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TORONT O

T HE COPP CLARK COMPANY, L IMIT EDxgos

CONT ENT S

CHAPTER I

m u onwl . mto own . A uvw wu cn . n o A m mor rom an

CHAPTER II

A JCM H TH NOW W“A m Y I ICI OM Al D A l mm m . u m oom wm . m u m ou ocm ou . 0

KRAK ATOA VILLA' AND nowrun nu cmwcm'nn mI! A CAB . A CURIOUS WI LCOU I TO A PM C’I‘ m om . “Iam uan

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a LABI L. A CH MLLI D MEMORY . BACK LI K I A BAD

CHAPTEB IV

m m m on m ox n m n rm m . 01 m m

m om . BUT r m com I A!“0 F l WAS 303“n o!

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m “A“. 0" m “M w on ; Al l ) nowu 003m ATm m u on“. 30“R UM OR!“mm m ‘l ’l o‘“OUT A!M “DNOBCI o o o o o o o o o 0vii

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nowm wxox m r n n u n sm m r .

mm m m qm m o

CHAPTER XVI

or A m us-rm : An A! om m'a m oor .

.A non or

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310

310

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PM]

697

on

westhstof s msn justofi s seo-voyege,wesring s suit

of clothes well knocked About in A short time. but quite untsintedby London dirt. His get-up oonveyed no hxfomtion ebouthissooiel position or mesns. His gu

'ments hed been msde for him ;thetwu ellthetoould be ssid. Thstis somethingto know.

But it leaves the question open whether their wearer is really

rote—or o Duke.

' beenwirod so fsr, did notseemto find euy diflioulty in ofieetingoonfidenoothsttho ultimste sdventofthiswirem on intrinsiooertointy. likethe post. Scurcely,fidenoe hehewould hsve ehownto e

csnt’swes mere eoftfeit.though itlooked now, forthotmetter—snd o reel olem ehirt, one inolusive of its own oollsr ond

cufis. Our friend’s answered this description ; but then, it wasblue. However, the confidence would hove wavered under anindependent collar end wristban ds. Cohesiveneee in such itgermentmeensthetitsweerer msy be en ofiginel genius ; oom

positenessm y mean that he heeto eoonomiz e, like ns.Did you expectitso eerly esthis l” saysthetrustworthy

specteolisn

utten o olook y to showhie oonfidenoqdon 'tyou see l is in its neture

eethere ie s penchsntfor. No doubt there is s

l eom owGOODtimo—whsn you oounotseudthem. Butthsro ls notimowhumoy notsrrive. h ospttho smsllosthom olthomoruluc,h eretoo slnsllto oount. “l dou’tthh k

wouldttitmnd disoppeeredto do so. Wheu he osme hsokwith it,itdidn’tmstter .MMWhot’s he gotthstthig rlng on histhumotoll’l’.

As ho orossedthe Bridge he looked ethiswotch. Itwes hslf

m ed iums-tin. oi Rotherhithe ond Q el -ryP ion ltwss so anything he hsd bsen seelngNonethe worss iortbe lstterfln some r »

wheton , ond guuthe rest. Oiwhothe hem no phn sscould wxittenwithoutblouhtewresdm oould flflhn snd ior

'

cries ol psnio nnd of somewomou or ohild, or both, in sgony,the brutel bel lowings sndthrests oi e predominsutdrunkenlout, presumsbly hir . 8sltc .the inoeunntsppeelsto God snd

Christbytsrrified womem sndthe rhetorioul use oithe nsmes

of both bythe mm withthe fiequentsuggestionthstsome oneelse should go forthe polioo—this sotuel substenoe msy be drylystated thus :Mr . Salter, s plumber by trade, but stpresentoutofwork, had givenm yto ennui, and to relieve it had fortwodAys pestbeen beating and otherwise moltreoting his daughter,Aged fourteen, end had threatenedthe life of her mother forendesvouring to protect her. At the moment when he comeswithout regret) the fulfilment or 0 previous

promise we oamrottranscr ibe1— 2

N OW0001)

sion ss s iuiorum.

’crwould ccme rippin cutlike so mncb gren s.

in enswerto e peremptory summons. “Not e swiney.

formtin Apousde—hottor s mth n pum ’

s em like yon l fiot. OO O

”

shortby s blowiiksthe kick o‘s horss,sobMum mm m homm m m

'

m mhstto s boyto hold. Seif-eiected seconds mcke e kind ofol getting s cleer spsos. No ides cl sssisting inthe soppn ssiond s dsngerous drunken ssvnge seemsto suggestitself—nothingbotwhntiscnlled“seeing inir." This is.towit. letting him looseon eventerms onthe cmlymenwho hm hsdthe co to intervene between him snd hisvictim. Letus cherithstthisisdoncmthe hopethstitmesnspromptm dtrenmpunishmentbeforethe srrivel ofthe police. The csbmsn sees

enough from his raised pm hto justifyihis enticipetingthiswithconfidence. He m justdm guish inmthe cnod r. 8slter’sfirstrush for revcnge snd its consequences. “He’s got it !"is his comment.Then he heemthevoice of his fare ring outolem in s lull

such a. one as often comes in the tense excitementof a. fight.“Give him 5 Now stick him up agein !” andthen is swwethstMr . Ss.lter hes been repleoed on his legs, eud

istryh gto getethir mtegcn istend cnnnot. “He's plsyin’

g

;

M OWOOOD 5

throughthe littls to hisJehu. “I never gotmy nswhetbe ssys. “ou mustdrive beck gthere won’tbe eny

“Ask your perdon, sir~—the Bridge is histed. Vessel ocmin z

olveeseh with etng-boet.beckto the Benk—enywhere—the neersstwey

mherves or werehouses deflng men leen fromthe fioors ofheights, end cspture beles (or, thet seem efloetin theetmospheretill one detectsthethreedthetholds themto theircrene sho ve—under unexpleined rieltos end over inexplicablep n incidents in pevingthetring suddenly endweggleundertoot

ceb finds its wsy ecross l ondon Bridge, end beckto e

regitgzwhm youoen buy enythingd rom pesmy puu lesto sheresin

called out, Hold herd here i”oppositeto e promising het-shop, seemedto be in doubt of beixig eble to

much cheaper then Niegere. He tookouthis purse, still sitting inthe oeb, end found in itonly e sovereign, epperently. He felt in his pockets. Nothing there.beyond five shill ing ) end some coppers. He could manage

6 SOMEHOWGOODenough—sc his fece end e slightnod seemedto sey—ts’ll hewentback tothe Benk after iunoh. And so, no doubt, hewould hevedone hed he been contentwith e common humen billycock or

bowler, like the former one, at four-end-six. But man is born togive wayto temptation in shops. No doubt you have noticedthe curioustact thatwhen you go into a shop you always spendmore—morethen you meanto, morethan youwantto , morethen you've got—one or other of them—but always more.Inside the shop, billycocks in tissue-paper came out of bandboxes, and then out of tissue-paper. But, short of eight shillings.they betrayed a .plebeian nature, and lacked charm. Now,those beautiful white real panamas, at twenty- two shillings,were exactly the thing for this hot weather, especially the onethe fare tried on. His rich brown hair, that wanted cutting , to ldwell againstthe warm straw-white . He looked handsome init, with those strong cheek~bones and bronzed throatMr . Salterwould have been so glad to getat. He paid for it, saying never

respectfuny hoped he didn’t see him any the worse for that littleafiair over the water.None the worse, thank you I Shan

’t be sorry for lunch,though.” Them as he standswiththree shillings in his hend,waiting for a recipient handto come down from above, he addsA very one-sided affair l Did you hear what he said about hisdaughter 1 Thatwas why I finished him so thoroughly.“No, sir, I did nothear it. Buthewas good forthe gruel he’sgot, Lord bless you i without that. I ask your pardon, sir

a gentleman like you l Gmldn’tthink of it !Couldn’tthink of it 1" And with a sudden whip- lash,hint to his horse,that cabman drove off unpaid. The other tookoute penoil , endwrotethe number ofthe cab on his bluewriatband, closeto a little red spot—Mr . Salter’s blood, probably.

When he had done this he turned towards the restaurant he hadtaken note of. But he seemed embarrassed about finances—atleast, aboutthe three shillings the cabby had refused ; for hekept them in his hand as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

He walked on until he cameto a hidden haven of silence someing there a b .

'th a slot, and theword Contributions on it,

Buthe had no intention of lunohing on the small sum he had left.An inquiry of a City pol iceman guided himto a pawnbroker’s

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dremer was complientgbutn aid he, regretfully :“Y oudo yourItsownerwok his rasiduum oi chenge

hom hh pccketand cerelemly tell buta fiewcoppers cn

proteseionel remuneretion and a bottle dP erhapsthe refiectionthathe could ceb al lthe way beckto

'When he gottothe Bank another yonng gentleman,with no

enquire in a momsnt, if youwould wait. And did so,with no

result ; merely expresaion oi ebstrectoertaintythetitwas sureto come. h m was still an hour—over an houxb belore clcsingtune, said heto a bagwith five pounds oi silver in it, unsympathetically. If you oould make itconvenientto lcok in in an

honr,prcbablywe should have received it. The persmi addressed

butnotlooked etmightdo so—wouldn ’tcommithimself—andi

Thequsst'icn sesmedto be howto while awaythethour.

CHAPTER II

Itwasthe lasttwopence butonethathe hed in his pccket. Bomething fascinetedhim inthe idea of oommendina enchange forthattwopence,the power alighting atany pointbetween a ieapside and

’s Bush. Which should itbe l

could only makeup hismindto actalighting atChanceryh ne

he

hewould hevetwo whole minutes for consideration . IfBritishMuseum, he would have four. If Tottenham Court Road,six— and so on. Forthetime being hewas a sortof mcnarch,in Hewculd go ontotheWhathttlethings life hm gs om sometimes l If he had

foolishly gotoutat either Ohancery Lane or BritishMuseum,there either would have been no reeson for writingthis stery ;or, ifwritten, itwould have beenquite difierent. Fcr attheMuseutation a girl gctintothe car-riage ; and, passing him

on her wayto a central haven of resttrod on his foot, withseverity. Ithurt, sc palpebly,thetthe girl begged his pardon .

Shewas a nice girl , and sorry.

He fwgeve her bweun shewu a nice gii with beautiful mwsofteeth end merry eyebmws. He mighthave forgiven her ifshe had been a dowdy. Buthe liked forgivingthoseteeth. andSo when she sat down in -the haven, close to his leftshoulder, he wasn

’t sorry that his remark that he ought tobeg her pardon, because it was all his fault for sticking out,overlapped her comingto an anchor. If it had been gotthrough quicker, the incident would have been regardedas closed. As it was, the fag-end of it was unexhausted,and she didn’t quite catch the whole. It was in no way unnatural that she should turn her head tly, and say : I

beg your pardon." Absolute silence have been almost

“Ohyyes—butitwas my feultallthe same—fcr—forYes—I bag

for— i"“Well— I mosu—for stending on itso long,then l l f youhad celled out—butindeed l didn't

o

think itwas a foct. I

thought itwas inthe dectri°ci .

”tywere t. One wasthetitwas periectlybe stifi and stodgy over it, end

y

notsortm m .

The other,tbe obvicus absurdity of imputing en sortof motivetothe serene frenkness and absolute candour ofthe speeker .Any sort

lof motive—“ofthatsort —saidtoM

withowithoutfurther anelysis. Hethrewhimself intothattempting any. Itdisposed ofthe discussionoof subject,butleftmatters sothatsto lid silencewould have beenItseeunedto himthatnotto say another word wo'

uld

have amounted to an insinuation againsttheteeth. Hewould say one—a mostimpersonal“

Dothey stop atBond Street 1”Do youwantto stop atBond StreetlNotatall . I don

’tcarewhcre l stcp . Ithink I meantisthere a station atBond Streetl”The stationwasn’topened etfirst. But it’s open now.this onqjustas one of its constituentswas beginningto wish

it was she, not he : -did you guess wrong l )— had beguntowant to know, don

’t you see, why the man with the hair ontheback cf his browned hand andthe big plain gold ring on histhumb did notcerewhere he stopped. . Ii he had had a holidey

London, andthen whetcould be more naturalloose, as itwere, Butin spite of -hisleisurely look, he had not in the least the seeming of a holidaymaker. His clothes were notright for the part. What he wascould not be guessed without a clue, and the conversation hadcollapsed, clearly i It was irri tatingto be gravelled for lack ofmatter—and he was such a perfect stranger ! T he girl was a

SOMEHOW GOOD l l

reedu of Shekupmre bntshe csrtainly dkh ‘tsee hes- way'toRosalind’s little expedient. “Eva ithough my owu nams is

Rosalind,”said sheto hsrself.

“Dofiy excuse me for asking, butdo youfind itdoes good 'M'

y mother was recommendedto one.”“This ring l Ithasn’tdone m any good. ButthenJhave

hardly anything the matter. I don’t know about other people.I’m sorrb oughtit, now. It costfour-end-sixpence, I

Iwould sooner have the four-end—sixpence . Yes, decidedly !I would sooner have the four-and-sixpence.”“Can’t you sel l itl”

I don’t believe I could get sixpence for it.Do please excuse me— I mean, excusethe liberty ltake

butI should so much liko to—to .

To buy it for sixpence l Certainly. Why not ! Muchpaying four-and-six for a new

may find itdo her good. I don’tcare aboutit, and l really

have nothingthe matter .”He drewthe ring ofi histhumb, and Rosalimitook itfromhim. She slipped iton her cwn finger, cver her glove. Naturallyitslipped ofi— a man

’sthumb-ring l She passed itup indde

the glove-palm, through the little slot above the buttons. Thenshe gotcuther purse, and looked into seewhatits resources

I have only got half-a-crown, said she. The man flushedslightly. Rosalind fancied hewas angry, and had supposed she

it wasn’t that at all.I have no change,

” said he. Never mind about the sixpence. Send me stamps. I

’ll give you my card.

" And then

“It doem ’tmetter very exect," said she.“I heve no mcney atExcepttwcpence."

ansrn an’s scan, w.

I’m not Mrs. Nightingale,” said the girl. That’s my

Oh no !" said he. It wasn’tthat. It was only that I

knew the name once—years ago.

”

The link inthe dialogue here was -thatshe hadthoughtthesurpr ise was due to - his crediting her with matr imony and a

she legitimately inquire into the previous Nightingale, when he sai l somemore of his own accord, and saved her the trouble.

Rosalind Nightingal e was the name," said he. Do you

Only my mother,” answered the girl, surpr ised. She”

SOMEBOWGOOD rs

Boselind,tco, like me. I meen, l’rc selind. I -em elweys

Nextsteticn UxbridgeRoed.

”Thustheguard proclaimed

andthsn, on efterthehalf-crown, he edded

“I should letitgo atthet, mister if I

wssyou.

”

The man eskedwhy.“There wes e pertytriedthetgame lastweek. He

’s inthe

horspitel now.

”This was pm'tentous and atical .

guerd ccntinued :“If a perty gets electrocuted,t’s no ccncern

ofthe ernployees onthe line. Itlies between such parfiesthe Ccmpany. I shouldn’tmyself, if I wee

dyru l But it’s

portantelderlygengentlemem- of a species invariable undertheeumstances— ‘

c’

l the wires are properly insulated, there is notthe slightestceuse fcr apprehension of any sortor kind.

"

Very good !" said the guerd gloomily.

“Then all I say

also keep your hands well outside of the circuit.” But theelderly gentleman was notreadyto acquiesce in the conditions

I repeat,”said he, that the protection of the public is, or

oughttc be, amply secured bytheterms ofthe company’scharter. If any loophole exists for the escape of the electriccurrent, all I can say is, the circumstances call for public enquiry.

The safety of the public is the concern of the authorities.”“Then ” sardthe guard ,pointedly if I wasthe public, Imy hands in my pocket, and notgo .

property in corners. There i— what did I tell you iNow you’ll say that was me, I suppose 1thathadn’tbeenthe guard was a sudden crackle

that leaped out in a blue flame under the seat where the man’shand was exploring for the half-crown. It was either that, oranother like it, at the man

’s heel. Or both together. A littleboy was intensely delighted, and wanted more of the same sort.

Theywouldtekethemettereyebrowswere as merry as ever, end her amilswas as unccnscicns a frameto aheturnedtcthemctber crthedetails)the strenge phenornena ettendantonthe heed of a

tothe beerings ofthe electric curmtcnquestions cf scciel'

Butthe man did notmoveuenraining with his arm

“Have you gotitl”seid she.Butthe man spoke never aword , and rerneinedquite stih.

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re M OWGOOD

beceusetherewere e gcod many ob ectionableButeRetreatm e rstreet. smeltstrongwbcwere ceta. K rekatcawas notevolcano, exceptscter aseruptions cnthe palntwent. Butthen ithed become K raketcethrough a misteke z forthe four coets cf peintetthe end cfthefirstseven yeers, as per egreement, having completely hiddenthe firstname, 8eratogs, andthe builders’ retention cr ithevingbem feeble—posdbly even efiected by nen pepu postua foritwas notlong efterthe date cfthe greeteruption—the newname hed creptin inthe ebsence ofthosswho cculd heve ccbrscted it, buthed goneto Brightonto getoutofthe smell of

couldn’tmakr a job of it;t‘hsnottom ‘y

a prcper job. Besides,ths nameswere m itwas absurdto ellowavariation inthe lettersto impoee on our imaginetion . Thetwotainly gbutthenhold citctel ignorsnce of literery matters, and his position,thetmere difierm ces cfwords oughtnottotell upon a healthywu difioultto sheke especially es he hedthe coign ofvenHe hed onlyto mmain inanimam andwhatcould a

So at

and remained so.

And itwas in 'the beck garden ofthe again newly paintedvil le, seven years later,thatthe lady ofthe house, who waswatering the garden in the cool of the afternoon, asked herexcited daughter, who had justcome home in a cab,whatonearth could heve prompted herto do such a madthing, such a

perfectly insane thing ! We shall see what it was immediately.

I7SOMEHOW 0001)

of“If“’t

ortho bospttal.a n ything ! oh.

Why on earth conldn’tyon leave himtomam

a”Wh

am”I

MMMmmmmmm

sil ly c I

leave hlm alons i cam peven knowhh name.

”

howtaterview”qthethetifyhim

his denti

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Wm

”.

m

mm

m

m

m.

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we

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wmmw

e

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mumm

i e

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”mmmm

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don’tery and be a goose l

”

the steps between the scarlet geraniums in the over-paintedgoblets, through the gate on which Saratoga ought to be, andK rakatoa is, written, and finds a four-wheeled cab awaiting

of gardening ;then goeequicklythroughthe honse, pesees down

1. W OWGOOD

“Oi sou l s,

the toh" n

“l oan only go whatshe The oomes intotbeconversation ths gats. may havetor aword ortwowith cook and honse-and wm desplymmuted inthsitwonld never havs

‘happsnsd. Do see hqwha h now, Dr .

“Sure to. “Bnthe

oan’tgive any eooonntof himself yet. Of oonn eJdon

’tknowwhat he'll be ableto doto -morrow

marked oheek-bones,verythickskin rathertanned, and a soar onthe bridge ofthe nose ;verystrong hands with a tattoo-mark showing onthe m stand anabnom al omp of hair onthe bm h mnning ontothe fingers,

butflawed by a scar ortwo. Addtothisthe ohielthing you

5 s ithe doctcr gotintoths cab and shutthe dcor himseli,He sssumedthe drlver , without

if your horse has no ambitiou atall beyondtranquillitypty nosebag, your condition isthatol one campingone in a shi

rmoored in dmhthe ksrbthe partothequay. Boyswdlthen accumulate,

ue ur a and belongings.yo ppearance And imposwith no previous or subsequentwillseetheir waytothe establlshmentol a claim on

ea

5 5

agg

agf

a ;

E5

3

he reachedthe ground. His reins .werevisibl made good withstout pack-thread, and he had a well-foun contempt for hiswhip ,which seemedto cometo an endtoo soon , and alwaystohit somethingwooden before it reached any sensitive part ofhis person. But he did get oil at last, and showed that, asForce is a mode of motiom soWeskness is a mode of slowness,and one he took every advantage of.The mother and daughter stood looh ng after the vanishinglabel, that stated that the complication of inefficiencies in frontof it was one of twelve thousand and odd— pray Heaven, morecompetent ones l— in theMetropolis, and had nearly turnedtogo intothe house, when the very much younger sister (that

2— 2

20 SOMEHOW GOODmight have been) addressed the very much, but not impossibly

Mamma, he said he knewsomebody of our name lWell,Miss Fiddlestick l"— with an implication of what ofthat !Were there not plenty of Nightingales in the world !Miss Sally is perceptive about this.Yes, but he said Rosalind.

Where I”He didn’t say where. That's all he said— Rosalind.As the two stand together watching the retreating cab weare able to see that our first impression ofthem, derived perhapsfrom their relative ages only, was an entirely false one as far assize went. The daughter is nearly as tall as her mother, andmay end by being as big a woman when she has completelygraduated, taken her dem o, in womanhood. But for all thatwe

,who have looked at both faces, know that when they turn

round we shall see on the shoulders of the one youth, inexperience

,frankness, and .expectation of things to come ; on those

of the other a head that keeps all the more physical freshness ofthe twenties, if not quite the bloom of the teens, but—expressedHeaven knows how l—experience, reserve, and retrospect onthingsthathave been once and m not, andthatwe have no

right to assume to be any concern of ours. Equally true ofall faces of forty, do we understand you to say 1 Well, we don’tknow about that. It was all very strong in this face.We can look again,

'when they turn round. Butthey don’tfor numbertwelvethousand and odd has cometo a standstil l,aud its energummon has come down 03 its box, and is

“fiddlin

'

at something on the ’orse

’s

’cd.

" 80 cook says, evidently notim withthatcab. The doctor looks outand confers ;then gets outand comes backtowardsthe houss. The girl andher mother walk to meet him.“Never sawsuch a four-wheeler in my life! The harness istied up with str ing, and the rein

’s.

brcken . The idiot says ifhe had a stout bit of whipcord, he could make it square.” No

I wish the child wouldn't always be in such a hurry, say,

her mother. Now she won’t know whereto get it.”She cal ls after her ineflectually. T he doctor suggests that he

shall follow with instructions. Y es, suppose he does !is preciselythething wanted inthe left-hand drawer ofthe

SOMEHOW GOOD 21

unmomising, butthe doctor gc( e , sudtransmission of messages

Leftalone,Mn . Nightinga lethe elder l-:osalind, seems reflective. “Am too l she says aleudto herself. She isacoountcf himself, once knewa RosalindNightingale.

longtime cverthatstring. (h riosity hastimeto work, andhas so much effect thatthe lady seemsto determine that, afterall , shewould likete seethe man. Nowthatthe cab is so farfromthe door , even if she spoketo him, shewould notstandcommitted to anything. It is all settled, arranged, ratified, thathe shall go to the police-station, or the infirmary,

‘‘ or somewhere.When the string, and Dr. Voreker, and Sally the daughtercome out of the house, both excl aim. And the theyexpress is that the mother of the latter should have walked alltheway afterthe cab, snd should betalkingtothe man in itlIt is not consistent with her previous attitude.Now, isn

’t that like mamma ‘

i” says Sally. If so, why he

so astonished at it i— is a question that suggests itself to herbearer . But self-confutation is not a disorder for his treatment.Besides, the doctor likes it, in this case. His own surprise atmamma’s conduct is unqualified by any intimate acquaintancewith her character. She may be inconsistency itself, for anything he knows.“

Is she goingto turnthe cab round and bring himtothohouse, after all i It looks like it.I’m so glad,

”Sally replies to the doctor.I hope you won’t repent it in sackcloth and ashes.I shan’t. Why do you think I shall 3”

How do you know you won’t1”

You’ll see 1” Sally pinches her red lips tight over her tworows of pearls, and node confirmation. Her dark eyes lookmerry under the merry eyebrows, and the lip-pinch makes adimple on her chin— a dimple to remember her by. She is ataking young lady,there is no doubtof it. At leu t, the doctorhas none.

Yes, Sally, it’s all quite right. Thus her mother, amving

a little ahead of the returning cab. Now, don’t dispute with

me, child, but do just as Itel l you. We’ll have him in thebreakfast-room ; thore

’s fewer am .

” She seems to have made

22 SOMEHOW GOOD

up her mind so completely that neither of the others interposesa word. But she replies, moved by a brain -wave,to a questionthatstirred inthe doctor’smind.“Oh yes ; he has epoken . He spoketo me justtell you presently. s gethim out. No, never mindugh

’ cook. That’sti ’

And thenthe man, whose name we still do not know, foundsupported, half standing alone, on the pavement

in front of a little white eligible residence, smelling of newpaint. He did not the leastknow what had happened. Hehad only a vague impression that if some one or something, hecouldn’t say what, would only give up hindering him, he wouldfind something he was looking for. But how could he find itif he didn’t knowwhat it was i And that he was quite in the

about. The half-crown and the pretty girl who had givenitto him ,thetrain -guard and his cowardice aboutresponsibility,the public-spirited gentleman, the railway-carriage itself, to saynothing of all the exciting experiences of the morniixg—all,all had vanished, leaving behind only the trace of the impulseto search. Nothing else ! He stood looking bewildered, thenspoke thickly.

I am giving trouble,”said he. Thenthe two ladies and the

gentleman,whom he saw dimly and did not know, looked at oneanother , each perhapsto see if one ofthe others would speak

first. Inthe endthe lady who was a woman noddedtothegentlemanto speak, andthenthe ladywhowss a girl confirmedher by what was little more than an intention to nod, notquiteunmixed with a mischievous enjoyment at the devolution ofthe duty of speech onthe gentleman . Ittwinkled in her closedlips. Butthe gentleman didn’t seem overwhelmed with embarrassment. He spoke as if hewas usedtothing .“You have had an accident, On the

Yes, Y es, we wantyouto oome in and sitdown and resttill you’re No,

itwon ’tbe a long job. Y ou’ll soon come What !

no, notrouble atall l It’s this lady’s house, and she

wants you to come in.

” The speaker seemsto guess at therightmeanings, as one guesses inthe jaws ofthetelephone,perhaps with more confidence. But therewas but little audiblearticulation onthe other’s part.

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2G SOMEHOW GOOD

say it, whatitwil l mean ,where itwas onthe page we read itOh dear l—quite plainly. The only thing we can’t

remember fcr life of us is- whatitwas lAndwhilewe aremaking stupendous eflortsto recapture some

suchthing, does itever occurto any of usto ask ifwe may notbe mistakeu in ourtacitassumptionthatwe arequite certainto remember everything else as soon aswetry l That, in fact,it may be our memory-faculty itself that is in faul t ; and thatwe are only failingto recall onething because atthe momentitisthatone solething, and no other ,thatwe aretrying our

Itwas so inthe pause of a fewminutes in whichthis man wewrite of, leftto himself andtheticking ofthe olock, and hearing;through the activity of the bluebottle and the monotony of theceiling flies, the murmur of a distant conversation betwem hislate compan ions, who forthe moment had left him alone, triedin vainto recover his particular thread of memory, without anyuneasiness about the innumerable skeins that made up the tissueof his record of a lifetime.When the young doctor returned, he found him still seatedwhere he had lefthim, one hand over his eyes,the other on hisknee. As he sat— for the doctor watched him from the doorfor a moment—he moved and replaced either hand at intervals,with implied distress in the movements. They gavethe impression of constant attempt constantly baflled. The doctor,

Letme recommend youto bequietand rest. Be quitequiet. Y ouwill be all rightwhen you have slepton it. Mrs.Nightingale—that'sthe lady yousawjustnow;this is her house ‘

—will seethatyou are properlytaken care of.”

Thenthe mantriedto speak z itwaswith an efiort.“Iwishtothank— I must thankNevcr mindthanks yet. All in gcodtime. Now,whatdo

youthink you cantake -to eetor drink l“Nothing -nothingto eator drink.

"

Well, you know best. However, there’s tea coming perhaps

you'll go so far as

'

a cup oftea l Y ou would bethe betterfor it.Rosalind junior, or 8ally, sleptinthe '

back bedroom ontheflrst-floor -thatisto say, if we ignorethe basementfloor aud

SOMEHOW GOOD 25

callthe one flush with fhe street-door step the ground-floor .We believe we are rightin doing so. Rosal ind senior ,tliemother, sleptinthe frontone. Itwasn’ttoo late fcrtea, theyhad declded, andthereuponthey had gone upstairs to reviseand correct.Aiter a certain amountof slopping and splashing inthe back

room, uncorroborated by any inthe front, 8ally called outtoher mother , onthe disjointed lines oftalk in real life :

I like this soap ! Have you a safety-pin i” Wheretomother replied, speaking rather drowsily and perfunc

Yes, but you must come and getit."It’s so nice and oily. It’s not from Cattley’

s 3

Yes, it is.”

I thought it was. Where’s the pin 1” Atthis pointshecame into her mother’s mom, covering her slightly reboun dnose with her fresh-washed hands, to enjoy the aroma of Cattley’

s

soap.“In the little pink saucer. Only don’t mess my thingsHeadache, mammy dear 3 For her mother was lying back

onthe bed, with her eyes closed. The speaker lefther handsover her nostrils as she spoke,to do full justicetothe soap.pausing an instant in her safety-pin raid for the answerI’ve bem feeling the heat. It’s nothing. You go down,

and I'll come.Have some eau-de-Oologne I” But, alas l there was no

Never mind. You go down, and I’ll follow. I shall be all

rightafter a cup oftea.

” And Sally, after an intricate movement with a safety-pin, an openwork lace cufl that has lost abutton, and a white wrist, goes down three accelerandos of stairlengths, with landing pauses, and ends with a dining-room doorstaccato. But she isn’t long gone, for intwo minutesthedoor reopens

,and she comes upstairs as fast, nearly, as she

went down. In her hand she carries, visibly, Johann Maria

Where on earth did you find that 3”says her mother .

The man had it. Wasn’t it funny ! He heard me say toDr. VercherthatI was so sorry I’d notbeen ableto eau-deCologne your forehead, and he began speaking and couldn

’tgethiswords. Then he gotthis outof his pocket. I remember one

of the men at the station said something about his having a

26 SOMEHOW GOOD

bottle, but ,I thought he meant a pocket-flask. He looksthesortofmanthatwould have a pocket—dask andHer mothu doesn’tseemto flndthis inexplicable, norto needOolop a beneflcially, ya

go ; shewon’tbe above a couple of minutes. Nor is she, inthesense in which her

movement.

When she came within hearing of those in the room below,

she heard a malevoicethatwas notDr. m er’s. Y es,the

man (whom

way. She looked very pale, and very interested— a face offixed attention, of absorption in something she was

of doubt about what she heard ; an expression rather out of proportionto the concurrent facts, as weWhatis so strange ’—this iswhatthe man was saying in

his'

slowway—“isthatl could flnd wordstotel l yom if l couldremember whatitis l havetotel l . Butwhen ltryto bringitback, my head fails. '

Iell me again, mademoiselle, abouttherailway-carriage.” Sallywondered why she wes msdemoisel le,butrecognised atone of deference in his use oftheword. Shedid as he asked her , .lightly interrupting her narrativeto mabesure of gettingthetea made rightas she did so.“Itrod on your foot, ycu know. (One,two,three spoonfuls. )Surely you mustremember that ! (Four, and a little one for thepOt)”I have completely forgotten it.T hea as sorry, and said ould have come oflsooner if

I had known itwas a foot. Y ou nwstrememberthat!” Theman half smiled as he shook a slow-disclaiming head-fi ne thatwould have remembered so gladly, if it could. Then,

” continues Sally, I saw your thumb-ring for rheumatism.

”

“My thumb-ring !” He presses his fingers over his closedeyes, as though to give Memory a better chance bythe visible present, then withdraws them. No, I rememberno ring atall .”“

Howextraordinary l

80- 0WGOODI remember aviolentconcnuion m ewhere—I can

'tsay3mm

slightestidea. Then Itrledto getoutofthe eab,and ficund l could notmove—or hardly.

”

Look atmamma again l Here she is, oome.”

For- Mrs.Nightingale has come into the room, looking white . Y es,mother dear , I have. Quite full uptothe brim. Only itisn’treadyto pour yet.” This lastconcernsthetea.

Mrs. Nightingale moves round behind thetee-maker,comes full -face in frontof her guest. One mighthave fanciedthat the hand that held the pocket-handkerchief, that causedthe smel l of eau-de-Cologne that came inwith herwastremulous.But thenthat very eau-de-Cologne was eloquent about therecent effect of the heat. Of course, she was a little upset.Nothing strikes eitherthe doctor or hfademoiselle Sally as

“Surely, sir ! Oh, you must, you mustremember about thename Nightingale l”

Certainly, my name, says the lady addressed. But Sally

I didn't , mean that. I meant when I took thering from you, axid wasto pay for it. Sixm os.

‘

And you had

no change for half-a-crown. And then I gave you my mother’scardto send itto us here. One-and-elevenpence, because ofthepostage. Why, surely you can remember that 1” She cannotbring herself to believe him. Dr. Vereker does, though, andtells him notto 'try recollecting ; hswill on ly puthimself back.“Take thetea andwaita bit," is the doctor’s advice. ForMissreceives it absently, leaving it on the table.“I do not know if you will know what I mean,” he says,butI have a sort of feeling of—of being frightened ; for I

have beentryingto rememberthings, and l find 1can remember

almost nothing. Perhaps I should say I cannot remember atall—can’t do any recollecting, if you understand.

” Every one

sado eoce Y ou can recollectyour cwn nam l suppose i

She speaks half-way between soliloquy and dialogue. Thedoctor throws in counsel, aside for precaution.

SOMEHOWGOODY ou

’ll cnly make matters wcrse, likethat. Better leave

own

young doctor ssemedto disapprove ofwishto chaagethe conversaticn.

‘ Letitalcne now. o

ii

;

histea flrst. This is from ,Miss Sally,thetea-priestess. “Another cup l” Butno ghewon’ttake anothe'

r

WP :“Nowlet’s havethe coatofl, and getanother look atthearm ; never mind apclogising. Butthe patienthad notccnever , he gothis coatcfl, and drewthe blue shirtofi his leftarm .

He had a flne hand and arm, butthe hand hung inanimate.andthe flngers looked scorched. Dr . Vereker begsn feel ingthearm atintervals alltheway up, and asking ewhtimequestionsaboutthe degree of sensibility.

I couldn’t say whether it’s normal or not up there.” Sothe patienttestifled. Ane s. Nightingale,whowsswatchingthe examination intently, suggestedtryingthe other arm inthe the other arm atthe station, doctor l”she

Didn’tI l

I wesWell, no. Newl cometotliink of it, I dnn’tthink I did .

We’ll have a look now, anyhow.“Y ou’re a nice doctor l” This is frcm Miss Sally ; a little

oonfldential fling atthe profession . She is no respecter cf

persona Her motherwould, ,no doubt, check her—a pertlittle

monkey I—only she is absorbed inthe examination.

The dcctor, as he ran bsekthe right-arm sleeve, uttered an

exclamation. “Why, my dear sir." cried be, “here we haveit !Whatmore csn wewantl”—end pcinted atthe arm . AndSally said, as though relieved .

“He

’s gcthis name written

on him plain enough, anyhow !” Her mcther gave a sigh of

relief, cr something like it, and said,“Yes.” The patienthim

SOMEHOW GOOD 29

self seemedquite ss much perplened as plessed atthe discovery,

say’

fioulyfln a subdnedway :“Itm be my name.

” Butnotto acceptatall readilythe

his arm :“Whose nsme can lthe if itismtyours l”ssie s.

mface, asthoughtc watc his

andthink.

" ButtheDon’t do an of the sort,

” said he. “It’s veryfor him, Mrs. ightingale. He mustn ’tthink. Justletrest.”

The patient, however, could not resign himself without astruggletothis state of anonymous ambiguity. His bewildermentwas painfulto witness.Very curious ! If you heard the name now, would you

recollectitl”Theywon’tdo him aay good. Rat’s the thing.

”“Ithink l would rathertry, says Fenwick, aswe may now

call him .

“I will bequietif l can getthis right.”Mrs. Nightingale begins repeatmg namesthatbegin with A.

Fenwick’s face brightens. That’s it I”says he. Algernon.

l knewitquitewel l al lthetime, of course. ButI couldn’t

However , I dcn’tfeelthatI shall make myself“I can

’tmake out, says Sally,“howyou cameto rememberthe bottle of eaud e

I did notremember it. I do notnow. I meam hcw it

there now, except my cigar-case and a pocket-book with nothingmuch in it. I can tell nothing about my watch. A watchought to be there.”“There, there I” says the doctor ; you will remember it all

gently. Do take my advice and be quiet, and sitstill and’ttalk.

so SOMEHOW GOOD

ticnto keep snothe'r ent, Fenwick ruse, that hewas nowperiectlywel lmto walk, and he wo$h

i:trude no

satil l ; onewhowouldshifting for himseli ; such a one any doubtthrown en his power doing a

impl ies unscrupulousness inthoway one shifts ior oneself. His

(aoe was a perieotly honourahle one. Itwas atace whosestrength did notinterierewith its refinement. andtha ewas a

pleasantcandour inthe smilethatoovered itas he finally maderesdyto departwiththe doctor . He should never , he said.knowhowte bebecome of him, he answeredvsguely. Hewas unded ded, but,oi oourse, hewouldwrite andtel lthem, asthey so kindlywishedto hear di him. Would msdemoiselle give himthe address,

They found themselves—atleast,the docto. and 8ally did

infien 'ing, irom his retrsshed manner and his confldence about_

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have beenthere some minutes.“Fanoytheir ha gotno lurtherthanthe iire-alarm l

ea Sally,whotakes accoun oi her surroundings.

-so Sal ly thinks, at least.“We got as far as this,”Dr. Vercher says—rather meaninglessly, if youcometothink of it. ltie sovery obvious.

Nightingale,“howis heto be gotback

l Thet’s the question I” She seems notto have the smallest

doubt about the question, but. much about the answer. It ishowever, withthe asaistance ofthe previous police

constable, who reappears like a ghcst. Ane . m ick is

back again within the little white villa, much embarrassed atthetrouble he is giving, but unablete indicate any other course.Olearly, itwould never dote acceptthe only one he can mggestthathe should be lettto himseli, leaning onthe fire-alarm,tillthe full use oi his limbs should come backto him.

Mrs. Nightingale, who is the person principally involved,seems quite content with the arrangement. The doctor, in hisown mind , is rather puzzled at her ready acquiescence ; butthen

,the only suggestion he could make would be that he should

do preoiselythe same good ofice himselftothisvictim of anelectric current of a good deal too many volts-too many forprivate consumption—or cab him 03 to the police-station orthe workhouse. For Mr. Fenwick continues quite unable to giveany account of his past or his belongings, and can only look forward to recollecting himself, as it were,to -morrow morning.

