaughed，andthenadded，withasigh："IusedtoliketogetholdofagoodbookwhenIwasagirl；

butweweren’tallowedtoreadmanynovelsinthosedays。

MymothercalledthemallLIES。AndIguessshewasn’tsoveryfarwrongaboutsomeofthem。"

"They’recertainlyfictions，"saidCorey，smiling。

"Well，wedobuyagoodmanybooks，firstandlast，"

saidtheColonel，whoprobablyhadinmindthecostlyvolumeswhichtheypresentedtooneanotheronbirthdaysandholidays。"ButIgetaboutallthereadingIwantinthenewspapers。Andwhenthegirlswantanovel，Itell’emtogetitoutofthelibrary。That’swhatthelibrary’sfor。Phew！"hepanted，blowingawaythewholeunprofitablesubject。"Howcloseyouwomen—folksliketokeeparoom！Yougodowntothesea—sideoruptothemountainsforachangeofair，andthenyoucorkyourselvesintoaroomsotightyoudon’thaveanyairatall。

Here！Yougirlsgetonyourbonnets，andgoandshowMr。Coreytheviewofthehotelsfromtherocks。"

Coreysaidthatheshouldbedelighted。Thegirlsexchangedlookswitheachother，andthenwiththeirmother。

Irenecurvedherprettychinincommentuponherfather’sincorrigibility，andPenelopemadeadrollmouth，buttheColonelremainedserenelycontentwithhisfinesse。

"Igot’emoutoftheway，"hesaid，assoonastheyweregone，andbeforehiswifehadtimetofalluponhim，"becauseI’vegotthroughmytalkwithhim，andnowIwanttotalkwithYOU。It’sjustasIsaid，Persis；hewantstogointothebusinesswithme。"

"It’sluckyforyou，"saidhiswife，meaningthatnowhewouldnotbemadetosufferforattemptingtohoaxher。

Butshewastoointenselyinterestedtopursuethatmatterfurther。"Whatintheworlddoyousupposehemeansbyit？"

"Well，Ishouldjudgebyhistalkthathehadbeentryingagoodmanydifferentthingssinceheleftcollege，andhehain’tfoundjustthethinghelikes——orthethingthatlikeshim。Itain’tsoeasy。Andnowhe’sgotanideathathecantakeholdofthepaintandpushitinothercountries——pushitinMexicoandpushitinSouthAmerica。

He’sasplendidSpanishscholar，"——thiswasLapham’sversionofCorey’smodestclaimtoasmatteringofthelanguage，——"andhe’sbeenamongthenativesenoughtoknowtheirways。

Andhebelievesinthepaint，"addedtheColonel。

"Iguesshebelievesinsomethingelsebesidesthepaint，"

saidMrs。Lapham。

"Whatdoyoumean？"

"Well，SilasLapham，ifyoucan’tseeNOWthathe’safterIrene，Idon’tknowwhateverCANopenyoureyes。

That’sall。"

TheColonelpretendedtogivetheideasilentconsideration，asifithadnotoccurredtohimbefore。"Well，then，allI’vegottosayis，thathe’sgoingagoodwayround。

Idon’tsayyou’rewrong，butifit’sIrene，Idon’tseewhyheshouldwanttogoofftoSouthAmericatogether。

Andthat’swhatheproposestodo。Iguessthere’ssomepaintaboutittoo，Persis。Hesayshebelievesinit，"——theColoneldevoutlyloweredhisvoice，——"andhe’swillingtotaketheagencyonhisownaccountdownthere，andrunitforacommissiononwhathecansell。"

"Ofcourse！Heisn’tgoingtotakeholdofitanywaysoastofeelbeholdentoyou。He’sgottoomuchprideforthat。"

"Heain’tgoingtotakeholdofitatall，ifhedon’tmeanpaintinthefirstplaceandIreneafterward。

Idon’tobjecttohim，asIknow，eitherway，butthetwothingswon’tmix；andIdon’tproposeheshallpullthewoolovermyeyes——oranybodyelse。But，asfarasheardfrom，uptodate，hemeanspaintfirst，last，andallthetime。

