第18章

Thecouplethereforesatthemselvesdowninarm-chairsandwaited。

“Ah，there’sMr。Hewet，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Mr。Hewet，“

shecontinued，“docomeandsitbyus。Iwastellingmyhusbandhowmuchyouremindedmeofadearoldfriendofmine——MaryUmpleby。

Shewasamostdelightfulwoman，Iassureyou。Shegrewroses。

Weusedtostaywithherintheolddays。“

“Noyoungmanlikestohaveitsaidthatheresemblesanelderlyspinster，“saidMr。Thornbury。

“Onthecontrary，“saidMr。Hewet，“Ialwaysthinkitacomplimenttoremindpeopleofsomeoneelse。ButMissUmpleby——whydidshegrowroses？“

“Ah，poorthing，“saidMrs。Thornbury，“that’salongstory。

Shehadgonethroughdreadfulsorrows。AtonetimeIthinkshewouldhavelosthersensesifithadn’tbeenforhergarden。

Thesoilwasverymuchagainsther——ablessingindisguise；

shehadtobeupatdawn——outinallweathers。Andthentherearecreaturesthateatroses。Butshetriumphed。Shealwaysdid。

Shewasabravesoul。“Shesigheddeeplybutatthesametimewithresignation。

“IdidnotrealisethatIwasmonopolisingthepaper，“saidMissAllan，cominguptothem。

“Weweresoanxioustoreadaboutthedebate，“saidMrs。Thornbury，acceptingitonbehalfofherhusband。

“Onedoesn’trealisehowinterestingadebatecanbeuntilonehassonsinthenavy。Myinterestsareequallybalanced，though；Ihavesonsinthearmytoo；andonesonwhomakesspeechesattheUnion——

mybaby！“

“Hirstwouldknowhim，Iexpect，“saidHewet。

“Mr。Hirsthassuchaninterestingface，“saidMrs。Thornbury。

“ButIfeeloneoughttobeveryclevertotalktohim。

Well，William？“sheenquired，forMr。Thornburygrunted。

“They’remakingamessofit，“saidMr。Thornbury。Hehadreachedthesecondcolumnofthereport，aspasmodiccolumn，fortheIrishmembershadbeenbrawlingthreeweeksagoatWestminsteroveraquestionofnavalefficiency。Afteradisturbedparagraphortwo，thecolumnofprintoncemoreransmoothly。

“Youhavereadit？“Mrs。ThornburyaskedMissAllan。

“No，IamashamedtosayIhaveonlyreadaboutthediscoveriesinCrete，“saidMissAllan。

“Oh，butIwouldgivesomuchtorealisetheancientworld！“

criedMrs。Thornbury。“Nowthatweoldpeoplearealone，——we’reonoursecondhoneymoon，——Iamreallygoingtoputmyselftoschoolagain。

Afterallweare_founded_onthepast，aren’twe，Mr。Hewet？

MysoldiersonsaysthatthereisstillagreatdealtobelearntfromHannibal。Oneoughttoknowsomuchmorethanonedoes。

SomehowwhenIreadthepaper，Ibeginwiththedebatesfirst，and，beforeI’vedone，thedooralwaysopens——we’reaverylargepartyathome——andsooneneverdoesthinkenoughabouttheancientsandallthey’vedoneforus。But_you_beginatthebeginning，MissAllan。“

“WhenIthinkoftheGreeksIthinkofthemasnakedblackmen，“

saidMissAllan，“whichisquiteincorrect，I’msure。“

“Andyou，Mr。Hirst？“saidMrs。Thornbury，perceivingthatthegauntyoungmanwasnear。“I’msureyoureadeverything。“

“Iconfinemyselftocricketandcrime，“saidHirst。“Theworstofcomingfromtheupperclasses，“hecontinued，“isthatone’sfriendsareneverkilledinrailwayaccidents。“

Mr。Thornburythrewdownthepaper，andemphaticallydroppedhiseyeglasses。Thesheetsfellinthemiddleofthegroup，andwereeyedbythemall。

“It’snotgonewell？“askedhiswifesolicitously。

Hewetpickeduponesheetandread，“AladywaswalkingyesterdayinthestreetsofWestminsterwhensheperceivedacatinthewindowofadesertedhouse。Thefamishedanimal——“

“Ishallbeoutofitanyway，“Mr。Thornburyinterruptedpeevishly。

“Catsareoftenforgotten，“MissAllanremarked。

“Remember，William，thePrimeMinisterhasreservedhisanswer，“

saidMrs。Thornbury。

“Attheageofeighty，Mr。JoshuaHarrisofEelesPark，Brondesbury，hashadason，“saidHirst。

“……Thefamishedanimal，whichhadbeennoticedbyworkmenforsomedays，wasrescued，but——byJove！itbittheman’shandtopieces！“