W WWl mustsuppoaetbatthe personal lmprssdonman so strangelythmwn ouths hands oe -s.

her daughterwas a pleasantons. For hadtbcamthe ruoumu ci civilisatiou ior dispoaing oi him elsewherehad notbeen enhausted whsnthe decision was oometothathe

anylady oithe house—mf coursethe prinoipal iactor inthe solutionoithe problem—a ppearsd, aswe have seen ,to have made up hermind on the subject. And probably her daughter had beenenough influenced by the stranger

’

even inthe short'

od olthe interviewwe have justm bed,ol a she had oi sel i reproach ior her own rash

ness. Wedon’tunderstand gifln butwe askthisquestion ofthosewho do : Is itpoasiblethatMiss Sally was impressed bythc

name tattooed on it—an arm in whichin a Gm k statua withoutiniringing on its

roundness—the arm c heseus or Ilissus l Or was itthetonecf his

'voice—a musical one enough i Or merely his generallyhendsome face and oourteous manner lEe remdmdthatnightatthe houm butnextday still remem

bered nothing. Hewishedto go on hisway—destination notknown , butaomacllere—andwould have done so had itnotbeengrMrs. Nightingal e, whose opposition to his going was, thoughtV ,ereker almostmore decisivethanthe case called ior . So

g remained onJhatday andthe next, slowly regainingthe useof his right hand. But his memory continued a blank , andthough he was not unable to converse about passing events,

‘ hecould not fix his attention, or only with a great effort. Whatwas very annoying to Sally was that he was absolutely unableto account for his remark about her name and her mother’s inthe railway-carr iage. He could not even remember making this.He could recall no reasonwhyhe should have made it, from say oi

3

84 SOMEHOW GOODthingsthatcame backto his mind now—haaily, likeghosts. Was he speakingthetruth l Why notrs. tin

gale asked. Why notforgetthatas readiiy ss anythingHis distrsss atthis inahilityto rernemher ,to acoountfor him

T he only oonsoiatery circumstanoewasthathismuse and knowof words remained intaot; itwas his meinory of actual

incidente and peoph inthe pastthatwas in fault. Definite efiortto followslightclues remaining in his mind ended intailure,or only servedto ahowthsttheir originwastraceableto literaryfiction. Buthislanguage-facultyseemedperfectlyin order . 1tcameout that he spoke French fluently, and a little Spanish, but hewssjustas readywith German. Itseemed as ifhe had been reoentlyamong French pwpla if one oould judge from suohthings as his

his hostess ‘‘heMadame ”when he recovered. These facts .

cameto lightinthe course cf nextday,the second of his stay inthe house. The favourable impression he had produced onMinnew whereaboutstotrsnsfer himto. So his departurewas deferred—for a day, at least, or perhaps until the room he occupiedshould he wanted for other purposes. The postponernents onthe daysthatfollowed wers a natur al sequence so long ssthereremained any doubtof his abilityto shiftfor himself.But in about a month's time the efiects of the nervous shock

his hand—oould, in fact, write easily. Besides, as long as he

remaiMitwould he impossihlefor an old friend om Nightingale

’s, who frequently stayedthe night, when he came on an

eveningvisit,to followa oustomwhichwas inthewinter almostinvariable. Inthe summer itwas less important; and as soon

gentleman spoken of as the Major,”

could be got to understand exactly what had taken plu s, hereadily gave up hisquarters atK rakatoa Vilia, and returnedtohis own, atthetop of a house in Ball Street,Mayfair.Nevertheless, the inevitable time came for looking Fenwick

’sfuture in the face. It was dimcult, as he was unable tobute a solution of the question, except by his readiness to go outand find work for himself, promising not to come back till hefound it.You’ll see I shall come back to dinner,

" said he. I shan’tmake you late.

SOMEHOW GOOD 35

Butyou musthave m s kind of prefarenoe for m dhw,

If Iwereto choose, Ithink I should like horseOh no, of course I can’trecallthetraining cf any specifio horse.Butl knowl knowall aboutit, for al lthat. I can feelthe know.

ledge of ititehing in my finger -ands. Y es—IFruit-farmin

gwould require capital."“Who sai anything ahoutfruit-farming i

Fenwiok laughed aloud. Itwas a greathig laugh,thatMal ind who wu giving dimtions inthe kitchenJustthe pamaga cafloutto knowwhattheywere laughing st.“why l said fruitfadr

‘immg— I mmthave had somethingto dowith it. It's allvery

Butthe horseshimtowander fromthe point. “Howshould yougo aboutitlShould yo

uwalk into Tattersall’s without a character, and ask fora place l

’

“Nota bitof itiand sskthem ifthey couldn’tfind me a rawcoittotry rnyon for awager . Satad laid a hundred ouldquietthe mestvfi ous uadrupedthey could find in an hour .

"

“Butthathe fihs.

”

“Oh no l I could do it. Butl don‘tknowwhy l know““I didn’trneanthat. I meantyouwouldn’thave laidthe5“

Y es, I should. I lay ityou now! Come,Mim Sally i— a

I

E boon m ptedWdh anyhowl shan’tacceptit. Y ouhaven ’tgota hundrsdpoundsto paywith. To be sure , I haven'tgota branthatI knowof. It’s as broad as itis long.

”

Y es, it’sthat,”he replied m —“as broad as itis long.

I bsm ’tgota hMed pounfiJhatknowuf." He repeated

36 SOMEHOW GOOD

“Notthat—notthatatall ! I spoke likethatbeoause ital l seemed so stranpto me.Do youknowi

mattersvery pleasant. She did notliketo premthe convsrsaknewher mother had made him ; indeed, had itnotbeen forthhthe poor manwouid have heen hsrd putto itfor clcthesand other '

story, hsd been landed on a comfortable footing atthe date of

ButMr . Fenwick did mtlmd himselftot-he anticipaThere wss a pained on his

Whetherthe sortofflashthatcomes in my mind ofwritingmyname in a cheque-hook is real ly a recclleotion of dcing so, crmerelythe knowledgethatl raad have done so Jcm notteB.

Butitis disagreeahle—thoroughly disagreeable—and mtothe lastdegree. I oannottel l you how—howtorturing itis,alwaysto he compelledto stOp onthethr-eshold of an uncornp

pleted recol lection .

"

“I have the idea,though, quite l”said 8ally. Butof course“Yes ! Butthe nasty partofthe flssh isthatl alwayr lmowthatitis notmynarne. Mtfime itMWtMs nun m

som owsoon in

No ! T hatcockwon’tiight. In aM Iknowit’s notmym name as l write it.”“

0h, butI see l” Sally istriumphsnt. Y ou signed for a

Fenwick and Sall , or her mother , or alithree, duringthe termof his stay atVilla. Theywere lessmco theolder lady,who counselled Fenwickto aocepthis o vionun pasaively, and awaitthe natural return of his mental powers. Theywould nll ccme intu’ma she said ; and young Dr. Vereker ,thoughhis studious and responsible face grewstil i more '

studious andruponsible utimewentom andthe mind ofthis case continueda blank, still encouraged passivity, and spoke confid en tlywhatever he thought—of an early and compl ete recovery.

When, in Fenwick’s absence, Sally reported to Dr. Vereker

and her mother the scheme for applyingto “Tat’s” for awildfavoue a Nightingale showed for such a risky businesswouldhe suficientto deter him fromtrying it,thatneitherthought'itnece-aryto sayaword in her support; andtheconversationwentofi into a discussion cf howitcame aboutthatFenwick shouldrernembu

'l lattersall ’s. But, said he, he did notremembermatioally oalled itTat’s.” Many other instances showedthathis power of imagery, in relationtothe past, was paralwhile his language-faculty remained intact, just as manyA fortunate occurrence that happened at this time gave itsquietusto the unpopular horse breaking speculation. It happenedthat, as Mrs. Nightingale was shopping at a big

“universalproviding stores notfar away, one of the clerks had some’

difliculty in interpreting a Frenoh phrsse in a ietter iustrecdvedfrom ahroad. No one near him looked more iikelyto helpthau“Nightingale, butshe could do nothing when appliedto ;

she had heen taught French in hu'

youth.

Butfi e feltcertainMr . Fenwick could he of use—ather house.

SOMEHOW GOOD

l in in o, in fact, ifwe induige our musicalvocahulary. Buttha '

she knownthe lengths her mother had gone inthe profier of awhly should her mother endorse her protegé so enthusiastioally ltisperhapshardlym essary for ustodweil ontheunsuoced ul

amongthe Psychical Researches cfthe pastyeam inwhieh a

manwhovanished in Englsndwas found years after cu-rying on

a goods-etcre in Chicago under another name,with a newwifeand family, having utterly forgottenthe firsthalf of his lite andchieflyto Sally,who speculated endlessly onthe whole ofthestory ; without, however, throwing any fresh light on it—unlesindeed,the Chicago man could be considered cne. Andtheques.tion naturally arose, as long as his case continuedto hold outhopes of a sudden return of mernory, and until wewere certainhisconditionwaschronio,whygoto expenseand courtpublicity lBythetime hewas safely installed in his situation atthewma

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was notona ofthoae custom scarualy,bnthsd a like helief. , Iththa oommon lcrm of humanto hava pawns brohed. They are a

Asu beca his. Thatwss howhethoughtcf it. As socn as he

wore itagain, ithecarne lm watch, .naturaliy Butha couid

have proa ;bout it

putitin a drawer until al l enquiries abouthim had died intothe past.investigaticn oif her guard. The cipherswue, as itchaneed,a$00; and an unfortunate shrewdneas ofthird day ofthe sixth month of l iloo. So no one dreamed ofthe cahby,who could atleasthave shown wherethe hatwaslostthatmighthave had a name cr eddress inside it, and wherehe leftits owner inthe md. Andtherewas ahsoiutely no clua

outa reminder . And itseemedthere was nothing for ithuttowaitforthe revival of memory.

This,then, is howitcarne ahoutthat,withinthree months ofin an apar tmentwithin a fewminutes’walk of K rakatoa Villainfluence of a steady ever-presentnewroutine of life bs com

CHAP TEB V

Wm one k called away inthe middle of a street-flght',misses the end d ithowunhitta ed one

’s existence is,

aboutits resultfromthe permanentoficials onthe spot—thewaterman attachedtothe cab-rank,the crossing~swsaper atthecorner, the neol ithographic artist who didn’t really draw thathalfeventhe apothecary'a shop overthe way, onthe chancethatthe oasualtieswentor weretakenthere fortreatmentafterthebattle. One never does ask, because one is so proud ; hutif one

findthatoblivion had drawn aveil

story, divide and subdivide overthe spotwherethe underneaththe fimqand nowseemeto knowleuthan ever ahoutit.the -

author is aptto imagine he has estabiished over his readerwhen he ends ofi a chapter with a snap, and hopesthe saidreader will notdareto skip i No,we are not. We really meansomething, and shall getto itintime. Letus only be clear

whatitis ourselves.

Itrefers, atany rate,tothe way in whichthe ccntents ofGnapters I. and II. had become recordslater ,whenthe snowwas onthe ground four inchesthick on

“Y ou won’tdo any by .gettingup Y ou

better lie in bed. I shouldn’tgetup, if was you," etc., etc.“ohl gymmamm

’sbet

lgrvoyouknowJthink itgood. ere'

ker may laugh as

mucl

‘rvas hemhkges waitell ,the proof cfthe pudding’s inthe eating. Buttil l you ses howthickthe snowis. Come—is !" This isvery

hotwaterthists’me. “I said corne in before. Merry Christmasand happy New Y ear, Jane i . . Oh, I say l Whata dearlittle robin i He

’s mch a htfle duch l hopethatcatwon ’tget

him !” And Sally,who is huddled up in athick dressing-gownthat she goes on looking throughthe hhnd m dthe peep-hole she hu hadto maketo see clearthroughthe fmsted panefin spite ofthe deedly cold onthe

finger-tip she rubbed it with. Her mother felt interested, too,inthe fate ofthe robin, butnottothe extentof impahfing her

M OWGOOD Cl

sflsorts ofwmforh bla uneconomioalthings. So did Jane,whohsd putin awhole bundle ofwood.

“I did mother l I alwaystellnotto knock. will knock i”

sharp by half. Such a iittle“P ocr pussy i otour , wae lt i

”“Oh no ; itwasthattornthatlives in atthe emptyI know. Horrible heastl“Wetutjustthink cf heing outinthe cold inthisweather ,

an intenticnal shudder . I wonder whothatis!I kn

'

owtwho itisfit’sMr .to sa he can’toometo I heardthe olickve a sortoftwinkly skates have,when

they’re swung hy a strap . Be’ll go outand skate all day.

He’ll gotoWimNedon.

"

T he girl’s hearingwasquite correct. A ring came atthe hell

ha dsparted. with , hia

Hs’s coming ali right, says Sally, iooking athoth ddes ofthewd md pa- ing itcn whsn she hasquite done with it.Saliy, we may menticn, as itoccursto us atthh moment,

we hava no idea—meanstoahe is flve years clderthan her rnotherthe chin- is merdy so much youthfulverywhite underneath. Her mother isquite of a diflerenttypa.

daughtc ’s father musthava had hlsck hairJor can

make h ooih , or olosa piaits,verywide, outof harinher itance. Or itwill assumethe form of a hush, if indulgsd,till Sal ly is almcsthidden under it, asthe Bcajesman under hisversion of BirnamWaod,thathe shoots his assegai frcrn. Butthe mother’s is brown ,with atinge cf chastnut; gd ngweil withher eyes,which have a clareth ne, or whatis so called ; butweand we don’tfeelthe same faith inMi- Sally’s. Thatyounglassiewill getdsscribed as piump scme day, if she doam

’ttakeButreally itis a hreach of confldenoeto getbehindthe scn ea

cannotbe indeh itely delayed. Butthey can and'

doroomto room , confidentthatoook and a e are inthe basementoutcf hearing.

We shall do nicely, kittan l Six attable. I’m glae .

Fenwick can oome. Aren’tu u l“Rather ! Fan having ur . ane s. Vereker andthe dear

old foaail and no to help outl”My dear lmarried man i“Well— him and his mammy,than ! He’s good— buthe’s

M OWGOOD 46

minutesto preBawreta itby lorce. II say,mothar l"

“I’hcpa, as Mr. P snwick

’s

Wear -kt!”Hia rlng, youknowl Y ouknow

one.”

“Why ! Beoause it'gves hhn pleasure alwaysto

your flnger—hetancies s doing goodtothsneurifis.”it is.”“Verywaii,then ; notwear itl”

coma ofi inthem mand is a nuisance.Hewasto have had a

it.”“Buthe never did have it. And itwasn’ta shilling. Itwasi xpuice. And he aays it’sthe little r

e’tum be

’s ever basn

“P uthiswedding «sw an?maul

;t

isso pointas she

in a pause of dry-towelling, and goes backto her room notquitetalk shortabout Mr.

ou more or less untii hroughtup shcrtby fi e early- service atSt. Satisfax, when he is extinguished hy a preliminary hymn.

Butnotbefore his whole story, so far as is known, has been

cunenoa cf circurnstancss.Ithad ham diflcuittotalk much abcuthimtchimsalfwithcut

tive of

within

Butshewasatalltimesconseiouscf a certain accesscfseverityin ha ' mother as she approached altars—rather beyondthechurchgoerfltis on a subjecton which cur cwn imprsd cns

have littlevalua. ) Inthe presentcaseSallywas to churoh,ao ahe hadto accountto herself for a m acs her mother’smanna—after dwelling cnthe needleasnesa and inadvhahilityof pressinn . Fenwiok asto his recollections—by asoribing ittothe consciousness cf some secularism elsewhere ; and hewasthe nearestcase cf ungodlinessto hand.

I wonder whether he helieves anything atali i said Sally,assumingthe conseoutiveness of her remark.

Why should he dis

The

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SOH OWGOOD48

whatitmeant. Bl owouldn’tmind lyouth, whcmthetorpedo had struok amidships,was justf

Butfor allthat,the young man appeared next8unday at8t. 8atisreligious convictions were recent, and nevertook his eyes oflSsl ly allthroughthe service—thatia if he did as she suppcaed,and peeped allthewhilethathis head cughtto have been, as shesuch avery shortintsrview; and onthe part,teo, cf a younggentleman who pan ed allthewcrking hcurs cfthe day amcngtions, and notatlibertyto squeesethd r hands cr askthem fcr

one little look of hair allthrough shcp-time. Sally did notP erhaps ithad leaked outthatthetrying-on hands contributedAll sorts dtbings mighthave happenedto infiuancethis youngmantowards St.Sh Satisfax ; and hhowdid Sally knowhowcftenwas justthe sortof girl men run after , like a big pale gloire~

de-Dijon rose al l on one side,with pale gclden wavy hair , andgreatbig goggly hlue eyes, locking as if she couldn

’thelp itlNowthatwe havegiven youdetaila from Sal iy’

s inner conscicus

she said she golloped. We don’t, exactly.

However , onthis (3hristmas mom ing itwas made clearwhomthis young donkeywas hsnkering after—this is Sally’sway of

P epiowfailedto gether usual placethrcughto sitin a side-aisle, instead ofthe cppositeof hertothe Idict—we are again hcm wing from Sally—and ncwthe Idiotwould haveto glare rcund over his shoulder ather- or

SOMEHOW GOODthathewashis

teviwas aoon evitdenthatSal ly herself hadMwaswhat”

Mm

mm

WWWpreoc

cupation, ortension, or whatever itwas,toFengoingto church. Whatconoern was itcftheirswhatMr.Ma sFenwick’s gcingto skate cn Ohrish as morning instead of

Mm

CHAPTER - VI

Tn“dear cld fossil

”referredte byMissSaliywas cne cfthose

occurrences— auxiliaries or encumbrances, as may he—whom oneis liableto meetwith in almostany family,who are so forciblytaken for granted hy all its memhersthatthe infeotion oftheirof investigation, and presently you find yourself taking them

cf ccurse, likethe Lion and Unicor-n, orthe image ona stamp.

Fenwick accepted the Major, as the old fossil was called,

E r 5 or , for all hewas so sild , musthave noticed manyEttlethingsthatChristmas evm ingto cause him

'tc say whatdid next day to Sally. For, of course, the Major couldn

’tBall S in weather likethis ; so

stayedthe uightinthe apare room,wha eMr . Fenwick had

SOMEHOW GOOD 5!

putuptem , cook said—a room which m in fact,spoken as the Major’s room.

”

m m Saflywasthe sortof girl whowould never see anyof that sort—you’ll see what sort directly— though she

a'

s sharp as a rasor in a geueral way. Whatmade her hlindthis oasewasthat, in oertainthings, aspects, relations of life,had ruled her mother outof courtas an intrinsical ly grownshe saw nothing inthe factthat, when Mr. Fenwick’s knock

came at the door, her mother said, There he is,"and went outto meethim ; nor even in her stoppingwith him outside onthe

landing,chattingconfldentiallyand laughing. Whyshouldn'tshe lShe saw nothing— nothing whatever—inMr . Fenwick’s bring

%y

her mother a beautiful sealskin jacketu a Christmaspresent.shouldn't be ? The only thing that puzzled Sally was,

where on earth did he getthe moneyto buy it! Butthen, ofoourse, he was “in thet,” andthetis a sortc om

Tiddler’s ground. Sally found that enough, on reflection.

She saw nothing, either, in her mother’s carrying her present

away upstairs, a.nd saying nothing about it till afterwards. Nor

g}

E

5

1

59

8“

countenance as he came into the drawing-room by himself, suchas one might di

scern in a hen— if hens had oountenanoes—afterNor did she attach any particular meaningto

an expression on the elderly face of the doctor's mother thatwe sawwhatwas going on, butwere going 'to be maternallydiscreet about it, and only mention it

‘to e one we. met inthevery strictestconfidence. T his lsdy,who rather relncsomewhat grudgingly admitted by Sal ly to be a comfortablesort of old thing enough, if only she didn

’t“goosle” over youso. She had no locus standi for gooaling,whatever itwas ; forhad notSally as good astold her- sonthatshe didn 'twanttomarry him or anybody else l If you ask uswhatwould bethe

link between Sally’s attitude towards the doctor andthe gooslings of athird we, have no answer red y.

No ; Sallywentto aswise ss everu—so she afterwardstoldthe foasil MajoHtthe end ofthe evening. She had enjoyedherself immensely, though the simple material for rapture wasonlytoursquare Halma played bythe four aouter mtfl igencssofthesix, and draughts forthe goomr andthe fomil . Butthen,

Was itnotpoa iblethatif he heard itoften enough his pastmight revive slowly ! You never could tell !So when, on Boxing Day morning, Sally

’s mother ,who hsdgotdown early and hurried her breakfastto make a dash for

'

early pmyer atStSatisfax, lookul in ather backward daughterand reprosched her , and saidtherewasthe hfajer coming down,and no oneto get_him his chwolate, she spoketo a young ladywho was serenely unprepared for any revelations of anature, or , indeed, any revelations atal l . Nor did gettingtheMajor his chocolate er oite any suspicions.

So Sallywastrulytaken abackwhenthe old gentleman, having ,

drunk his chocolate, hrcke a silsnce which had lasted since a

brief and fossil-like good-morning, with, Well, missy, andwhatdo you saytothe idea of a stepfatha ' l Butnotimmediately, for atfirstshe didn’tunderstandplacidly :“It depends on who.”“Mr . Fenwick, for instance !

Y es, butwho for l And stepfatherto step-whatl Stepdaughter or steipson l” Y uld the“Yourself,ttle goose ! cu wo be stepdaughter.Sallywasthen sotakenit, but stood in a cloudhelp her . How would you like your mother to Mr .Fenwick l” Hewas one ofthoseuseful peoplewho nmwho letyou knowpoint—bh nkwhere youm andto whom youfeel so grateful for being unfeeling. While othersthere bewho

are sooring up a little accountagainst

SOMEHOW GOOD 53

Sally’s bewilderment, however , recognised one thing distinctlymatioh. He didn’tthe leastwantto knowwhatshsthought;hewas cnlyworkingto give her a useiultip. So shewouldtakehertime aboutanswsring. Shetook it, looking as grave as a

m am went and sat candidly on theto his oldwhiskers and moustaehe.

Wouldn’t they make an awfully handsome couple 1” TheMajor replied, Handsome is as handsome does,

" and seemed tosuggestthatquestions ofthis sortbelongedto a pre-fossilisedconditicn of existence.“Now, Major dear, why not admit it when you know it’strue 1 You know quite well they would make a lovely couple.Justfancythem up

d

the aisle atSt. Satisfax l Itwouldbe like medmval and Queens.

”For Sallywa-s still inthat

happy phase of girlhood in which a is amarriage a ,wedding d

pm alsqus‘d, but not much. But she continued,“I

couldn't give up any of mamma—no, not so much asthat— ifon with a thumb-nail, the twenty husbands would have comein for a very poor allowance of matrimony. The Major didn’t

for discussion, and allowed itto lapse.said he. I

dare say l’m only an old fool . So we won ’tsay anythingtowill us, littlewoman l "

I’Il prcmise notto say anto her beoaass of whatyou’ve saidto me. Butif I suspectitmyseli on my aecountlater on, cf ccurse l shall."“Whatshall you sayto her l”

Ask her if it’strue l Why notl Butwhatwas itmadeyouthink so i

” WhereontheMajor gave in detail his impresaions ofthe little incidents m orded above which Sa lly had seen

in. He laid a good deal of streas onthe factthatherhad suppreasedthe Ohristmas tuntil after Dr .

Vereker and his mother had She wouldn’t haveminded the doctor, he said, but she would naturally want to keepthe old bird outcfthe swim . Besides,therewas Fenwick him

SOMEHOW GOODconid aes what hethoughtof itl She oould perfectlyhim if aheahe ohcse, and she didn

’tchoose.Bu ht s e

respect of the impression her mother evidently made on Mr.Fenwick. Butthatwas nothing wonderful . Anything else

would have beenvery surprising. Only itdidn ’tfollowfromthat that mother wanted to marry Mr. Fenwiok, orMr. Anybody.

As far as he himselfwent, she liked him awfully - buttheu heoouldn

’treoollectwho hewas, poor fellowl Itwasmostpatheticsometimesto see himtrying. If only he could have remembered

an infiux of a newidea

says it’s nonsense her beingwe did find outwho shewas i”

WelLthan, ifwe could getather,we mightgethertotelluswho hewas. Andthenwe couldcould himtellP uhaps itis on ly his foaail

-likewz o

o

h

ftreatingthe subject,butcertainlytheMajor shows avery interest, Sallythinks,inthe identity ofthis namesake of hers. He does, however ,ahasntly,whatscrtofway did he speak of her inthetrahflWhy— he said so littleBuths gave you some impression i0h, of cours_

e. He spoke as if shewas a person— notatsmaleA person isn’t a female—when ! Eh, min y i

” This requires a little oonl ideration, and gets it. The.

,resultwhen itcomes, seems good in its author

’s eyes.“Whenthey aitdown . When youaskthemto ,ycuknow. Inparlour, l mean— notthehall. Theymightbe a femalethen .

”

.Did he mean a lady l

”

Andtakemilk and no sugar i And pull her gloves onto go l

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fmm yom ofwhomtheydemand credmtials of aahould your wifetryto go behindthe cheque-book and theprayer-book of a married couplewhen all she has hadto dowiththe ladywas, suppose,to borrcwa square bottle cf her , msrkedoff in half-inch lengths, to be shaken beforetaken i Why notfortalkingto her onnice perscn shs is i

side. But supposeknowwhatwemean l

SOMEHOW GOOD 57

Well,the So-andpso's have slipped gradually into your life

sponsible forthe particulars of ; you mustask 8niith ycuiself.Wel l, eh—there you am l And whatcan youmake of iti

There youare, faceto facewiththe factthata manwhowas ablack shesptwenty orthirty yean ago has been allthistimemaking believeto be awhite sheep '

neverso succeasfully as never was.Or, stranger stil l,thatawomanwho has broughtup a family of

model daughters—d aughterswhom itwould be no exaggerationto speak of as on all fourswith your own , andwho isquite one ofhasto gototale istrue,

—thatwill do l Supposewesay she was no betterthan she should be. She hadn

’teventhe decencyto be a marriedwoman beforeshe did it,which alwaysmakes itso much easiertotalkto strange ladies and girls aboutit. Y cu can say al lthewa down a full dinner -tablethatLadyP ollyAndrews gotinto the '

vorce Courtwithoutdoingviolenceto any propriety at all. But the ofMrs. So-and-so’s indiscretion while still Miss Such-and must be talked of moreguardedly.

And all the while behold the subjects of these stories, in whom,

butforthia sudden revelation of a shady past, ycu can detect

untilthatflnal separation ofthe sheep fromthe goats, whenhowever carefully they may have up their own littlequarrels, they will haveto md other farewell reluctantly,and make uptheir mindstothethinkthere onghtto be a Statutecf l dmitationa andthatafter a certain lapse offime any odence,however bad, againstmorality mightbe held notto have beencommitted. If we

,feel this about culprits who tempted us, atthetime oftheir enormity,to putin every honesthaud awhipto lashthe rascal nakedthe length of a couple of lamp-poste, how

much more whenthe oflence has been onewhich our own sense

of moral law(a perverted cne,we admit) scarcely recognisu

any oflm ee atall. And howmuch mom yetwhen we flnd itnow—can have donethethings imputedtothem. Ifthe storiesstock-in -trade 1Whatis allthis prosy speculation aboutl WelL it’s aboutour fr iend in the last chapter, Sally

’s mother. At least, it ,is

suggested by her . Shs is cne ofthose perplexing caseswe haveacknowledge ourselves unable to account for

her atthe date ofthe sto ry, knowingwhatwe do of hertwentyyears previously. It’s little enough, mind, and much of itinferential. Suppose, instefi of giving you our inferences, wecontent ourselves with passing on to you the data on which wefound them. Maybe you will see your wayto some difierentlifehistory for Sally’s mother.The firstinsightwe had into her pastwas supplied by a friend

SO_ OW GOOD .60

She’s avery charmlngwcmamthat,”squeakedtheMajcr

am chu'mingwoman l I don’tmindtellin'm

youknow,thatl knewher atMadras—ah l beforethe divcrce. 'ttell Horrocks, northatdam young fool Silcox, butI don ’tmindtell ln' you l

itaboutthatlto you anythin . Y ou knowl make ita rulca

’

gnidin rule—assertslo say amh‘

a’. Y ou fcllowthatrulethrough life, rnyboy l Taketheword cf an old chapthat’s seen

a deal of service, and justyouWWW ! Y cu make

i

a

mtf - you'll find it pay An asthmaasthmatic cough came in

Therewasa divcrce,then 1”we said. Termshadto bemadetongue aboutwasthatstcry aboutm

you gyou ain’tflorrooks nm' little

name ! Was itBayner,or was itVerschoyle |TheMajortriedto caBthe attention of a man

whowaedeep in anOriental newspaper atthe far end ofthe nextroom. ButwhentheMa '

or overstrams hisvcica itmisses firelike a costermonger’a and

Jonly a falsetto note comes on a highWhenthis happens he iswroth.

he says, as soon as

he has become articulate. “T hat’sthe man l want, behindthe‘Daily Sunderbund.

’l f itwasn ’tforthis damtoe, l ’d go acrose

don't you go. Send one of these dam jumpin’

frogs—idlin ’ about 1” He requisitions a waiter, grippinghim bythe armto give him instructions. ust—you—touchthe Gm d

’s m m d ketoh hia attention . SayMajor B-oper.”

!rememberthe whole story quite well," said he. “Thegirl was going outby herselfto marry a young fellowupthecountry atUmballa, Ithink. They were floacés, and cntheher, sa it turned out ! Nobodytheretowarn her whatsortoffellow P enderfield was—and if there had been shewouldn ’thave

SOMEBOWGOOD 0i

u he didn'tcutacm hvlittle arrangemeuts—did morethm wh h mh ct—hnta hdmmhand gbutonly as long ss she

on as you might say. TheM uses:on her husband’s part sheup was just the same "

.bOsather . Imemhu Lady Sharp saying that if Pmderfield bud suspecte d hiswife atcaring about ‘ i a would hr.”

0000.lm bthl ‘ l ' a l i l l lltl nto one another was «hr-m .hcm T he

GM lighted his cigar, and seemedto f orm a l .rthiswasviiThe Ma or appended a foot-note , fo r our .

sam iit.La ss be was the word— the word for P ox-( I n-fichi . Y ou

’

llI. Colonel’s

wife in garrison has her choice, good Whv. sl:

M

E E {8

the reverse case. But we -were more interested intheprofile-or .“I su we suggested,thatthe youngto ga forrnidable rivaln stherewas a rcwl” Each oltheoficers nodded atthe other , and saidthatwas aboutit. The

of nods cn his

and added cnce ortwicethatthatw ahoutit. We inferred frcmthistl 'atthe rowhad beenvolcanic in character . TheMajorthenM rspeatingthe air-sawing action cf his forefinger admonitorily, But,mind you, I say nothin'. And my recommendationto you is to say nothin’ neither."The restof the story's soon told,”said the General, answering

our look of enquiry. Miss Graythorpe went away to Umballato be married. It was all gossip, mind you, about herself andPonder-deid. But gossip always went one way about any girlhewas seen with . l have my own belief ; so hasJack Roper.”The Major underwent a perfect convulsion of nods, winks, andacquiescence. Well, she went away, andwas married to thisyoung shaver, who was very little over twenty. He wasn’t in

i

the service- civil appointment, lthink. c lwg was it,Major , beforethey parted l Do you recol lectl”“Week-ten days—mon th—eixweeks ! Couldn’tdidn

’tpartatthe church door nhat’s all l could sayTel l himthevest.”“

They oer lainly partedvery soom and psopl'

etold all sorts ofstories. The stories gotfewer and olearer wha i itcame out

anysuficientwarrant. However, itwas all clear enough whuitheohildwas born.

”

“Whenwasthe divorce ia divorce atwelvemonth afterthe

T he Oourthim, butcouldn’tgrve hrm anySo he made a boltof it. Andhe’s never been heard of m e, as

far as I kncw.

”

“Whatdidthe mother do l Where did she go i”we aaked.

Wed she mighthave been hard putto itto kncwwhattoshe metwith oldLund—Garfingtoa d you h ow,

name ofMacnaghten, husI ean ’t rememberthe least. But it wasn’tMac

No—nor hers ndther !of

Nightingale, General— that’s thethis

you !Thetwo ofiioers interchanged

glances over our young friend Sally.

“Shewas a nice bahy on

the boa , said the General , and the Major chuckled wheezily,and hoped she didn

’ttake after her father .

We lefthimtothetender mercies cfgoutand asthma andthe

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th em wmewssb a lmestwsntthe length dtakh gthe fcrm known - “lanp gs”mr m T he fastia fi is

Sally- d her mothn nevc ds‘d getontoga herwell fitw- i‘tths

numberthsu d who h d onMr . Dsnwick irithe 'hvopenny h bs.

The d oftha “words ”waa a letterto Ger-ry, a ‘ eraltrousesau, md a first h emlady

’s hrggap hrtheWm “ sta i d“

Care of Sir Oughtred P snderfisld,Mthatmiglfi have heantmeflso of

u d ewiththe latter .

Anyhow,this club gesm’

p supplies allthe broad outlm ofthestory ; and itis a storywe need notdwel l on . h ym ns -no

of

upthe attemptin despair , or jumpedteoquicklytothe conclusionthatshe had succeeded in communicatingthe facts, andhad been methaK -wqby forgivem s. P utyourself in her

position, and resolve inwyontmind exactly howyou would haveabout it—howyouwould have gota story oith stsortintothemi-d of awelcoming lover ;wedged intothe heart

his in auspicious raptur e. Or, if you fancied he undersd8.

manyof sin, when pourlng his revelaticns intoer pc ieaos of hfe hss notqualified herto understandthem lWy d gfi nn an cr wommto spoak directu-uth !lee us firnl out, er ocnstu ct, allthe er cuseswo can for poor“Gn ythorpo. I‘ us imsginethe lastcom sel she had fromthe rmly one ofhc m sexwhowouid be likslyto knowanything

ofthe flter—fi nsfanons partna fifthe l aicr’s m misewas” in betrayer. “Y ou are making a fuss

ahoutnothing. Marm otnotso imm ed atethm selves z your

Gerry'

he ridestho high horse with yoqto sayto P ofiphar’swife l 9h,we’re

E i a.

8 psetmdto be.

” We can f- eythe elegantbrutefl ying it.Al our surmises bring usvery little light,though. Itis notthatwe are atsach a lessto iergive poor Sally Grayfi oi-p as a

mm human creature we knowisto reeoncilowhatshe seemsto have boenthen withis ncw. We give itup.

Only,wewishto remarkl

thatitis her ofience agaimtherflsocéalonethatwe find it'hardto stcmach . Asto her relatiensrwiththorpe, our mind would go backtothe T emple in Jer-usalem ,

and a morning neorlytwothousand years ago. Thevoicethatsaid who wasto cssttho firststone is heacd no more, or has

merged in ritual . Butthe Soribes and P harisees are with us

still , anandquite readyto dothe pelting. Wa should be harder

the Colonel, no doubt, with our prejudices; only, observe!

he isn’t brought up for judgment. He never is, any more than

of their convictions— their previous convictions l— and actedon them in their selection of the culprit.Without further apology for re tailing conjecture as certainty,

M Q UWcom 07

She iound a resoureo ln hortrouh intho pesacn olthis old

m a ha mm m w w mw m”(mm T his ofioor had remainod on in ans- tothum al age ciflity-eight,butitwas a citil appointmoum hold ;

things. Itwas nmbably noton ly because of his old friondshipfor hu siopfather , butbooausotho p

i:’orpoor gir

‘told him hor un

Butsho weuld p ay ior hor . A sub-diaoonal application woufiSb wonld como round intime . Her natun l goetfleslingwod dgottho bettor ol hor whon d o had had hor eehgousfling. Hotutitm strictold h ritan ofth old mhook —butfiratwas lfiss Graythorpe’s glou in her own mind onwhathe did say.

oondemnation oi her daughtortothe end, iongim g hor mM m , if anytbfmg with inm'eu sd asperity, on bor doath

This Coionel Lund is (have we mentioned this before ?)thoold fossil

”whom we hovo seon atK raketoa Viila. He wasusually called theMajor ” there, from early association . E soontinuedto ioster and w or hisM os duringthe year

iollowingtho arrival of our own particular youn '

g fld ly onthewene, sw her asfelythrough hemdivome pm eedim m d than,

6—2

BOI EHOWGOOD

brm co m d m ayah should aooompany lfimto kngland. His

voyage ; 8ally was notsufloring irom soa-aicknoss, orteolingoossivelyto gstintotho l ndianOooan,the P srsian Guli,the Bodm m uofl orrm , andthe Atlantio, butiailod in everyM pt, md wu finsfly h ndd atsouthm pton in n ioty, dtera m olute eflortto dragths captaimwhowas six iootthreo higbm d welghodtwentyuong ashoro by his beard. Showas gmatlywos a Gorman boat) by a iamily of Vons, who fortunately neverwhatmightnothm happened.

Butthe arrival wastoo latotor hor poor motherto utiliso hsrprincipm, and uncombated by timely pm'twine and tonics,free io mar ry agahuagain. Whethor he did so or notdoosn ’ton with pleasumthm ghthevoyago oi simply dmpping heroflspfing on its grandmotbor . and looving itto drive a coaoh and

to pau . mie iorn d hc solf aiter a year and a half ofOrientalm m mm m m m bagvith a smal l— butitmustbe admitted avory chatming family. Itwasupon bor , £or she had boen bM enthe succese ofthis

fiemtho personsthoy oonoorn, ospeeial ly mrnors, had been

obsorved in her caso ; and hor mother , porhaps reseuting fi sfi s ideathather daughter—a young chitl—should prssumotoher , had hopthsr in ignorsneo oftho conteuts of her atopfather ’swill. Itdid notrsafly matter muoh. Hadtho sum bsen large,and a certain , itmighthave prooussd for her a safer posifionwhen atemporary guestattho Rssidenoy atK hopal , or ovon

i

i'

70

three hundrod and pounds a ysar, on lifeof a lady oi forty-odd,who mighthveto be a hundred. A girl

outit.A conditionwas attached to the bequest— not an unwelcomeone. She wastotake her stoptathor’s name, Nightingale.Showas reanyvery gladto dothis. Thm was a lau m

’

r of a

Mrs. Graythorpe. Besides, all troublesome questions about whoWe father was would getlootsightof intho factthathermothor had changod hor name in connoxionwiththatsacrod andglen

-lem ming, an inheritsuoo. Atrust-fund would always boa spiondid red-herringto drswacrossthe psth oe -s. Grundy’sM ounds—aquorry more ssvourytotheir nostrils even

than a reputation. And nothing soothes the sceptical morethan being asked nowand againto witneos atransfer of stock,ospeoial ly if itis money hold intrust. Ithas alltho ior'ee of a

70 " OWGOODsottlod ininths liatwsnty-ono

ohristonod itS:aratoga, alter hsr oarly reoolloction ol placeE

aE

}

would havo soomod nosdloss e xportinouoo— justas muoh so as

yours would have been inthe muse oi the hypothetical So~and~so’sattho boginning of our lr r ? Avague improssiou gotintho airthatsally’s fathor notbeon altogethor aatisfactory—wel asn

’tittr-ue l Itmay havo loakod outtrom somo

Butitnever produced anyofiecton iri‘onda, oxceptthatthey sawin ita reason whyMrs.

husband. He had been a

ps

ati

Md,we fool oortainthatthe iniounationwould havo boouoroas~oountored with a blank stare oi incredulity. Why,the morefactthatMrmNidrtingale had rofused so many ofiers of

surely sufficient to refute such a nonsensical idea l“s om heard of a lsdywith a soiled record refusing a good ofierol marriago l

Butwhils wo sre showiug our respectfor whatthe man inthestreetuys mthinkm andthe womun inthe streetthinks snd

seymarewe notlon'

xg sightof a leading phrose oi’the symphony,scum cantata —whatever you liketo call it—oiMrs. Nightingale’s Bo ! A phn sethatstod s im iustaudibly—no mom in

movemeng howw j nwhiohthe prsoseM ofth-Divomoeourt

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porson from

girlthathadquarrsl lsd with her natural for doingwhatsho had a porfootrightto do.“M ed alouo into '

unknown ssaa a shipwlthouta rudder or a oompaqandvsrysoowhatsho is nowmuoh betterthanwe oan judgswhatshewas

made any enquiry, aboutthe sequel ofthesho had so oompletely boum ; ior.whatever blamewoboundto oxprem orwhatevor exoulpafionwo contriveto ooneoctfor hsr ,thue can bo no doubtwhatthe resultwastothe youngmanwho has oorne intotho storyn o farmnlyundertho name oiGerry. We simply rocord his designation as ithas rsached usintho datawe are nowmakmg uss oi. Itis all hesrsay abouto post. Wo add whatwo have boenas pmbable.“Nobody knoo, nobody carsd, wss our friendMajor Boper’sbrid replyto m ouquirywhatbocame ofthisyoungman.