Atanyrate，I’mgoingtotakehimonthatbasis。

He’sgotsomeprettygoodideasaboutit，andhe’sbeenstirredupbythistalk，justnow，aboutgettingourmanufacturesintotheforeignmarkets。There’sanoverstockineverything，andwe’vegottogetridofit，orwe’vegottoshutdowntillthehomedemandbeginsagain。

We’vehadtwoorthreesuchflurriesbeforenow，andtheydidn’tamounttomuch。Theysaywecan’textendourcommerceunderthehightariffsystemwe’vegotnow，becausethereain’tanysortofreciprocityonourside，——wewanttohavetheotherfellowsshowallthereciprocity，——andtheEnglishhavegottheadvantageofuseverytime。

Idon’tknowwhetherit’ssoornot；butIdon’tseewhyitshouldapplytomypaint。Anyway，hewantstotryit，andI’veaboutmadeupmymindtolethim。

OfcourseIain’tgoingtolethimtakealltherisk。

IbelieveinthepaintTOO，andIshallpayhisexpensesanyway。"

"Soyouwantanotherpartnerafterall？"Mrs。Laphamcouldnotforbearsaying。

"Yes，ifthat’syourideaofapartner。Itisn’tmine，"

returnedherhusbanddryly。

"Well，ifyou’vemadeupyourmind，Si，Isupposeyou’rereadyforadvice，"saidMrs。Lapham。

TheColonelenjoyedthis。"Yes，Iam。Whathaveyougottosayagainstit？"

"Idon’tknowasI’vegotanything。I’msatisfiedifyouare。"

"Well？"

"WhenishegoingtostartforSouthAmerica？"

"Ishalltakehimintotheofficeawhile。He’llgetoffsometimeinthewinter。Buthe’sgottoknowthebusinessfirst。"

"Oh，indeed！Areyougoingtotakehimtoboardinthefamily？"

"Whatareyouafter，Persis？"

"Oh，nothing！Ipresumehewillfeelfreetovisitinthefamily，evenifhedon’tboardwithus。"

"Ipresumehewill。"

"Andifhedon’tusehisprivileges，doyouthinkhe’llbeafitpersontomanageyourpaintinSouthAmerica？"

TheColonelreddenedconsciously。"I’mnottakinghimonthatbasis。"

"Ohyes，youare！Youmaypretendyouain’ttoyourself，butyoumustn’tpretendsotome。BecauseIknowyou。"

TheColonellaughed。"Pshaw！"hesaid。

Mrs。Laphamcontinued："Idon’tseeanyharminhopingthathe’lltakeafancytoher。Butifyoureallythinkitwon’tdotomixthetwothings，IadviseyounottotakeMr。Coreyintothebusiness。

ItwilldoallverywellifheDOEStakeafancytoher；

butifhedon’t，youknowhowyou’llfeelaboutit。

AndIknowyouwellenough，Silas，toknowthatyoucan’tdohimjusticeifthathappens。AndIdon’tthinkit’srightyoushouldtakethisstepunlessyou’reprettysure。

Icanseethatyou’vesetyourheartonthisthing"

"Ihaven’tsetmyheartonitatall，"protestedLapham。

"Andifyoucan’tbringitabout，you’regoingtofeelunhappyoverit，"pursuedhiswife，regardlessofhisprotest。

"Oh，verywell，"hesaid。"Ifyouknowmoreaboutwhat’sinmymindthanIdo，there’snousearguing，asIcansee。"

Hegotup，tocarryoffhisconsciousness，andsaunteredoutofthedoorontohispiazza。Hecouldseetheyoungpeopledownontherocks，andhisheartswelledinhisbreast。Hehadalwayssaidthathedidnotcarewhataman’sfamilywas，butthepresenceofyoungCoreyasanapplicanttohimforemployment，ashisguest，asthepossiblesuitorofhisdaughter，wasoneofthesweetestflavoursthathehadyettastedinhissuccess。

HeknewwhotheCoreyswereverywell，and，inhissimple，brutalway，hehadlonghatedtheirnameasasymbolofsplendourwhich，unlessheshouldlivetoseeatleastthreegenerationsofhisdescendantsgildedwithmineralpaint，hecouldnothopetorealiseinhisown。