“Wildwithhunger，Isuppose，“commentedMissAllan。

“You’reallneglectingthechiefadvantageofbeingabroad，“

saidMr。HughlingElliot，whohadjoinedthegroup。“YoumightreadyournewsinFrench，whichisequivalenttoreadingnonewsatall。“

Mr。ElliothadaprofoundknowledgeofCoptic，whichheconcealedasfaraspossible，andquotedFrenchphrasessoexquisitelythatitwashardtobelievethathecouldalsospeaktheordinarytongue。

HehadanimmenserespectfortheFrench。

“Coming？“heaskedthetwoyoungmen。“Weoughttostartbeforeit’sreallyhot。“

“Ibegofyounottowalkintheheat，Hugh，“hiswifepleaded，givinghimanangularparcelenclosinghalfachickenandsomeraisins。

“Hewetwillbeourbarometer，“saidMr。Elliot。“HewillmeltbeforeIshall。“Indeed，ifsomuchasadrophadmeltedoffhisspareribs，theboneswouldhavelainbare。Theladieswereleftalonenow，surrounding_The__Times_whichlayuponthefloor。

MissAllanlookedatherfather’swatch。

“Tenminutestoeleven，“sheobserved。

“Work？“askedMrs。Thornbury。

“Work，“repliedMissAllan。

“Whatafinecreaturesheis！“murmuredMrs。Thornbury，asthesquarefigureinitsmanlycoatwithdrew。

“AndI’msureshehasahardlife，“sighedMrs。Elliot。

“Oh，it_is_ahardlife，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Unmarriedwomen——

earningtheirlivings——it’sthehardestlifeofall。“

“Yetsheseemsprettycheerful，“saidMrs。Elliot。

“Itmustbeveryinteresting，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Ienvyherherknowledge。“

“Butthatisn’twhatwomenwant，“saidMrs。Elliot。

“I’mafraidit’sallagreatmanycanhopetohave，“sighedMrs。Thornbury。“Ibelievethattherearemoreofusthanevernow。

SirHarleyLethbridgewastellingmeonlytheotherdayhowdifficultitistofindboysforthenavy——partlybecauseoftheirteeth，itistrue。AndIhaveheardyoungwomentalkquiteopenlyof——“

“Dreadful，dreadful！“exclaimedMrs。Elliot。“Thecrown，asonemaycallit，ofawoman’slife。I，whoknowwhatitistobechildless——“

shesighedandceased。

“Butwemustnotbehard，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“TheconditionsaresomuchchangedsinceIwasayoungwoman。“

“Surely_maternity_doesnotchange，“saidMrs。Elliot。

“Insomewayswecanlearnagreatdealfromtheyoung，“

saidMrs。Thornbury。“Ilearnsomuchfrommyowndaughters。“

“IbelievethatHughlingreallydoesn’tmind，“saidMrs。Elliot。

“Butthenhehashiswork。“

“Womenwithoutchildrencandosomuchforthechildrenofothers，“

observedMrs。Thornburygently。

“Isketchagreatdeal，“saidMrs。Elliot，“butthatisn’treallyanoccupation。It’ssodisconcertingtofindgirlsjustbeginningdoingbetterthanonedoesoneself！Andnature’sdifficult——

verydifficult！“

“Aretherenotinstitutions——clubs——thatyoucouldhelp？“

askedMrs。Thornbury。

“Theyaresoexhausting，“saidMrs。Elliot。“Ilookstrong，becauseofmycolour；butI’mnot；theyoungestofelevenneveris。“

“Ifthemotheriscarefulbefore，“saidMrs。Thornburyjudicially，“thereisnoreasonwhythesizeofthefamilyshouldmakeanydifference。Andthereisnotraininglikethetrainingthatbrothersandsistersgiveeachother。Iamsureofthat。

Ihaveseenitwithmyownchildren。MyeldestboyRalph，forinstance——“

ButMrs。Elliotwasinattentivetotheelderlady’sexperience，andhereyeswanderedaboutthehall。

“Mymotherhadtwomiscarriages，Iknow，“shesaidsuddenly。

“Thefirstbecauseshemetoneofthosegreatdancingbears——

theyshouldn’tbeallowed；theother——itwasahorridstory——ourcookhadachildandtherewasadinnerparty。SoIputmydyspepsiadowntothat。“