“Why,alltho Johnnissthatshy oflwhontbore’s a rowofthotsort,one w'

ould nover geta dam night’s restl Notbutwhatif l

73

could ueolloothh nama. Now.whatrssshh oonioundsd namo |I'd gotit—butno—ltwasu'tl odter . P ansy histhinkin’oi—eharacterthatloohsd u ii he hsd aa paln in his

l

lorWthousaud pounds. Stop a bit—wasitlndormaurtNqitwam 'tl ndsrmaur. No n-a m m

“Notrushin’ather , you know, and sayin

’

,

‘Whothe dooooI’m nota darn iool . Showin’

young beggar nowl—impootor—surveyor—aomething ofthesort—up atUmbal la in sovonty-nine i Burrumpootcr l rrlgation—that”swhathswas on . And, Lard bloss you, my doar sir,

up and say.‘l supposo youmeanthat

Hot shotSensiblowonranthat, dr~soonthoworld—M athing ortwo. Y ou’ll sso she

’ll onlyor Puha or Stebbina or Jephm

’u

ma ba woordinu ’tome name.

o did notn o our waytothia onterpfisqand said so. We

oouldn'tdo.so ; his old

oorti dsniquo The lasttwowmds remainod hohind in

were shaken out 03thelemou

'thatwas awaiting itsSoltssr .“

Butl eantellam onethinn flsaid he, our

nams,assoon ashetsoothed bytho lemon-squash.

“He

keop hh namemhatyoung man didn 't. Y oumay bothe didn’tsatoly lto . H itm ahimthatwas lostinthoBu'

sh inNewSouthWales,when I was at Sydney, why, of course that chap’s

I remember that much. Can't get hold of the name,though.” He appoaredto oonsulttho pattom on his silk pockothandkerchief as an oracle, and to await its answer with a thought,

74 SOMEHOW GOOD

ful eye. P ressutly ho blcwhis nose onthe oracle, and returoedit to his pocket, adding But it’s a speculation— little spoon!»tion of my own. Don

’tas]:me I " We saw, however , that morewould come, without asking. And it came.“

Itmade atalk outthore atthe time. Butthatdidn’tbringhim to life. Y ou may talk till you’re hoarse, but you won

’tbring a doad manto—qrotwhon he’stwenty miles ofi in a forestoi gum-

,treos as like astallow Oh yes,they hadthe nativos putonthe scent—bh cktrackmthey call’

embut, Lard !it was all no use. They only followed the scentofhis-

,horso andthe horse came back a iortnightaiter withthemon his heels, an hour or so He

’d only just left

his party a moment, and meantto come back into the open . I

suppose he thought he was sure to cross a cutting, and gettrapped inthe solid woodland.”But what was the speculation 1 You said just nowNot much to go by,

" said theMajor, shaking ahead. “Another joker with another name, who turned up ahundred miles cd ! Harrieson , I fancy— yes,Harrissou. It wasonly my idea they were the same. I came away, and don

’tknow how they settled it.”But something, Major Roper, must have made you think

his namowas—Mrs.Nightingals’s man i“Somethin’ must !Whatitwas is snother pair of shces.

Ho cogitatcd and reflected, butseemedto getno nearer .

“Youask P elloo,

” he said. “He might give you a tip.

” Then he

dam chillystufimndthe sherrywas ncuso atall . We lefthimarrangingthe oracle cver im with aviewto a serious

We gota fewwords shortly after with General P ellew, whoseemed a little surprised at the Major’s having referred to himfor information.

I don’t know, said he, why our friend Roper shouldn’t

recollect as much about it as I do. However, I do certainlyyoung gentleman, whatever his

name was, leftthe station, he did go to Sydney or Melbourne,and I have some hazy recollection of some one saying thathe was lost inthe Bush. But why old Jack fancies he wasfound sgain or changed his nametc Harrisson I haven ’ttheslighteatiSo that all we ourselves succeeded in getting at about Gerry

e

SOMEHOW GOOD 76

may be saidto have been thetr ap-door hevanishedthrough.Whothee a Nightingale gotatother-scuroos of information wecannotsay. Whatever sho learned she would bo sureto keepher own counsel about. She may have concluded that the bonesofthe husband who had in a fitof anger dosertod her had boonpickod bywhite ante,twenty years ago, in an Auatra' lian forest;or she may have come to know, by some means, of his resuscitation from the Bush, and his successes or failures in a later lifeelsewhere. We have had our own reasons for doubting thatshe ever knew that he took the name of Harrisson— ii he reallydid—a point which seemedto usvery uncertain, so far as theMajor’s narrative went. If she did geta scrap of tidings, aflying word, about him now and again, it was most likely all shegot. And when she got it she would fool the danger of furtherenquiry— the difficulty of laying the reasons for her curiositybefore her informant. You can’t easily sayto a stranger :oh, do tell us aboutMrs. Jones or Mr. Smith. She or he is

our divorced or sepmtedwifo or husband.

” A Germon might,butMrs. Nightingale was not a German.

However, she may have heard something about that Gerry.wo grantyou, in allthosetwa rty long years. Butif you ask uscf him , if sho heard atall , aud cortainly nover setoyes on him,

until one day her madcap little daughter brought him home,hd f kflled by m electric shoch in a cab we were atsomopainsto describe socurately a fewpsgos ago. And evonthen.had it not been forthe individualities of that cab, she mightAs itmthe fwo she sawwhen a froak of chance ledtc her

followingthatcab, and looking in outof mere curiosity at itsoccupanh wasthe face of her old lcveru- o f her husband.

Eighteen—twantyh years had made a man of one who was thenlittle morethan a boy. T he mark oftheworld he had lived inwas on him and it was the mark of a rough, strong world where

Buthis identity for a moment. And the

“way in

'

which she grasped the factthatho hadnot recogniscd her andwould not recognise her—quite justified,to our thinking,Major Roper’s opinion of her powers of self

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know, Tisby. In fact, I love him.

come intothe house. Only—one’smother, you know ! It's the oddity of it 1”“Yes, dear. Now, are you It only clicketsdown beoause youwil l aotscrcwin ; it’s no useturning andleavingthe key sloppy”“I know, Tisby dear— teach your granny ! Thcrqlthinkrb

fi’s right now. But it is funny when it’s one’s mother, ian’t

tOne— two— three— lour l There—you didn’t begia e

member youve gotto begm on demisemiquaver atthe endofthe bar—only nottoo staccato, muember—A nd allowforthepause. Now— one, two, three, four, and you begin— ln themiddle of four—notthe end. Oh dear letc.Y ouwill atonce see fromthisthatSally had lostnotime in

a confidante for the fossil’s communication.notatal l

sorry for an ofi s ir .the oounting,which youinaugurate (oiwhatever you do when it’s an ows) by smashingthetop coal andmaking a greatblaae , Andthsn you go ever so clnse, and oan

Are you sure it isn’t Colonel Lund’s mistake ! Old gentlemen getvery fanciful ." ThusMissWilson . Butitseems Sallyhasn

’tmuch doubt. Rathsrthe other way round, if anything !“Ithoughtitmightbe, allthewaytoNorlend

I changed mymind coming upthe hill . Of course, don'tabout

'

mamma till I ask her. But I expect theMajor’s rightaboutMr . Fenwick.

But how does he know 3 How do you know iI don’t know. Sally tastes the points .of a holly-leaf with

her tongue tip, discreetly, to see how sharp they are, and cogitates. At least,

”she continues, I do lmow. He never takeshis ey

l

e

l

s 03m m from the minute he comes into the house.”asO I

”

Besides— lots ofthings l Oh no ; as far asthatgoes, lshould say hewas spooney.

"

SOMEHOW GOOD 79

l acs. Y ou’re avulgar child, allthe same lM ’

sthemh .

Thevulgar child tates still more gravely.“I should say

005i

she says,"

afterthinkingitover ,“thatonly I never noticed itatthetime, you know“

Thatwhatl”Thatmamma knowsMr. Fenwick is spooney, and looks up

attimesto see -that he’s going on.

”

Laetitia seemsto receivethis ideareserve. “Looks up attimesto see if he s going ou l

” sherepeats enquiringly.“

.Y es, of course— likewe should .

' Only I didn’tsay ‘see if.’

I said‘seethat.’ Itmakes al lthe diiferm ce.

MlssWilson bseaks into a laugh.

“Andthere you/are allthe

time looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, and as

grave as a juSal ly hasto acquiesce in being kissed by her iriend atthis

point; butshe curls up a little as onewho protests againstl”she says, lengthen ing out the

why notl I don’tsee auything intliatl”“Oh no, dear -Mo all rightl Why shouldn

’titbe lor dy-pusmm or mmething ofthatsortto her young fi'iend.

Butwith an implied claimto rights of ’ t, on her own account,from seniority. Sally is/roissés atthis, tthe topic into a new light.

If it wasn’t for But this gives away her case, surrenders all claimto her equality with Laetitia’s twenty-fouryears. The advantage isMtat meanly.That’s only because you’re a baby. dear. Wait till you

’reten years older, and thirty-eight won

’t seem so old. I supposeyour mother’s about that l”

Mother 1 Why, she’s nearly thirty-nineAndMr . Fenwick 1”

-oh, he’s forty-one. Quite1 Because we talked it all over,

and made out they were over eighty between them.

”

Who talked it over 1”Why, him and her and me, of course. Lastnight.Who did you have, Sally dear l

"

80 M OWGOOD

and me andthe hlajor.”Oh, you counted him in l "“Why notl And youdo like l

”Then is an of .

irritating sagacity about Sally’s frieud.

“What Dr. Verekersay, 8ally dear l

"

“Who'd gone l”“Dr. P rosy and his old hen of a mother. WelL Tishy dear,she n likethat. Oomsswobbling down on you as if youa chicken l I hope you don

’tthlnk mother snd l and l l r .

Fenwickwouldtal k abouthowoldwewere addedtogether ,with ,

old Goody P rosy in itl" '

Of course not, dear l“Oh, T ishy dear , howagg owvating you are l Nowdo please

don’tbe penetrating You you

’retryingto getatsome

thing ; andthere’s nothlngto getat. ItwssOnly, of course, we should never dream of talking about howoldbefore peop le andtheir gossipy old mothen .

”

“Of oourse not, dear l”There, nowl Y ou

’re being imperturbable l I knewyou

would. Butyou may say whatyou like—therenothing in it. Nothmg whatever that time ! However, ofcourse mother does like Mr. Fenwick very much—everybodyknowsthat.”Latitia saystime will show, and 8al ly says, Showwhatt”

Its maker does notreply, butretires intothe fastnesses of ahigher philosophy, unknownto the teens, but somehow attain

after Dr. Vercher. sally has ss good as held hsrtongue aboutMy dear 'l

‘ishy l The idea i A per/eotstraager l ”

I thought you were such good friends.”

I’ve nothing againstDr. Vercher. But fancy quarrellingsubjectedto a

'fixed amused look, is sure to deveIOpe, and main.

One hasto be cn an intimate footingto fall out. Besides1

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horribly.

Our is likethe schsrso in ithsstc bsin jerks—literary, not

stated intervals atall. The musicwasis more

granular-myouwill haveto brace yomself uptotolerating antermitta itstyle. Itisthe

intormation admits cf.Thh hme mudmmhflude,mtol;em i

drmhatdtgourpxoyoung psrformers, gives us a idea w wastion ofthings atK rakatoaVilla six months affer Fenwlck madethe life oe a Nightingale. WeThere is one

schemeto do all she coto recapture and holdthis man whohad been her husband no mere sbw

figestion ofthe course

of events in that six months, but a swift decisive resolutiononethat, if notabsolutely made atonoe, paused only inthcmaking until she wasquite satisfiedthatthe disappearance of

appearancetheterrible close oftheir brief linked—over all that she would have askedgotten. If only this oblivion could be washer fear. If itcould, whattssk oould be sweeterto herthanto make him such amends as lay in her power for the shehad done him— how faultfully, who shall say ! And if, in lateold age, no dawn ofmemory having gleamed in his ruined mind.she cameto be ableto speakto him andtell him his ownthetale ofthewreck of his early years—would notthatalmost,M eal-rywith ita kind of compensation for whatshe hsd

l

i E

undergoneBotherterror ofseemg a return ofmemory nowwasa haunting

80—0m 83

Butshe saldto berself afta 'that,and had played her partwell The

recollect. about his schooldays i No, that was a ,blank.He could noteven remember having been Y etidea cf school was notunfamiliar ; how, otherwise, could helaugh as he did atthe absurdity of forgetting all aboutit,upecial ly being flogged ! But his brothers, his sisters, howwald he forgetlbem l He did, although intheir case, as inthatof his parents, he somehowknew that some definite identitieshad existed that he had forgotten. But any efiortto recall anyor history. Then Sally, who was rather incredulous about thiscompletevacuity of mind, had said to him : But come now

,

Mr. Fenwick, you don’t mean to say cu don’t know if

ever had a sweethearti” And he repl ied with a laugh :“My dear Miss Sally, I’m sure I musthave had plen ofsweethearts. P erhape it’s because l hed so manythatl vs

G—2

the sad eyelids and'the grave eyesthathad retaken the

look he had ahakeu ofl. She could note and measure everychange maturity had stamped upon him. and could see behind

itthe boythathad cometo meether atthe station atUmballatwenty years before—had mether full of ho metherto claimhis reward afterthe long delaythrough hideous days of

held nothing for him so bad asthetale she hadtotell or ccnceal .She could see back upon itall asthey stoodthere inthe moonlight. Do notsay shewas nota strongwoman.

Do you know,Mrs. Nightingale,”Fenwick said, it’s always

a night of this sort that brings back one’s youth ! You knowwhat I mean i”

I think I understand what you mean, Mr. Fenwick. Youmean if —she hesitated a moment if you couldHe nodded a complete yes.

Just that," said he. . I don’t knowif it’s the millions of

dry leaves sweeping about, or the moon

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Andthm m m a h nghed butnctMr . Fenwick atall . Onlythoughther mother’s laugh came hard, and saidto herself,nowshe shculd catch itfor chaifing ! However, she didn’tcatch it, althoughthe abruptnesswith which her mother saidgood-nightaud wentback intothe house half confirmed herimpression lthatshe should.

Onthe contrary, when she fol lowed her a fewminutes later,having accompanied Fenwiok to near the road end, and scampered backtothe house,turningtothrowP arthian gocd-nightsafter him, she found her mother pale and thoughtful, snd surelythe hps and hands she usedto kiss her with were cold Shewasn’teven surethatwasn’tatear . P erhaps itwas.

For mamma hsd had a badten minutes—scm ely a mamm'

equartd’hm e—and eventhatshortinterim had given hertimeto seethatthis kind ofthing would be incessantwith her re

covered husband, granting that she could recover him . Onlyof that she felt nearly secure—unaccountabiy, perhaps ; certainlynot warrantably. But how to bear this kind of thing througha life l— that was thequeition .

made her tremble, and turn white, and glad to getaway, and bealone a minute before Sally came up jubilant But oh, howglad, for allthat,to getather daughter ’s lipsto kiss l—only nottoo hard, so as to suggest reflection and analysis.What had upsetMrs. Nightingale was a counter-memory oftwenty years ago, a clear aud ful l andvivid recol lection ofths

garden audthe girl andthe dog-cart. Andthen alsothere“had only been mamma for the gir Butoh, the relationthe lead s who saidthou words bone to those past days, herplace in the drama that filled them out ! Little wonder hermother’s brain reeled.She could see it all vividly now, all over again. A gloriousnight like this ; a dazzling full moon sailing in the blue beyondthe tumbled chaos of loose cloud so near the earth ; the riot ofthe wind-swept trees fighting to keep a shred of their old greenontheir bareness

,making new concessions to the blast, and

beating their stripped limbs together in their despair ; the endless swirl of leaves at liberty, free now at lastto enjoy a shortand merry life before becoming food for worms. . She could seethe face she had justparted from, but twenty years youngerthe same bone-structure with its unscarred youth upon it, onlya lesser beard with a sunnier tinge, but all the thickness of the

BOMEHOWGOOD 87

could rememberthevoiou inthe hbunthe fare

hear him oal l her Rosey, forthatwas his namefor her.Now, Gerry, remember, I

've made yo no promises ; butI’ll play fair . c hm

ge my mind l

’uu

wfito andtel l you.

Silly boy,be reasonable! Once a month! You’ll see,you

’llget tired of it.”

The idea I

h,go ! Y ou

’l l lcsethetrain.

0

Yes, what l— you’ll lose the train.

Oh, my dcarest, -I oua’tl Justthink— I may never see you

1”

“Y ou mastgo, Gerry dear ! Andthere’sthatblockhead of

a boy outsidethere.

”

“Never mind him ; he’s nobody ! Only one

dearestlooa l ’m really going“ Good-bye l good-bye! Godblem you i

”

Andthen howshe stoodthere withthe of his lips

dying on hers, alone bythe gate, inthewild aud beardthe sharp regulartretofthe horse lessen onthe hard road and

die away,'

and thenthe running of atrain she thought was his,and howhewould surely miss it, and haveto come back'

. And

itwould be nice justto see him again ! Buthe was gone, forallthat, and hewas a dear good boy. And she recollected gcingto her bedroomto do up her hair,which had all come down, andhiding l

her faoe on her pillowin a hig burstoftears.

Her mind harked back on allthis as he himself,the same butchanged, stood there in the moonl ight strivingto recollect itall, and mysteriously failing. But at least, he did fail, andthat

88 SOMEHOW GOOD

was something . But oh, what a wrench it gaveto life, thought,reason,to all her heartand being,to havethatunconsciouschitcutinwi “on ly mamma forthe girl !” Whatandwhencewasthis little malaprop ! Her overwroughtthisquestion—almostinthe asking it—with Dearerto me, atshut awaythe restofthe answer.Butshe was gladto getatSally, and feel herthere,thoughAnd -u saon uthetension died dowm she wentback asto a

source of peace tothe failure of his powers of memory, obvious,complete. All her hopes lay in that. Where wouldthey be ifthe whole pastwere suddenly sprung on him ! He mightbeready to bury bygones, butShe woke next day fairly at ease in her mind, but feeling asone does after any near- run escape. And then it was she saidto herselfthatshewas a good actress. Butthe partwas hardtowt.

and daughter, seem to us to have been acquiring cohesion at thetime of the foregoing interview. It is rather difiicultto saywhy. But it servesto pave the wayto the state ofthings thatSally accepted as the spooneyness of Fenwick, and hermother’s observation of his “going on, without the dimmestidea of the underlying motives of the drama. Another threemonths, bringing us on to these discriminations of Sally

’s,may

also have brought about appearances that justified them.

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00 SOMEHOW GOODmemories of an atrecious clearnessthatwculd cometo him indreams,the horrer of which would re

gain on inh

alihbu'mtime. They were notnecessarily horri e things at t

clearness inthe dream, andthairtotal, if slow, disappearanceasthe actualwor ld came back,became sometimes an excruciatingtorment. Wh o could say that or some equivalents, mightnot reach him out of the past y orto-morrow—any time!For instance, he had one morning waked up in a perfectagony- a cold perspiration as of the worst nightmares— becauseof a dream harmless enough in itself. He had suddenly remembered, in the dream-street he could identify the houses of soplainly, a first-floor he had occupied where he had leftall hisfurniture locked up years ago. And he had found the houseand the first-floor quite easily, and had not seen anything strangein the landlord saying that he and his old woman often wondered when Mr. Fenwick would come for his things. It was notthe accumulation of rent unpaid, nor that of the dirt he knew heshould find on the furniture (all of which he could recollect inthe dream perfectly but the fact that he had forgottenit all, and left it unclaimed all those years, that excruciatedhim. Even his havingto negotiate for its removal in his shirtdid notafilicthim so much as his forgetfulness for so long ofthe actual furniture ; his conviction of the reality of which lastedon after his discovery about his costume had made him suspect,in his dream, that he wasTo a man whose memory is sound, who feels sure he looks

beck on an actusl pastin security, such a dream is only a

curiosity of sleep. To Fenwick it was, like many others of thesame sort, a possible herald of an analogous revelation in waking

of an utterly forgotten past.His worst terror, far and away,was the fear that he was married

and a father. It might have been supposed that this are a froma provisional sense of pity for the wife and children he musthave left ; that his mind would conceive hypothetical povertyfor them, or sorrow, disease, or death, the result direct or indirect of his disappearance. But this was scarcely the case.They themselves were too intemely hypothetical. In thisrespect the blank in his intellect was so unqualified that itmight never have occurredto him to ask himself the questionifthey existed had itnotbeen suggestedte him byMrs.Nightingale herself. It was, in fact, a

'question she almost always

m

91

recurredto when hfiss Sally was outofthe way. Itwas no

usetryingtotalk seriouslywhenthatlittle monkeya joke. But the Major was quiteback her up in anything reascnable.

I wish more could be doneto h d out,” said she fortheone evening, shortly afterthe musical

recital of lastchapter . “I don’tfeel as if itwss rightto '

give upadvertising. Supposethe poorthing is in Australia or America.

”

“The poor thing is my hypothetical wife 1”Exactly so. Well, suppoee she is. Some people

. And allthewhile she may have beenWe

Oh no ; we should have been sure to see or hear?But why ! Now I ask you, Mr. Fenwick, suppose she

a dozentimes in the ‘Melbourne Argus ’ or the‘New York Sun,

’would you have seen it, necessarily l”“I should not, because I never seethe ‘Melbourne Argus ’ or

the NewYork Sun.

’ Butthese agents we paidto look out gosteadilvthrough the agony columns— the personal advertisemanta—of the whole world’s press ; they would have found itif it had ever been published.

I dare say they only pocketed the money.

That they did, no doubt. But they gave me something forit. A hundred and twenty-three advertisements addressedFenwicks—none of themto me i”But have we advertised enough 1Oh, heavens, yes. Think of the answers we

’ve had ! I’vejustreceived the hundred and forty-second. ' From a lady indistressed circumstances who bought a piano tenfrom a party of my name and initials— thought I mig‘

inclined to buy it back at half price. She proposes to c on

me early next week.

”

PoorMr . Fenwick ! It is discouraging, I admit. But, ohdear !fancy if there’s some poor thing breaking her heart somewhere 1 It’s easy enough for you— you don

’t believe in her.”“That’s it ; I don’t 1” He dropped a tone of pleasantry,and spoke more seriously. Dear Mrs. Nightingale, if my

conviction of the existence of this lady did not riseto the height of a definite disbelief in her altogether —well, I

should be wretched. But I feel very strongly that I need notmake myself a poor miserable about her. I don

’tbelieve inher

,that’sthe truth 1”

92 SOMEHOW GOOD“Y oudon’t believe a man conld forget hiswife l“I can ’tbel ieve it, try how I may ! Anything— anybody

dse—buthiswifqno l"Fenwiek had come in late inthe evaning, as he was inthe

habitof oftenthree or fourtimes intheweek. He looked~

acrcss frm side ofthe hearthrug,where he had b'

een standingwatchingthe flre, butcould notseethe fsce cppositeto him .

Mm Nightingalewas sitting with her backtothe light, shelteringher eyes fromthe blazewith a flre-screen. So Fenwick sawon lythe aureolethe lamp made in her hain—itwas a fine halowith a

goldentinge. Sally wasvery proud of mamma’s hair ; itwas

much better funto dothan her own, saidthevulgar child.

Buteven had she mtbecn hiddm bythe wmemthe expres

sion on herMe might have meant nothing to him— that is.nothing more than the ready sympathy he was so well accustemed to. A little anxiety cf eye, atremor inthe lip, ,

the birthof a frown without a sequel— these might have meant anythingor nothing. She might even have turned whiter than she did,and yetnctbe saidto showthe cross-fire oftorments in herheart. She was, as wetold you, a strong woman, either bynan rqor else har life had made her oneFor, think of what the recesses of her memory held , think ofthe she looked bwk on, and knew to be nothing but ab to him . Think ofwhatshewas, and hewas, as he stoodthere and said, Anybody else, but his wife and then rathershaped the“No " that followed with his lips than said it ; but

'

shook an emphasis intotheword with his head.“When are you goingto getyour hair cut,Mr . Fenwick lsaid she , and he did think she changed the subject abruptly,without apparent cause. It’s just like a lion’s mane whenyou shake it like that.”

To-morrow, if you think it too disreputable.I like it.

'The last few words'

showed the completeness of Fenwick’stame attitude in the family. It had developed in an amazinglyshort time. Was it dueto the old attachment of this man andwoman—eu attachment, mind you, that was sound and strongtill itdied aviolentdeath l We do notfindthis sovery incredible ; perhaps, because that memory of their old parting inthe garden wentnearerto an actual revivalthan any otherstirring of hismind. But, of course, there may have been othersequally strong, on lywe chanceto hear ofthis one.

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rm cm minute. i oughtto have apologised for interrupting you.“I said l should notdourtcatechrsm aboutmyself. I shouldno Fenwick felt he could not assign this speech its properplace in the dialogue without thinking.

lookingto al l seeming intothe fire fortumed round and spoke.“Surelythatistrue, in a sense, of al l mankind—mankind

andwomankind. Nobodywantsto be srcnthrough. Butcne’spasswould needto be avery oneto make onewish for anoblivion likemineto extingui'ah it. ’

“I should notdislike it. I have nowal lthatl wishto keep

cutofthe past. I have Sally. There is nothing l oould notafiordto forgctinthe past, no onethingthe lcss cfwhich couldalter her inthe least,thatlittle monkey of a daughter of mine lAndthere are many, manythings l should liketo seethe lastof.” From which speech Fenwick derived an impression thatthe little monkey, the vulgar child, had come back warm andliving andwelcometothe speaker’s mind, and had driven awaysome mists of night, some uglinesses that hung about it. Howhewished he could ask :“Was one ofthem her father l Thatwas not practicable. But it was something of that sort, clearly.

His mind could mtsdmitthe idea of a haunting remom a

guflty conscim e of m aotion of her owm inthe memory ofthewoman who spoketo him . Hewastoo loyalto her forthat.

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expecthemade avery good young man for a smallteaOf course he did, and it

’s quite ridiculous." By the

hadthisway of mshing subjects, elidingthe obvious, and relying on her hearers. He told me all about it. He’duniversal ly provided, he said ; and romised nottotell . MissErskine Peel— that’s Orange, you know, the soprano—went tothe manager and said her mcther saidthey mad getmore men ,

though it wasn’t dancing, or the rooms looked so had ; only theymustn’t be fools, and must be abl eto sayWagner and Lisz t andthings. And he hoped l didn

’tthink hewas a fWhat did you say i”

Said I couldn’t say—d idn’t know him well enough. Hemight be, to look at. Or not, accordingly. I didn’t saythat,you know, momma.

”

00 SOH OWGOODI didn’t know, Y ou’revery rude sometimes.”Well, he ssid hs certainlyu

because—itwas rather sad,

ll l fiS I"you“Well, mamma deer , and if l have, l don’tseethatbody’s mare’s dead. Bwause, do listen I” Fenwicka parenthesis.

young man enough. His notknowlng a

French phrase likethatimplies nothing. Notone in a hundrsdwould.

” The way in which the Major. who, of course, had comeoutcf his dose onthe inrush ofMiss Sally, looked acress atFenwick as he said this, implied an acquired faith in the judgment of the latter. Sally resumed.“Justletmetell you. His name

’s Bradshaw. Only he’s nototheBradshaw-in a cwcover . ycuknow. We-e-eil

I don’t see anything in thatagainsta sm ile her mothu and

concedethatthere is nothing in it, and Sally continues. Wherewas“oh, Bradshaw; yes. He ws-s an s pm sing

And what do you think happencil !Why,the nerves ef his head gaveway, ’

and he couldntstandthevibration ! So itcameto beingOattley’s or nothing.

”

certainly hadthe fsculty of cutting a long story short.She thought the' story, so . cut,

' one that her mother andMr. Fenwiekmight have shown a more active interest in, insteadof saying itwastime for all of usto be in bed. She did not.abstractlove of '

l ‘ruth ; forwas itnotnearly one o'clock in the1

Nevertheless, a little incident of Mr. Fenwick’s departure,

not noticed at the moment, suddenly assumed vitality justasSally was “going off,

” and woke her up. What was it sheoverheard her mother sayto him, just as he was leaving thehouse, about something she had promised to tell him some time 1However, reflection on it with waking faculties dissipatedtheimportance it seemedto have half-way to dreamland, and SallyFenwick, as hewalkedto his lodgingsthroughthe dull Feb

ruary night, did notregsrdthis something,whatever itwas,

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onm aa xx

gis imposaibleto

it

to sleep— if he had practised,bars and done it

But Cerberus wasn’t at 900, Ladbroke Grove

ItbeglnsLook here, now. One—two- three. Ono—trio

allverinwwe'l l . Who’s going to turn overtheleaf, l should likoto i l knowl shall never do it.

Not becausethe nerves of my head are giving m y, butbecauseI’m a dufier .“

I suppoee youknowwhatthatyoung man is, dear l Sallyaccepts this quite mt

eam and immediately skips a great

deal ofI’m notin love with ’

im,Tisby dear.Didn’t say you were, dear. ButI suppose you don’t

what he 18, all the same. Which certainly seems ineonsecutive,butwe resl ly cannotbe responsible fortheway girlsDon’t know, and don

't want to know. What is he i”

som ow0001) 90

Thbthrowsneat evening. Sally is not

all aboutthati As if he didn’ttell me“The mesk-turtletold hls story. Onoe, hewas a lealturtlc.

”

That’s as muoh asto say Jul iusBradshs I oan

’tses wherethe mooknem comes lnmyself. Heteld m aflaboutig plain enough."

Y es—and you knowwhata rags l fra l rskine l’eel is in,MW ”

and itwas an“Whycan’t she be satisfied with What !Of oomsathere are h adn ds of knglish equivalents for éciairdam sel . There's ust-up.

”

“Tlshy dear, don’t be vating l K eepto the nt.mustn’tI have Julius wto play with if like

hecause he’s atcattle

z‘

s l”

“Y oumay, ifyou ’

h dear l As lcng as you’re satisfled, it’s

with him l

So l atitia had her choioe between an explicitstatementofha meaning, and an unsupported inoursion intethe odagio.

I suppose you’ll admit there are such things as social di'

.tinctions 1”Sally wouldn’t admit anything whatever. If sociometry wasto be a science, it must bewm'ked out without axioms or postulates. Le titia immediately pointed out that if there were nosuchthings as social distinctions, of oourse 'there was no reasonwh Mr . Julius Bradshaw shouldn’t take hisviolin to K rakatoaV Or here, or anywhere,

”concluded Letitia, witht.. touchof pride inthe status of l edbmkeveM WhereuponSally surrendered as muoh of her ca u as she had left

l

l 2

100 SOMEHOW GOOD

Y outalk as if hewas a sweep or a dustman, said she.

I don’tsee why you should mind if l dowdear Because,ifthere areto be no socid distinotionathere’s no reason why al lthe sweeps and dustmen in Christendom shouldn

’tcome and

Now, nottoo slow, youknow. One—two— three— four— that’ll do. Perhaps Sallyfeltitwould be a feeble line of defenceto dwell onthe scarcitywhy she fell into rank without comment.This short conversation, some weeks on in the story, lets in

one or two gleams of side-light. It shows that Sally’s permissionto the young man Bradshawto call at her mother’s had beenpromptly taken advantage of— jumped at is the right expression. Also that Miss Wilson had stuck-up ideas. Also thatSallywas a disciple ofwhatusedto be oalled Sooialism ; onlyreally nowadays such a lot of things get called Socialism thatthe word has lostall the discriminative force one values somuch in nouns substantive. Al so (only we knew it already)that Sally was no lawyer. We do not love her the less, forourBut nothing in this interchange of shots between Sally and her

friend, nor in anything she said to her mother about Mr. Bradshaw,gives its due prominence to the fact that. though thatyounggentleman was a devout worshipper at the shrine of St. Satisfaz,he had only become so on the Sunday afterMiss Sally hadcasually mentioned the latter as a saint she frequented. Perhaps she “dismissed it from her mind,

” and it was obligingenoughto go. P erhaps she considered she haddone her duty byit when she put on record, in soliloquy, her opinion that if peoplechoseto be gaping idiots they might, and she couldn’t help it.She had a happy faculty for doing what she called puttingyoung whipper-snappers in their proper places. This only meantthat she managed to convey to them that the lines they mightelect to whipper-snap on were notto be those of sentimentalMr . Bradshaw’s romantic adoration of her at a distance when hefished for leaveto call upon her. The line he made his application on was that he should so like to play her a rapid movement

and bring his violin on Wednesday evening at nine 3her mother’s eddiess onthe caid onthe fiddle-case. He mustrecollect it—which he did unequivocally.

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102 SOMEHOW GOOD

as a customer at

when itwss pointed out toherthattheomticafly heneverwentbehind eountera by jumpingor othcwisathatthatdidn’tmakethe slightest difference :theSally's mother did not share her friend’s fancies. But shehad not confidence enough inthe stability ofthe earth’s crustto giveway freely to her liberalism,drive a coach and six throughthe Classes, andtalkto him freely aboutthe shop. She did notknowwhata Social Seismologistwould say on the point. Soshe contented hwoli with treating him as a matter of course,as a slight acquaintance whom she saw often, merely askinghim ifthatwas he. T owhichthe replywss inthe afiirmative,like question-time in the Commons.Is this the Strad i Let’s have it out, says Sally. For Mr.

Bradshaw possessed a Strad. He brought it out of its coflinwith something ofthe solicitude Petrarch might have showntothe remains of Laura, and when he had rough-sketched its condition of discord and corrected the drawing, danced a Hungarian dance on it, and apologised for his presumption in doingso. He pIayed soverywellthatitcertainly did seem rather a

crueltr ick of Fatethatgave him nerves in his head . Sal lythensaid, mightshe look atiti and phyed ohords and mna justtofeel what it was like. Her comment was that she wished herviola was a Strad.thewe record all this to show what, perhaps, is hardly worththe showing— a wavefing in a man

’s mini andthatman a

young one. Arethey notatitall day long, all ofthem i Dothey do anything but waverWhen Sally said she wished her viola was a Strad,Mr . Bradshaw’s mind shortly became conscious that some spook,of a low nature, had murmured almost inaudibly that it was a.

good job hisStrad wasn’t a viola. Because,you see,”added the

spook, that quashes all speculation whether you,Mr . Bradshaw,

or sorry you needn’t lay your instrument at this youngthat over

whelming impression of hwtmetaphorically torpedoed,don’tyouknowi—such awish as hers had been expressed, youprob

ably would have laid both your Strad and your heart at herfeet, and said take my all l But nowthathe had been so far

SOMEHOW GOOD 1Mdisillusioned by Sal ly

's robustand breez ytl eatmentofthe

notquite surethe spook hsd notsomethingtossy for himself. Mr. Bradshawwas contentto come down of!hh high hom m dto plod alongthe dull path ofa mere musical

even ing visitor at a very nice house. Pleasant, certainly, butnotthe aim of his aspirations from afar at St. Satisfax’

s. Hisam m wss a littlewounded bythatspook, too. Nothingkeeps ituptothe mark betterthan a belief in one

’s stability

in love-matters, especially.

He was notquite sure of the exact moment the spook intruded hi opinion, so we can’t be expectedto know. Perhapsabout the time Miss Wilson came in (just as he was showinghow carefthe had listenedto Joachim) and said could he playthose ! She wished she could. She was thrown off her guardthe finished execution, and for the moment quite forgot

Cattley’a and the clmsitudes. Sally instantly perceived heropening. She would enjoy catching Tisby out in any sort ofway. So she said : Mr . Bradshaw will show you how, Tisbydear ; of course he will. Only, not now, because if we don

‘tshan’t have time for the longquarto If you say

this sort of things about strangers in Society, you really oughtto givethem a chance. Sothoughtlsetitiato herself, and

As for that culprit, she contempl ated her work, from her ownposition of perfect security, with complacency at least. And shefelt at the end of her evening (which we needn

’t dwell on, as itwas all crotchets, minims, and F sharps and G flats) that herentrenchments had become spontaneously stronger withoutexertion on her part. For there were Tisby andMr . Bradshaw,between whom Sally had certainly understood there was a greatgulf fixed, sitting on the very same sofa and talking about aStradivarius. She concluded that, broadly speaking, Debrett

’sbark is worsethan his bite, and that he is, at heart, a veryaccommodating character.

I hope you saw Tisby, mamma dear.” So spoke Sally to

her mother, after the musicians first, and then Fenwick, haddispersed their several ways. Mrs. Nightingale seemed verydiabeti c and preoccupied.

SawTisbywhat, kitten‘

i

No, darling. Oh yes, I did. What about them 2After all that rumpus about shop-boys 1” But her mother’s

hair with a hsndshe makee a little

interestDid Letitia cale . Bradshawa shop-boy, ehick l

Very nearly—at least, I don’tknowwhatyou call 'notcalling anybody shop Ha mether malresa further eflorMomes back a litt-le more.“What did she say, child !”

Said yon could alwaystell , and itwas no usc mytalking,andthe negro couldnutchange his spots. ’

She hss some old -fashioned ideas. Buthowabouteallinghim a shop-boy i” a

Notin worda butworse. Tisbyround. I wish she’d say I However,with me. Wethink itdiehonatl "“Whatdid Dr . Veiekerthink oe . Bradshaw ?” We havefailedto notethatthe doctorwasthe ’

cel lo inthequartet.“New, mamma darling, fancy aaking Dr . Prosy whathethinks ! I wasn’tgoingto. Besides, as if itmattered what

Who !Why, men, of course l”Mr. Fenwick’s a man on other lines—absolutely other. He

doesn’tcome in real ly.

”Her mether repeatsthe lestfourwords,

smile may be saidto caress her daughter’swords as she sayl

them. She is such a sil ly, butsuch a dear littleWe' e astriedto spell her

“I ’tsee anything inthat, because, lookhow reasonable ! Mr. Fenwick’s . .Mr Fenwick’s . . why, ofcourse, entirely difierent. I say

,mother dearest.“What, kitten !”

What were you and Mr. Fenwick talking about so seriouslyinthe baok drawing-room l

”Thetwo are upstairs inthe fmnt

Did you hear us, darling l”

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As soon as ever Mr. Bradshaw touched his violin, and beforeever heat once,

the music. Because

Inthe interval oftimethathad passed since Christmas Sallyhad contrived to dismiss from her mind Colonel Lund’s previsions about her mother andMr . Fenwick. Or they

'

had givenwarning, and gene of their own word. For by now she hadagain fallen into theM e of mind which classified her motherand Fenwiek as semi-elderly people, and, so to speak, out of itall. 80 her mind assented readily to distance from the musicas a auflicientreason for a accessiontothe back ro'om. Noncombatants are just as well 03 the field of battle.But a closer observer than Sally at this moment would have

noticedthatohatin an undertone had already setin intheback drawing-room even before the Hungarians had stopped

Also that the applause that came therefrom, whenstop, had a certain perfunctory air, as of plaudits

something else makes room for, and comes back again after.Not that she would have “seen anything in it if she had,because, whatever her mother said or did was, in Sally’s eyes,right and normal. Abnormal and bad things were conceivedand executed outside the family. Nor, in spite of the ratiovoce, was there anything Sally could not have participated in,whatever exception she might have takento something of apatronising tone, inexcusable towards our own generation evenin the mostsemi- elderly people on record.

Her mother, at Sally’s latest observation-point, had taken

the large arm-chair quite on the other side of the rug,to be asfar of!the music as possible. Mr. Fenwick, in reply to a flyingremark of her own, she being atthe moment a music-k seeker,

SOMEHOW GOOD 107

wouldn’tbringthe cther large arm-ehair in frontofthe fire andbe comfortable, thank you. He liked this just ashadthen com

'

mented on hfr. Fenwiek’s unnatural love of un

comfortable chairs when he wasn’t walking about the room.