HewasacquaintedinabusinesswaywiththetraditionofoldPhillipsCorey，andhehadheardagreatmanythingsabouttheCoreywhohadspenthisyouthabroadandhisfather’smoneyeverywhere，anddonenothingbutsaysmartthings。Laphamcouldnotseethesmartnessofsomeofthemwhichhadbeenrepeatedtohim。Oncehehadencounteredthefellow，anditseemedtoLaphamthatthetall，slim，white—moustachedman，withtheslightstoop，waseverythingthatwasoffensivelyaristocratic。

Hehadbristledupaggressivelyatthenamewhenhiswifetoldhowshehadmadetheacquaintanceofthefellow’sfamilythesummerbefore，andhehadtreatedthenotionofyoungCorey’scaringforIrenewiththecontemptwhichsucharidiculoussuperstitiondeserved。

HehadmadeuphismindaboutyoungCoreybeforehand；

yetwhenhemethimhefeltaninstantlikingforhim，whichhefranklyacknowledged，andhehadbeguntoassumetheburdenofhiswife’ssuperstition，ofwhichsheseemednowreadytoaccusehimofbeingtheinventor。

Nothinghadmovedhisthickimaginationlikethisday’seventssincethegirlwhotaughthimspellingandgrammarintheschoolatLumbervillehadsaidshewouldhavehimforherhusband。

Thedarkfigures，stationaryontherocks，begantomove，andhecouldseethattheywerecomingtowardthehouse。

Hewentindoors，soasnottoappeartohavebeenwatchingthem。

VIII。

AWEEKaftershehadpartedwithhersonatBarHarbour，Mrs。CoreysuddenlywalkedinuponherhusbandintheirhouseinBoston。Hewasatbreakfast，andhegaveherthepatronisingwelcomewithwhichthehusbandwhohasbeenstayingintownallsummerreceiveshiswifewhenshedropsdownuponhimfromthemountainsorthesea—side。Foralittlemomentshefeelsherselfstrangeinthehouse，andsuffersherselftobetreatedlikeaguest，beforeenvyofhiscomfortvexesherbackintopossessionandauthority。

Mrs。Coreywasalady，andshedidnotletherenvytaketheformofopenreproach。

"Well，Anna，youfindmehereintheluxuryyouleftmeto。

Howdidyouleavethegirls？"

"Thegirlswerewell，"saidMrs。Corey，lookingabsentlyatherhusband’sbrownvelvetcoat，inwhichhewassohandsome。

Nomanhadevergrowngreymorebeautifully。Hishair，whilenotremainingdarkenoughtoformatheatricalcontrastwithhismoustache，wasyetsomeshadesdarker，and，inbecomingalittlethinner，ithadbecomealittlemoregracefullywavy。Hisskinhadthepearlytintwhichthatofelderlymensometimesassumes，andthelineswhichtimehadtraceduponitweretoodelicateforthenameofwrinkles。Hehadneverhadanypersonalvanity，andtherewasnoconsciousnessinhisgoodlooksnow。

"Iamgladofthat。TheboyIhavewithme，"hereturned；

"thatis，whenheISwithme。"

"Why，whereishe？"demandedthemother。

"ProbablycarousingwiththeboonLaphamsomewhere。

HeleftmeyesterdayafternoontogoandofferhisallegiancetotheMineralPaintKing，andIhaven’tseenhimsince。"

"Bromfield！"criedMrs。Corey。"Whydidn’tyoustophim？"

"Well，mydear，I’mnotsurethatitisn’taverygoodthing。"

"Agoodthing？It’shorrid！"

"No，Idon’tthinkso。It’sdecent。Tomhadfoundout——withoutconsultingthelandscape，whichIbelieveproclaimsiteverywhere————"

"Hideous！"

"Thatit’sreallyagoodthing；andhethinksthathehassomeideasinregardtoitsdisseminationinthepartsbeyondseas。"

"Whyshouldn’thegointosomethingelse？"lamentedthemother。

"Ibelievehehasgoneintonearlyeverythingelseandcomeoutofit。Sothereisachanceofhiscomingoutofthis。ButasIhadnothingtosuggestinplaceofit，Ithoughtitbestnottointerfere。Infact，whatgoodwouldmytellinghimthatmineralpaintwasnastyhavedone？IdaresayYOUtoldhimitwasnasty。"