“Andamiscarriageissomuchworsethanaconfinement，“

Mrs。Thornburymurmuredabsentmindedly，adjustingherspectaclesandpickingup_The__Times_。Mrs。Elliotroseandflutteredaway。

Whenshehadheardwhatoneofthemillionvoicesspeakinginthepaperhadtosay，andnoticedthatacousinofhershadmarriedaclergymanatMinehead——ignoringthedrunkenwomen，thegoldenanimalsofCrete，themovementsofbattalions，thedinners，thereforms，thefires，theindignant，thelearnedandbenevolent，Mrs。Thornburywentupstairstowritealetterforthemail。

Thepaperlaydirectlybeneaththeclock，thetwotogetherseemingtorepresentstabilityinachangingworld。Mr。Perrottpassedthrough；

Mr。Venningpoisedforasecondontheedgeofatable。Mrs。Paleywaswheeledpast。Susanfollowed。Mr。Venningstrolledafterher。

Portuguesemilitaryfamilies，theirclothessuggestinglaterisinginuntidybedrooms，trailedacross，attendedbyconfidentialnursescarryingnoisychildren。Asmiddaydrewon，andthesunbeatstraightupontheroof，aneddyofgreatfliesdronedinacircle；iceddrinkswereservedunderthepalms；thelongblindswerepulleddownwithashriek，turningallthelightyellow。Theclocknowhadasilenthalltotickin，andanaudienceoffourorfivesomnolentmerchants。

Bydegreeswhitefigureswithshadyhatscameinatthedoor，admittingawedgeofthehotsummerday，andshuttingitoutagain。

Afterrestinginthedimnessforaminute，theywentupstairs。

Simultaneously，theclockwheezedone，andthegongsounded，beginningsoftly，workingitselfintoafrenzy，andceasing。

Therewasapause。Thenallthosewhohadgoneupstairscamedown；

cripplescame，plantingbothfeetonthesamesteplesttheyshouldslip；primlittlegirlscame，holdingthenurse’sfinger；

fatoldmencamestillbuttoningwaistcoats。Thegonghadbeensoundedinthegarden，andbydegreesrecumbentfiguresroseandstrolledintoeat，sincethetimehadcomeforthemtofeedagain。

Therewerepoolsandbarsofshadeinthegardenevenatmidday，wheretwoorthreevisitorscouldlieworkingortalkingattheirease。

Owingtotheheatoftheday，luncheonwasgenerallyasilentmeal，whenpeopleobservedtheirneighborsandtookstockofanynewfacestheremightbe，hazardingguessesastowhotheywereandwhattheydid。

Mrs。Paley，althoughwelloverseventyandcrippledinthelegs，enjoyedherfoodandthepeculiaritiesofherfellow-beings。ShewasseatedatasmalltablewithSusan。

“Ishouldn’tliketosaywhat_she_is！“shechuckled，surveyingatallwomandressedconspicuouslyinwhite，withpaintinthehollowsofhercheeks，whowasalwayslate，andalwaysattendedbyashabbyfemalefollower，atwhichremarkSusanblushed，andwonderedwhyherauntsaidsuchthings。

Lunchwentonmethodically，untileachofthesevencourseswasleftinfragmentsandthefruitwasmerelyatoy，tobepeeledandslicedasachilddestroysadaisy，petalbypetal。Thefoodservedasanextinguisheruponanyfaintflameofthehumanspiritthatmightsurvivethemiddayheat，butSusansatinherroomafterwards，turningoverandoverthedelightfulfactthatMr。Venninghadcometoherinthegarden，andhadsattherequitehalfanhourwhileshereadaloudtoheraunt。Menandwomensoughtdifferentcornerswheretheycouldlieunobserved，andfromtwotofouritmightbesaidwithoutexaggerationthatthehotelwasinhabitedbybodieswithoutsouls。Disastrouswouldhavebeentheresultifafireoradeathhadsuddenlydemandedsomethingheroicofhumannature，buttragediescomeinthehungryhours。Towardsfouro’clockthehumanspiritagainbegantolickthebody，asaflamelicksablackpromontoryofcoal。Mrs。Paleyfeltitunseemlytoopenhertoothlessjawsowidely，thoughtherewasnoonenear，andMrs。Elliotsurveyedherfoundflushedfaceanxiouslyinthelooking-glass。

Halfanhourlater，havingremovedthetracesofsleep，theymeteachotherinthehall，andMrs。Paleyobservedthatshewasgoingtohavehertea。

“Youlikeyourteatoo，don’tyou？“shesaid，andinvitedMrs。Elliot，whosehusbandwasstillout，tojoinherataspecialtablewhichshehadplacedforherunderatree。