”

She faneied, as she passed on,thatshe heard her mother addresshim as Fenwick, without the Mr. So she did.

Y ou are a restless man, Fenwick l I wonder were you so

before the accident ! Oh dear I there I am on that topic again 1"

But he only laIt doesn’t hurt me,

” he said. That reminds me that I

wantedto remind you of something you said you would tellthe kitten wentto the music

—something you would tell me some time.I know ; I

’ll tell you when they’ve got to their music, if

there isn’t too much row. Don't let’s talk while this new youngman’s playing ; it seems unkind . It won’t matter when they’reall at it together.” Butin spite of good resolutions silence wasnot properly observed, and the perfunctory pause came awkwardly on thetop of a lapse. Fenwick then said, as one whoavails himself of an opportunity“No need to wait for the music ; they can’t hear a word wesay in there. We can’t hear a wordthey say.

"

Because they’re making such a racket. Mrs. Nightingalepaused with a listening eye, tryingto disprove their inaudibility.The examination confirmed Fenwick. I like it,

” she eon

tinned a lot of young voices. It’s much better when youdon't make out what they say. When you can’t hear a word.

sense in it.” And then went on listening, andtoo. He couldn’t well fidgether to keep her

promise ; she would do it of herself in time. It might be shepreferred talking under cover of the music. She certainly remained silent till it came then she spoke.What was it made me say that to you about something I

would tell you 3 Oh, I know. You said, perhaps if you knewyour past, you would not court catechism about it. And I saidthat, knowing mine, I should not either. Wasn’t that it ?She fixed her eyes on him as though to hold him to the truth.

Perhaps she wanted his verbal recognition of the possibility thatshe, too, like others, might have lefttt'm the past she wouldlike to forget on their merits— east-ofi garments on the road oflife. It may have been painfulto her to feel his faith '

in herselfan obstacleto what she wished at least to hin tto him, even if

IN

be gone into,we should be surs of lu’

s sympathy.“Y es.thatwas it. And'

I suppose I looked incredulous.

Thus Fenviek.

You looked incredulous. I would sooner you should believe

she had before her . He gave herthe screen , and as he resumedhis seatdrewitnearerto her . Moz art’s Op. 999 had juststarted, and itwas a little doubtful ifvoices could be heard

“I shall believe you. Doeswhatyouwere goingtote ll meGo on.To your husband 1Y es.

” The task hadmore freely about what wasto come. you to know

husband. He is no lengerthat.” Fenwick interpcsed on hcrhesitation.You have divorced him 1" But she shook her head—shook

a long negative. And Fenwick looked up quickly,a little sharp “Ah !” as though something had struck him.

The slow head-shake said as plain as words could have said it,I wish I could say yes.” So expressive was it that Fenwickdid not even speculate on the third alternative—a separation

for her if he spoke outplain ,treatingthe bygene as a

that could be spoken of plainly.

He divorced you 1" She was verywhite , but kept her eyessteadily fixed on him over the fire- screen, and her voice remainedperfectly firm and collected. The music went on intricately allthe while. She spoke next.To all intents and purposes. There was a technical obstacle

to a legal divorce, but he tried for one. We parted sorely against

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MW M MMW Wsaid. “The concaalmsntwas my fault—the mistrust.was all . As she saysthewerds

to speak, switched offthe current of the conversation.If you will think over what 1 have told you, Fenwick, yousee that you cannot help doing so."

Howcan that be i”Surely !My husband soughtto divoree me, andwashimself

absolutely blameless. How can you do otherwise than blameme i”

Partly— only partly— because Isomething—something that wouldbelieve you wereto blame.”“Hsten, Fenwiok l As I said, Iand the Major,who is the only man alive who knows all the story,

that I wish younot to do.”

I should notdmam of asking him.

‘

Well, hewould refuse. I knowit. But I want you to knowall I can tell you. I do not want any groundless excuses madefor me. I will notweeptany absolution from anyone on a falsepretence. You see what I mean.

”

I see perfectly. I am not sure, though, that you see mymeaning. But never mind that. Is there anything furtheryou would really like me to know 1She wanted a little, and then answered, keeping her eyesalways fixed on Fenwiek : Yes, there is.

”

sem owooon m

Butatthlsmomentthe l rstmovemsntofOp.Mcameto aT he remark fromthe back-roomthatwe couldin here seemedto fall flat,the seoondvlolinAll right l” passionlesaly. The instrumentsother if they were ready, and answered yes.counted four suggestive] for a start, and life went on again.

Mrs. Nightingale and anwick sat well on intothemusic beforeeither spoke. He, resolved notto seemto seek or urge anyinformation atall g all wsete come spentaneously from her.She, feeling the difieulty of telling what she had to tell, andalways oppressed with the recollection of what it had costhertomake her revelationto this self-same man nineteen years ago.She wished he would give the conversation some lift, as he haddone bd erqwhen he u ked ifwhatshe hadtotell referredtoshare in the past i She halfspeech mustcome from hen elf inthe end,took heartfacedthe position resolutely. She always did.

You know this, Fenwiek, do notyou, that when there isa divorce, the husband takes the children from their motheralways,when ehe is inthewreng ;too often ,when she is blameless. I have told you I was the one to blame, and I tell you newthat though my husband's appl

ication for a divorce failed, froma technical point of law, all things came about just as thoughhe had succeeded. Don’t analyse it new take it all for granted— you understand iI understand. Suppose it so i And then 2And then this. That little monkey of

unconscious fiddling thing in there — and asMrs. Nightingalefi eaks,the sound of a caressmixeswiththa laugh in hervoice ;butthe pain comes back as she goes on My Sallifin has beenmine, al l her life !My poor husband never sawher in her ehild

i E

i 5 i E i , a 39 i s 5 i E

interlude. He did notspeak luntilthe music began agsin.

I seethe story now.

Was notmy husband.

”There is notatrace of eo

or hesitatien in her fll ling outofthe sentenee. There is

butthatagain dies away in hervoiee ss she goes onto speak ofher daughter . I do noteonnecthimwith her now. She isathing of itself—athing of herself l She is—she is Sally. Well,you seewhatshe is.

”

“I see she is avery dear little person . Then he seemsto

mtto '

uy somthing andto paun outhe edge of itgthemmanswer to a“Yes”of encouragement from her, continues,

“I

E

?

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Br:l dshaw’s fingering of that pm age. We are more interested

inthe back drawing-room.

Like many other athletic men— and we have seen how stronglythis character was maintained in Fenwiek— he hated arm-chairs.Even inthe uncomfortable ones—by which we mean the oneswelength of time. At intervals he would get up and walk about theroom,exasperating the sedate, and then mah ngconcession to their weakness. Mrs. Nightingale could rememberall this in

'

Gerry the boy, twenty yearsIf it had not been for that music. probably he would have

walked about the room over that stifi problem in dates he hadjust grappled with . As it was, he remained in his chair to solveit— that is, if he did solve it. Possibly, the moment he saw something important turned on the date of Sally’s birth, he jumpedacrossthe solution to the conclusion it was to lead to. Giventhe conclusion, the calculation had no interest for him .

But the story his mind constructed to fit that conclusionstunned him. It knitted his brows and clenched his teeth forhim . It made the hand that had been hanging loose over theuncomfortable chair-back close savagely on something— a throat,perhaps, that his imagination supplied 1 How like he looked,thought his companion, to himself on one occasionago 1 But his anger now was on her behalf alone it was not soin that dreadful time she hoped he might never recollect. If

only his memory of al lthe pastmightremain as now, a bookwith a locked clasp and a lost keyShe watched him as he sat there, and saw a calmer mood comeback upon him. Each wanted a raise» d’étre for a silent pause,and neither was sorry for the desireother of hearing the lastmovemen t of the music undisturbed.

Op. 999 was prospering, there was no doubt of it ! LetitiaWilson was a very fair example of a creditable career at theR .A.M. But she was not quite equal to this unfortunate victimof a too nervous system, who could play like an angel for half anhour, mind you- n otmore. This was his half-hour ; and itwas quite reasonable for Fenwick to take for granted that hishostess would like to pay attention to it, orvice-verso . So both

But as she sat listening to Op. 999, and matching wonderinglythe strange victim of oblivion, of whomacknowledging it always. though— that she had once for a short

SOMEHOWGOOD 115

when he and she were young :before the tragic memorymmetimcsthought might have been lived down had come

into her life and his. And a scene rose up before her out of thatold l ime- n a scene of young men, almost boys, and girls who butthe other day were in the nursery, playing lawn-tennis in ahappy gardm , with never a thought for anything in this wideworld but themselves, and each other, and the scoring, andhow jolly it would be in the house-boat at Henl ey to-morrow.

And then this garden-scene a little later in the moonrise, andherself and one of the players, who was Gerry— this very manleftby the other twoto themselves, on a garden-seat his armhung over, just as it did now over that chair-back. How exactlyhe sat then as he sat now

,his other hand in charge of the foot he

had crossed on his knee, justas now,to keep it frcm a slip alonghis lawn-tennis flannels i How well she could remember thetennis-shoe, with its ribbed rubber sole, in place of that highlypolished calf thing 1 And she could remember every wordtheysaid, there in the warm moonlight.What a silly boy you are l”h

I don’t care. I shall always say exactly the same. I can’telp it."“All silly boys say that sortof thing. Then they changetheir min

I never said it to any girl in my life but you, Rosey. I

never thought it. I shall never say it again to anyone but you .

Don't be nonsensical i”

I’m not! It’strue.

"

Wait till you’ve been six months in India, Gerry.

And then the recollection of what followed made it seeminfinitely strange to her that Fenwick should remain, as he hadremained, immovable. If the hand she could remember so wel l ,for all it had grown so scarred and service-worn and hairy, wereto take hers as it did then, as they sat'tcgether on the gardenseat, would it shake now as formerly i If his great strong armher memory still felt round her were to come again now, wouldshe feel in it the tremor of the passion he was shaken by thenand in caresses such as she half reproved him for, but had no heartto resist,the reality of a lovethen young and strong and ful l of

promise for the days to come i And now— what i The perishedtrunk of an uprooted tree : the shadow of a half- forgotten

As he sat silent, only nowand then by some slight sign, sometting ofthe browor closing cfthe hand, showingtheof the feel ing produced by the version his mind had

made ofthe story half to ldto him— as he satthus, under a kindof listeningtothe music,the world grewstranger snd

stranger to his companion. She had fancied hemelf strongenough to tell the story, but had hardly reckoned with hispossible likenessto himself. She hadthoughtthatshe could

keep the twenty years that had passed clearly in her mind ;could deal with the position from a good, sensible, matter-of-factstandpoint.The putwas past, and happily forgotten by him. Thepresent had still its possibil ities, if onlythe past might remainforgotten. Surely she could rely on herself to find the nerve togo through whatwas, after all, a mere actof duty. K nowing,or rather feeling, that Fenwick would ask her to marry him assoon as he dared— itwas m erely a question of time— her dutywas plainly to forewarn him—to make sure that he was alive tothe antecedents of the woman he was ofiering himself to. Sheknew his antecedents as many as she wished to know. If thetwenty years of oblivion concealed irregularity, immoralitywell, was she not to blame for iti Was ever a better boy thanGerry, as she knew him, to the day they parted ? It was herfault or misfortune that had cast him all adrift. As to thattroublesome question of a possible wife elsewhere, in the land'

of his oblivion, she had quite made up her mind about that.Every effort had been made to find such a one

,and failed. If

she reappeared, it would be her own duty to surrenderFenwickif he wishedto go back. If he did not, and his other wife wishedto be free, surely inthe chicane of the law-courts there must besome shufile that could be for once made useful to a good end.

Mrs. Nightingale had reasoned it al l out in cold blood, and shewas, as we have told you, a strong woman. But had she reallytaken her own measure ! Could she sit there much longer,with him beside her, and his words of twenty yem'

s ago soundingin her ears i— almost the feeling of the kisses she had so dutifullypointed out the lawlessness, and allowed the repetition of, inthat old forgotten time— forgotten by him, never by her 1Was it possibleto bear. without crying out, the bewilderment ofa mixed existence such asthathis presence and identity forcedupon her, wrenching her this way and that, interweaving thewoof ofthen withthe weft of now, even as in that labyrinth of

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118 SOMEHOW GOOD

Obviously, as a medical authority, it is his duty to voicethis enquiry.I So he voices it.

Q“N—no ; butthat’s about as much as I can do, with safety.

Itwon’t do to spoil my night’s rest, and be late at the shop.

”

Itwas easy to talk about the shop with perfect unreserve aftersuch a performance as that.“Oh dear !we are so sorry for you I

” Thus the two girls.And concurrence comes in various forms from Vereker, Fenwick,and the pianist, whom we haven

’t mentioned before. He wasa cousin ofMiss Wilson’s, andwas one of those unfortunate youngmen who have no individuality whatever. Butpianists haveto be human unless you can afiord a pianola . Y ou may speak

of them asMr .What’s-his-name, or Miss Thingummy, but youmust give them tea or coffee or cake or sandwiches, orwhateveris brought in on a tray. This young man’s name, we believe,was Elsley— Nobody Elsley, Miss Sally in her frivolity hadtho ht fit to ohristen him. You know how in your own lifepoop come in and go out, and you never know anything aboutthem. Even so this young man in this story.

I was very sorry for myself, I assure you — itis Bradshawwho speaks when I had to make up my mindto give it up.

But it couldn’t be helped He speaks without reserve, but asof an unbearable subject in fact, Sally said afterwards to Tisby,Itseemed as if he was going to cry.

” He doesn’t cry, though,but goes on At one time I really thought I should have gonejumped intothe river.”Why didn’t yout”asks Sally. I should have.Yes, sil ly Sally 1 says Le titia ; and then

'

you would haveswum like a fish. And the police would have pulled you out.And youwould have looked ridiculous 1

”

But Sal ly is of!on a visit to her mother in the next room.

'Ii red, mammy darling 1She kisses her, and her mother answers : Y es, love, a little,

Doesn’t he play beautifully, mother 3 says Sally.

But her mother says Yes absently. Her attention is takenoff by something else. What is wrong with Mr . Fenwick 3Sally doesn’t think anything is. It’s only his way.

I’m sure there’s something wrong,” saysMrs. Nightingale,

and gets up to go into the front-room rather wearily. I shallgo to bed soon, poppet,

” she says, and leave you to do theho nours. Is anything wrong, doctor 1

” She speaks under her

SOH OWGOOD 119

voice to Vereker. looking malarmed

_slightly round at Fenwick, who,after the movementthatalarmed her— a rather unusuallymarked head shake and pressure of his hands on his

standing looking down atthe fire, onthe rug with his backtoher, as she speaks to Vereker .

I fancy he’s had what he calls a recurrence, says the doctor.Nothing to hurt. These half-recollections will go on until thememory comes back in earnest. It may some time.”“Are youtalking about me, doctor 1” His attention mayhave been caught by a reflection in a glass before him. Y es,it was a very queer recurrence. Something about lawn-tennis.Only ithad to do with whatMiss Wilson said about the policefishing Sally outof thewe He .looks round forMissWilson,butshe is stthe other and ofthe mom on a sofmtalkingtoBradshaw about the Strad, as recorded once before. Sally

you could swim. No more it would.But why should that make me think of lawn- tennis ! It

did. He looks seriously distressed by it—can make nothingout.

K itten, says Sally’s mother to her suddenly, I think I

shall go awayto bed. I’m feeling very tired.

”

is so clearly the worse for something that her daughter followsher to see that the something is not serious. Outside shetoassures Sally, who returns. Oh no, she is only tired ; really

But what drove her out of the room was a feeling that shemust be alone and silent. Could her position be borne at al l 1Yes, with patience and self-control. But that Why should itmake me think of lawn-tennis ‘

i”was trying. Not only the pain

of still more revived association, but the fear that his memorymight travel still further into the past. It was living on theedge of the volcano.Her own memory had followed on, too, taking up the threadthe garden oftwenty years ago. She

hsd feltagainthe clasp of his arm ,thetouch of his hand ; hadheard his voice of passionate protest— protest against the ideathathe could ever forget. And she hsdthen pretendedtomake a half-joke of his earnestness. What would he do now

,

really, if she weretotell him she preferred his greatfricml

120 SOMEHOW GOOD

Arthur Fenwiekto him i Thatwas nonsense, he said. Sheknew she didn’t. Besides, Arthur wanted Jessie Nairn. Why,didn’t they waltz all the waltzes at the party lastWell, so did we, for that matter, all And justlookhow they had run away together ! Wasn’t that themback ! Y es, itwas ; and artificial calm ensued, and more selfcontained manners. But then, before the other two younglovers could rejoin them, she had time for a word more.“No, dear Gerry, seriously. If I wereto write out no toyou in India—a great big final no— then what do you think youwould do i”

I know what Ithink I should do. I should throw myselfinto the Hooghly or the Ganges.You silly boy I You would swim about; whether you liked

or no. And then Jemadars, or Shastras, or Sudras, or something would come and pull you out. And then how ridiculousyou would look I”

No, Rosey, because I can’t swim. Isn’t it funny 1

Then she recollectedhis fr iend’s voice striking in with: What’sthat 1 Gerry P alliser swim I Of course he can ’t. He can

wrestle, or run, or ride, or jump ; and he’s the best man I know

with the gloves on. But swim he can’t! That’s fiatl” Alsohow Gerry had then told eagerly how heonce, and Arthur fished him up from the bottomLook. The latter went on :It was after that we tattooed each other, his name on my

arm, my name on his, so as nottoquarrel . Y ou know, I sup,pose, that men who tattoo each other’s arms can’t quarrel iftheytry 1” Arthur showed A. Palliser,

” tattooed blue on hisarm. Both young men werevery grave and earnestaboutthesafeguard. And then she remembered a question she asked,

to l” The question had been -Was it invariable that all menquarrelled if one saved the other from drowning 1

She sits upstairs alone by the fire in her bedroom, and dreamsagain through all the past, exceptthe nightmare of her lifethatshe always shudders away from. Sally will come up presently, and then she wil l feel ease again. Now, it is aagainstfever.She can hear plainly enough— for the house is but a Londonsuburban villa— the strains from the drawing-room of what is

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CHAP TER XII I

Was it possible, thought Rosalind in the sleepless nightfol lowed.thatthatthe recurrence of thetennisegaiden in Fenwick

'smind mightgrowand w, and be a nucleus round whichthewhole memory of his lii

‘e

m

mightreform i Even so she had seen,at a chemical lecture

mia supersaturated solution, translucent and

spotless, suddenlytiny crystal dropped into it. Mightnotthis shred of memorychance to be a crystal of the right salt in the solvent of hismind, and set going a swift arbom ence to penetrate the whole lMight not one branch of that tree be a terrible branch—one

whose leaves and fruit were poisoned and whose stemwas clothedwith thorns i A hideous metaphor of the moment—call ittheworstin her life—when her young husband, driven msd witlithe knowledge that had justforced its way into his reluctant

had almoststruck her sway from him, and with angryofwhichthe leastwastraitreu , had brokenthroughtheof her handsto hold him, and lefther speechless in her

is;

It was such a nightmare idea, this anticipation that next timeGerry

’s eyes she mightsee againthe angerthatwa i

inthem onthatblackestother fewmarried days, mightseehim again vanish from her, this time neverto return. And itspread an ever-growing horror, greater and greater in the silenceandthe darkness ofthe night;till itfilled all space and became

through every nerve, and denied the rightof any other thing inthe infinite void to be known or thoughtof. Which of us has not been left, with no protection but ourown weak resolutions, to the mercy of a dominant idea in thestill hours when others were near us sleeping,whom

'we mightnotwaketo say onewordto save us iWhat would his face he like— how would his voice soundwhen she saw him next 1 Or would som short and cruel letter

SOMEHOW GOOD 133

herswho had done him such awrong i If so,whatwhatcould ahe do l 1

broughtwithSally to him to beg,

bum h implore him mtto n peathis headstrong ennr oftheoli

’

yrars,to swearto himthatif cnly he could knowall he

would forgive-wnay, more, that if he could know quite all— thevery whole of the sad story— not only would he forgive, but ratherseek forgiveness for himself for the too harsh judgment he sorashly formed.Whatshould she sayto Sally l how should she instructherto plead for her l Never mindthatnow. All shewanted in herlonely, nervous delirium was the ease the thought gave h er ,the mere thought of the force of Sally’s fixed, immovable bel iefthatshe was certain of— that whatsoever her mother had donewas right. Never mind the exact amount of revelation she wouldhave to make to Sally. She might surely indulge the idea.just to get at peace somehow, till—as pray Heaven it might turnout- she should know that Gerry’s mind was still unconsciousof its past. The chances were, so she thought mechanically tohersel f, that all her alarms were groundless.And at the first—strange as it is to tell— Sally’s identitywas only that of the daughter she had now, that filled her life,and gave her the heart to live. She was the Sally spwe was fullof for her. Whatshe was, andwhy she was, merged, as it usuallydid, in . the broad fact of her existence. But there was alwaysthe chance that '

this whatand why— two bewilder ing impeshould fiaunttheir unsolved conundrum through her mother’sbafied mind. T herethey were, sure enough inthe end, enjoyingher inability to answer, dragging all she prayed daily to be betterableto forget out into the light of the memory they had kindled.

There they were, chuckling over her misery, and hiding—ao

question than any, keeping it back fora final stroketo bring her mental fever to its height— how couldSal ly bethe daughter of a- devil and her soul be free fromthetaint of his damnation iIf Rosalind had only been well read in the medioval classicsand had known that story ofMerlin's birth— the Nativitythwas to rewritethe Galilean n ory in letters of Hell, and givemankind for ever to be the thral l of the fal len angel his father]

124

And

of5the babe atits birthwas matehed awaytothewaters

and poor Satan—ais l—p hligedtceastaboutfor semeof campaign ;which,to truth, he musthave found,

some success. t Rosalind had never readsbe done so she mighthave felt, as we dc,

that the tears of an absolutely blameless mother might serveto oleansethe inherited sin from a babe unbom as surely asthesacramental fou

'

nt itself.And it may bethat some such t had woven itself intothe sto ry Fenwick’s imagination fram for Rosalind the eveningbefore— that time that she said of Sally,

“She is not a devil l”The exact truth,th e ever-present record that was in her mindas she saidthis, must remain unknown to us.But to returnto her as she is now, racked by a

‘

twofold mentalfever, an apprehension of a return of Fenwick

’s memory, and astimulated recrudescence of her own ; withthepd n of all the scarsburntintwenty years ago revived nowby hertalk wlth himof a few hours since. She could bear it no longer, there aloneinthe darkness of the night. She mustget at Sally, if only tolock ather . Why, that child never could be got to wake unlessshaken when shewas wanted. Ten to one she wouldn

’t this time.And itwould make al lthe difierence iustto see herthere, aliveand leagues essay in dreamland. If her sleep lasted throughthe crackle of a match to light her candle, heard through theopen door between their rooms, the light ofthe candle itselfwouldn’t wake her. Rosalind remembered as she litthe candleand found her dressing-gown— for the night air struck coldhowonce, when aten -year-old, Sally had looked herself in, andno noise or knocking would rouse her ; how she herself, alarmedfor the child, had thereon summoned help, and the doorbroken open, but onlyto be greeted by the sleeper, after explanation, with, Why didn’t you knock iShewas rightin her forecast, and perhaps itwas aswel lthegirl did not wake. She would only have had a needless fright,to see her mother, haggard with selftorment, by her bedside

Rosahnd gother full look at the rich coilsof black hair that framed up the unconscious face, that for allits unconsciousness had on it the contentment of an amuseddreamer ; .atthe white ivory skin it setoff so well ; at the onevisible ear that heardnothing,or if itdid, translated it into dream,

and'

the faint rhythmic movement that vouched for soundlessbreath. She looked as long as she dared, then moved away.

555

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l” SOM OWGOODMRosaiindNigh the one be knew.

ground, and knows it. Buta pleacover mistakes, and conversation about the pro-electrocutionperiod istbe nearcstapps'cachtctaklng

wiinto ber ccnfidencethatehe can hopetor . She is so her hcurs cfwake

fuhiessthatshe becomes a little rec

“M a rceau!“

in sueh uncertainty of speech as may easily be ascribedtc a

that itshould have been your“grandmotherkitten. Butwe can’th d outnow. And it wouldn’t do us say

that I can see.It would be nice to know for curiosit

fi. Couldn’t anything

be fished out inthe granny connexion 0 documents 3”Nothing will ever be fished outby me in that connexion,

Sally darling.” Sal ly knows from her mother’s tone of voicethat they are approaching an impasse. She means to give upthe pointthe moment it comes fully in view. But she will goon until that happens. She hasto think

i

outwhat was thename ofthe Sub-Dean before she spesks ag“Didn’t the Reverend Decimus Ireson grab all the belongin ‘

i l

g‘e'l'

heywere leftto him, child. It was all fair,as far as that goes.I didn’t grudge him the things— indeed, I felt rather gratefulto him for taking them. It would only have been painful , goingover them . Diderentpeople feel differently about these things.I didn’t want old recollections.”

Hadn’tthe Reverend Decimus a swarm of bratsSal— ly darl ing ! Well, es, he bad . There were two

families. One of six daughters, forget which.

Couldn’t they be got at,to see if they wouldn’t recollectsomething i”

Of course they could. They've married a lawyer—atleast,one of them has. And all the rest, I believe, live with them .

”

At another time Sally would have exam ined this case in relationtothe DeceasedWife’s Sister Bill. She wastoo interested nowto stop her mother continuing But what a sil ly chick you are !Why shouldthey know anything about it 1”Why shouldn’t they ‘

i”

Her mother’s reply is emphasised. My dear, do consider !I was with your grandmother till within a month of her marriagewiththe Reverend, as you call him, and I should have beententimes more likelyto hear aboutMr . Fenwick than ever they

SO_ 0WGOOD 127

had neverthem when I went a to to be married."

What’s the la a name 1

h arman, I think, or Dearman. Butwhy l — Oh no,byotbe-bye, I think it's“Because l couki write ask, or call . Sureto hear someth think you

Rosalind was beginning to feel that she made amistake. She did not feel so sure Sally would hear nothing.

A recollection crossed her mind of how one of the few incidentsthere was time for in her short married l ife had been the writingof a letter by her husband to his friend,the real Fenwick, and ofmuch chaff therein aboutthe eldest of these very daughters,and her powerful rivalryto Jessie Nairn. It came

Myback to her

now. Sally alarmed her still further.Yes, mother. I shall just getMr . Fenwick to hunt upthe

address, and go and call on the Beasleys.” This sudden m p

tion of a concrete form by the family was due to a vivid imagethat filled Sally’s active brain immediately of a household ofparched women presided over by a dried man who owned a wigon a stand and knew what chad -wax meant, which she didn

’t.A shop window near Lincoln’s Inn was responsible. ButtoRosalind it really seemed that Sally must have had other meansof studying this family, and she was frightened.

You don’t know them, kitten 1”

Notthe least. Don’t wantto .

” This reflection suggestscaution.

“Perhaps I’d better write.“Better do nothing ofthe sort, child. Better goto sleep . .

All right. But Sally does not like quitting the subjectabruptly, and enlarges on it a little more. She sketches out aletter to be written to the lady who is at present a bufier-statebetween the dried man and the parched women. “Dearmadam,

"she recites,

“you may perhaps recall— or will perhapsrecall— which is right, mother l

”

Either, dear. Goto sleep. But just at this momentRosalind recol lects with satisfaction that the name was neitherBeasley nor Dearman, but T ressilian T redgold . She has beenthinking of falling back on afiectation of sleepto avoid morealarms, but this makes it needless.I’m sure I’ve got the name wrong, she says, with re vived

wakefulness in her voice.

ButSally ismurmnringtoherself P srhaps recall mymotber .eta—by

maiden'

name of—by the same name—who married the lateMr. Graythorpe in India—I say, mother.

Y ea, little goose.”

How am I to put all that 8Go to sleep ! I don’t think you'll findthat family- very

coming. My impression is you had much better leave it alone.Whatgoodwould itdo youto find outwhoMr . Fenwickwas lAnd perhaps have him go awayto Australia !"Why Australia 3"Oh dear, what mistakes Rosalind did make l Why on earth

need she name the place she knew Gerry did goto l Americawould have done just as wel l.Australia— New Zealand— America— anywhere !

Sally doesn’t mind— has fallen back on her letter-sketch.

Apologising for troubling you, believe me, dear madam,

yours faithfully—or very faithfully, or truly— RosalindNightinNo ; I should notlike Mr.

where. No more would you. I want him here, for us. So dout”“I should beverysorry indeed for Mr. Fenwickto

feeling, if he has one. I can sympathise with her. It reallywas a reliefto say anything so intensely true.Did thewality with which she spoke impress Sally more than

the mere words, which were no more than common form ofconversation l Probably, for something in them broughther conference with theMajor on Boxing-Day morning when hermother was at church. What was that she had said to himthatif she, later on, sawrem nto suppose his suspicionstrue,she would ask her mother point-blank. Why not l And hereshe was with the same suspicions, quite, quite independent oftheMajor. And see hcwdark itwas in both rooms ! One couldsay anything. Besides, if her mother didn

’t wantto answer, shecould pretendto be asleep . Shewouldn’tasktoo loud,to giveher a chance.Mother darling, ifMr . Fenwick wasto make you an offer,

how should you like it 3”“Oh dear !what’s the child flying ! What is it, SelllI was just going

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In spite of colonel Lund’s having been so betimes in his forecastings about Mrs. Nightingale and Fenwick (as we must go onoal ling him forthe prssent), stil hen one daythatlady came,about six weeks after the nocturne in our last chapter, and toldhim she musthave his consentto a step shewas contemplatingbefore she took it, he felt a little shock in his heart—one ofthose shocks one so often feelswhen ch e bsara that a thing hehas anticipated without pain, even with pleasure, isto '

becomeactual.

‘

But he replied atonce, My dear ! Of course i”without hearing any particulars ; and added :

“You will be happier, I amsure. Why should I refuse my consentto your marrying Fen~

wick ! Because that’s it, I suppose'

l That was'

it. TheMajor had guessed right.He asked me to marry him, lastnight, she said,with simple

equauimity and directnesa. “Ito ld him yes, as far as my ownwishes want. But I said I wouldn’t, if either you or the kittenforbade the beans.“I don’t think we shall , either of us. Itwas a daughter’smarriage-warranthewasbeing askedto aign ga documentseldomsigned without a heartache, more or less, for him who holds thepen. Buthis m nawé hadto be concealed, forthe sake of

the applican t ; no wet blanket should be cast on her newhappiness. He kissed her afiectionately. To him, for all herthirty nine or forty birthdays, she was still the young girl hehad helped and shielded in her despair , twenty years ago, hehimself being then a widower, near fortyyears her senior. “No,Rosa dear,

” continued the Ma jor . As'

far as I can see, therecan be no objection but one—youknowi”

T he one 1Yes. Itis al l a ferra s

’

neogm’

fa . He m y have a wife elsewhere, seeking for him. Who cantel l l”

131

“Itis a riskto be run . Butl am prepared to run it”—she

was goingto add“for his sake," butrememberedthather real

the Major knew nothing of Fenwick'sidentity. She had notbeeu ableto persuade herselfto makeeven her old friend her confldant. Danger laythatway. Sheknewsilence would be safe against anything but Fenwick’s ownmemo“

Ya, it is a risk, no doubt,” the Major said. “But I amlike him . I cannotconceive a man forgettingthathe had a

wife. Itseems an impcssibility. He hastalked aboutyoutome, youknow.

”

“In connexion with his intention aboutme lAlmost. Not quite definitely, butalmost. He knew I

understoodwhathe meant. Itseemedto me hewas fidgetingmore abouthis having so littlto ofier intheway of wor ldlygoodsthan aboutany possiblewife in the clouds."“

Dear fellow! Justfancy !Why,those people intheOitywould take him into partnershiptOomorrowif he had a littl ecapitalto hr ing in . Theytold him sothemselves.

”

And youwould finanoe him l Isthatthe idea !Well , las l

'm yourtrustee, ifthe moueywas al l lost, l should

haveto make it up, so it wouldn’t matter.”“Oh,Major dear !isthatwhatheing atrustee means lOf course, my dear Rosa !Whatdid youthink itmeantlthoughtitwould bevery nice if youwerem trustee.”

The conversation has gone cfl on a si'

, buttheMajorshuntsthetrain back.

“Thatwas whatyou and little fiddle

stick’s-endwere abouttil lthree inthe morning,“Oh,Major dear, youhear us l And we kept you awake!Whata slm ne l"

For onthe previous evening. 3&|1youtinthemeson—a really fine spring night in England— leaving the Majorindoorsbecause of his bronchialtubes. The late seventies shrinkfrom nightair, even when one meansto be a hedthy octogena

Also, they go awayto bed, secretively, when no one islooking—atleast, the Major did in this case. Of course, hewas stayingthe night, se nsual .

the clear moonlight—thatwaathe implication of as much as he

could see, as he drewthe inferenoe aword of sol iloquy hintedat,“NotMillais’ Huguenot, so far i” Buthe evidently expectedthatgroupingvery soon . Only hewastoo slsepytowatch for

it, andwentto bed. Besides,would ithave been honourable fto keep off the forbidden subject, so I won’t try.“It’s not forbidden by me. Nothing could be, that youwould liketo say.

”

Wasthat, shethought, .only whatso many mendayto so mauywomemand mean so little by ! Orwas itmore lShe oould notbe sure yet. She glanced athim asthe pathe nd md her misgivings aubutvsnished,resolved was hisquietMe inthe moonlight.mindedtp sayto him,

“Do you meanthatyo

wick !” Butthen ,was itsafeto presume onthe peculiu ity of

her hearthad never assented. While, in his eyea, she diifered innoway in her relationto him fromplaced as hewas, longsto say that she is what hewanta

u

'

mostofal l mortalthinga, butstickles inthetel ling of it, from sheer

cowardice ;who dares notriskthe loss ofwhatshare he has mher inthe attemptto getthe whole. Sbe grespedthe wholcpositia e only partof it.

Because eachtimeI see yom mtto ask if n

'

othing hs-s come back— notrace ofmemo l

”

“Nothing ! Itis all gone. Nothing comes back.

Do you remember that about the tennis-court. Did it goany further, or die outcompletely 1”

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134 SOMEHOW GOOD

abbreviation. It adected rne somehow with a sense of familioarity ”

Is itso eery improbablethatyouwereGerry too 1 It might beAnything might be; But surely we almostknow thattwo

accidental adoptions of Gerry as a shortfor Aigemon wouldmoa ns across each other by chance, as yours and mine have0

n

Whatis ‘almostknowing ’

l Buttell methis. When I cal lyouGerry—Gerry . . there i—doestbe association or imp ressionrepeatitself !” She repeatedthc name once and agsin,totry.

Therewas a good deal of nettle-grasping in allthis. Also awishto olinch matters,to drivethe swordtothe hilt;to putan end ,

once and for al l,tothe state oftension she lived in. For surely,if anything could prove his memory was really gone, it would bethis. That she should call him by his name of twen tyshould utter it to him, as she could not help doing, m the tone inwhich she spoketo him then, and that her doing so should arouseno memory of the past—surbly this would show, if anything couldshow it,thatthatpasthad been final ly erased fromthe scroll ofhis life. She had a momen t only of suspense after speaking,and then, as his voice came in answer, she breathed again freely.

Nothing could have shown a more complete unconsciousnessthan his reply, after another moment of reflectionDo you know;Mrs. Nightingale, that convinces me that the

name Algernonwas produced by your way of saying it. Itwashypnotic suggestion I I assure you that, however strange youmay think it, every time you repeat the name Gerry, it seemsmore familiar to me. ‘ If you said it often enough, I have nodoubt I should soon be behaving in the diminutive as devoutlyas I believe in the name itself. Because I am quite convinced ofAlgernon Fenwick. Continually signing per -pro

’s has driven ithome. He didn’t seem quite in earnest over his conviction,though—seemed to laugh a little about it.But a sadder tone came into his voice after an interval in

which his companion, frightened at her own temerity, resolvedthat she would not call him Gerry again. It was sailingtoo nearthe wind. She was glad he went back from this side-channelof their talk to the main subject.No, I have no hope of getting to the past through my own

mind. I feel itis silence. Andthatbeing so, I should bc sorrythat any illumination should come to me out of the past,

SOMEHOW GOOD l l”

of what my crippled memorycould not confirm.

remain quite in the dark—unless, indeed

Unless the well being of some othem fcrgctten with myforgotten world, is involved in—dependent cn—nry return to it.Thatwould be shocking—the hungry neetl ings inthe desertednest. But I am so convinced that I have only forgotten a restlesslife cf rapid change—thatl could notforgetlove and home, ifI ever had them—that my misgivings about this are misgivingsofthe reason only, notofthe heart. Do you understand me l”“Perfectly. Atleast, Ithink sc. Go on.

”

I cannothelpthinking,too,thata sense of a strong linkwith a forgotten yesterday would survive the complete efiacementof al l its details inthe form cf awishto returnto it. I

have ncne. My to-day istoo happy for metowishto go backto that yesterday, even if I could, without a wrench. I feel ascrtof shame in saying I shculd be sorryto returntc it. It“Y ou mightlongtc be baek, if ycu could know. Think if

you could see before you now, and m ognise the woman whowas cnce your wife.

”Therewas nettle-grasping inthis.

It is a mere abstract idea,”he replied,

“unaccompamed by

any image of an individual . I peroeivethatitisdutifulto recogthe fact that I should welcome her if she appeared as a

reality. Butitis a iarge s’f. I am contentto go cn withoutanhypothesis—thatis really all she is now. And my beliefthat,if she had ever existed, l should notbe ableto disbelieve in her ,underl ies my acceptance of her in that character.”

said she. Wouldn’t it depend entirely on what she was like,when all’s said and done i I believe I’m right. We women aremore practical than men , after all.

”

You make game of my metaphysics, as you call them .

Well,I’ll drop the metaphysics and speak the honest truth.

”

Hc'"

stopped and faced round towards her, standing on thepath. Only, you must make me one promise.

She stopped also, and stood looking full at him.

What promise i”

If Itel l you al l Ithink in my heart, youwill notallowitto come between me and you, to undermine the only strongfriendship I have in the world, the only one I know of.

"

136

“Itshall make no diifersnce between us. Y ou maytrustvoicawhm he nextspokefhad an zided eamestM fith m who h fi for her

hhofthe yaan

ago. Ra mada

Ninewhatwould palliatethewrsnch cf lcsing whatl have cf you.

Itm y be so—itm ybe l ,All I kncwis—all l can say is—that

somequietly .

“No ; I can imagine ao hypothetical wife. And as formy hypothetical daughterJfind I am always util ising Ssl ly fcr

in an undertone n e‘

m u

caughtby a sortof gasp, and she remained ailent. Whatflal lystoodto Fenwich bom in hiswedloch butno daughter cf his.Andthere hewas, as fond cfthe child as he could he.Fenwick may have half misunderstocd something in her

manner , forwhen he spohe again hiswcrds had a certainof recoil from whathe had eaid, atleastcf ccnsideratiim of itin some newlight.“When I speaktc you as freely asthis, rememberthe natureofthe claim l havetc do so—the cnly apology l can mahe fcr

an exmptional lioence.

"

.

“Howdo youmeanwI mean l dc nctcountmyself as a man—only a sortcf

inexplicable waif, a kind cf cancelled man. A man withouta

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“Whatelse can we call itl word.” She

Hugumctwas complete. yth , or P alliser ,stood there againwith her husband

’s arms husband cftwenty years ago l And inthatfactwasthe keynote

had nctannounced Sally,who burstintothe house and rushedinto the drawing-room tumultuously, to be corrected back bya seriousword frcm Ann,the door-opener ,thatl ( issis and

a law-court could have not been more self-conscious. ProbablyAnn knew all about it, as well as cook. Sally saw nothing.

youthink, N or Ml Andthen developthe engagementcfOto P, orthe jilting of Q by B .