"Yes！Idid。"

"Andyouseewithwhateffect，thoughhevaluesyouropinionthreetimesasmuchashevaluesmine。

Perhapsyoucameuptotellhimagainthatitwasnasty？"

"Ifeelveryunhappyaboutit。Heisthrowinghimselfaway。

Yes，IshouldliketopreventitifIcould！"

Thefathershookhishead。

"IfLaphamhasn’tpreventedit，Ifancyit’stoolate。

ButtheremaybesomehopesofLapham。AsforTom’sthrowinghimselfaway，Idon’tknow。There’snoquestionbutheisoneofthebestfellowsunderthesun。

He’stremendouslyenergetic，andhehasplentyofthekindofsensewhichwecallhorse；butheisn’tbrilliant。

No，Tomisnotbrilliant。Idon’tthinkhewouldgetoninaprofession，andhe’sinstinctivelykeptoutofeverythingofthekind。Buthehasgottodosomething。

Whatshallhedo？Hesaysmineralpaint，andreallyIdon’tseewhyheshouldn’t。Ifmoneyisfairlyandhonestlyearned，whyshouldwepretendtocarewhatitcomesoutof，whenwedon’treallycare？Thatsuperstitionisexplodedeverywhere。"

"Oh，itisn’tthepaintalone，"saidMrs。Corey；andthensheperceptiblyarrestedherself，andmadeadiversionincontinuing："Iwishhehadmarriedsomeone。"

"Withmoney？"suggestedherhusband。"FromtimetotimeIhaveattemptedTom’scorruptionfromthatside，butI

suspectTomhasaconscienceagainstit，andIratherlikehimforit。Imarriedforlovemyself，"saidCorey，lookingacrossthetableathiswife。

Shereturnedhislooktolerantly，thoughshefeltitrighttosay，"Whatnonsense！"

"Besides，"continuedherhusband，"ifyoucometomoney，thereisthepaintprincess。Shewillhaveplenty。"

"Ah，that’stheworstofit，"sighedthemother。

"IsupposeIcouldgetonwiththepaint————"

"Butnotwiththeprincess？Ithoughtyousaidshewasaverypretty，well—behavedgirl？"

"Sheisverypretty，andsheiswell—behaved；butthereisnothingofher。Sheisinsipid；sheisveryinsipid。"

"ButTomseemedtolikeherflavour，suchasitwas？"

"HowcanItell？Wewereunderaterribleobligationtothem，andInaturallywishedhimtobepolitetothem。

Infact，Iaskedhimtobeso。"

"Andhewastoopolite"

"Ican’tsaythathewas。Butthereisnodoubtthatthechildisextremelypretty。"

"Tomsaystherearetwoofthem。Perhapstheywillneutraliseeachother。"

"Yes，thereisanotherdaughter，"assentedMrs。Corey。

"Idon’tseehowyoucanjokeaboutsuchthings，Bromfield，"

sheadded。

"Well，Idon’teither，mydear，totellyouthetruth。

Myhardihoodsurprisesme。HereisasonofminewhomI

seereducedtomakinghislivingbyashrinkageinvalues。

It’sveryodd，"interjectedCorey，"thatsomevaluesshouldhavethispeculiarityofshrinking。Youneverhearofvaluesinapictureshrinking；butrents，stocks，realestate——allthosevaluesshrinkabominably。Perhapsitmightbearguedthatoneshouldputallhisvaluesintopictures；

I’vegotagoodmanyofminethere。"

"Tomneedn’tearnhisliving，"saidMrs。Corey，refusingherhusband’sjest。"There’sstillenoughforallofus。"

"ThatiswhatIhavesometimesurgeduponTom。Ihaveprovedtohimthatwitheconomy，andstrictattentiontobusiness，heneeddonothingaslongashelives。Ofcoursehewouldbesomewhatrestricted，anditwouldcramptherestofus；butitisaworldofsacrificesandcompromises。