There was just time for a doz en words between the com

ponente of the Millais group in the moonlight.Shall we tell Sally l” It was the Huguenot that asked the

question.N justthis minute. Wait till I can think. Perhaps

I’lltell her upstairs. Nowsay good-bye before the chick comes,and go.” And the chick came on the scene just too latetocriticise the pose.

I say, mother l this withthe greatest «amusementof whichhuman ity and youth are capable. I’ve got something I musttell you i"

som owGOOD m

Whatis lt, kitten ls head-cver-ears in lovewiththe shop-boy l”

Sh -sh-shish l You noisy little monkey, doconslder !

neighbourswill hear everywcsd ycu say.

’ So will,, asMiss Sally’svolce isvery penetrating, rings

m cicar iuthe summer night. Ber attitude is that shedcesn ’tcare ifthey do.

5 i s

.

5 “i E 5 ,Nickdaughter’s revelation because it’s so late and Mr. Fenwick mustget away.

You must tell him all about it another time.I don’t know whether it’s any concern of his.Taken scrupulous, are we, all of a sudden 1

”ea Fenwick,

That cock won’t fight,Miss Pussy ! ou’ll have

to tell me all about it when I come to-morrow. Good night,Mrs. Nightingale. A sort of humorous formality in his voicemakes Sally look from one to the other, but it leadsto nothing.

Sally gcesto see Fenwick depart, and her mothcr goes upstairswith a candl e. In a minute or so Sally pelts up the stars, leavingAnn andth the

“Do you know, mamma, I really didthink— what do youthink I thought i"

What, darlingI thoughtMr . Fenwick was going to kiss me l” In fact,

Fenwick had only just remembered intime that family privilegesmust stand over till afterthe revelation .

Should you have minded if he hadNota bitl Why should anybody mine

them You wouldn’t yourself— you know you wouldn’t(b lue now, mother I"I shouldn’t distress myself, poppet ! But words are more

wind , the manner of them is everything, and the foregroundof her mother’a manner suggests a background to Sally. She

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the problem of finding outwhen athing had been said,the cnlycluetothe nature cfwhichwasthe date of its utterance, itwasno greatwonderthathis cogitations ended in a shalce ofthe headsubdivided into its elements—shakes taken a brace at a time- l

questioner must have been lookingwasn 'tplaying fair ; for ahe indioted him onthe spot, and pushedhim, as it were, into the dock.

I suppcse, meansthatI speak untruth. Very wel l ,my dear ! Bedgnation set in.Come, mother, I say, now! Be a reasonable maternal

parent. When did I say anybody spoke untruthMy dear, you said nothing. But if your father could have

heard what you did notsay, you know perfectly well, my dearConrad, what he would havethought. Was he likely to sit byand hear me insulted ! Did he ever do so I”

The doctorwaswriting letters ata desktablethathe used fcrmiscellaneous correspondence as much as possible, in orderthat this very same mother of his should be leftalone as littleas possible. He ended a responsible letter, and directed it,and made it a thing of the past with a stamp on it in a littlebasket on the hall-table outside. Then he came back to hismother , and bestowed on herthe kiss, or peok, of peaoe. Italways made him uncomfortable when he had to go away tothe hospital underthe shadowof diasension athome.

Well, mother dear, what was it you really did say about the

my dear,to speak of itasthewill say itis a matter of form,

All right. The Nightingale engagement.My dear ! So abrupt ! To your mother 1Well, dear . mammy, what was it, really now i

” Thiscajolerytook effect, and the WidowVereker’s soul sofwned. Sheresumed her knitting.

If youdon’t remember what it was, dear, it doesn

’t matter.The doctor saw that nothing short of complete concession wouldprocure a tranquil sea.

Of course, I remember perfectly well," he said mendaciously.

He knew,that, left alone, his mother would supply a summary

of what he remembered. She did so, with a bound.

I said, my dear (and I am glad you recollect it, Conrad)

I said fromthevery iirst, when Mr . Fenwick was living atK rakatoa Do youthink l don’tknow ! A grown -up daughter sndtwo servants iy- I saidthat

wrth .e

yes intheir head could see And has itturned

outexactly as expected, or has it not1”h e y.“Very well, dear. I’m glad you say so. Now, don

't contradict me another timeThe close observer of the actual (whom we lay claimto be)has occasionallyto report the apparently impossible. We donot suppose we shall be believed when we say thatMrs. Vereker

added :“BesidestherewastbeMajcr .”Professor Sales Wilson, Ia titia

’s father, wasthe ProfessorSales Wilson. Only, if you had seen that eminent scholar whenhe got outside his library by accident and wanted to getback,youwouldn

’t have thought he wasthe anybody, and would probably Lave likened him to a disestablished hermit-crab— lntespect,thatis, of such a one

’s desireto disappear into his shell ,

and that respect only. For no hermit-crab would ever cause anacquaintance to wonder why he should shave at all if he coulddo itno betterthanthat; nor whathewastalkingto himselfabout so frequently ; nor whether he polished his spectacles solong statimeto givethe deep groovetheywere making aorosshis ncse a chance offll ling up ; norwhether hewould be lessbaldif he rubbed his head less ; norwhathe had really gotinside thatoverpowering phrenology of brow, and behind that aspect ofchronic concentration. But about the retiring habits of boththere could be no doubt.He lived in his library, attired by nature in a dressing-gown

and skull-cap. Butfrom its secret recesses he issued manifestceswhich shook classical Europe. He corrected versions, excerpted

disallowed authenticities, ascribed works to their trueauthors, and exposed the pretensions of sciolists with a vigourwhich oughtto have finally dispersed that unhallowed class.Only it didn’t, because they are a class incapable of shame, andwil l go cn madly, evenwhenthey have been provedto be mm ,

beyond the shadow of a doubt. Perhaps they had secret informaticn about the domestic circumstances of their destroyer, anddidn’t care. If Yamen had had private means of knowing thatVishnu was on uncomfortable terms with his wife, a correctedversion of the whole Hindu mythology might have been necesniry.

Bentley, Grctius,Meu cfanti, and a ttcuch of, say Conington,to bring himwell upto date. Butso much ofthe drst,thatwheneverthe meoatuwrepeated one ofthe P rcfessor’s moderately boa -mots, he always put

“sir”in -as, for insta nce,“A

punster, sirsir, is a man who demcralisestwc meanings in one

word “8hculd ycu cal lthatfastlife, sir i I sheuld cal l it

alowdeath . The raeoelm was rather givento making useof him, and asfigningto him motswhich were nctatal l boas, .

becausethey cnly hadthe“air "inthem, and were otherwise

was distressed, nctwithcutreason, when heheardthathe had saidtaxMil l ler , cr scme cne ofthatcalibrs,“There is novery seldom

he passed his

nician Dictionary he hoped he mightliveto bfing cut. Hehad begunthe fourth letter ; butws don ’tkncwtheticianalphabet. P erhaps ithas only four letters in it.He came cutcf his fibruy for meda of course. Buthetcckvery little notice of anythingthatpassed atthe family bcatd,

md read nearlythewhcletima occasicnally saying scmethingforcibleto himself. Indeed, he never conversed with his familyunless deprlved cf hisbook. This occurred cnthe ccca ‘

sionwhen

marriageto Ladbrokeve Road,the second day aftertheyhadtalkedtil ltwo inthe morning. Matrimonywas canvassedusual was afoot, until Grctefend gctinthe mayonnaise sauce.“Take your master’s book away, Jenkins,” saidtheofthe house. And Jenkins, the tender-hearted parallowed masterto keep hold justtothe end oithe sentence.

Sallyfl sowm m boxthatwcman’s ears—atleastuhe said

Nos- wiggl e.The P rotemqbfi g deprived of hisvcluma seemedto awake

, m d ecme outintc a ccld, unlearned world. But

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146 SOMEHOW GOOD

Well, then, howabout who’s married whom 1” Thus theProfessor, resuming his hand-rubbing, and neglecting the leg ofa fowl .Make your father eathis lunchJatitia. We caaaethe late

againthis afternoon.

” Whereon every one atetoc fast; andSal ly feltvery '

gladthe fessor had given her-such a big sl ice oftongue, as she knewahewouldn’thavethe coursgeto have a

second supply, if cfiered, much less ask fcr it.“Dcycuhear, papa l I

’mto make ycu eatycur lunch, says

L ietitia ; and her mother murmurs“That’s right ; make him,

”

daughter a keeper who could'

go insidethe cage. Lntitiathenadds briefly thatMrs. Ni

ghtingale is goingto marry Fenwick.“Ha !Mercy on us l

’saysthe P rofesscrquitevaguely, and,

even more so, adds Chicken-whicken—chihicken—chickm

chicken 1” Though what he says next is more intelligible, it isunfortunate and ill-chosen : And who is Mrs. Nightingale l”

The sphinx is mobility itself compared with Mrs. Wilson’sintense preservation of her statusquo, the import of which isthatthe P rcfesscr ’s blunder-s arethings of everyday occurrenceevery minute, rather. She merely says to Europe, You see,

”

and leaveathatoontinentto deal withpthe positicu. Salh , whoalways gets impatientwiththeWihcn family, exoeptthe P r-ofesscr himself and Latitia— though she is trying sometimes—nowignores Europe, and getsthe ofiender into crder cn her ownaccount.Why,m eucr dear, don

’t you know Mrs. Nightingale’s mymother ! I’m Sally Nightingale, you know l”“I’m nctatall surethatl did, my dear . Ithink Ithoughtyou

“were Sally Something-else. My mind is very absent some

times. You must forgive me. SallyNightingale i To be ar e l”

Never mind, Professor dear 1” But the Professor still looks

vexed at his blunder. Sc Sally says in confirmation, I’ve forgiven ycu. Shake hands !” Andysdoesn’t make matters

'

muchbetter, for her action seems unwcountable to the absent-mindedone, who says, Why 3” first, and then, Oh, ah, yes— I see.Shake hands, certainly !

” On whichthe Sphinx, at the far endofthe table, wondered whether the Ancienttnicians wererude, under her breath.“I’m so absent, Sally Nightingale, that I didn’t even knowyour father wasn’t living.

’

when Sally merely says, I never saw my father, thinks to her

SOMEHOW GOOD 147

selfgwhatavery discreetgirl Sally is. Naturally she suppcsesSallyto be awiae encugh childto kncwsomething abouther cwnfather. ButtheWilscn familywere nctcoinpletely inthe darkabout an unsa something queer in Sally’s extraction ; so that she ts that unconscious young person withhaving steered herself skilful ly outcf shoal -waters ; butshe isnot sure whether to class her achievemen t as intrepidity orcheck.She iswantcd inthe intel ligence departmentbefcre she can deeidethis point.“Perhaps, if you try, Lntitia, you’ll be able to make outwhether your father is

of

or is nctgcingto eathis lurich .

a ofpped necessity oauses the P rofesscrto runtheriak cf chcking himself before l ntitia hastimeto formulate anconcerned. The dragon, her mother— for that was howSallyspoke ofthe hcrny cne—keptan eye firmlyfixed onthe unhappy

and gavethewcrd ofcommand,

“Take

A citation fromtheOdy- eywas received in stcny silence bythe dragon , who, however, remarked to her daughterthatitwss uo usetalking aboutP hineus andthe Hai-piea,becausethey hadtc be atSt. P ancras at8.10, or losethetr-ain.

And perhapa ifthe aervsnts wereto be called l l arpiea yourfather wculd engagethe nextcne himself. Theyweretrcubleenough now,withcutthat.Owingtc allwhich,the referenceto Sally’s father gotlostdghtof ; and she wasn

’t sorry, because Theeny, at any rate, wasn’t

mother knewor suspected.

saw him was neither discretion, nor intrepidity, nor cheek. It

having been accessorytc herself beforethe fact; also as havingbeen, for some mysterious reason, unpopular— perhapsassist. But hewas Ancient History now—had joined the Phinnicians. Why should she want to know 1 Her attitude of unenquiring acquiescence had been cultivated by her mother, andit is wonderful what a dominant influence from early babyhoodcan dc Sally seldom spoke of this mysterious father of hersla any othertermsthanthose she has justused. She had never

10—2

us som cwcococmm fi mak

hixhis acquaintance—thatwss all.

l n someway, he notbehavsdwel ltc her mother ;once

him.about your father, but to forget have forgiven him,

because cf ycu. Because—howcculd l have dcnewithoutkitten !” Andthereafter , as Sally’s was a feeble crce

wheu setsgainstthe pcssibil itythatits mightcausepain to her mother, she suppressed it easily.

Butnowand again littlethingswculd be said in her piesencethat would set her a-thinking— little things such as whatthesensitive on the point—made more prone to reflection than usual— by last night

’s momentous announcement. Anyhow, sheresolvedtotalkto '

l ‘ishy abouther parentage as sccn astheytieing. All the two hours“they ought to have played in themorning Tisby would talk about nothing but Julius Bradshaw.

And look hcwridiculous itall was l Because she di‘

d call himshop-boy —

ycu know she did—only six weeks ago. Sallydidn

’tsee why her afiairs shculdn’thave aturn now; and

although she was quite aware that her friendwanted herto beginagainwherethey had leftofibefcre lunch, she held outno helpinghm d butganthe preferenceto her ownthcughts.“I suppcsemy father drank, to”

said 8al ly Tisby.If you don’t know, dear, how should I !

” said Tisby toSally. Andthatdid seem plausible, and made Sallythegir ls ccuntfcur sc cften,butSal ly could pull an asalea fiowertcpieces over her cogitations, and did so, instead of tuning upforthwith. Le titia was preoccupiedwculdn

’t take an interestin cther people’s fathers, nor her cwn fcrthatmatter . Shetuned up, though, and told Sallyto look alive. But while Sal lylooks alive she backs into a c i nversation cfthe forenoea, and

Y ouwill remember not to. say anything, won’t you

, Sallydear 3 Do promise.“Say anything ? Oh no ; I shan’t say anything. I never

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150 SOMEHOW GOODY ou mightgo on for everthatwa . Now, dear,

do bs kind andtell me whatyou and who it. l

shouldtel l yoa. Y cu l iaowI ahould.

” This appeal produces

kncwhim l, and I dcn

’twanttc . AtleamtJ’ve iustsesnhim ata distance. l cculd ses he was purple. 0sr oa

Colonel Lund, you know—says he’s a hcrrible old gossip, you

can’t cn awcrd he says. Butwhatdid he sa l”

“W of ccum l cughtn ’ttotell youthis, Imised not. Whathe said wasthatycur mcther wentout

yoI was gd ngtotell ycu.

SOMHOWGOOD 151

he wasthe bestshotfcr a clvilian he’devsr n en. There was a hold of a

hundred yards cfi“The man orthetiger l I

’m cnthetigsr’s side. I always

Thetiger, stupid! Y ouwculdn’twantyour own fathertoaim at a and hita man i”

don’tthink l should. But, I say, Tisby,to saythatMajoc per meantto thathewas

cutflrocfi g with my father and didn’tknow his name

“Oh no. He said hia namqof course.“Only itwasn’tmy fatherthatshctit. That’ .squite clear ”

Sally wss feeling greatly relieved, and shcwed itinthe waynon

smsethewhcle stcry is l”suficedto niakemother’ss money had cometo her from a grandfather Nightingale,

" whose name had somehow accompanied it, and had been(very properly, as itseemedto her ) bestowed cn herself aswellas her mcther . Thcywere partand parcsl cf each cther , obviously. In fact, she had never morethan justkncwn oftheexistsnce cfthe name Graythorpe in her family atall, and ithad bem imputed by hertcthis unpcpuln father of hem and

putaside, as itwere, on a shelfwith him. Even if her motherhad not a desirethatthe name should lapse, sheherself

mwculd havewcepted its extinction cn her own account.

Butnowthis name came cutofthe pastas a ccnsolation .

P allissr indeed l c oould mamma have beenMrs. Gi-aythorpeif her husband

’s name had been P alliser l Sallywas nctwise

encugh hrwd dlymhtterstcknowthatdivcroed ladiescommcn ly

um

mam

m

mmww

mmm

m“

wmwm.

m

we

s

awmu

mas

Inthis case'they contributedtothe reimtatementof l fr .

Bradshaw. Dear me, itdid seein so funnyto Sal ly l Onlytheother daythis young man had been kncwnto her on no cther

as an established fccl,who cameto stare ather outcfthe ccrners cf his dark eyes al lthroughthe mcrning serviceatSt. Satisfsx. And nowitwas St. John’

s, Ladhroke Grove

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l“ M OWGOODcab ! And Sunday aftsraosn and a Stredivasius l Do say

i

n.“

That’swhatl wantsn answerto.

”

toto

or notldo with it. Whatyou’ve

ya hatever pa‘

pa may say. Butyou’re adear, impulsivs

-M m m w m m o m

no suchthing happened, nor did anythingto revivsthe story ofthe dlvoree ortothrowa llglitontheldqrtity of P aflln r and ruiwlok. Elghtweeh afterthe latm

secondtime disclossd his pad on

the same woman,the wii j ile wer i married atthe Church ofand, fi ns s 'artcd forth e Continentthe same

afternoon, foundM ‘d ‘

fi, ( ‘U l‘l l un reasonably wander

lng about inM oo with h ardly athong:ttho day ata lette r m ore from Si l ly attheW e.

And he l l 1]re numbered nothing !E.

Aim thus it came about that Rosalind Palliser (see Graythopsr)stccd forthe secondtime atthe altar of matrimcnywiththesame bridegioom m der another name. The absance cf brides

maids pronounced and accented the fact that the bride was awidow,thcugh, astherewerevery fewcfthc ccngregation of

St. Satisfax who did notknow her as such, the announcementwas hardly neceuary. Discussion of who her late husbandwas,or was nct, hsd lcng since given wayto a beliefthathewas abad lot, andthatthe lessthatwas said abouthimthe better .

If anycnewhowas pm entattheweddingwas still ccnstroctingtheories about his identity— whether he had divorced his wife,was divorced himself, or was dead- certainly none of thosetheories connected themselves with the present bridegroom.

As for Sally, her only feeling, over and above hercuriosity about her father, was a sort of paradoxical indignationthat his intrusion into her mother’s life should have preventedher daughter figuring as a bridesmaid. It would have been sojolly 1 But Sally was perfectly well aware that widows, strongnerved frcm experiencefitand in no need of omcial help in gettingtheir“things”on, and acquiesced perforoe in her pcsition of amere unqualified daughter.thewedding,under a scrtof imputation of guardianahip neceuaryfor Sally—eu imputation accepted by her in order that theold boy should not feel lonesome, far more than for any advantage to herself. She wasn’t

“sure it did him any good though,

after all, for the wedding-party (if it could be called one, it wasso small), having decided that its afternoon had been complete ly broken into, gave itself up to dissipation. and wenttosee“Charley’s Am The old gentleman did not feel equaltothia butsaid ifSallytold him al l aboutitafterwards itwculdbe justas' gocd, and insisted on her going. Re said hewculd be

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108

incorrigible, and as

with an admonitoryr toem.

em cees ,

m a u m m m dfiem u m m

Aunt.”

Ithh k w lt’s a mere idsa.relay M a‘s

impossiblato help liking him.

” TOM B-lbw ”ii

ButtheMajor’s feelingthathe m r-watliberqtotryDeath after Ii fato mahe for patah sto- ym had searcelyatrwe in itof dethronemed or d a-on from privileges oncnpossessed. Itwas nothism m

'

buteto l 'mwickthathcahould admitthe ideato his nfl atall—thathe mi t havegained a son ratherthan lostawtsr . Atleast, hehe nsufi y spahe other soto her mother . Hs hadto distarbwho, being selfish, made a grievanoe of it, andwentaway piquedafter stretching. Wel l, hewas sorry of course, but it would havehadto eome, some time. And he hadn

’tmoved for ever so long !wonder

Only Roseywas so con.

Oculd a woman of her age feel so sure'

and be

misled !

“awe

c

an

tmm

mmwmmw

d

m

m

M

m

mMMMMWW

m

mm

mm:

m

Mu

M

WN

W

mms

mm

m

m

m

u

w

mwmm

.

m

mmmm

mmm

mm

mm

“c

um

um

mm

Wh

a

m

m

mmMa

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.

umm

.

a

e

M

m

fix.

was and whence—for

brows ; whers wouldthose lips be, from whiohthe laughterbe if she hsd never emerged fromthatblsck shadowinthe pastl

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162

, had notm fimd hem doaing when hewas suddenlywrenched outofthe jaws of sleep bythe merrywoices oftheho

'

me-oomera mdthe lou odthe piebald0h, hlajor dear , you haven’tgoneto bed l

l Y ouwill be sotired !Why didn ’tyougo l”chick. I’ve baen

Ia uquet.’ I lihs

was a boy. What’s o'olock l " He pulled outhia -watohwith apreturce, easy of detection,thathe had notjustdone sotenminutesbetore. ltwas a lie about“Harro rrequerso a little extra didn’tmatter .

Verymearly as late es

it’s posaibleto be. Butnowwe’re in fcr it, we may ae wol lmahe ita nocturnal dissipation . Ann i—don ’tgoto bed ; atM mtbefmo you’ve broughtsome more fneshwater .

'Dris

Major,Major why didw‘tyounever go outfor five minutes

l"

I’ve been dr inking all day

and Ann’s fastm edupthe

No, it’ .s notthe polioeman I whe itis. Stopa minute.

” Andthen pcesa rtlythe uajor hears flally’s halfof an interview,

and

athrough keyhol e.“I mamthe door . .two a key and a chain—the idea !

is it i . h wy K eep it, itwon’tbite you ”

send ittothe wfl l . No, really, do keep itif you den’tmmd Remember ! Good

are !in the letter-box all

ated.

. ywips inthe eab.

Dr Vemt”Yes. m m .

I wonder wherethey’ve gotto.

M OWGOOD 163

MM !”

No.1won’taiton you.

I’ll sithue ; dom alengaide—eo l Then l shan’tshahetha

chand itso oomb rth g as itlies onthe hfajor’sonthe ohairharmthathe is h into urjoy it'a little, howen r

“He dressesup like his aunt, doesn’the l”Oh yes—it’sgloriove fnn l Butdo say youthonghtmammalovely.

Of oourso she did. She always does. Buthadthe others“Tishy aud her Bradshawl Oh -

yes—atleast. l suppose

And Dr . Veroker l

0h, of course he had —twiee atleast. 'Hretimes we saw

it, mother and l . Hewenttoou Wm elhthere’s nothh gwaythewordwell wu prolongsd. )“Nothing atall . Why shouldthere be l Whata uicetel lowVereker is l”“My rnedical adviser i Oh, he’s al l right. Never mh d him ;talk aboutmother .

”

They mustbevery ncarly attms by now. This ie

interestinwhathe is saying.“Hmvmm itmustbe l”saya Sally, with

And the Major’s“What !” evolve: thata secund husbaud.“

Gaingtinough itall over again whan you’ve dou itom e

l“ SOMOWGOOD

so far asthat.“S he lookedvery om it," said he, refleating on gsner

alities. "So did he."“Gnfier Fenwick l I should think so indeed ! Well heM dter a moment's consideraficn fl ‘fle lookedidea of Sir Richard Grenville. It's only au idea. l

There was alwaysthe resouroe ofthe lsgal fiction ; all babesborn in matn’

mony aro legallythe chfldreu oftheir mother’s'

Y ou know, Sal lykin, your father aud mothertsll outbeforeyouwere born . Andthe firattime l sawyour mother—why,blessmy souh my dear l youwemquite a growing gifl— yqableto geta staii Indeed.youdid l ItwasGeneral P ellew;they say he’sgoingto bemades peer." TheMajorthinks he sees hisway oatofthe dre by

aame Gsaythes'pe fsr P al lissr .

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100 SO_ OW GOOD

Wall m

mtotell it—nctme. Neither do lthlnk l knowitto“Y ou kncwifthsrewas cr wa-r'ta divoree l” The l ajorfeelsvsry sorry he didn’tlstitalone.“I'lltall youthat,honour notto ask anymoro“l promise.”

KwastNowl ’lltell you. Thm wu no divorcqbuttbcrowas a suitfcr a divoroe, lnsfituted by him. Be failedtotather ’was

fi e was absoluteb myat least. Nowthat’s plentytor a little”girlto know.

no n- s un ve,mom buthtoomourable break

T l ouon Sally crisd herselfto sleep after her interviewwith herheraslf mietress cfthe house andtbe situa

optimismto decidethatitis“rather a lark”to broakfastbyyourselfwhen you have only justdriedthetears youhave beenshedding overthe loss of your mo companion. Sally cametothis couclusion as she poured outtea, aftsr despatchinghistoastand colfeetothe hfajor in hisown room. Hesometimcscame downto brefi uh butsuch a dissipaticn as yesterday putitoutofthequestion on

end ofthe second cup ofmodulated into a

cftheword“lark "used inthisconnexion .

The day before dces notcome backto us during our firstcupatbuoakfast,whether itbetea or coflee.letswhatwe have slepton aleep,till atleastweather , and knowsthatitis goingto be cooler, some rain .

Then memory revives, and all the chill inheritance of overnight.We pick upthethread of our existence, and drawour finger overthe h stknomm dthen go onwherewe leftofi. We rememberthatwe haveto see aboutthis, andwe mustn’tbe late atthst,andthatthere’s an order gotto be made cutforthe stores.

There wasn’t in Sally’s cu e, cer tainly, because it was Sunday ;buttherewsstribulation awaiting her ss soon as ahe could reoollect her overdue analysis of theMajor’s concealed facts. Shebad putitofltill leisure should come n nd nowthatshewas on ly

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SOMEHOW GOOD

bum microcosm ofthe garden seenthroughthewindomdown inthetea-um , she had surelymetwith

leisure. Her mind wentbacktentatively onthe points oftbeold man

's reminiscencg ss ahe looked ather cwnthoughtful

face inthe convex ofthe nrn opposite, nursed intwo rniniaturewas young. More than once he must have been, because Sallyknewhe was a widower . Shetouchedthe shiny urn with herfinger ,to see howhideously itswelled inthe mirror . Y ouknowwhstfunthatis ! Butshetook her finger bmh becausc itwastoo hot,though ofithe boil .Therewas a bluebottle betweenthebl ind andthewindowse nsual , if hewasthe same bluebottle that was therewhen Eenwick was firstbroughtintothis room, he had learned nothingand forgotten nothingJikethe old régime in France. He onlyknewhowto buttand blunder resonantly atthe glass ; but hecould do itaswell as ever , and he seemedtc have made up hismindto persevere. Sally listenedto hismonotone, andwatchedher imsge inthe urn.

I wish I hadn’tpromised notto ask more, shethoughttoherself. “Anyhow, Tishy

’s wrong. Nobody ever was named

Palliser— that’s flat ! And if there was a divorce-suit ever so, Idon

’tcaro !. She hadto stopthinking for a moment,toBesides, if my precious so badly to mamma,

howcould itbe her fault! I don’tbel im in mother beingthe

lead wrong in anything, so it’s no use !” This lastfilled outaresponseto an imaginary indictm ent of an oficious CrownProsecutor “I lmowwhatl shculd like ! I should liketo getatthatold Scroope, orwhatever his name is, and getitall outofhim. I’d give him a piece

,of my mind, gossipy old humbug l

”

Itthen occur redto Sallythatshe was being unfair . No, shswouldn’t castigate old Major Roper for tattling, and at the sametime cross-examine him for her own purposes. Itwould beunderhand. Butitwould bevery easy, if she could getathim ,to make himtalk aboutit. She rehearsedways and meansthatmight be employed to that end. For instance, nothing morenaturalthanto recurtothe legend of howahe bitGeneral P el lew’

s

finger ;thatwould sethim ofi l She recitedthe form ofspeechto

SOMEHOWGOOD 169

be employed. Do you kncw, orMa Roper , l’mtold l once

bita stafi-oficer’s finger ofifl stc” wouldtitbe better nottoapproachthe matter with circumspection, bu straighttothepoint. You must have met my father,Ma or Roper, etc .andthen fol lcwonwith axplanations l Ohh dear, howdifiicultitwasto settle ! If onlytherewere anyone ahe couldtrusttotalkto aboutit! Really, Tish wasquite outofthequestion, evenif she could take her mindcd her Bradshaw for five minutes,which she couldn’t.clusion reached atthe end of a long avenue ofewh side of which refereeswho might have been accepted, buthad been rejected, were supposedto be left to their disappointment. Only, fancy making a confidant of old Why,he’d feel your pulse andthlook at your tongue, just as asno .

But Dr. Vershec. us dismiseed to the re jected referees,seemed notto care fortheir companionship, andto be abletocome back. At any rate, Miss Sally ended up a long cogitationwith,“l’ve a greatmindto go andtalkto P rosy aboutit, after

all i Perhaps he would be at church.

”

Now, if this had been conversation instead of soliloquy, Sally’sconstitutional frankness would have entered some protest againstthe assumption that she intended to go to church as a matter ofcourse. As she was her only audience, and one that knew allabout the speaker almady, she slurred a little over the fact thather decisionto attend church was infiuenced by a beliefthatprobably Dr. Vereker would be there. If she chose, she shoulddeceive herself, and consult nobody else. She looked at herwatch, as the open-work clock with the punctual ratchet-movementhad etopped, andwas surprised to find how lets shewas.

Comes of weddings !”was her comment. However, she hadtime to wind the clock up and set it going when she came downstairs again ready for church.

St. Satisfax’s Revd. Vicar prided himself onthe appropriate

ness of his sermons ; so,thistime, as he had yesterday united a

distinguished and beautiful widowto her second husband, heselected for his text the parable of the widow’s son. True, Mrs.Nightingale had no son, and her daughter wasn

’t dead, and there

or had any intentionof doing so. On the other hand, the latterhad no daughter,presumably, and her son was alive. And as tomarrying again, why, there was the very gist and essence of the

170 SOMEHOW GOOD

thatthe parson didn’tmother—d idn’ttconnecther in his

Withthe real widowinthe parable ! Oh yes, he did,though ! As ifmotherwus a realwidow!"Now,the doctor hsd heard from his ownwidowed motherths

heads ofthe gossip aboutthe suppcsed divoroe. He had pooh

tattle—asked for evidence, and so on .

was notto bewonderod atthathe putadivorce story He feltvery unsafe, and could

pouible fiuah,thatframed up her amile andatthis momenta bad companion for a man who was under anobligation notto fall in lovewith her f forthatwashowthedoctorthoughtcf himsalf. Sally confinned z

“Bntl wish l had been.

because itwonld have dcne icstead.

”

The young man was really, atthe moment, comcious ofvery

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172 SOMEHOW GOODI really won’t. Y oumay trust me.

Somebodytold her— Iwon’tsaywho itwas—you don ’tmind !”SaHy didn

’t- “md herthatyonr father behavedva y badlytoyour mother, andthathetriedto geta divcroe from her andfailed, andthatafterthatthey parted by mutual consent, andabyentawayto NewZesland when youwerequitel

a smal l

“Wasthatquite all lThatwas al l mothertold me. I

’m afraid l rather cuther

shortby saying lthoughtitwas mostlikely all unfoundedgossip. Was any of ittr-ue ! Butl ’ve no rightto askquestions.

— no ! Thatwouldn ’tbe fair . Of course,when you aro askedtotelhyou are al lowedto ask. Every one

mrnd'

a bittel lrng'

yotrlr as l knOW.

lit e.”

allthe information she had had—allthather mother hsdtold her—what she had extracted fromColonel Landwith dificulty—andlastly, but as the merest untrustworthy hearsay,the story thathad reached herthrough her friend Lretitia. In fact,shewentthelength of discrediting it altogether, as Only GoodyWilson,when all was said and done.” The fact that her mother hadtold her so little never seemed to strike her as strange orto callfor comment. It was right that it should be so, because it wasin her mother’s jurisdiction, and what she did or said was right.Cannot mostof us recall things unquestioned in our youth thatwe have marvelled at our passive acceptance of since i Sally

’smother’s silence about her father was ingrained in the nature ofthings, and she had never speculated about him so much as shehad done since Professor Wilson’s remark across the table hadled to Le titia’stale about Major Roper and the tiger-shooting.

Sally’s version of her mother’s history was comfortingto herhearer on one point it contained no hint that the fugitive toAustralia was not her fat-her . Now, the fact is that the doctor,in repeating what his mother had said to him, had passed oversome speculations of here about Sally’s paternity. No wonderthe two records confirmed each other, seeing that the point suppressed by the doctor had been studiously kept from Sally byall her informants. He, for his part, felt that the bargain didnot include speculations of his mother’s.

SOMEHOW GOOD 178

Weltdoctor !” Thus Sally, attbemd of avery shortpauseconsideration. Vereker does notseemto need a longsr one

otMrs.

Nightingale—I I must say Mrs. Fenwick now—behindher back l Isn’tmttl zesortofquestion 1” Sally, for response,looks a little short nod at the doctor, instead of words. He goeson : And l don

’tthink youneed fretaboutit. P eoplewilltalk aboutthe story ofthequarreland separation, of course, but it doesn

’t follow that anythingbe said against either your father or mother. Things of this sorthappen every day, with fault on neither side.

”

You think it was just a row 1"

Mostlikely. The on lythingthatseemsto metotel l againstyour father is what you said your mother said just now—some.thing about having forgiven him for your sake.” Sally repeatsher nod. Well, even that might be accounted for by supthat he had been very hot-tempered and unjust and violent. Hewas quite a young chap, you see.“You mean like—like supposing Jeremiah were to go into a

weresgothto mid of!in othing

°

of that sort. Very likely theystood emb other better if they had been a little older and

Like us 8" says Sally, with perfect unconsciousness of oneaspect of the remark. And then they might have gone on tillnow.

”Regretthatthey did notdo so is on her fsee,till she sud

denly sees a newcon tingency. But then we shouldn’t havehad Jeremiah. I shouldn’t have fancied that at all.

” Shedoesn

'treal ly seewhythe duotor smiled atthis, butaddsa graveexplanation :“I msan

, if I’dtried both, I mighthave preferred

my step.” But there they were at Glenmoira Read, and mustsay good-bye till Brahms on Thursday.Only, the doctor did (as a matter of history) walk down that

rosd with Sally as far asthe gatewith K rakatoa Vil la on it,and got home late for his midd ay Sunday dinner, and was toldby his mother that he might have considered the servants. Sheherself was, meekly, out of it.

CHAPTER- XVIII

Tmswasthe bestoithe swimming-bath sesson, and 8ally rsrelypassed a daywithoutaturn ather favourite exexcise. If her

swimming-bath had been open on Sunday, she wouldn’t have

notevente meetDr . Vereker andtalkAs itwaa shevery nearly came away

from K rakatoa Villa nextmo withoutwaitingto seethethe

onMonday ! pcstbeingHowever, shewas intercepted bythe postmsn andthe foreign

postxnark— a doaen words on a card, butshe readthem severaltimes, and putthe card in her pocketto shcwto LotitiaWilson .

Shewas pretty sure to beo’clock had seen the cardfive-minutes-past Sally was impending over the sparkling waterof Paddington Swimming-Bath. She was dry so far, and herblue bathing-dress could stick out. But it was not to be forlong, ior hertwo handswenttogeth aiter a prel iminary stretchto make a outwater , and downmtSallywith a mighty splashinto the deep— into the moderately deep, suppose we say—atany rate intotenthousand gallonsyof properly filtered Thamss

been (no doubt) sterilised and disinfected and

examiried under powerful microscopes until it hadn’t got amicrobe to bless itself with. When she came up at the otherend, to taunt Laetitia Wilson with her cowardice for not doing

seal above water, but with

Now tell me about the row lastnight,”said she, after reproachesmetbyLe titia with, It’s no use, dear. I wasn

’t borna herring like yoSally must have heard there had “been some

sion at Ladbroke Grove Road as she came into the bath with

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170 SOMEHOW GOOD

Well , butcaybody could likethat. When xeal people arstheydon’tdo itlihstbat.” Miss ince is rather rusfulabout it. But“

0h, d00’t

wait till they are hism ible.

supreme contempt. Weattime fair . Butnowyou gc and '

drown yourself, and see if I don't fish you out. Fire away I"

They fire away, and the determined suicide plays her partwith spirit. But she is no match for the submarinetactics ofher rescuer, who seems just as happy under water as on land,and rising under her atthe end ci a resolute deep plunge,makesa successful grasp at the head of her prey, who is ignominiouslytowed into safety, doing her bestto drown herselftcthe last.This little incident is so amusing and exciting that the three

ladies, who walk home together westward, can talk ofbut rescues all the way to Notting Hill.

Henriette Prince goes on alone, and as Letitia and Sally turn05 the main road towards the home of the former,the lattersays Now tell me about the row.

”

It wasn’t exactly a row, it seemed ; but itcametothe same

thing. Mamma hsd made up her mindto be detestable aboutJulius Bradshaw— that was the long and short of it. And Sallyknew, said Iatitia, hcwdetestable mamma oould bewhen shetrieddtIf it wasn’t for papa, Jul ius '

Bradshawwould simplybe said not-at-home to, and haveto leave a card and go. Butshe was goingto go her cwn way and not be dictatedto,maternal authority or no. Perhaps the speakertelt that Sally

to universal revolt, for a flavourof excuse or justification crept in.

Well l— I can’t help it. I am twenty-four,after all. I

shouldn’t say so if there was anything against him. But noman can be blamed for a cruel conjunction of circumstances,and mamma may say whatshe likes, but being in the ofiice reallymakes all the difference. And look how he’s supporting hismother and sister, who were left badly ofi. I call it noble.But you know,Tisby, you did say the negro couldn

’t changehis spom andthatl mustadmitthere were suchthings as

social distinctions—and you talked about sweeps and dustmen,you know you did. Come, Tisby, did you, or didn

’t you 1”

SOMEHOW GOOD 177

If I said anything itwas leopard, nctnegro. And as forand dustmen, they were merely parallel cases used as

illustrations ; and I dcn’tthink I deserveto havethexn raked

Miss Wilson is rather injured over this grievance,and Sally appeases her.

“She shan’thavethem raa u up, sheshan

’tl Butwhatwasthls rowreally about,that' rsti' point !

It was yesterday morning, wasn’t it i”“Howoiten am Itotell ycu, Sal ly dear ,thatthere was

speaking! If u were to say therecomments at breakfast yes y, then recrimination

overnight, and a stifiness at breakfastagain this morning, youwould be doing more than justiceto it. You'll see nowifmamma isn’t cold and firm and disinherity and generally denatable about it."

But whatwas it 1 That’s what I wantto know.

”

dear—itwas— absolutely nothing! Why should it best forMr. Bradshaw to drive me bimethan lg ycu and Dr . Vereker andthe Voyseystc go all in one

growler lBecause the Veyseye live just round the corner, quite close.

It came to three shillingsbecause it’s outside the radius.” The

irrelevancy of this detail gives Letitia an excuse fo'r waivingthe caboquestion, on which her position is untenable. Shedilutes it with extraneous matter, and it is lost sight of.It doesn’t matter whether it’s cabs or what it is. Mamma’s

su~ if ever anything was reasonable, that was.” She pauses

for confirmation— is, in fact, wavering about the correctness ofher own position. and weakly seeking reassurance. She is madehappier by a nod of assent from Miss Sally.

“Awfully reasonable is the verdict of the latter. Whatever there isseriousness in the judge

’s face'

istoo slightto call for noticea mere twinkle to be ignored. Very little selfodeception is necessary

,and

'

m this department success is invariableI knew you would say so, dear,

”Tishy continues. And

I’m sure you would about the other things too . . ,well I wasthinking abouttea m K ensington Gardens on Sunday. We haveboth of us a perfect right to have tea independently, and the onlyquestion is about separate tables.”Suppose I come—to make it square.Suppose you do,dear.

”And the proposal is a relief evidently.

12

part of members who haVe absolutely no suggestion to make ofdidMore them ; and most ungcvernably. sometimes, on theanyp“alternative scheme' for the happiness of either.

womenve a iair‘

polntto iastheer thamindsoppositioless real .thatby on

inexplicableno‘i

iurywhich so oiten breakschemes of two young peopleto do precisely whattheir parents

a

mmmMt”m

mw

m

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SOMEHOW GOOD

It was all a realityto herherself, avisible certainty,

whowould seetothe m ognition of itathendquartera

and keep his mind a blank abouthowhe cameto knowof itiItwasthe firstdiscomfortthathsd crossed her married mind

Itwas easyto putitall away and forgetitinthe hush and

gloom ofthe greatchurch, filled withthe strange inttmationfrom Heaven-knoweowhere— some side-chapel unseen— of a

(a young fellowsome girl mighthave beenthewife of,with advantegeto both) cametc a'

pause, andthe eongregafion weretcbetaken into confidencqhowcame Gerryto knowbeforehandwhatthe fatonewas goingto say,withthatstupendonsvoice ofhis !

Weall kneel , lthink.

”Thusthe bridegrocm under his breath .

cfthe congregation sub

l(

31:1

6Gerry - darling fellowl Howmn you knowthah and

not wHow I came by it1 It’s very funny, but I can’t, and that’s

the truth. I don't. feel as if I ever could know, what’s more.

But it all seems a matter of course.”Perhaps you’re a Catholic all the while, without knowing

P erhaps I am . ButI should liketcknow,because of goingto

SOMEHOW GOOD 181

2.Andthmthe plotthickened attbe altar, andthe odour

myrrh and frankincense, m d little bells rangto a climax,the handscme young letpriest, us hopeJelthe hsd gotvaluethe loss ofthathypothetical girl.Thatlittle incidentinthegreatchurch atRheimswasthe fint

of Rosalind Fenwick’sman 'ied life—the firstresumptionofthe conditicns she had been so cften unnerved by duringtheperiod cftheir betrothal . Sh

'

e was destinedto be croseed bytotakethese anxieties as partoitheher happinessthathadto be paid.to herthatshe couldspeakto her

husband about the tension caused by her misgivings withoutassigning anany speoial reasons for anxietythatwould notbe hisas much as hers. She hadto showuneasiness in orderto getthe rel ief his sympathy gave her ; butthere werepossibilities in the Bush m ough to warrant it without going outsidewhatwas knownto both. No need atallthathe shouldkncwof her separate unseen burden, forthatlButsome ofthe jolte onthe road, as we mightcal lthem,

wereto be soretrialsto Rosalind. One came inthe fourthweekofthd r homymom andquite spofled fcr herthe lastthreedays of her holiday. However, Fenwick himself laughed aboutit—thatwas cne comfort.It was at Sonnenberg. You knowthe Great Hotel , or Pension,

nearthe Seelisbergthatlooks down on Luoerne Ia ke, straightovertowhere T ell shotthe arrowi If you do not, itdoes notand have never beenthere sinee. And whathappened mightjustas easily have happened anywhere else. Butitwasthere.ss a matter of faet; and if you knowthe plaoqyouwill be ahleto imaginethetwo ofthem leaning onthe parapetoftheterraoethat overlooksthe lake, watching the steamer from Lucerne

creeping slowlytothe landing-place atthe head of a whitecometit has churned the indescribable blue of the lake to, anddiscufi ngwhether itis nearsstto Oriental sapphire orto green

s

i

one would be justthe oolour olthatwater belowthem. Shewas notto ask him howhe cameto be so mightywiseabout end chrysoprase and sardonyx, abcutwhichshe herself either never knewcr had forgotten. Shetock itallas a matter oi eourse, and asked ifthe Baron’

s cigarwas a good

“Howshal lwe return his civility l”th pcnder over possible reciprocities in silenoe, but

discover nothing, and seemto give upthequestby mutualconsent. Then he says :

“I wcndei-why he cosseted upto us.Mnightinthe gardui so l And she repeats:“Iwonderwl iy l”I dou’t believe he even lmows our name,’ andthen he repeats : I

’m sure

he doesn’t.”“And itwas so dsrk, hemcouldn’thave seen mnch odus Buthis cigar

’squite beautiiul . Blowthem cke in my faqerry

nid"

She shuts her eyesto receive it. Howhandsomethink mammawas looking if she couid see her nowinthe lightofthe sm seti Her husbandthinksmuchtothatefiect, as heturnsto blowthe smoke on order j ntothe facethatis sc clceewhis,adda to

his bulk, for he cannotbe saidto have a form ; he is amorphcusto be a hnge cavern forthe secreficn ofcharged as heavy '

artillery ata hintfiom some unseen peroussioncapwithin.

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184 SOMEHOW GOOD

i

f

iames of

'the placea entorcing each as a reminderwith an activeorcflnger .Fenwick seems suddenly to breathethe fresh air of a soluticn

ofthe problem. He bmaks into a mm y m flato his wife’s

Indeed, Baron K reutakammer, my name is not Harrison.H y name is Fenwick, andthis ladyI have never been in any of the places you mention.

moment he forgot his own state of oblivion a thing he was gettingmore and more in the habit of doing. The Baron looked intentlyathim, and looked again . He siapped his forehead notlightlyat all, but as if good hard slaps would really correct bla n laapprehensions and put him right with the world.

I am al lvranek,” he said, borrowing extra force from an

indurated g. But it is ferry bustl ing— I am hustled 1" Bythis he meant puzzled. Fenwick felt apologetic.I don’t know howto thank you for the' cigarMr . Harrison

oughtto have had," said be. He felt really ashamed of havingsmoked it under false pretences.You shall throw it away, and I gid you one for yourself.

That is oscoy 1 But I am hustled .

”

He continued puzzled. Mrs. m ick feltthathe was onlykeeping further comment and enquiry in check because it wouldhave been a doubt thrown on her husband’s wordto make any.

Her uneasinesswould have beenvisible if her power ofccnoealingit had nctbeen fortified by her beliefthathis happinem aswellas hers depended (for the present, at any rate) on his ignoranceof his own past. Perhaps she was wrong ; with that we havenothingtc Jo ;we aretelling ofthings asthey happened. Onlywe wish to record our conviction that Rosalind Fenwick wasacting for her husband’s sake as well as her own— not from avulgar instinct of self-preservation.

The Baron made conversation, and polished his little powerfulspectacle-lenses. He blew his nose like a salute of one gun inthe course of his polishing. Whenweblow our nose,we hush ourpocket-handkerchief back into its home, and ignore it a little.The Baron didn’t. He continued polishing on an unalloyedcorner through the whole of a very perceptible am ount of chatabout the tricks memory plays us, and the probable ofthe blue water below. Rosalind’s uneasiness contin Itgrew worse, when the Baron, suddenly replacing his spectaclesand fixing his eyes firmly on her husband, said sternly, Y es, it

is a bustle l”but was relieved when, equally suddenly,he shoutedin a stentorian voice, We shall meed lader,”and took his leave.He’s a jolly fellow, the Baron, anyhow l

” said Fenwick.

Iwonderwhether heard him atAltdorf i” '

Everyword, I sh dthink. ButhowI should liketo seetheMr. Harrim he took you for I”

This was really part of a policy of nettle-grasping,which continned. She alwa felt happier after defying a dificultyafter fiinching. all, if Ger ry

’s happiness and herwere not motive enough, consider Sally’s. If she should reallycometo knowher mother’sstory, Sallymightdie of it.Fenwick went on to the ending of the cigar,dreamilywondering,evidently hustled like the Baron. As he blewthe lastsmokeaway, and threw the smoking and down the slope, be repeatedher words spoken a minute before,“I should liketo seetheMr .

Harrison he took me for.”“Itwould be funnyto see oneself as ither '

s. see one. Somepower might gie you the giftie, Gerry. If only we could meetthatMr. Harrison -P“

Do you remember howwe sawour profiles in a glass, and

you said,‘ I

’

m sure those are somebody else’i Illogical

female !”“Whywai llogical l I knewtheywere goingtoturn outusin the end. Butl was sure I snouldn’tbe convim ed at once.”

Andthetalk wandered away into a sortof paradcxical metaButwhen, later in '

the evening, this lady was described byconfidential chat at the far end of the salon as that handsomeyoung Mrs. Algernon Fenwick who was only justmarried, andwhose husband was pl .ying chess in the smoking-room, andwhat a pity it was they were not goingto stop overMonday,she thus described, accurato enough, was rather rejoicing thatthat handsomeMr . Fenwick, who looked like a Holbein portrait,was being keptquietfor half an hour , because shewantedto geta chance for a little chat with that dreadful noisy Prussian Von,who made all the glasses ring at table when he shouted '

so. Rosahad her own share of feminine curiosity, don

’t you see !and she was not by any means satisfied aboutMr . Harrison .

She did not acknowledge the nature of her suspicions to herself,but she would very much like to know, for all that 1 She got

I shouldn’tthe leestmind myself if smoking were sl lowed

180

inths salon, Baron . Y ou sawto -daythatl rsally lihedthem ake !

”

ltwas a rootchogue. But“ItwasGerrywho to he forgim breaking

l hope he haspromised notto do so more !"“He bu hromissto he goot. I ve hmmissto he goot.We shall he segss ealanls, asthe l ‘renoh say. Butl wil ltell you,

Cherry is so

liguo n“Let’s go outontheterraoe,then you oan lighta oigar and

side right now. Well, perhaps it will he alittle cool for sitting down. We canwalk ahou .

I oantel l you aboutmyvrenthusshand is so ligne . He oould spequedeed.” Rosalind looked up.

“Itwaswhen l heard your hussbandspeaguing Frenchtothatgmsse Grifin P oh udonoflthatlthmkto'

myselftbatwasAlohemon Harrisonthati EmewinOaliforniaf’“Supposewe sitdown . Yes,this plaoe will do nioely. It's sheltered fromthe wind.” If

she does look a little pale—and she feels she does—itwill hequiteinvisible inthis dark oorner , forthe nightis dark under a oan0pyof hlaz ing stars. “Whatwere you saying abouth ench i

”

“Alohernon Harrison—thatwas his name—he oould speague

itwel l . He spogue id ligue a nsdifi. Betterthan l speagueEnglish. I speague l ilnglish sowel l because lGanderhury.

" This meant a niece at Can terbury. BaronK reutz kammm- speaks English sowellthatitisto lay stress on his pronunoiation of consonants. Theis dificulttoo, so we will givethe suhstanoe ofwhatheto ldRosalindwithouthis articulation. Bythis fime shqfor her part,was feeling thoroughly uneasy. It seemed to her—hutit mayhe she exaggerated— that nothing stood between her husband'andthe estahlishmentof his identitywiththis Harrison exceptthe difference of name. And howcould she know that he hadnotohanged his name i Had she notchanged hers lThe Baron’s account of Harrison was that he made his ac

quaintance about three years since at San m om , where hehad cometo ohoose gcld omining planttowork a property he hadpurchased at K londyke. Rosalind found it a littl e difficultto understand thewcountof how the acquaintance began, Lrom

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188 SOMEHOW GOOD“Iwill fairyths ”he shouted. “Either your hushandisMr . Hari-iscn, or

ted. well,then . If he isMr . Harrison,Mr .hss doled Butl knce .

dell fips. Imbossihle l”“And if he is notl” outthatinthis osse

his statementistrue say nothh g oftheccndderaticn ofthe matter is purely analysis of a metaphysicalcrux, indu.lged in for soientifio il lumination. Hethsn goes onto apologise for having heen sovery positive. Butno doubtcne ortwo minor circumstanoes had so afi‘ected histhathe sawavery strong likenesswhere only avery slightoneexisted. “I shall look again . I shall be wioer nexttime.”Butwhatweretheminor'circ Rosalind asked.

you.Harrison gribe holt of that wheel, his head go down etchwioe.”The Barontriedto hintatthiswith his own head,“this neck,which was like a priz e-hull

’s,would notlend itselftothe illustration . That wheel was ferry smooth—with a sharp gornu'

.

His nccetoud lhatm er ."The Baron said no more inwords,

but pantomimic action and a whistle showed plainly howthewheel-rim had gl ided onthe hridge oe . Harrison

’s nose.“Ittook ofithe gewdigglqand made a sgar . Y our hussband

’s

is easy to untersdant.But the subject was frightening Rosalind.

likedto hear much more about Mr. Harrison might even haveended hytakingthe fatBaron, whom shethcroughly lihed,into her confidence. The dificulty, however, was about decisionin immediate action which would he irrevocahle. Silence wassafer—or, sleep on itatleast. For now, she mustchangethe

Howsweetthe singing sounds underthe ..tarlightl” But

It would count the same in thetaydime. The fihrationsarethe same.

"Buthe more than makes up for his harsh

prosaism hy singing, in unisonwiththe singers unseenIchwsiss nichtwas soll es bedeutenDs- ich sotraurig hin.

SOMEHOW GOOD 189

fatandjerked bsck from atm poraryremarking, with the voice of

is a “ferry broody lied,” herhas been lis to t-he music.

addsthathis friene . Hai-rlsonwas ‘ierryvcnd ofthatlid .

Butwhenthetwo of them have said a cordial good nighttothe unwieldy nightingale, who goes awayto bed, as he hasto leave eariy inthe morning, Fenwick isvery silent, and cnce

and again hrushes his hair about, and shakes his head in hisoldway. Hiswife seeswhatitis. The musio has gone as near

the wild autumn night and thedone inthe l ittle frontgarden

athome a year ago .“A ! she asks.recurrence, GerrySomething of the sort, Rosey love,

”he says. Somethingquite madthistime. There was a steam -engine in it, of all

things in the world !” But it has been painful,

Rossimd’s apprehension of untimely revelations dictated a

feeling of satisfaction that the Baron was going away next day ;her reg etat losing the choice of further investigation admittedone of dissatisfactionthathe‘

had gone. The netresultwasunsettlement and discomfort, which lasted through the re

mainder of Sonnenberg, and did not lift altogether until thenormallestof -normal life came back in a typical London fourwheeler, which dutifuuy obeyed the injunction to go slowly,

”

not only through the arch that injunction brooded over, butemtothe end ofthe furlong outsidethe radius which oommanded an extsa sixpence and gotmore . Butwhatdidthatmatter when Sallywas found watching at the gate for its advent,and received her stepfather with an undisguised hug as soon as

she found itin her heartto relinquish her mother !

is besttoon athousand shores f Why come home !Butwhssi we do, and findthatparticular hss hap

pened, andthatthese ’s a card for us cnthe mantelpieca hcw

stufiy am our walcomm and howIt ish wethathave heentheJosers by our ahsence fmm allthe great

ablehuman ant-hill—this oentre and climaxcf l ifewith a capitalletter. Butthsn, whenthis is so,they haveto be young, asSallywas.The ex-hcneymooners

declined cutlets,becausethey really had had plentyto eaton theway. The rostrum happenedto he a hassock onthe hemmug,before the little bitof fire that wasn’t at all unwelcome, becauseSeptember had setinquite cold alresdy, m dtherewas certainto he awarm Christmas if itwenton likethis, and itwould bevery unhealthy.

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in som ow'

soon

“How many did he give you. Now tell the truth.

”

“He ve me a lot. I cmuggled I can’ttell you isl y ‘“seemed

He sits on, silsnt,lettingthe prised cigsrtake care of itself, and rernains siluituntil . after a fewmore interesting details aboutths “great

happen, but, having happened, it did not seem unnatural. Whatstranger still

a meansto;an_

euy conscience ; she did notmindthe leasthcw

comfort to its beneficiaries,without compromising her own claims

married couple had not existed for three months in that formheforethistrivial individualitywai defined hy Ann andOook asonly master.” Sally became so callous after a slight passingalarm at one or two explosions that she would, for instance,

temper, or absence of temper—was of the opposite sort. It

and chased it after knowing him for twenty- four hours. The

13address her stepfather, after hearing hisvolleys atsome ofiender

194 SOMEHOW GOOD

inthe distance,with,“Who did lm ou calling a ccnfiounded

idiot, Jeremiaht” To which he reply,”mig

h .

myWash. TheWash sticks in pins, andthe heads“

P eople shouldn’tlicktheirtothe hilt, and spoil one

’s ripping

-comer, unless

belongingtoguard,to reply :“Yes ! Butyouhave no idea howmuch betterhe is— "

andthento stop suddenly, seeingthethemistake shewasmaking. Bhe had no

‘timeto see a way outofthe difllcultybefore Sal ly, puaaled, looked ather with :

“Betterthanwhen iI’ve known him longer than you have, mother." For Sallyalways boasted of her earlier acquaintance.“Nowhasatall , kitten l c much better he iswhenwe arealone ! He never flares up then— that’s what I meant.” Butshe knewquite wel lthather sentence, if finished, would havestood,“howmuch better he isthan he usedto be l” Sho wastoo candid awih iess inthe courtof her own conscienceto malreany pretencethatthiswasn’ta lie. Of course itwas ; butif_she never hadtoteflawmse onethmthatior fld ly’s n ka ahe

She was much mom happy inthe courtof her conscience

statusto him,to help usthroughwith our analysis of her frameof mind. Hiswas a courtwhich, if notidentical atall pointswiththe analogous exponente ofthings Divhie in hei- youth.that proclaimed the same consequences to thetmredeemedthe mmnblings of a - .tor cr her early days, remembered

little gratitude, had been inarticulate with. Her babyhoodhad m eived the idea that liars would be sent unequivocallyto hell. and her maturity could not get rid of it. Outside the

of the saint, the brief working morality that considersother folk firstwas enough for her ; within it, the theol ofan offended deity still held a traditional sway. Ou herwhole soul recoiled fmmthe idea of herher child knowing a storythat would eatinto her heart like a cancer ; within, a reserve

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196 SOMEHOW GOOD

Only I dcn’t. Oh yes, I do. P erkin Warbeck and Anne of

Cloves. I’ve forgotten about them now. on ly I knowI&ncwthem both. I’ve answered '

aboutthem in examinations.They’re history all right enough. As to who taught me aboutthem , couldn

’tsay lstroke, and you

’ll arrive at me.Butthe revival ofthe oldquestion had dug up discomforthismind had done its bestto inter ; and he went silent, and sat witha half-made cigarette in his fingers, thinking gravely. Rosalind,at a writing-table behind him, moved her lips at Sallyto convey ,

an injunction. Sally, quickly apprehensive, understood it'

asLet him alone i Don’ttakeup the electrocution 1” But Sally'snative directness betrayed her, and before she had timeto think,she had said, All right ; I won

't. The consequence of whichwas that Fenwick— being, as Sally afterwards phrased it,

“toosharp by half ”— looked up suddenly from his re verie, andsaid, as he finished rolling his cigarette, “What won’t our

daughter 3"

The pleasure that struckthrough hiswife’s heartwas audiblein hervoice as she caughtitup.

“‘Our daughterwon’tbe a sillyinquisitive little puss-cat, darling. It only worries you, and

as she came behind himagainst his, with a

apology for the phrase daughter, and allowed the rest of whatwere speaking ofto lame.“I called her itforthe pleasure of saying it, said he. It

sounded so nioe I” Andthen he knewthather kisswas approval ,

but of course had no conception of its thoroughness. For her

part, she hardlydaredtothink ofthe strangeness ofthe position ;she could only rejoice at its outcome.Afterthatitbecame so naturalte himto speak of Sally as

our daughter that often enough new acquaintances misoconceived her ielationto him. and had a shrewd insightthatMr .

andMrs. Fenwick must have been married very young. Oncesome visitors—a lady with one married daughter and two singleones— were so powerftimpressed with Sally’s resemblanceto her supposed parent that three-fourths of them went unconvinced away, in spite of the efforts of the whole household toremove the error. The odd fourth was supposed to have carriedaway corrective information. I got the fistone, with theelbows, in a quiet corner,

” said Sally, and told her Jeremiah

SOMEHOW GOOD 197

wascnly step . Becausethey all shouted atcnce, so itwas impossibleto makethern hear in a lump.

"

E stakes ofthis sort, occurring fieqnently, reaeted onMr . andfieation for theth that the daughter ofboth, whi le admitting intellectual rejection of itto be plau ibleto commonplace Theythemselves goton a

where as-Midas tam were ble. Git. es mighthaveparenmiscarried, butresultshavingtu outall right, itwou1d nevergoiaato be our daughter,whether shem s or not.that, however bewildering the position might be, she had it allto herself. This was sntirely apartfrorn her desiretc keepFenfi ck in ignorance of his psst; _

thatwas merely a necessityfor his own sake and SaHy

’

awhilethis relatedtothepainfulnessof standingMeto face with an inciedible conjunction of sur

roundings. She, if alone, oouldtake refuge in wonder-strucksilence. If her knowledge were shared with another, how could

shewasby herself ; backed by athought, if needed, ofthe merryeyebrows and pearly teeth, and sweet, soft youth, of its un

conscious result. But to be obligedto review and speculateover what she desiredto forget, and was helpedto forget byadditiontothe burden she had alreadyte bear .

The only person she could get any consolation from talking

particulars ofthe nightmare oftwenty years ago. But,thenwe feelthatwe are repeatingthis ad aaaseam—hewasquite inthe dark about Fenwick’s identity, and was to be kept there.Rosalind had decided itso, and she may have been right.Would she have done better by forcing on her husband theknowledge of his own identity, and risking the shock to herdaughter of hearing the story of her outsider father

’s sin againsther mother! Her decision against this course was always em

prevision of the dimculty of the communication to Sally. Howshould she set aboutit i She pictured various forms cf theattemptto herself, and found none she did not shudder at.The knowledge that such things could hewould spoil the whole

198 SOMEHOW GOOD

world fcrthe girl . She hadto confesste herselfthatthe customary palteringwiththemeaning ofwordsthatenablesnovelsto bewritten aboutthe damnedestthings inthewould either leave her mind uninformed, or call for a commentary—a mbric inthe reddestof red letters. Even a resorttethe brutal force of Oriental speech done into Jacobean Englishwould he of little avail . For hypocrisy is atwork allthroughjuvenilereception ofHolyWrit,and brings outas a resultthe ideathatthatwritis holy because ituses coarse language about

it. ItBowdlerises P otiphar’s wifeinhabitantswere dissipated and satup late . This sortofthingwouldn’twork with Sally. Ifthe sterywereto betold atal l ,herthunderboltdireotnesswould have itall out, downtotheground. Her mother wentthmughthe pms and m s again and

Butfor al lthat, Rosalind had a backgmund beliefthatatimewould be so infinitelyeasiertotell hertaletc onewho had herselfarrived atthe goal of motherhood, utter ly unlike as (so sheteokfor granted)wasto betheway of her arrival , sunlitand softtotread, from the black precipice and thorny wastes that hadbrought her to her own .

Any possible marriage of Sally’s, however,was a vague abstracmore distinctly aware that her little ter was nowwithin a

negligible period ofthe agewhen her owntree of happine

life had been so curtly broken ofi short, and nono newleatagesufferedto sproutuponthe broken stem T his identity of age

could not but cause comparison of lots. Suppose it had beenSal ly !”wasthethoughtthat would sometimes spring on her

mother’s mind ; andthenthe girl would wonderwhatmammatighten asthough she fearedto lose her , or bring her an irreleovent, unanticipated kiss.8’

what wasto follow it. Sally would marry— that seemed inevitable ; and her mother, now that she was herself marriedagain , did notshri.i k fromthe idea as she had done, in spite of

her protests against her own selfishnem .

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200 SO_ 0W GOOD

Itis odd howlittlethe mcrewording oi a ccnversaticnmay convey, especially girls

' conversation. Whatisthere inthe abovetowarrantwhstcame nerthom l

Il youmean DrUVerekerthat’s ridiculcus. ’

I never mentioned his name, dear.didn .

’t you couldn’t have, and wouldn’t

have.O‘Butanyfidy coultell whatyoumeantjustthe

n

same,by leaving your mouth cpen when you’d done speakingff We

’

should nothave knowm butwhatarewewhaving lefther lips slightly niac in-toad“meantDr . Vercher "

Butthe iactis—toLe titia wasn’t goingto deny Dr. Vercher, evidently, or elsethere reallywas some ‘ very engrofi ng aboutheetring .

Sally went on, while she’s-eared her music, which was new,to getgood turning-over advantages when it cameto playing.“M medical adviser’s notbad,taken as an aunt’t

quite what I should do without poor Prosy. But as foranything, of course that’s absurd. Why, half the fun is thatthere s'en’tanything lIatitia knewaswel l as possiblethather youngstarted, would develope the subject on her own lines withoutfurther help fmm her . She furnished her facewith a faintexguretsaion of amused waiting, not strong enough to be indictable,operative, and said never a word.“Foolery would spoil it all,

”pursued Sally ; in fact, I putmy footdown atthe firstgo-oif. I pcinted outthatI stipulatedto be considered a chap. Prosy showed tact—I must say that for

-distinctly tact. Y ou see, if I had badto say a singleto him on

ythe subject, it would have been al l up .

” Thenp00sibly, in responseto athreatof an inflexicn in her friend’

s

waiting ccuntenance,“I shouhi sa ,when I make use ofthe expression pointed out,

’ perhaps ought to say conveyedtoSally getetheviola in place for a start, and asks is her

friend reudy i Waiting. itseems ; so she merely adds,“Y es,

I should say ccmveyed itto him .

” And ofithey gowiththe newpiece cf music in B flat, and are soon involved interrifying com

“om ow0001) sonto be dcne all over a

gln. Attbe eud,tl iey areungratefulto B flat, and say don caremuchtor it;

itwill be better they oan ph y ifi Tbm l atitiaschemutowind Sal lyup a little.“

Doesn’tthe Gocdy gcoale atyousaid sbe did.

’

Thc ody—oh yes! (By-tbe-by. motber says I

ycur ma GoodyWilscn, cr I sball do itto her face,tbere’ll be a pietty hcw-do-you-do.) P roay’s parentbrcods

one, and ggloats as ifonewas crumpets butP rcsy himself isverygood about her—aware of her shortcomings.”“

I don’tcarewhatyou cal l my mctber . Call ber any name

you like. ButwhatdoesDr . Vereber l”

About his’n l Says she’s a dear mother ,. and I mustn’t

mind her . I say, Tishy l”

“What, dear l”Whatisthe presentpcsiticn ofthe rowl Y cu said your

mother. You know you did—coming from the bath— after

I did say my mother, dear . Butl wish itwere otherwise.

I’vetole . Bradshawso.“Y ou

’d be muoh nicer if you said Julius. Told himwhati"

Told him a girl can’trun countertothewiahes cf her family

in practice. Of ccun aM—wdbtha uBm if youwill have it— is readytowait. Butit’s really ridiculoustotalk inthisway,when, after all, nothing’s been '

said.“Has uothing l”Notto anybody. Only him and me.

Why, yes,whatItold you We needn’tgo cver itagain .

Inthe avenue. And moom ise andthings. Whato’clock

was it, please, ma’am i”

Aboutten -fifteen, dear. We were in by eleven. This wasa faintattemptto help dignity by a parade of accuracy in figures,and an afiectation of efirontery. But really we needn’t go overit again. You know what a nice letter he wrote Aunt Frances 1”

And instead of waiting for an answer, Tisby. perhaps to avoidcatechism about the moonrise and things, ploughs straight oninto a recitatio n of her lover’s letter to her aunt .

‘ Dear Ladycourse it will (quite literally) give me the greatest

possible pleasureto wccme I will bringthe Strad ;" andthenafterwards he said .

“I hope your niece will give a full account

all day, and aJulietwhowas ccnstantly ccming into contactwithother potential Bonuses— plenty of them . Our own privatebatchetata publicbetrothal ofthetwo young people,the latterwould havequarrelled ontbe spot. Settingtheir hmib cimlesbythe ears again would almosthave been as much fun as a

secretwedding by a friar . Y ou douhtitl WeiLwe may bewrong. Butwe arequite certainthatthe eventewhich fol lowedabortiy afterthe chatbetweentbetwo girls recorded aboveeither wculd never have cometc pua or would havetaken an

entirely difierentform, if it had not been for the uncompromisingcharacter ce s. SalesWilson ’

s attitudetowards her daughter’sWewil l givethis ccllateral incidentin our bistory a chaptertoitself, for your convenience more than our own.

inyou seqif youwmtto getbacktrakatoa Vil la.

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We m by uo meam surethatith satetc revealthis sscret,”do uotlstitenough, ss itfi the camp cfthe

was ha mcstdednite acknowledgmentof itsexistence atanytime. Itwas cnb a laughable incidmt. Shesawatm e,when shetook note ofthatsofa sésacs,whichwaythe catwas gcingto jump ; andwe are boundto say itwas a catthatsoon msde up itsmind, and jumpedwith decision.

Mrs. Sales Wilson ’s endeavourto intercept that cat had beenprompt and injudicious. She destroyed whateverwas of a sudden wlte-lace on its part—and oh,uncertainty of this class ci

'

est i—dretby taking no notice ofit aggresdvely, nextby catching hold of itstail,too late . Inthe art of ignoring bystanders, she was no match for the cat.And detention seemed onlyto communicate impetus.Julius Bradshaw’s first m eptions at the Ladbroke Grove

House had been m ainly on his Strsdivarius. T he Dragonmay be saidto have admitted the instrument, but onlyto havetolerated its owner, as one might to lerate an organman whoowned a distinguished monkey. Still. the position was an ambi

scm owGOOD

centre cf a delectable refutation ci an ignoramus—“I suppose

fis nc u

se lookingtc ycufcr sympathy in a matter oithis scrt.

b—t“I’m busy "saidthe Professor ; wouldn’tsome cthertime

dc aswel l l "“I knewwhatI hadto expectl”saidthe lady, atonce al lowing

her desireto embitter her relatiom with her husbandtc getthedesiredto pass

Parliament. She leftthe room, closingthe docr after her withvenomousquietness.andthe delicious sarcasmthatwas on his pen

’stip was lost

irrevocably. He blotted a sentence in the middle, puthis penin a wetsponge, and cpened his door . He jerked itsavagelyopento express his attitude of mind towards interruption. HisWhatis it i”as he did so was in keeping with the door-jerk.I can speak of nothingto you if you are sotacky — a word

said spitefully, with a jerk explanatory of its meaning.

Another time will do better, now. I preferto wait.

I preiertowait.” Tbiswasheard ofher speech. Butahewentintothe library.

do youwantto speakto me abcuti" Thusthe P rodidn

’th iowthsrewas anycnewithin hearing z scbs mapped,“Anofiertimewill be better .Butahewould bear itmcnscious cf rectitude. Now,tbe P rctesscr

and sbe bithim sotto mea butraised ameekvcicetctollow:alltheruns intoand from

position

ito some of theIfyoucannot

matter,which ccm ernsserious,Mr .Wilson, abouta ser-icus

Buthiswiie is in no humourto be jestedwith.

“how”be

.

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208 SOMEHOW GOOD

with au intention ofgetting up and going away injured.

Mrs. case sgainsther husband, if notaone. His ideas ofthe duties of a male parentwerethathe

an

i

s

is

.

dbflshtm .their food and education . Having paidquittance, he was atlibertytc be abscrbed in his books. Had his payments beenlarge enouglto make hiswife’s administration ofthe householdeasy, he might have been justified, especially as she, for herpart, was nctdisposedto al lowhim anyvoice in any matter .Nevertheless, she castigated him frightfully at intervals for not .

exercising an authority she was notprepared to permit. Hewas nothing buta ninepin, setupto be knocked down, an AuntSally who was never allowedto keep her pipe in her mouth forten consecutive seconds. The natural consequence of whichwasthathis children desphed him , butto a oertain extentlovedhim ; while, onthe other hand, they somewhat disliked theirmother, but (to a certain extent) respected her . It is very hardonthe historian and the dramatistthatevery one is notquitegood or quite bad . It would make their work so much easier.But rtwould notbe nearly so rnterestmg especial ly inthe caseof the last-named.The P rofm or may have had some feeling onthese lineswhenhe stopped the skirts from rustling out of the apartment by a

in his manner.“T ell me seriouslywhatyouwish mete do,Roberta.

I wish youtc give attenfiom if nottotbe afiaiméthatlcannot expect—of your household, at least to this—you maycall itfoolish and pooh-pooh it—business of Letitia andthisyoung man— I really cannot say young gentleman, for it is mereequivocation notto call him a haberdasher.”of literary structure, and accepted the obvious meaning of

T ell mewhathe really is.

I havepalter with a clerk in the ofice atthe storeswhere we pay a depositand order gocds on a form.

T heywere originally haberdsshers, so I dou’t see howyou can

escape‘

from what I have said. But I have no doubttryto do so.

SOMEHOW GOOD 209

How comes heto be such a magnificentviolin ist? Arethey al l“. i”they are notall magnificmtviolinists. Butyou lm cwtl e storyqniwwll.”“

P erhaps I do. Butncwlisten. I wantto make outoneabout his place, his position, salary—eva ything. And yet yousay he isn't a gentleman.

"

Of course he isn’t a gentleman. I don’t the least understand what you mean. It’s some prevarication orp aradox.”I mean this—ii he isn’t a gentleman, how comes it that he

isn’t ashamed of being a haberdasher l Because he isn’t.Seemedtotake itall as a matter cf course.

I cannot follow your meaning at al l . And I will not troubleyouto explain it. The question now is— will you, or wil l younot, do something i

Has the young gentleman 1 — Mrs. Wilson snorted audiblyWell, has this young haberdasher made any sortof definitedeclarationto Ia titia l "I understand not. But it’s impossible notto see.In

Would it notbe a little premature for me to say anythingto

'

m l”

“Have l asked youto do so l

I am a little uncertain whatitis you have asked metolira .Wilson contrived, by pantomime before she spoke,to

her by an impudentsuggestiontbatshe hadn’tmsde her poeitionclear. She would, however, state her case once more withincisive distinctness. To that end she separated her syllables,m d mcented n lecticns homthem even as a resolute hammeraocentsthe head of a nail .

word was a sample nailhead athousand times that what Iwish youto do— however maeh 'yon may shirk doing it— is tomentshe is givingtothis young man, andto poin¢ou¢ to herthata girl in her poaiticm—in short,the duties of a girl in herposition.

” Mrs. Wilson’s come-down at this point was an

210 SOMEHOW GOOD

cutof bounds. Shewas obligedto fall baok arbitrarily onkey-note inthe middle ofthe performanoe.

“Have l said“Speaking from memory l should say not. Y es—certainly

not. Butl ean raise no reasonable objectionto speakingtol a fifig pmvided l am atlibertyto saywhatlstandthatto be partofthe bargain .

”

"If you mean,

” says the lady, whose temper had not beenimproved bythe firstpartofthe speech ;

“if you meanthatyouconsider yourself atlibertytc encourage a rebel liousdaughteragainsther mother, I knowtoo well from old experience thatthatisthe case. Butltrustthatfor once your rightfeelingwill show you that it is your plain dutyto tell her that the courseshe is pursuing can on ly lewtothe loss of her position in society,and probably to poverty and unhappiness.

I cantel l her youthink so, of oourse, saysthe P rofessor,dryly.

I wil l say no more -very freesingly. Y ou knowaswel las l dowhatitis ycur dwyto sayto your daughter . Whatyou

dm deto say, I do notknow.

” And premonitory rustlesend in a movetothe door .

You can tell her to come in now— ii you like.” The Profemorwon ’tshowtoovivid an interest. Itisn’tas ifthe matterrelatedto a Scythian war-chariot, or a gold ornament from aprehistoric tomb, or curio lectioaes.“At least. Septimus,” saysthe apex ofthe departing skirts,youwill remember whatis dueto yourself and your familyI am nobody

—so far as notto enoouragethe gir l in resistingher. mother’s author ity.

” And, receiving no reply, departs,snd is heard onthe landing rejecting insuflcientreascns whythe druggetwill nctlayflat. And presently, issuing a mandateto an upper landing“

Y our father wishesto speakto you in his library. I wish

m y .

” The lastwords nctto seemtc abdicate as Queenrt

l atitia im ’ta girlwhom we find newcharms in after makingher mother’s acquaintance. You know how some young peoplewould be passable enough if itwere notfor a lurid lightthmwnupon their identity by other members of their family. Youknowthe sister youthoughtwss a beauty and dear , until youmether sister,whowas gristly and a jsdea Butit’sa greatshame

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212 SOMEHOW GOOD

Sally had onlythc day before pounced upon her friend with,“You know perfectly well he’s kissed you heaps of times !”And T rshy had only been ableto begm an apology shewas not

. l”

However, her sense of an untruthfulness that was more thanmerelytechnieal was based notso much onthe bare factof aShe knew it was the merest hypocrisy to make believe that theclimax of that interview at Riverfordhook, where there werethe moonrise and things, did not constitute a pledge on the partof both. However, Tishy is not the first young lady, let metellyou— ii you don’t know already— who has been guilty of equivpcation on those lines. It is even possible that her father wasconniving at it, was intentionally accepting what he knewtobe untrue, to avoid the trouble of further investigation, and tobe ableto give his mindto the demolition of that ignoramus.A certain amount of fuss was his duty but the sooner he couldfind an excuseto wash his hands oithese human botherationsand getbackto his inner life the better.P erhaps itwas a sense of chill atthe suspicionthather fatherwas not concerned enough about her welfare that made Le titiatry to arrest his retirement into his inner life. Or it may havebeenthatshe was sensitive, as young folk are, ather newand

strange experience of Real Iove, a-nd atthe sametime gratedon—scraped the wrong way— ih her harsh collision with hermother,whowas showing Cupid noquarter , snd was onlywithheld from overt acts of hostitto Julius Bradshaw by theknowledge that excess on her part would precipitate what shesought to avert.Whateverthe cause waa her momentary sense of rel iefthat

her fatherwas nctgoingto catechiae herwas fol lowed by a feelingthatshe almostwished hewould. Itwould be so niceto havea natural parentthatwas really interested hr his daughter’saffairs. P oor T ishy feltkmely, and as if shewas goingto cry.

She must unpack her heart, even if it bored papa, who sheknewwantedtoturn her outand write . She broke downover it.“

0h, papa—papa l lndeed, I wantto do everything youwish—whatever youtel l me. I will be good, as we usedte

A sob grew in her throat over this little nursery recol

isn’t really quite true aboutthem, you know, but they

’re

SOMEHOW GOOD 213

am all the same." T ishy stops suddemy to avoid a sob sheknows is coming. A pocket-handkerchief is called into removetears surreptitiously, under a covering pretence of a less elegantfunction. The Professor hates wanes worse than poison, andTisby knows it.There, there I Well,

right.” This is approval of the disappearance ofthe pockethandkerchiefqome confusion between cause and efiect,perhaps. Come, my child—come, Letitia—suppose now youtell me all about it.”

Tisby acknowledgesto herself that she desires nothing better.Yes, papa dear , she will, indeed she will, tell him everything.

And then makes a very fair revelation of her love-afiaiH littledry and stilted in the actual phrasing, perhaps ; but then, whatcan you expect when one’s father is inclined to be stifi and awkward ln such a matter, to approach it formally, and consider itan interview 1 It was all mamma’s faul t, of course. Why shouldshe be summoned before the bar of the house 3Why couldn’ther father find his way into her confidence in the natural currentof events 1 However, this was better than nothing.

Besides, we softened gradually as we developed the subject.One of us, who wasMr . Bradshaw at first, became Julius later,with a strong lubricating effect. We began with sincere attachment, but we loved each other dearly before we had done. Wedidn’t know when“it began exactly— which was a fib, for wewere perfectly well aware that “it began that evening atK rakatoa Villa, which has been chronicled herein— but for alongtimepastJulius had been askingtobe allowedto memorialisethe Professor on the subject.“But you know, papa dear, I couldn’t say he wasto speakto you until I wasquite certain of myself. Bender , I did wanthimto be on bettertermswith mamma first.Professor Wilson flushed angr ily, and began with a knittedbrow, I wish your mother would but stopped abruptly.