Hecouldn’tagreewithme，andhewasnotintheleastmovedbytheexampleofpersonsofqualityinEurope，whichIallegedinsupportofthelifeofidleness。

Itappearsthathewishestodosomething——todosomethingforhimself。IamafraidthatTomisselfish。"

Mrs。Coreysmiledwanly。Thirtyyearsbefore，shehadmarriedtherichyoungpainterinRome，whosaidsomuchbetterthingsthanhepainted——charmingthings，justthethingstopleasethefancyofagirlwhowasdisposedtotakelifealittletooseriouslyandpractically。

ShesawhiminadifferentlightwhenshegothimhometoBoston；buthehadkeptonsayingthecharmingthings，andhehadnotdonemuchelse。Infact，hehadfulfilledthepromiseofhisyouth。Itwasagoodtraitinhimthathewasnotactivelybutonlypassivelyextravagant。

Hewasnotadventurouswithhismoney；histasteswereassimpleasanItalian’s；hehadnoexpensivehabits。

Intheprocessoftimehehadgrowntoleadamoreandmoresecludedlife。Itwashardtogethimoutanywhere，eventodinner。Hispatiencewiththeirnarrowingcircumstanceshadapathoswhichshefeltthemorethemoreshecameintochargeoftheirjointlife。

Attimesitseemedtoobadthatthechildrenandtheireducationandpleasuresshouldcostsomuch。

Sheknew，besides，thatifithadnotbeenforthemshewouldhavegonebacktoRomewithhim，andlivedprincelythereforlessthanittooktoliverespectablyinBoston。

"Tomhasn’tconsultedme，"continuedhisfather，"buthehasconsultedotherpeople。Andhehasarrivedattheconclusionthatmineralpaintisagoodthingtogointo。

Hehasfoundoutallaboutit，andaboutitsfounderorinventor。It’squiteimpressivetohearhimtalk。

Andifhemustdosomethingforhimself，Idon’tseewhyhisegotismshouldn’taswelltakethatformasanother。

Combinedwiththepaintprincess，itisn’tsoagreeable；

butthat’sonlyaremotepossibility，forwhichyourprincipalgroundisyourmotherlysolicitude。

Butevenifitwereprobableandimminent，whatcouldyoudo？ThechiefconsolationthatweAmericanparentshaveinthesemattersisthatwecandonothing。

IfwewereEuropeans，evenEnglish，weshouldtakesomecognisanceofourchildren’sloveaffairs，andinsomemeasureteachtheiryoungaffectionshowtoshoot。

Butitisourcustomtoignorethemuntiltheyhaveshot，andthentheyignoreus。Wearealtogethertoodelicatetoarrangethemarriagesofourchildren；andwhentheyhavearrangedthemwedon’tliketosayanything，forfearweshouldonlymakebadworse。Therightwayisforustoschoolourselvestoindifference。

Thatiswhattheyoungpeoplehavetodoelsewhere，andthatistheonlylogicalresultofourpositionhere。

Itisabsurdforustohaveanyfeelingaboutwhatwedon’tinterferewith。"

"Oh，peopledointerferewiththeirchildren’smarriagesveryoften，"saidMrs。Corey。

"Yes，butonlyinahalf—heartedway，soasnottomakeitdisagreeableforthemselvesifthemarriagesgooninspiteofthem，asthey’reprettyapttodo。Now，myideaisthatIoughttocutTomoffwithashilling。

Thatwouldbeverysimple，anditwouldbeeconomical。

Butyouwouldneverconsent，andTomwouldn’tmindit。"

"Ithinkourwholeconductinregardtosuchthingsiswrong，"saidMrs。Corey。

"Oh，verylikely。Butourwholecivilisationisbaseduponit。

Andwhoisgoingtomakeabeginning？TowhichfatherinouracquaintanceshallIgoandproposeanallianceforTomwithhisdaughter？Ishouldfeellikeanass。

Andwillyougotosomemother，andaskhersonsinmarriageforourdaughters？Youwouldfeellikeagoose。

No；theonlymottoforusis，Handsoffaltogether。"

"IshallcertainlyspeaktoTomwhenthetimecomes，"

saidMrs。Corey。