Then, calming down :“Butyon arequite certain uow, my dear

Laetitia l” Oh dear,yes ; no doubt of that. And howabout

Julius i The confident ring of the girl’s laugh, and her Why,

you should hear him i”showed that she, at least,was wel l satisfiedof her lover’s earnestness.Well, my dear child,

”saidthe P rofessor ,whowas beginningto feelthatitwastimeto go backto his unfinished ignoramus,tyre, or sciolist ; “I tell you what I shall do. When’s he

214 SOMEHOW GOOD

ooming nexttThursday,to dinner . V well. I shall makea little opportunity for aquiettalk wim .

”

outhewhole, comglove inthe passage. As she stood refiectingthatpapa wouldrealb bevery nice if he would shave more careful ly—Jortheremains of his adieuwere still raspiug her oheek—shewas awareof thevoice ofthe carpet; she heard it complain,throughthemedium of its layer , or streteher,who secmedto memto passthe remainder of his days scratchingthe head of perplexity cnthe scene of his recentfailureto sddto his professional achievemen“It’s what I say to the guv’nor ' — thus ran his Jeremiadm dealin 'withtha e here irregular settin’

,s outwhere nothin ’s

notto say parallel with anything else, nor dimensions lendin’

their-selvesto accommodation.

‘ Just you let me orfer it in,’

I says,‘ aforethe final stitchin’to , er evan a paper template

in extra cases is a savin’ inthe end. Because itstandsto reasonthere goes more expense with an ill-cutsquint or obtoose angle,involvin' workto rectify,than cutackerate inthe firstgo-ofi.

Not but whatrucklesmaydisappear under the tread, oniythere’sno rel ianoeto be pMed.

yY ou may depend cn it,to make a jobthere’

s nothin’like careful plannin

'

, and foresightinthe mannerof And, as I say to the guv

’nor, there’s no need for

a stout brown-paper template to go to waste, seeiu’ it works inwiththe under And much more which Tisby couldstill hear murmuring on inthe distance as she closedthe streetdoor and fled to an overdue appointment with Sally, into whosesympatheticear she could pour all her newreoords oftheprogress'

Totellthewhole ofthe prolonged pitched battlethatensuednificently, so long as she'

had the powerful backing of her marrieddaughter,Mrs. Sowerby Bagster, and the skirmishing help ofAthena. This latter was, however, notto be rel ied on— mightgo overto the enemy any moment. Mrs. Bagster, or Clarissa,who was an elder sister of Latitia’s, became lukewarm,too. ona side-in ue being raised. Itdid notappearto connectitselftovaocination fromthe calf. Butitledto an exaggeratedsensitiveness on her partastothe responsibility we inourred

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thatmadethe young man blush uptcthe roots ol his“Whatcan I sayt”he sshed Y cu see, P ro

if I sayyes, itwill meanthathave been p-paying

Andtaking receipts l”Exactly—and taking receipts,

father’s leave. And if I say nc“If ycu say no, my dear young man, her

ask ycuto help ycurself snd pessthe pcrtfiecanter withthelittle brass ticket—yes, that one. Thank you l ). Well , I seewhatycu meam and we needn’tconstructenigmas. Weget to the point. Now tell me all about it.

” We don’t feel atall surethe P rcfessor’sway '

cf gettingtothe pointwas nota goodone. Y cu see, he had hsd a gocd dealto dowith ycung men inearly academics]phases of existence—tutorships and the likeand had no idea of humming and hawing and stuttering overtheir afiairs . Beddu itwas bestfc radshaw, as was shownbythe greater easewlthwhich hewentcn speaking,tel lingthe P rofessor all aboutit.things haven’t gone a little beym d— a little beyond— the exact

But you’ve no idea howeasily one can deceive cne

Haven ’tl l” The fesscr’s mind wentbscktc his cwn

youth. He knewverywell howeasily he had done it. A swiftdream of his pastshotthrough his brd n inthe little space befcre

w“Well , itwas cnly a phrase. Of ccurse you know. I mean

ithas all creptcn sc imperceptibly. And I have had nc realchm e oftalking aboutit—to m sir—withcutasking fcr a

formal interview; And untilva '

y lately nothing Lot—Miss“Tut-tut! Le titia—L etitia. What’s the use of being prigst it l ’“Nothing Lsstitia has saidwould havewarra-nted me in dcingthis. I could have intrcducedthe subjecttoMrs.Wilscn cnce cr

All right. I understand Well, now, what’sthe exact

state ofthings betwem you ans etitia l "“Y cuwil l guesswhatour wiahes are. But we

wel lthattheir fulfilmentis atpresentimpossible. Itmay

217

remaiu'

sc. I have uo meaus atpressutemspta small n lary.

mother and sisterve a clsim cn you— lsthatitl” The P roressor’svcicesssmstc fcrestall a fcrbidding scund. Buthe wou’tbe intccgesta hurry. He continues :“Y cumusthsvcview, scme scrtof expectaticn.

"

Bradshaw’s reply hesitated a good deal .“I am afraid l have—I am afraid—allcwad myselfthat, in short, l mightbeAnd then i”

I kncwwhatycumeau, P rcfessc ilscn. Y cumeanthataviolinist’s positiou, hcwever successful ,would be lessthan ycuhave a rightto expectfor

lyour daughter’s husband. Of course

that is so, butButl mean nothing ofthe sort.” The P rofesscr is abrupt

and decisive, as one who repudiates. I know nothing aboutHowever,Mr . Bradshaw, you are quite right this

about positions. What I meant was that you wouldn't have

enoughto live upcn atthe best, in any comfort, andthatlshouldn'tbe ableto halp you. Suppose ycu had a large

family, and the nervous affection came back 1” His hearer

incur famil ies ; but, like every cther young couplawculd prefer

visibly atthe Professor’s needlessly savage hypothesis of disoasters. Had hebeen a rapid and skilful ccuusel in his owubehalf.he would have atcuce pcunced on a weak point, and askedhcwmany coupleswculd ever getmarried atall , ifweweretoand borrow every trouble the proper people (whoever they

are) are resdyto give away and lend. He can only lcok crestwanted Letitia to promiseto marry me, that would apply.

without seeming tocourse, the position

have letthem alcne, asher husband had saidto her l Whyuot,indeed !ButMsster Juhus huto see hisway outintothe cm and

he is merely looking puz z lud, and letting ava y fair cigar out

the P rctesscr’s spectacles, butsess“Butyou ueedn'ttake allthe blame

I’ve no doubtmy daughter is eutitlcdto which Brsdshawtriesto interpose a deuial —“ouly itreally

doesn’tmatter whcse fault it is. "

The disccucerted lcver , whc feltall raw, public, aud uncomfortable,wcndered a littlewhatthe precise“it" wasthatoouldbe saidto be anyone’ .s faultAfter all, he snd latitiawere. justtwc persous gciug cn existing, and howcould ‘tbe auy concamof anyone else

's whateachthctof or ieltforthe other l

Itistrue he lacked absclutiou the kissingtransgressionstheywere blcts ou a clean sheetcf mere friendship. Butwouldthe Dragon be ccnteutthathe and Intitia shculd ccutinuetosee eaoh cther ifthey signed a solemn agreementthattherewssto be no kissing l Y ousec, hewss afraid hewas goingtc be cutofi h‘om his lady-lcve, and he didn’tlikethe lcoks ofthe P rofeasor. But he didn’t propose the drawing up of any such compact. P erhaps he didn

’tfeel preparedto sign it. .However , heto he relleved frcm any immediate anxiety. The P rcfessornever meanttctake any respousibility, and ncwthathe hadhis say, he cnlywantedto wash his hands of it.Now, understand me, Bradshaw,

” said he—andthe drcpped“Mr . I do not; ncr c kncw, as my daughter

bringinto court . Oh yes, no doubt Laetitia believes she wil lnever act against my wishes. Many girls have thought that '

sortof thing. ButHe stopped dead, with a little side-twistofthe head, and a lip“Sc I’l l give youmy advioemnd you canthink itcver . It isthat you young people justkeep outof each other ’sway, andletthethiug die out. Y ou

’ve no ideatill ycutrywhata magiodeffect -

absence has ; poetn'y is all gammcn . Take my advice,sndtry it. Have somemcrepcrt! No—thankmc l Then let’sgo upstairs.

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Tn mostdecply-rooted iustinctof maukiud isthe ouethatprompts itto lsthe blame cusome cm elss.womankind, woman iucludes (forwc believe she isstill living)the Dragcn ofthe lsstchaptcr . As itdid nctoocurtothis

anythingtc auswer fcr luthe rashmentofthe latter’s -love-afiair, she castabouttcr a scapegcat,aud found one iuthe perscn of Rosalind one

hsd schemedthewhole business,cfwhatwasto be expected from a persou of her

antecedents. Itwastrue uc oue knewauything ahcuttheset.

tion, they always turn outschemers sud matohmakers. Idetected her, and said sc atcuce. Itis easy fcr your fathertopretend he hn forgotten. He always does. My consolation isthatl did my duty. Andthcu, of course, itallturus outas lsaid. Anybody could have known what sort of person she waswith half an eye l

”

“Andwhatsortof perscn is she l”asked 01arissa coldly. Shehad notfcrgotteuthevwoinaticn fromthc calf.

The sortcf persouycuwould expect. Unlea Clarissa, you

are goingtotake a led cutof your father’s br -a and make

m som owooonbelieve ycn do nct'undentmd whstis

, I should liketo knowl”tHowdces he oometo kncwso much sboutitl Whoto ld'O’

Whotold him l Why, of coursethstvery old gmtlemenwhst’s his nsme l—m know Mm Wilscntries if she

csn’tmcolleotwith sqniokvihrsticn cto couple of fingersto

somethingto dowith both.WelLMsjor Roper’s his mcstintimste irlend. T hey belcngtothe m e club.

”

The lsdiesthen lostsightoftheirtopic,w‘hli

‘ch lspsed into s

wssa Oolcnel or nMc r . Aswe dcn’twuntto heu'them onthisol igvu'

y likely itwould ncthsvetrcubled hsr , for she wssto be concem ed nboutexternsls.ttevertmnhles she hsd

wm ccnnectedwiththe pcssibility,which dwsys sem edtcgmwfuintermts revivnl of hcr husbmd ’

s powen cf Sometimeswhole weeks would poss withcutsn 31m m“some little stirring ofthe mind would cccurtwice inthe ssme

day ; still,tbetendency seemed to be, cnthewhole,tcwuds eButthe fnotisthstso lcng ns she hsdtheMsior invnlided st

K n kstco Vills (fcr hewasts.ksn illhsnds msnyweeks before he could

sbont“the row whilethey were nursingthc ohl bOy, butm lly she heeded hervery little. Thunwhmthe invslid wasso fur reinststedthsthowss fitto be mcved sstely, 8d lywenta too, for o chsnge.

n spiteto old Oolcnel Lund wss notto he for lcng .

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8 E a S

noticed an“0h dear, no l For anything l can see, she may ccntinue a

—e sortofmer-phssytothe end ottime.” Both lsugh in away

Nothing l could lsyl wcnder whether you’mthinking ofthe samethmg as l

l” Very singular , itdoes notseem neceasuryto elucidstethe

't. They look stecch ofi ermnd oonfinne lcokingas as.

certain ly are.”she replies. Butl hmthoughtso.

for allthatl” Andthm both bok atthe fim u befiorqthisdoubtabouthim of oourse l Butthe chick

Ifthere hsd heen anythingtotel l . No doubtshewould.

Oi ccum it’s sbsmdto suppcse he could aee so much ci

ance.“So hewas. Thoughtful ly, as onewhoweighs.

Thc kitten methim with a sortof stm g genialitywould hsve km ckedthe heartcutof n Romeo. IfJul ietbud.

"

She didn’twantto . Golly did.

dry respectsble story—nota bwstmy ; an esteem story_

sbouthowJuliettook an hltercstin Romec’s welfam snd

and so on . And howthe families lettButit isn’t exactly stony geniality.

method the child’s invented for

repeats,“A method ah

'

e’s invented for herself.

Exactly. Wel edoes she oome i" Andthm her mctha uya intem ptingtheconversation :

“tt’sthatl“What’swhatl”Ithcoghtl heaxdthe gste goNotatthistime of nigbt.” Bntm ick iswrcng,tcr inthe bell . A pair of boots,

devil ’stattooPM WWW t,he is Onlythe Ghostof a Mother-m -law,

Lessthantan minutes aflertheteh graph—b y has died awaymthe n e Ron l ind m d her husband amtel ling a cabtotakethemto l74, Ball Street.Maylai1Itdoes so grudgingly. because ofthe state o&the roads. Itwantsthree-snd Butitdcesn’tappearto be drawn by aa logosl horsewho can dealwith inferences, because itis anxiousto knowwhen its climtsm goh g bactatitmay oall round forthem .

a

bgwprehensicn ; perhaps better comeH

— Major As might havebeen expected’fi'om suoh atelegrsm abcuta man of his aged ustearth oi its subjectwere numbered. Fever may abate, temperatum may be bmughtdowntothe ncrmahthe mostpossible ncorishmentma '

y be given atthe shortestpcssibleintervals. butthe m oil cf ecxhausticn will have its waywhenthore is little or nothing leftto exhaust. Colonel Lund had

15

outside her own family,theOolcnel .ItwasMajc opei

-wbcmwe have seen atthe HurkaruOlub,

thatthese latter ,tlmughthempeutical ly usele- , as'the manner

of dwtcrs m d num had commcn -sm e enoughtoalthoughthe patientcppoeedtheir doing so. So hetook uponma

’am l Notthe slightest. “Y ou hear me, and markwhatl

say—an old auger , ma’am l Ever such a little common-sense.

snd halfthe patienb would recover l” A fewdetails otthe

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228 SOMEBOWGOO‘

D

asked her down ior a iewdayn and

ontctheir suoce-ors astheyand beccme a Bnt'he to shcwa humsn

heart, atlesst, by a certain ocsdialitywithwhich he announoedthe prospectodwas Sally

’s statxon Now, he had said Isuoastc atecolloquially) betweenthe platform .

Y ou dontuve m ything bytakingthe pink ’bun nor any .

’bus forthatmatter, down P ark Lanewhenthetx-afictumbles

80

minutes reached the queer little purlieu teeming with thewefl-com ectetmd m med afterthe gmatuystefiesthey are

eonneoted with,thatlies inthe angle ctP ark Lsne and P icca

dil ly. P ersons of exaggerated sense ol locality cr mature heredithe mmr mroadly speaking) had better nottry, lestho befound in a mews bythe Corcner, and madethe subjectofzidictacco 'tothe evidence. Sal ly knewall aboutittoquit. 0nly. itdid seem so purposeb s,thiswritandviolmtexpulaion . when he wasquite resdyto go, and

“.M u wu mtsouyto break dcwn a htth nowthatherdaughter hsd cometo break down on. She soon pulledtogether.however. Breaking downwas nota favourite relaxation d hers,aswe have seen . Her husbaud had, of eourse, leftherto gotchis plsce cf business, nctmateriallytheworse icr a nightwithoutclosed eyes and inthe auxiety of a sick-chamber.“

oh, mother darling l you arequiteworn out. Howis he 1"He’s quietnow, kitten ; but we thought the cough would

have killed him inthe night. He’s cnly soquietnowbecauseotthe cpiates. Only athism d looked atthe num whose shake ofthe hesd was an assenttothe impcssibility ctkeeping a patientof eighty alive on

opiates. Then, having gone -thus iar in indioatingthe grimprobabilities ofthe case, 8al ly

’s mother added, as allevistionto a firstcoll isicn with Death :“ButDr . lfildmay saysthe

ucurishmeutbut got no further. for incredulity 0! thissortctthing is inthe air ofthe establid iment.

Y oung peopls who have notsem Death faoe-to-fm have little real oonoeption of his hon iblo

unssked intruaion intothe house of Life. Thathouse istcthemslmostas inviolable asthe home of our babyhood wastothemostof us, a sacredtane underthe protection ctan omnipotenthigh-priestand priestese—papa and mamma . Almostas in

Of

half inm sible—cau think of other things.Whatdidthe party mesnthatletme iu, mother darling i

The fusty party l She said shethoughtitwastheMajor . I

didn’t take any notioetill ncw. I wantedt‘o getup .

”

eom owGOOD

mmm

mmmM

cling aboutyours. Butyouhavetale cl itgmwssnd lives roundthe

mm

mew

“m

m

M

W

m

m

m

m

m

.

m

m

M

gotfull powersto assertitaelf.Londoner wss in his element.with pride of howatmiddsy

pics on l -udgate nill ; hethatthe otherMajcr ahould nothaveturned up . The iogwouldhave been morethan enoughto aocountfcr any ordinary nou

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som owGOOD thetcg go!hel m.

”

bechoked,up.

”

amm “an

:

mmma

Mm

makesher saythis

’tahletrying“

awindowopento leta little air in l"mmuw

som owGOOD

Bio

gr apeak a little as she stoopsto hear him.

oung peogs like you oughtto be in bed.

beauty-sleep. oumnstY ou I shal l be alltisn’tt,Major dear ”—8ally makes a paltry attempto laugh '

-“itsthree in the the fcg.

” Butshe cannothear whathe says in answertothis, gc olcse as she

may. After a pause of resthetries again,Roper— Old Jack . . mustn’tthe He isquite clear headed,

and Sally says shewil l go atonce, he spotsthe only riskshewould rm being young aud

Sure you can find your way l Overthe club-houseHurkaruClub Andthen is stopped by athrestof returncoughIn

$ut8ally knows all aboutit. snd oan find herway anywherelea

wavered. It

liketo nams.

m m m m . Ocme I say,Min is l”Sally shculdn

’thave shaken her head as she did. She onghtI don

’tmind makin’ itthmppeucetothe Regency P ark.

Come,misais, 1aay l Thinkwhata littlemcney fcrtbe distancs.Howwould yos liketo do ityourself l ’” Sal ly rashly allovn dherself to be led into controversy.“Itell you l don’twantto goto Regent’s Park.

”Butthe

boy passedthis protestby— ignored lt.

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Itisn’tiltior himto ccmethe

mg m itisn’t. And Lund mustn’tcome outWhy he

’s oldu'thsn l am” Whatl

bronchitis l I hesrd he'd been ail iixé butthey saidrightsgain. Are youhis Rosey l

"

“No, no ; mamm ‘

a’sthatl She’s morethe sge,

I’m onlytwent

io'“Ah’dear l cne fcrgets l Of course, buthe's bad, P m“He'svery bad. Oh, Ga reral P ellew—becsuse l knowit's

you—his cough is so

meuage aud getback.

”

Y our mamma Graythorpe. I remember her atUmballa years ago. I kncwgahe chsnged her nametoNightingale. Sally her- mother’smarried name. “And you," continued Pellow,

“wereBaby Graythorpe onthe boat.“Of course. Y ou came home with Oolonel Lund ahe’stoldme aboutthat. Wam ’tl a handful l” Sally is hernb intsrooming nowl” If ltis nct, itmustbe some one exactlyhim, who stcpsto swear atsomebody or something ateverylanding. He comes down by instalments. Tillths end

‘

oftheabouthertrcid irom l ndis—totakethetestimcny cf sn eys

witness. “Mamma says alwws l was in a greatrsge becausewouldn'tletme go overbosrd and swim.

”

I couldn’tspeaktothatpoint. Itseems lihely,though.

I alwayswantto jump overboard now, butreasonY ouwere notressonable atthatdate.”“

Itis funny,though,thatI have gutso fond of swimmingswimmer."good

Major Roper is by this time manifestvohm icalb atthebottom ofthe stah'csse, butbefore he comes in Im d P allewhastimeto say so is his nssturtium granddaughter a gcod swlmmsr .

em justreoollecthaving seen himand him as as ever .Lund—er l— I

fund—er l—Lund,

” he

That’s what I came on purposeto say, Major Roper. You’re

so t-hatshe dces notcautiously, cornesto“Good la d my dear—emcuse—old you knowI—why,

.

Lard. whata fool l am l Why, l l your'

father inButhe stops suddenly.t0 8slly inexplicahly. She does not

seethatGeneral P ellewhas laid a finger of admonition on his

Itis a kind of formula

does notwsntitto deadlockthe couversation.whichitusually serves for. su aha sdds :“Y ou r-eally knew

E??

5

E

g

g

55 5

.

i s . a

s

ofthe lastwcrd—asthma fcrbids it—butclear. Only, Bally is a direct'h rk, aswe hsveola fineupthh et“Y ouknowmyfriend latitiaWilson’smother.Majoc per l

TheMajor expre-esnotonlythathe doea butthathismmectfulhomage is dueto her as a iine woman—even aquemb one- i

by kisaing hisfinfer-tips

h“m smg his eyesto Heavm .

“Well ,cali ber

mwutold her mother

my iathar in l ndia, and )wm ttiger-huntingwith him, endhe shotatigertwo hundred yards ofi and gave youthe akin.

”

Bally lays strees onthetwo hundred yards as a mems cf ideufiiil

caticn ofthe csse. No dcubttheMajcr owned msny skina butahctatall sorts of distancee.Itis embarran ing fm'the old boy, because he csnnot

General P ellew’s intimations over Bally’s head,which ahe does

not ase. He isto hcld histongue—that ia theirSome“

I’ve got

did, you know.

”

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Majc oper only saysthistoSOMOWGOOD

Y ou sawahe had no idea oithe name. Itwas P alliser.wasn’t it i”

Unless it was Verschoyle.”

240

m.

a“m

mu

m

h

mm

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mu

m

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m

O

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ontothe“7you

He knewhe should gc roundto(itwas barely aqusrter oi a mile) as

cftlietog gave him an excuse.

No. it wasn’tVerschoyle. I remember the Verschoyle

and it’s notfor meto blame himhis

earnestlyIf

fin isht incan

’tfriend

etiond hemindhaverkthe

..

m

e

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Bythistime Old Jsck is fiselingquiteti-uthiul.liset

Itcan’tbeNightingale m m

SOMEHOW GOOD 241

irresistible glee cfthcse eyebrows audquenchingthe smilethe casketof pearlsthatall whc knewherthoughtth old soldiers satoutothink itout.recognisedthe insclubility cfthe problem. It can'tbe done,said he.

“Girls are nctalike She’sstco much like iny nasturtium granddaughter nown“I shall havetotell her dam lies.”

That won’t hurt you, Old JI’m not

Youmusttell me whatyou’vetold, so asto agree. I should gcroundto ask after Lund, only I promisedto meet’an old

fifth man here atfive. It’s gcne half-psst. He’s lostinthe

fog. Butl can ’tgo awaytill he oomes.

” Old Jack is seisedwith an umeasoning sanguineness.The fog

’s clearin’

. he says. You’ll see, it’ll be quite

bright in half-eu-hour. Nothin’ near so bad as it was, now.

Juetyou look atthatwindow.

”

Thewindowinquestion when looked at,was notSo far as could be seen atallthmughtheturgid atmosphere oithe room , itwas a parallelcgram cf solid opacity crcssed by a

Jack wasworking upto a iictionto serve a purpcse. Bythetime he had succeeded in believingthe fogwas lifting hewouldbe absolved from his promise notto gc outin it. Itwas atrialYou

’re allowin’ nothin’ for the time of day, said Major

, and his motivewastransparent. Sure enough, aftertheGm eml

’s fiimd hadwmem mH m hom htetheMajwwok

by fog or mere night, and in spite of al l remonstrances, beganpul ling on hiscn overcoat

_.to go outHe even hadthe efironteryto appealtothe hall porterto confirm hisviews aboutthe state

ofthings outof docrs. MrJlulberry sdded his dissuasionswith al lthe impressiveness of his cficial unifcrm andthe cubic

area of its coutents. Buteven his pcwerful influence carriedno weightinthis case. Itwas uselesrto argue withthe in .

istuated old boy. who was evidently very uneasy about Major16

i

SOMEHOW GOOD

WWWmm

pretension . He reoovered enoughtotel lMulberry’s subordinate

andtc spare. he said. buttheywere afiecting non -existence £romThen hevaniahed inthe darkneas,heturned a cornu .

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anythin’

, nor listm ingto awcrd ci advice l” aboutasfar as he cau gowithouta chcke. Rosalind gces intothe nextroomto getatumbler cfwater . The nurse,who is bythe flre, nodstowaidsthe bed,

zicbes closetc to

hear. She speakstc invalid asto a

little child“Isn

’tthatOld Jack l I knowhis choke. Whatdces he ocme outfcr in likethis i Whatdoes hemeantSend

nurse sitcn inaloud. Sally is tWhataboutthe ever“WWW;

“c y awoman being named K iudred l“When people are so genteel one can believe l But

what do you think theIsn’t -that'queer l She knows him—eays he

’s

Her mother isn’tShe rises icr a rncmeutto hearwhatahemay of hcwthe inthe nextroom goes cn ;coming back, says again shewishes Ger-ry wae saie

Thetwo have in cne another makesthem a couple apart—a scrtoi

SOMEHOW GOOD “6WhatMrs. heard a scrap oi inthe nentiocmwculd

have bem . buttcrthe and cfthetwo euerniesaforemticuedm ecnsscufive couverasticn astollowa ’

“You’re ’round, 0clonel l

”

A dsal l wantto speaktom ”

Fire s . oldwithw e gopklns—mM dM‘OldOomax.“

I remember hiin. of atBurrampcre. Nowi

;

" 'wthe damtcg. r all t.I 1.“Well. utup. m m m'

fi

but.One damn fsther’s as good as ancther, as long as he goestcthedevil.” This may be a kind oi disclaimer cl inberitauce as -a

parmtage is withcutinfluence on ohsrscter . Itis nctwel l“

rnal isteuto Roper . Y ou knowthegnly man l csu

’tsay God icrgive hiintc. God _m butcan’t.”

Y es, it’s all right. They’re

all intha nextroom. .“Butthewomsn wasworse. r .

”

I know—aliinin' society—that’s her game lI’d purify her , ii I had inyway.

”“Oome a bitnearer —myw I’vethoughtitall

out. l i the ,who supposes to bethe daughter cf hermot-her's hus triesto run

“l ouder-stand.

"

Well, don’tyou unde0eive her . Hu mother has nevertold herW . She doean’t

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M OWGOOD

“it” is having beui once fcunded, lives ou

inthe iacecf evm as other iaiths have dcne bstorsnow

swinging and a rescnantioot-best, some onewho cares

nothing for m mk’svoice h dedantof ih exhilarated, as he ceasesto be a cloud and assnrnes an

“Which ! OurMajor l He'

s a bitbetter , andthetemperature’s lower." Sally helievedthis ; a littlethermemeterthing

WQ V

M OWGOOD

“0h, hcwserunchytour at time““ni an di

Ls

.

m

mmmmm

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ew.

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s.

mmm

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pm

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mm

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.

.

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fil th. be nnsooiablewiththeAveiglxtm on her

mind ; has

her moovm d husband

m in ker early lifo had m er blutedtho happinus bfHe wnld die, itwould have mado him so hnppyto knowit. Was shs nghtin keepmg itbwk nowl Had -ho

oval - been t !

Whatis itlIt’s n boy. I can

’tmake ontwhat he says.”Letme eome l

” ButRoealmd gets no neamr his meaning .

Sho ends np with, “I’ll come down.” and goes. The nnrse

olosesthowindowand goes bsoktotho bedroom .

What'do you want 1”asks Rosalind.

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qostin’. Ivas on h ’eab, elect.

”

send eas d k m ld lento lcnd an am and notto mMm

ism

AWWu

; iact& bey had fi athoum dtbmtheyoomc.“041M !

”saysW

W WW 2“

a minutmher’e aleeve up,

spilin’his ooat. theyAnd p1m ax-m with a packin

’

needle . Mach ase itdcne menthey m itm 'tthe

fog, d called’

aem liar. ’(b s it clearin’cfl,they seye.

Itwarn' ,tnotmnch. I see pecan bd ance come. andtheythat shaver, they says ; he

'll hewanted for his testament.So l coked itofi.

”

m eat”To swisitcn atriM l did. Me and fiimy— him l men

‘ticned aiore. h d he says, he sasatoys, ceme cn here— on’

ylater . Sothen !oome nn hew

é;oRosd h d findsM inthe face of whatshe feels mustM Old k

‘s snMen deaththinking hcwson

'

y she is she

of a reasonable siz e

back a;aeemedwelcome, but

“On fi e m m .

” M util reawm bothvfll he com blethan fithe room .

sleer l”Rose&id ab , ss hetakestothe staiu . She pats a gas- jet on

“Twenny dose in Street, ofi oi

‘0rseterryRosd,West

notbe d leto spottlfis paiM nr doee-honse among nll shc

Be yon dwayl sleepthere l”Nc, misais l Wather permitting, in oar moose—cu the

'eep The ’

mse-heeper givee a sack in return for s bitof cleanin’

,

early, before comin’ away.

"

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out. Bhe oanqnite seethe henses oppcsite .

'l'hetog has olearedto'

ntnsonengineer’

balcony. It isher if ahe had notfcand ont.

'

ughtMajor Roper was gcne, Ro sey.thrcagh his heavy breathing. Itmaatbethe pnrer air .“So he is. dear . Hewenttwo hcars ago.

”She sits by him,taking his hand as before. The nurse is, by arrangement.to

streetthehavem m

( ‘ I tho

take her spel l of sleep now.

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Y ou; you mtho -Wan out! M l onlypacket."Only Emily, 1837.

. . Y u, that

“

WA“

She

‘I shul doveryvall m w

.voieewdto s m m wada ed atthobo m b .

. . All done now !

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M OWGOODd h m obo h cwnutm flihh m'

itIn fififiitsz

a m mo-up

voiceitb r her lim .

“Hh mm m Algm m ”m nflthe m l how-ldthink ol . Itm s mtoflorlom bopo ln

che m

ifve oould hsve ionndtbou

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“Y en. dun it’. all

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justcatch toldjustnow . . just now.

” And she felthis cold hand close on

hers as he spoke. Then she repeatedwhatshe had said

sdding only :“Buthe m y never oometo knowhis own story.

and Sally mustnot know it.” The oldwhisper cama back, andshe oaughtthewords z m l 'hen itistrue !My God l"She remained kneeling motionless beside him. His breath,weak and intermittent, but seeming more free than when shelefthim four hours sincc,was less audiblethanthe heavy sleep

closed door. The familiar early noises of the street, the life outside that cares so little for the death within, the daily bread anddaily milkthatwake ustoo soon inthe morning,the cynicalinterchanges of cheerful early risers about the comfort of theweatheH ll grewand gatheredtowardsthe coming day. Butthe old (b lonel heardrnone of them. What thought he still hadthough it might beto hold it in mind. But one bright goldenRosey happy at last, for all the bitterness her cup of life hadheld before.

The nurse had sleptprofoundly, butshe wss one ofthosefortunate peoplewho can do so atwill , andthm wake up atanappointedtime, ss many greatsoldiers have been ableto do .

Asthe clock struck eightshe satup inthe chair she had beensleeping in and listened a moment. No sound oame fromthenextroom . She rose and pushedthe door open cautiouhly andlooked in . Mm. Fenwickwas stil l kneeling bythe bed, her fsoehidden, still holding the old man

’s hand. The nurse thought

a lamp-flame flickering ontwasthe fsoe of a dead man . Needshe rouse or disturbthewatcher by his side i Notyet, certainly.

She pulledthe doorvery gently baok, notclosing it.A sound came of footsteps on the stairs—400m withoutvoices. It was Fenwick and Sally, who had passed through thestreet door, open for a negotiation for removal of the snow— forthe lasttwo hours had made a white world outside. '

Sallywasa atairflightinthe rear . She had paused for a word withtheboy Chancellorship, who was a candidate for snow-removal.He seemed relieved bythe snow. Itwas atidy lotbetter

SOMEIIOWGOOD 263tor it, and buttered ’arf slices and no stintin ’

,

fortwopenoe. Sal ly hada fellow-feeling forthis boy’soptimism .

Buthe had something on his mind, for when 8ally ssked himifMajor Ropei- had gothome safe lastnight, his cheerfulnessclouded over, and he rald first,

“Gmldn

’tsay, missis ”; andthen, He’s been got home, youmay place your dependence onthat adding, inexplicablyto Sally. He won’t care about thisweather ; itwon’tbe no odds l" She couldn’twaitto flnd outhis meaning, buttold him he mightgo on clearing awaythemow, and whenMrs. K indred came hewasto sayMiss R-csalindNightingaletold him he might. She said shewould be m swerable. andthen ranto catoh up Fenwick.

The nurse came outto meetthem onthe lauding, snd inanswer to Fenwiok’s half-enquiry or look of enquiry—Sally didnot gather which—said : Yes—atleast, I think so—just now.

”

Sally made up her mind itwas death. Butitwas not,quitefor asthe nurse, precedingthem , pushedthe door ofthe sicko

m m genfly opemthevoice ofthe man she bel ieved dead came

outalmoststmng and clear mthe silence z“Evil hasturnedtogood. God be praised l

”

tion ofthe wmda l ndeed, may nothavespecial meaningtothem .

impoH in fact. only a passing referm oeto cne ortwo byincidentsthatcame aboutinthe half-yearthatfol lowed. He

cannotcomplainthatthey ane superfluous ifwe give him r’

air

waming oftheirtiiviality, and enable himto akipand lose butinthe blue ; only one in a minor key.

'l‘he old familiar

figureof“the Major — intermittent, certainly, butnonetheto be ofieredtothe school ; no surviving relativewas named ininthe dining-room intheitseems so oddto go backnoon of his electr ocution. Sally alwaysthoughtofthis cabinetas“Major Roper’s cabinet,”because she got theitfor him before hewentofi inthe fog. H only shehadhim drunkthatevening l Who knows, butitinighthaveto t againstthat terrible heart-failurewas not the t of atmospheric conditions. She never

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200 SOMEHOW GOOD

himsea a problem forthe P sychical Beseai-eher.m ill-fittedto discuss the subject. He certainly shied on expressing any

you r

fithink aboutghosts l”said his wifeto

him one day,when wasn’tthereto come in with har ohafi“Ghosts belong intitled families. Middle-class ghosts are athe whole—Junior United Service ghosts .“Gerry, be n ciona or l ’ll have a divbuee l" This was a

powerful grip on a stinging-nettle. Rosalind feltbrsced bytheefiort. “Did youever see a ghost, old man i“Notinthe presentera, sweetheart. I can

’tsay abontB HCHe usedte speak of his life inthisway, buthiswife feltsorry when he alluded to it. It seldom No“havenever seen oneto my knowledge. I’ve seen as a ghost,though,which is very unpleasant, I assureBosalind

’s mind wentbaoktoths fatBaronatScnnenberg.

She supposedthiato be another case ofthe same scrt. “Whenwasthati”she said.“Monday. Iteok a hansom fromn Cornhillto mir bondedwarehouse. It’cunder a mile, and l askedthe driverto change

halfos -crown ; I hadn’ta shil ling. He gotouta handful of dlver,

and when he had picked outthetwo shillings and sixpence he

boked atme forthe firstfima acd started and stared as if lwas a ghostin good earnest.”

—before ithappened l

”Ra nemberthatthis m mthe spnitof ita fib,

seeingthatthetone ofvd oewasthatofwelcometo a possible

revelation. To ourthinking,the more hcnourto ha who spokeit, considering the motives. Gerry continued .

““So lthoughtatfirst. Butlistento whatfollowed. As sooulns surprise, wwhatever caused it, hadtoned downto mere

recognition point, he spoke with equan imity. I’ve driven youafore now, mister,’Parties don ’t, notwhen fares ; when drivers, quite otherwise.I’m byway oftaking notice myself. Y ou

'l l exeuae me f’ Thm

he said,‘War-r-r him

Where had he seen me i Mightl happento callte mind LivermomHs Rents andthatturn-up i—thatwas his reply. I said I

mightn't ; or didn’t, at any rate. I had never been near Liver

was utterly ata lossto guess whathewastalking abont, onwhich he putmethrough a sortof retrespective catechismbroken hy remindersto

wthe horse.

easy overthe brldge forto soo the r-23mg ! Nor yetthe littlewith

i i z i “i

theway you held him in hand and played himhim ! Nor yetwhatyou samplcd him outatthe finish i My Goard l’ He slappedthing in my life. No unnecessaryviolenoe, no agitation l Andhim carried oifthe ground asgood asdead ! Ah l I made inquiryafter,andthatwas so.

’Ithen said itmusthave been some one

elsevery lihs me, and held outmy half-crown. He slipped backhis change into his own pocket, and when he had buttcned itover ostentatiously addressed me again with what seemed a lastappeal.pcwerful listofting fixtures intheweekthatyou don’teasym ollectone outthe other . Butaow, do.yca,m nto say

your memory don’tserve you inthis i— I drove you overto

Bishopsgate,’cross London Bridge. Very wel l l Then you

k

fusin’to aocepta farden underthe circumtances. Don’tyourec

’lectthati’ I said l didu’t. “And,

with your haqfldothe samething now. I'Il drive you most

And, do you know, hewas ofi before my surm'ise allowed metea“New. Gerry, was it that made you so glum on Monday

when youcame back l I recol lectquite well . So would Sally.

”

“Oh no ; it was uncomfortable at first, but I soon forgot allabout it. I recollect what it was put me in the dumps quitewel l. Itwas a longtime afterthe cabby.

”

“Whatwas iti”“Well , itwas as alkedtothe station . I wenta littleway

Itwas broughtin, and produced a spurious sense of beingdetectives onthewayto a discovery. Butnothing came of it.Allthroughthe discussion ofthis odd cab-inoidentthe faot

shrewdneu of Scotland Y ard by detecting a mere date int-hatsm ethh g hadquitethmwn itoutofgear as an item of evidenoe.

Bytheway, did no one ever askwhy should any man, being of

sonnd mind, writethe currentdate on his shirt-sleeve i Itreally ia athingthatcan look after its own interests fcrtwentyfour hours . The factisthat, no sooner do coinoidmces comeinto court, than sane investigation fiiss outat the skylight.T herewas much discuuion ofthis incidentyoumay be sure

butthatis allwe needte knowaboutit.tionto one another . Ifthis relaticn had anything lover -lihs in

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doctor’s atteatlme—becaussthatdidn’ttake hlm from his

humml ling alm g sphus mightif asksdtositA suggestion ofthe exoepticnal character of allvisits fromSallyto Dr . Vereker,domestics athis hcuse aswel l as atK rakatoa Vil la. The maid

Craddock, who respcndedto s h ock onthis Shocsmithoccasion,threwdoubtonthe pcasity ofthe doctor ever being

system of insincerity we have hinted '

at.Sowasthetenor of Sally’s remarks,while shewaitedthe few

minutes,tothe efiectthatitwas a burning shamethatshe shouldjust as well. To which

SOMEHOW GOOD 271

suretoShe particularissd it.

~Y oudon’tmeantononsensstthe idea l Tisby—just(the namc .

'

lallym"kthought of her by)the fulna atthe neck forbade it; butahe moved

Dinah.speaker ,soverywcrthless did her caer or optional diabelief seem,

and, indeed, sovery ofiensive. Buther incl ination or lywentthe length ofwondering howshe cculd getatavulnerabls point“But

of knitting, she had dreamedthatsome one had .toldetcatsra.

giantely married six months ago i Probably, during eons

her Or. even more probably. she had invented itontheconcil iatory, cosquis ition—the rightwayte approachtheelderly gossip—would only make her reticent. Nowit was onlyneoessaryto knit,and 8allywould be sureto developethe subject.The line she appearedtotakewasthatitwas a horrible shameof peoplete say suohthings, inviewofthe faotthatitwss only

ythatTishy hadquita settledthatrash matr imony in

It tbe cold l !” Every evening.

ho knows in igh

ThustheOctopus. I feltsureauch a nice, sensible girl saMissWilscn never would. ThatisConrad.

" Itreallywas a sound of a latoh-key, butspeech is no.mere slaveto fact.visitshe chosetotell about. , Onwhich her mother said,“What

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“Wouldn’t itbe a good wayto oonaider whatitistbatisreallythe matter , and make outthe statemmtaocordinglyt”his pen, andwaits for an answer .“

Good, sehsible, general practitioner l See howprsotical heis l Now, I should never havethoughtofthatl"Wel l.whatahall we putber down as i wrcnio arthritisspinal curvature—tuberculosis ofthr cervicalvertebra i”“

Those all soundvery nice. Butl don ’tthink itmatterswhich you choose. If she hasn’t got it now. she

’ll develops itif I describe it. When Itold her motber couldn ’tgetrid of her

neuritis, she immediately aakedto knowthe andforthwith claimedthem as her own .

‘WelLthere now. andtothisveryJustinthe crick ofthethumbyourself l

’ Andthui shetold howshe saidto Shoosmith ireexclaimin’

beyond .

Mr. Shoosmith doem ’tseem averypromidng sorttHe’s atailor. im ’the l”“No ; he’s a messenger . He runs on errsnds and does odd

And hisvome is hoarse and inaudible. And he has a drawbaoktwo drawbacks, in fact. He is no sooner giv’ ooppers on a jobthan he drlnksthem .

"

“What’sthe other iHis suweptibilityto intexicants. His ’

ead istbatweakthat'mostanythink upsets him. So you see.“P oor chap l He

's handicapped inthe race of life. Astor

hh wifa whm l sawher shewu mfieringwith acute rhenmatismand bad feedingHowever. blanks, adds a signature,

disposed of as an

ahe remains as a

visit, if her pretencethatitwas a neoessity sriaing from a

charitable ‘

on, if the colour that was given to that

pretence by her interviewwiththe servantCraddock— if anyhad been more or lessthanthe grossesthypocrisy,

would it,we ask you, have been accepted ss a matte r of coursemate opportunity of ’

oello practice at K rakatoa Villa. ButG.P .

’s cannotoalltheirtimetheir own.

The funny partoe a Shoosmith, said Sally, whenthepotwas full up andthe lid shut, “iathatthe moinmtshe isbrought into contact with warm soapy water and scrubbingbruahes, sbe seemsto renewher youth. She brings large pins

outcf her mouth and secures her apron . Andthen she scrubs.

useful

Does she put backthe pinswhen she’edone scrubbing i’ theShe putsthem baok againstanothertime, so l have under

stood. I suppcsethey live in her mouth . That’s yours withtwo lumps. That is your mother’s—no, I won’t pour it yet .She

’.s asleep

Forthe factisthatthe Goody, anxiousto investherselfof forbearance towards the frivol ities offorgo (from amiability) any share in the

conversation, insight into the mpporls of others (especially maleand femalempports), and general superiorityte human weakness,had endeavouredto exprees al lthesethings by laying down heras if she k

'

newand could speak if she chose. Butif you dothis,even the maintenance of an attentive hypodermic smile is notenoughtc keep you awake—aud ofi you go l The Goody did,and the smile died slowly 03 into a snore. Never mind l She

18— 2

O

was in wantof rest, so ahe said. Itwas curious,too, for sheto wake herwso Dr Verekerwentand sata good deal neuer Sally, notto mabe moie noisethan was This reacted, an outsider might haveinferred, onths su ect-matter ofthe conversafion , making itmore .serious intone And as Sally putthe little Turk’s capoverthe potto keep itwarm, andthe doctor knewwellthatthe blackertheteawasthe better his mother liked it,this lasted untilthatlady woke up with a starta long fime

after, and said she musthave been asleep . Then, as 000kwas

man,”she said atthe gate, rsfsrringtothe detention ofthe

doctor’s pill-box, which awaited him, and he repl ied that itdidn’t matter. K ing, the driver, looked as if he thought it did,and appeared -mom s. Is it because coachmen always keep

brood over them, andtbeir souls seem canlaered with misunthi-opy iThe doctor had rather a roughtimethatsvening . For

amongthe patients he was goingtotryto see snd getbacktodinner (thus ran current speech of those concerned), therewas a young man fromtheWestIndies, who had come intosomething considerable. Buthe was amicted with a disordsr

alcohol of sp . gr .

'

something,to which the patient was in thehabit of adding very few atoms of water indeed. The doctorwas doing all he couldto chsngethe regimen , butonly suoceededon making his patient weak and promise amendment. On this

particular s the latter quite unexpectedly went for thedoctor’stl iroat, shouting,“I see your plans l”and K ing had tobe summoned from his boxte help restrain him . So Dr . Verelier

was tired when he got home late to dinner, and would have feltmiserable, only he could always shut his eyes and think of Sally

’shands that had come over his shoulderto discriminate pointsin Mrs. Shoosmith’s magna-charta. They had come so near himthat he could smellthe fresh sweetdm sing of the newkid gloves

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278

and purposesthe same a'

s ii she had ; snd l mustsay, uwmvi with

And ‘wigging away l’ Whatlanguage !“Never- mindthe language, mother darling lit’s all about.” Tired as he is, he gets up fmmthe chair he hasmund and kim whatis pmbablythe fatty integumuitof averyselfish old woman, butwhich he bel ievesto bethatthatof an afisctionate mother .“My dearOoni-ad l Is itnota littls unteslingto ask mewhatitfis anaboutwhen youknowl "“I don‘tknow,mother dear . I can do auy amcuntcfgueuing,butI dcn ’th cw.

G addcckto shututatI had better goto bed.” Which herassistanceto sayingwhatis in her mindto say.

Butshe did nntintendto be baflled l l'or when hadpiloted herto her state apartunent, carrying her oaudle, underson

’s selfish longing fortobacco.“Only justhear metothe end, my dear, andthsn you can

getawayto your pipe. Whatl did aotsay— for you interruptedme—did notrelate so muchtoMiss LsstitiaWilson asto Sally

I have eyesin my head and can see. Butl can iead character , and that ismy interpretation of Sall Nigh ’

s.

"

Sally Nightingale I are not going towhat you mean, mother. She wouldn’tthing

Ht—by gettiug ata a bsd aim atit. Thepromptinedioal attend

anoswas necessaryto preventthe somethingclaimed by his hsir-at-law.

much is certain,thatatmuch forgotten bythe doctor aathe pipe his ent's suicidalescapade had interrupted, orths semi-vexation with his mothsrhewas using itas an anodyne for .

'l lowam s'thsmd ofthsJulythatveryquiokly iollows osalind

noticed an inim sificaticn oiwhatmightbs calledths h dbroksher real and adopted parentrsceived itlrom '

l ‘iahy.

fast, overthe marmalads, Sally said. She addsdthatthsA c n of pricsless GrohersGrol iers soaking pan ed

lind’s mind.

“Wasn’tthatwhatthis rcwwas

swim.

“It’s diflicultto say whatitWas about. Really,the fessor had hardly said oay¢hii

al ull , audthe Dragon said ahsthoughthe wastorgettingthsservants. Fosssttwasn’tsven inths room . AndthenthsDragon said,

‘ Yss, shutit,’to Athens. Fancy saying

‘ Y es,

shat it,’ in a oonfldsntial semitone l Beally, I can

’tseethatitwas sovsrywrong oi Egerton, although hs is a booby, to ssytherewas no fun in having a rcwbefors brsakfast. He didii

'tmeanthsmtothink he meantthemto hear .

”

But how did it get from the marmalade to Tishy's haber

dasher l " asked Fenwick.“Can

’tsay, Jeremiah. Itall came in a buz z , l ike a wopses,nest. Andthm Egerton said itwu mwa m rows all daylong, and he should hook it oil and get a situation. It is rows,rows, rows, so it’s no use pretending itisn’t. Butitalwayscomes roundtothe haberdasher grisvancs inths end. This

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M e i-igh“says Sally, speaking asto a pupil who has

Andthen,the ages having elapsedwith some alacrity,ths dooropens andthetwo subjecte oi discussion maketheirThs anomalous oousin did notoomewiththem, having sub

her pa-abn ocd make-ahifa anyhow. So ycu mayfill outths programmeto your liking- étreally dossn’tmatterons crtheir bestthatseason . Itwas justaswel l itshould be”, as itwastheir lasttillths autumn . Sally and her motherwere goingtoths seaside al l Augustand some of September ,and Fenwick was oom

’

mg with them for a week at first, andafterthatfor shortweek-end spells. He had become a partnerinthswins-business, andwas notso muchtiedtothe desk.

Well, then, it’s -bye, I suppose l” The speaker is

herself, asths 8tradivarius is being putto bed. Butshs hasn

’tthe hsartto letthsverdictstand—atleast, as £ar asthe doctor is concerned. Shs softens it, adds a recommendationto mercy. Unless you

’ll come down and pay us a visit. We’llput you up somewhere.

”

I’m afraid it isn’t possible,” is the answer. But the doctor

We'll say good-night, then— or good-bye. if it’s for six

weeks.” Tisby is perfectly unbluahing about the we. Shemightbs conveying They go, and getawafrom Dr. Vercher, by-the-bye. An awkward third isn’t wan“There’s plenty more Neckitts where he comes from,

” pursues Sally, asthe“othsrtwo ”— iorthatis hoe nwickthinkstha n—getthemsslves sndthd r instruments outcithe house.

Stop a momsnt. I

And Sally gives chass, and cvertakssthe othertwo justbythe fire-alarm,where Fenwick oameto s

Do you remember l Itcertainly has heen a record

sfiortto “getaway first.” You know this experience

8.

step goes upthe street, andthenthevoioes ata distance. If hs

can say good-bye and rush away just as Sally does the same,whythmtheywill meetoutside, don’tyou see l

Rosalind and her

passing. For when Sallyvanishesthere is a ring as oi instructicn received inthetons of Fenwick’svoice as he addressesths

doctor :“Couldn

’tyou manageto getyour motherto ccmetoo,Verelier i She mustbeterribly inwantof a changs.

”

”M OWGOODSo ltsll hsrflutshs’s so dldlsultto movs.”

r

fifid calculated histimeto a nlcetym

ior hs mstSally justas ths“the othertwo ”gctsafs round

a wick, real

:ingto aqdoesn’t

meanto carvitallthsway.

I

Lar

i at“,The was aboutthe P enwiok

Buthe can

neither divorce his mamma nor askthe kittento marry her .

You see 1"

I see—ih fact. I’ve thought so myself. In confidence, youknow. But is no compromise pcsdble I

”Rosalind shakes a

slow, regretful, negative head, and her lips form a silent“No I”“Notwith hsr . Thewoman has her own ahare of selfishness,

and her son’s,too. He has none.”

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-fl M OWGOOD

chledy of bay-wMowswith elderlyvisitors inthem looking

Very well, then, Mrs. Vereker . Asand

l

l havs ahaken down, we’ll see abo

they can’ttake you, somebody else will.”submissivsly. She leaned back with her eyes closed, and wasatraid she had donetoo much . Bhe usedto have psricdicalconvictionsto that effect.Sally had an appointment with Laetitia Wilson at the

al i ases- el m , ”woukltrytc

lesdtwo livqmcrs cr len—theirforher

Duthcwl

wetesl weM OWOOOD

am dcu

'tchm m it‘s m m d yom or m

themselves.two llves in dlflerl itwhen

Sally’s lrame cl mind. Bhowould nothave ielttheO.

rests littls.“wh en "thatclths

alltothe latter llie ls“mm

”.

cr whatl I!morrowshe be

she wasto heartoP spl

'iw,waswas»:asthat

WWW» ”mm

mm

mn

ewm

um

u

m

. Butshe had nothingto ccnesalthatahe knewof, had 8ally.

to any living scul lcommunicationtc her cld iriend on his dsathbed sndths lsst

its"minthe stillness ofthe night,thevowe ofthe old man, awhisper

through his half-choked respiration, that said againand again :

“0h, Rosey darling l can itbetrue l Thank God lthanc d l Andthe iactthatwhatshe hadthen feared had

E z s i i

eithe strangenessof anyearthlythingmndwassensible ofnothingbutthewondermentofthe greatcause cr sl l .Butcnethingthatahe knew(and could notexplain ) wasppression of cne still more burdensome,and helped herto driveitfrcm herthoughts. We speak ofthe col lision ofths reecrd

in her mind of whather daughter was, and whencs, withthe0

round the heart of the man whose bond with her mother she,small and unconscious, had had sc large a share in rendingasunder twenty years ago. It was to her, in its victo ry overcrude physical fact, even while it oppressed her, a bewilderingtriumph of spiritover matter , oi soul ovsr senss,this firmsolidating growth of an afiection such as Nature means

, butoiten failsto reach , betwea i child and parsnt. And as itgrew

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old. The old partis a dear little old place, andthe nswpartis So Sally says, and ahs mustkncw, becansethis isher t

’

visit.The old partconsists c ra Iggulden

’s sndthe houses we

have described on eithcr side of her , and maybstwo doaen morewooden or black-brick dwel lings oithe same scrtg also oithebsaoh and its interesting lines of breakwaterthatare soveryjol lyto jump ofi orto lie down and read novels under inthesea smell. Only ncttoo nearthe drains, if ycu knowit. Ifreminds you of the seaside, and seems right and fitting. Youmust take care how you jump, though, of these breakwaters,

their edges smoothed away beyond belief by the tides thatcome snd go for ever ,they are slipperywith green sea—ribbonsthatpop if youtread cnthem, butare notquite so slippery ;cnly you may justaswell be carsfuh evenwiththem . And weahould reccmmend you, befors you jump,to be sure you are

nothooked over a bolt, not merely because you may get caught,and fall over a secluded read ing-public on the other side, butbecausethe red rustcomes ofi on you and soils your whiteIf you don’t mind jumping 03 these breakwaters—and it

really is rather a lark— you may tramp along the sea front quiteto where the fishing- luggers lie, eachto itself, underthe little extra oldtcwnthe

nets live in, in houses that are like sailless windmill-tops whoseplank walls have almost merged their outlines in innumerablecoats of tar, laid by long generations back of the forefathers of

ind it

SOMEHOW GOODthe men ln oil -cloth hsd oand-shculdsr hatswho repairtheir netafor ever intheOhannel wind, uhless ycuwanta hoattc-day,in whioh cassthey wfll scul l you abc while you absolutely

cf whichtheythemof a wave, audtheir

famil y circle seiz es ycu, boatand al l , and runs youupthe shinglebefore the following wave can catch you and splash you, which

There is an aroma ofthe Norman Conquest and of DomesdayBook aboutthe oldtewn . Research will soon find cut, if shelooks sharp,thatthere is nothing Normsn inths place enceptthe old arch inthe amorphous church-tower, and a castle at adistance onthe flatfl . Butthe flavour ofthe pastis strcnger inthe scattered memories of bygone sea battles not a century ago,: .idthe namss of streetsthatdo notantedateths Georges, thaninthese mere scrapsthatare always cpsntothe reproach of

medioval ism , and are separated from us by a great gulf. And'

it doesn’t much matter to us whether the memories are of victoryor defeat, crthe namesthose cf sweeps or heroes. All

’s oneto

us—we glow ; perhaps rashly, for, you see, welittle about them. And he who has read nocf, if he glows aboutthe pastonthe str ength of his imperisct

molasses- jug.

So, whether our blood is stirred by Nelson and Trafalgar,wher eof we have read, or by the Duke of York andWalcherm ,

whereof we haven’t—or mighty little—we feel in touch withboth these heroes, for they are modern. Both have columns,anyhow ; and we can dwell upon their triumph or defeat almostas if itwasn’thisto ry atall , butsomethingthatreally happened,

of being accused of archaism or ofAnd we can enjoy our expeditionkeep in the level pastures, where the

long-horned black cattle stand and think and flap theirtails still,

justasthey did inthe dayswhenthe basementdungeons, nowchoked up, held real prisoners with real broken hearts.Butthere is modern life, too,at St. Seam us— institutionsthatkeep abreast of the century. Half the previous century ago,whm we went there first, the Circulating Library consisted,so far sswe can rwollectit, of a netcontaining brightleatherballs, a collection of wooden spades and wheelbarrows, a glassjar with powder-puffs, another with tooth-brushes, a making

19— 2

M x SOMEHOW GOOD

ccnfidentfoundsralL a bock-cssethatsupplisdthetitls-roletothe pertcrmance.That bookocese contained (we are confident) edition s grand paoe a Ratcl ifi, SirWalter Scott, Bulwer Lytton,Ourrer l l

welL even Fanny Burney, if you ccmetothat. ThereFrankenstein,

wouldn’tnow.

notbeen defaced outcf all knowledge by crooked marks oftheofthe breakwaters. Itreal ly read,thatpublic did , and,what’smore, itoftentcre cutthe interesting bitatotake away. I

cverthe future cftwo lcvers justssthe young gentleman hadflx

himself intcthe arms ofthe young lady. An

had cutcfithe sequel with scissors and bcned itlThatwas done, or much cf it,whenthe bockswers new, aiid

the railway-station was miles away when the church wasn’t

new, butold, which wss better . Ithas been madeand has chairs in it, and memorial windows by Stick and

local magnates cr puvates—squirophants,they mightbe calleduswould have hadto havethetemper of a saintto keep cccl

aboutit. Anyhow, it” .s done now, and cantbe undoneBut the bathing-machines are notrestored, at any rate .

a long rowfor ladies and a ahcrtone for gentlemen ,three hundrsdyards apart—couldn

’t trust’em any nearer, bless you i— thesejourneys back you are askedto hold on through— it's no usegoing on drying l— these tr ibutes to public decorum you canfind no room in, and probably swear at—no sscrilegious restorerhas laid his hand on these. They evidently contemplate goingcn fcr ever ; forthoughtheir axes grow more and more oblique

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advertisement-column hefore he gives upthe leaders, and youhaveto spead yourtimeturuing overthick and mam?journalswith a surfeitof pictures inthem ; orthe

-traits ofwhom—one or other ofthem—sweep indivorce a measa fA six-shillingvolume mightbewrittsn abouttheNewHotel ,with an execraticn on every page. Don

’tletus have anythingto do with it, hutkeep as much as posaible . atthe 8ea flousesunderthe clifi,which constitutethe only 8t. 8ennans necessarytothis story. We shall be ableto do so, because whm hfrs.

ane . Fenwick andtheii-daughterwentfor awalkthey alwayswent up the cliff-pathway, which had steps outin the chalk,pastthe hoatupaide down ,where new-laid eggs could he houghtfrom a coastguaid ’

swife. Andthis path avoidedtheNewTownaltogether, and took them straightto the clifi-traok that skirtedgrowing wheatand blaz ing poppiestill you heganto climhthethe Protection days, when itwas worth more than South Downmutton. And now every ear of it would have been repentingknowhow little it would fetch per bushel. But it wasn’t. And

when,the day aftertheir arrival , Rosalind and her husbandwereonthe beachtalking oftaking a walk upthatwaywhen flallycame out, itcould have heard '

, if itwould only have atood still ,the sheep-bells on the slopes above reproaohing it, and tauntingit with its usurpation and its fruitless end . Perhaps it wasbecause it felt ashamed that it stooped before the wind thatcarried the reproachful music, and drowned it in a sil very rustle.The barley succeeded the best. You listen to the next July

breeze comes with no noise of its own.

Down below on the shingle the sunwas hot, and the tide washigh, andthe water was clear and green closeto the shore, andjel ly-fish abounded. You could look down into the green fromthe last steep ridge at high-water mark, and if you looked sharpyou might see one abound. Only you hadto be on the alerttojump back if a heave of the green transparency surged across

lertto

SOMEHOW GOOD 296the little pebbluthatcould gobble itup bafore itwas all ovsrfeet—hutdidn’thadthe butcf it. Forthc allusionto Sally’s“ooming

out”referrsdto her coming outofthewater, and shewas staylngln a longtiine.

ather outthere onthe horiacn. Whaton earth mthey doing i ?’ltm a little inexplioable. Atthatmomentsally and her

irin d—itwascna uleia m who had learned swimming inthe bsths onthe Rhone atGeneva and in P arls—appearedto henothing buttwo heads, one close hehindthe other ,moving slowlyThey’re saving each other’s lives, said Gerry. He got up

hom a nice intaglio he had madeto lie in, and after shaking ofia good bushel of small pebbles a newmade heach-acquaintance cffour had heaped upon him, resortedto a douhle opera-glasstoseethem better .

“The kittenwanted meto getoutofmy depth

for hertotowme in . Butl didn’tfanoy it. Besides, a sensitiveBritish puhlicwould have been scandalised.“Y ou never learnedto swim.then, Gerry— i" She juststopped hersel f intime. Thewords“after al l " -were on her lips.

Withoutthem her speech was mere chatgwiththem itwouldhave hesn a matchto a mine. She sometimeswiahed inthesedaysthatthe mine mightexplode of itself, and give her peace.course. “Atleast, l couldn’tdo itwhen ltried inthewaterjustnow. I should imagine l musthavetried BWOor I shouldn

’thave known howtotry. It’s notathing one forgete, sothsysay.

” He paused a fewseconds, andthen added :“Anyhow,

There was notatrwe of

oonsciousness on his partof anything in her mind heyond whather words implied. Butahe feltin peril of firqso oloseto him ,

with a resurrection of an image in it—avivid one—ofthe lawntennis garden oftwenty years agc, andthe speech of his friend,the real Fenwick, about his inabilityto swim.

This sense of peril did notdiminish as he continued I’vefound outa lotofthings l m do inthewayof athletiuthough ;I seemnto knowhowtowrestle,which isvery funny. I wonderwhere I learned. And you saw how I could ride at SirMount

wishthose orasy girlswould beglntothink of in. Ifit’s goingto be likethis evsry day l ahall go hometoHerethe“My m

’

ummar says—my mummar says—my mummar

“Y ea- l ittle pet—whatdoes ahe say i” Thus Rcsalind.

Y es—Miss Gwendolen Arkwright—what does she say !Thus Fenwick, on whomMiss Arkwi-ightis seated.“My mummar says se wisses us notto paggle Tundy whmthetide

sea goed out. Butmy

My mummar paggl eMonday upto here .

Miss Arkwright indicates the exact high-water mark sanctioned,candidly.

“Wivno sooz e, and no stettins l” She thenMomes diffuse. “And my hid sister Totey's dol l came outin

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M SOMEBOWGOOD

abe pulled out. Y ou promlsed youwonld, you knowyouin

“I did ;

“No, we shan’t i Shall we, Jeremiah ! We’ve talked itover, me and Jeremiah. Haven 'twa Gafler Fenwiok i” She

upthe saltcongsstions of his mane as she sits by himthe“We have. And we have decidedtbatifwe arstwo hours

Butthatin any casethe so-called

be a mad kitten l l shallSo nowyou know.

” And

8

?

dry youup a hit. Does she really lock

03 into a moment's contemplation, thensuddenly jumps up with, Come along, Jeremiah,

" and follows

But the gravity on the face of the latter, by now half-waytothe house, had nothingto do with any of 8al ly’s ahocking

utterances. No, nor even with therupulous efirontery had

not hesitatedto impute. She allowed it to dominate her expression, astherewas no onethereto see, untilthe girl overtooki g i

Shewasaomgrosssdwith her husbandmnd hewith henthatshefeltahecould, as itwere, havetrusted himwith his own identity.

the factawithoutwould casta ahadowover herwhcle life.twenty years ago. And as ltosal ind looked ather she sawhercapture a'nd detain his hat.said Rcsalind.

ing on like a couple of eshcol-ohildrsn. They were,er.

P erhapsthe image in Sally’s profane mind of hers afiectionately, Rebecca VV ,

”ercher before or after an elderly bathe,would not have appeared there if she had not received that

letter so signed, announeingthat, subjectto avarietyof fulfilments—among which the Will of God had quite a conspicuous plaoe—she and her wn would maketheir appearance

nentMonday, as ourtexthas already hinted. On which daythe immature legs ofMis Gwendolen Ai—kwrightweieto be

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CHAPTER XXVHI

m wx was nota witness ofthis advent, astheMonday on

which ithappened had seen his returntotown. He had had

hls pmhminary weeh snd his desk was crying aloud for him.

He departed, renewing a solemn promiseto write every day asthetrain came intothe little station atEgbert’s RoadtorSt. Sennaus and Growborcugh. Itis only a single line, even now,

to st. Sennans from here,butas soon as itwas done itwas goodbyeto all peace andquietfor St. Sennan.

Rosalind and her daughter came hack in the omm'

hus—notthe one for the hotel, but the one usually spoken of as Padlock

’s

the one that‘ lived at the Admiral Collingwood, the nearestapproach to an inn in the old town. The word “omnibus”appliedto it was not meant literally by Padlock, butonly as adeclaration of his indifierence as to which four of the planet’s

a nice cld farmer ’swife,who spoketo each ofthe ladies as mydear,

”and o/each ofthem as your sister .

” Rosalind was

secured allthe old lady’s new- laid eggs, hecausetherewould heMrs. m er inthe evening. We like adhering

Nextmorning Sal lytook Dr . Vereker for a walk roundtoshowhimthe lace. T ryto fsncythe condiu

'

on of a youngman cf about,who had scarcelytaken his hand frcmtheplough of general practice for four years— for his holidays had

remote from patients, a happy valley where stethoscopes mightbe forgotten, and catholic acid was unknown, where diagnosisowed fromtroubling, and prognosis was at rest. He got sointoxicated with Sally that be quite forgotto care if the caseshe had leftto Mr.Neckitt(who had hem secured as a substitute

SOMEHOW GOOD 803

got terminated fatally. Bother them andcardiac symptoms, and effusions of blood

onthe hrain lDr. Gonrad was a young man of an honestand credulousnature,with at'i rr . for music naturally, and an artificial hiastowards medic mo infused into him by his father, who had diedwhile he was 3017a boy. I l l s honesty had shown itself in theloyalty with which he curred out his father’s wishes, and hiscredulity in the ieuiii icsswith which he accepted his mother’sself-interested versions of his duty towards herself. She had

unselfish person, and entitled to he ministered unto, and that itwas the business of every one elseto see that she did not becomethe victim of her own self-sacrifice. At the date of this writingher son was passing through a stage of perplexity abouthis dutyto her in its relation to his possible duty to a wife undefined.That he might not be embarrassed by too many puzzles at once,he waived the question of who this wife was to be, and ignored thefact that would have been palpableto any true reading of hismind,thatif ithad notbeen for Miss Sally Nightingalethisperplexity might never have existed. He satisfied his consciencecnthe pcinthy a pretextthatSallywas athing on a pinnacleout of his reach—not for the likes of him ! He made bel ievethathewas ata lossto find a foothold on his greasy pole, butwas seeking one in complete ignorance of what would be foundat thetop of it.This shallow piece of selfd eception was ripe for disillusionmen twhen Sally took its victim out for a walk round to show him theplace. It had the feeblest hold on existence during theremainder of the day, throughout which our medical friend wen ton dramd rinking, knowing the dangers of his nectar-draughts,but as helpless against them as any other dramd rinker . Itbroke down completely and finally between moonrise and midnight—a period that began with Sally cal l ing under lggulden

's

window, Come out, Dr. Conrad , and see the phosphorescencein the water ; it

’s going to be quite bright presen tly,”and ended

with, Good gracious, how late it is ! Shan’t we catch it i”

an exclamation both contributed to. For it was certainly pasteleven o'clock.

But in that little space it had broken down, that delusionandthe doctor knew perfectly well, before ten o’clock, certainly,that all the abstract possible wives of his perplexity meant

t304 SOMEHOW GOOD

8ally, and 8al ly only. And, further ,that8ally was ateverypointoi'the compass

—thatshe was inthe phoaphorescenoe ofthe sea m dthe stil l golden colour ofthesaid Sally,again. P oor P rosy !

But whatdidtliey say,thetwo ofthem P Little enoughmere merry chat. Buton his partso rigid a self-constraintunderlying it that we are not sure some of the little waves didn’teense of athoughtthatwas onlywaitingto bethoughtas soon

as he should be alone— that was going to run somewhat thus :How could it come about ! That this girl, whom I idolizetill my idolatry is almost pain this girl who has been my universethis year past, though I would not confess it ; this wonder whomI judge no manworthy of, myself leastoi all—thatshe should becancelled, inade naughtof, hushed down ,to bethe mate of a

poor G.P . ;to visit his patients and leave cards, make up hislittlewcounts, perhaps l Certainlyto live with hismother .

But he knew under the skin that he would be even with thatdisbydthoughmand m uld stop itofi atthis pointintimetobelieve he hadn’t thought it.Still, for all that this disturbing serpent would creep into his

Edem for anthathe would have given wnrldsto dare a littlewater athis feetand hers, andthe musical shingle below, and a

where inthe wum night-air abovqandthe flash ofthe greatrevolving lightalongthe ooastansweringthe French lightsacrossthe great, dark, silmtsea—thatmomentwasthe recordmomentof his liietillthen. Itwould never doto say soto8al ly,thatwas all l Butitwastrne for allthat. For his life

had been a dull one, and the only comfort he could getout ofthe story of itso farwasthatatleasttherewas no black page ‘u

ithe would liketo cntout. Sally mighti'edthem alL and

welcome. Their relationto her had becomethe pointto consider .

Y ou see, athearthewas a slowman cftheworld abouthim. Weter race had had a dose ofthe other sortinthe lastgeneration. Hadthe breedwearied of

Howvery young P rosy has gotall of a suddan !was Sally’spostecripttothis interview, as shewalked backtotheir own

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allthetime she was jawing—did she onoe lose sightof hermeritoriom attitude l”“Itmay only be a laeos de psrla —a sortoéfBut it isn’t. Jeremiah says so. We’ve

two. He says he wouldn’t like his daughter— meaning me— tomari

xmpoor Prosy, because of the Goody.

"

you sure he meantyou l Did you ask him l“No, because I wasn’t going to twit Jeremiah with beingonly stop . We kept it dark who was what. But, of course,he meant me. Like ' s submarine telegraph.

” Sally stopped amoment in gravity. Then she said Mother dear I”

What, kitten 3”What a pity itis Jeremiah is on ly step l Justthink how

nice if he’d been real . Now, if you

’d on ly mettwenty years

sooner.A nettleto grasp presented itself—a bad one. Rosalindseized it boldly. I shouldn’t have had my kitten,

”she said.

I see. I should have been somebody else. But thatwouldn’t have matteredto me.“Itwould have—to me !” - But this is the mostshe can doin the way of nettle-grasping. She is glad when St. Sennan,from his tower with the undoubted piece of Norman, begins tocounttwelve, and gives her an excuse for a recallto duty.

“Dothink how we’re keeping poor Mrs. Lobjoitup, you unfeeling

l” is her appeal on behalf of their own

Bally is just taking note of a finale of the Ethiop choir. They’vedone ‘Pesky Jane,

’ and they’re going away to bed,” she says.

How the black must come of on the sheets 2” And then theyhurried hometo sleep sound.

Butthere was little sleep for the doctor that night, perhapsbeeause he had gotso young all of a sudden . So itdidn ’tmattermuch that his mother countermanded his proposal that bedshould be goneto, onthe groundthatitwas so late nowthatshewouldn’tbe ableto sleep awink. If she could have gone anhour ago it would have been different. Nowit was too late .

An aggressive submissivenesswasutilised bythe good ladyto theend of his discomfort and that ofMrs. Iggulden ,who—perhapsfrom some memories of the Norman Conquest hanging about theneighbourhood— would never go to bed as long as a light wasburning in the house.“Itisvery strange and mostunusual, I kncw,

”she oontinued

saying after she had soarified a plmeto scratoh on.

“Your

cf ber

k how

ian do

SCI- OWGOOD 307

great-uncle Everett Gayler did not'

scrupleto call it phenomenal,andthatwhen l wasthe merestchild. After eleven no sleep l

”

She continued her knitting with tenacityto illustrate her wakeful .ness. “Butl am glad, dear Ccnrad,thatyou forgotaboutme.

Y ou were in pleasanter society than your old mother’s.

shall have any excuse for saying l am a buiden cn my scn .

No, my deu boy, mywish isthatyou shall feel lm .

”She laid

aside the knitting-needles, and folding her hands acrossline Sally wasto be dragged up, or along, dropped her eyel idsover a meek glare, and sat with a fixed, submissive undersmileslightly turned towards her son.

ButI thought, mother, as Mrs. Fenwick was here.Slow, slight, acquiescent nods stopped him ; they were enoughto derail any speech except the multipl ication-table or theHouse-that-Jack-built 1 But she waited with exemplary patiencefor certainty that the train had stopped. Then spoke as one thatgives a commission to speech, and observes its execution at adistance. Her expression remained immutable. “She is awell -meaning person,

’’ said she.I didn’t know how late itwas. Poor Dr. Conrad gives up

selfd efence—climbs down. The time ran away.

” It haddone so, there was no doubt about that.

And you forgot your mother. ButMrs. Fenwick is a wellmeaning person. We will say no more about it.”

But he went and kissed her for all that. She said inscrutablyYou might have kissed me. But whether she was or wasn’tkiss on the rim of her spectacles, Conrad couldn

’t tell. Probablyshe meant he might have kissed her before.There was no doubt, however, about her intention of knittingtil l pastone inthemorning. She did it, enlarging onthemedicalstatus of her illustrious uncle, Dr. Everett Gayler, who had justcrept into the conversation. Her son wasn’t so sorry for this asMrs. Iggulda i , who dozed and waked with starts, on principle,outside inthe passage unseen. He could stand at the wide-openwindow, and hear the l ittle waves plash Sally in the moonlight, and the counter-music of the downd rawn shingle echoSal ly back. Sometimes the pebbles and thewater gave place

for a momeuttothetresd oftwo persistentwalkersup and downmen who smoked cigars, and became a little audible and diedagain at every time of passing.

20— 2

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Bur itnever occnrredto Dr . Verekei-thatthevoioe oithesmoking gentleman, whose

“she

” knew a couple that hadbeen cwked ata registry-ofioqwas avoiceqnite iamiliartobeen found not preoccupied with Sally he might have been ableto give her next day a suggestive hint about a possibility ahead.Butnever aword said beto Sally ; andwhen , on her return fromButno—no chance oithatl The young lady had l

asked for

they came in .

’

and was still pondering overthe phenomenon when ber motherfollowed her throughthe little yard paved with round flints

dowa -beda whichwere inthissndthe streetdoor which always stood open , and itwasvery

being broken. Butyou could passalways be old Mr. Lobjoitin thetwas notthere herself.

you stupid kitten ! There’sa nsme onthem, or oughtto be.” Thus Rosalind, aiter factsWhatathing itiato have a practical maternal parent!”

SOMEHOW GOOD al l

a s P rep a y Xmatthe lahel -side ofthemkfirst“Ii itisn’tl

" tha motber and danghterism i

” But'

tho a, both wanted

said abouthimThe oouplewere in a mixed state of exaltation and oonfusion

dignity. Both wa s saying might they come in, and doing it

Rosalind’s remark was one of those nonsequences often metwith in real life : There's enough lunch—or we can send .out.”Sally’s was :“But are you the Julius Bradshaws, or are younot! That’swhatl wantto know.

” Sal lywon’tbetrifled

with, not she iWell, Sally dear, no,—we

’re not—not just yet.” Tisby

Butwewantto be attwo o’

clockthis afternoon, if you’l lWhy—oiwnn a both oi you.

Thea LQbioitwill haveto be intirnewith lnnch.

” Itdoes notreallymatterwhowerethe speakers, norwhatthe share

o of eachwas inthe fo aggregate .“Howdid you manageto getitarranged ! Why nowl

Have you quarrelledwith yonr mother l” “Howlong oan you

wayi I hate a - stingy honeymoon ! “Y ou’ve gotno

things.’ Do youthinkthey’ll knowathomewhere you are l”“Where are you going afterwards i” “Whatdo youthinkyonr fatber wil l sayt” “Whatl wantto knowis,whatputitintoyour head aois, more

time Vereker,who hadifthey had a packetol ohemical

digestthis morning),and was ooming on his wayto Mrsto see Salw, butoulytotake counael with

ohemical oatmeal. By a curious ooincidence,

fiwm Dr . 00nrsd masterswinferenoes.“Thenthatmusthave been you lastnight, Bradsbawi”I dare say itwss. When ?Walking up and down with anothertel lcwin fronthere .

Smoking cigars, both of you.

”“Why didn'tyou sing outtWell, now— why didn

’t I 1” He seems a little unable to

acoountfor himself, and nowcnder . “Ithink l recol lected itwar like you after you had gone.”“

Don ’tbe a brain-case, Di-. Ccnrad. Whatwould ycur

patients say ifthey heard ycu go on likethatl” Sally saidthis, of course. Her motherthoughtto hereelfthatperhapsthe patientswould send for a married doctor.

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M OWGOOD

I don’t know—it’s later than it was yesterday.

” But

common lotof humanity, and cmsidessthatitwill bethe saruewhat’sbeccune d“He’s upthese with his mother . I sawhim atthewindow.

Butl didntmeanthatno douh’t. I mean, has quarrel with her

T iahytold me all aboutitgoingto church .

”

mother ,did longto oome outtothevoicea he oould hear plainenough. even as far ofi asthatl Butthqhe had been so long

Saw! to morrow—and to-morrow— andto-morrow. Salk forfourteen morrows. Andthe moonthathad lightedthe devotedyoung manto his fate—whatever itwasto be—had waued andleftthe sky clear for a newonemn no accountto be sesnthmughfortheirvictims orvictim- for howshall we classify Sally l

shalltreadthe innertemple of a gir l’s mind l Howahall

itbe knownthatshe herselfhasthe keytotheflolyof ll olies ithatshe is notdwelling inthe outer court, unconscious of her

functicn of priestess, its privileges and responsibilitiestOr,in plainer language, metaphors having been blowed in obedienceto a pmbablewish ofthe reader

’

a howdo we knowSallywasnctfalling in lovewiththe doctor l Howdowe knowshewasnotin lovewith him alieadytHowdid slie knowlAll we knowisthatthe morrowswenton , each one sweeterthanthe last, and allthe little incidentswentonthatwere such

nothings atthetime, butwere so sureto be borne in mind foras your sex is) gotlostinthewood, and never found

wheuethe picnic had oometo an anchortil l a'llthewings of

somewhere mr hownextdaythe catgotcaughtonthe shoulderof one of you i nd hadto be detached, hooking horribly, bytheother ; or howyou felt hurt (not jealous, but hurt) because she(or he) was decently civilto some new be (or she). and howrelieved you were when you heard it was Mr. or Mrs. Some-name:you’ve-forgotten. Why, if youwereto ask now,ofthatgreymanor woman whose lifewas linked with yours, maybe nowsixtyyears agone, did he or she have a drumstick, or go onto hamsandwiches i—or,was it really a bul l, after al l l—or , hadthat

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318'

SOMEHOW GOOD

the many glories cfthe pier -end, andthe sighteto be seuitherehad gota delightfultangle of floating weed (l m e m iealou s)

who knowst—and wastnrning itgentlyto and fro, and overand over, with intermittent musical caresses, thebank, whose counter-music spoketothe sea ofthe ages ithadtoiled invainto grind itdownto ssnd. Andthetide said,wait,

proper oonsistencyaccord ing to the local by-laws. But the pebbles said, please,no ;wewil l bide ourtime down hese, and you shall have ustoror makethe whirfing shoah of ua beatmto madnmthunderback yourvoice when itshouts inthe stormtothe seaman

’s

wife,who stops her ears inthe dark nightalonethatshe may notvery good ; buta daywould comewhenthe pebbles would besand, for allthat. And eventhe authoritywould bethe local by-laws. But it would sound upon some shore forever. So itke'

ptm saying. P robably itwas mistaken .

This has nothingto do with our story axceptthatitisproximatelythe substance of a statementmade by Sal lytoMiss Arkwright,whcwas interested, and had been promised itall over againto-morrow. Forthe presentshe couldtalk aboutthe pier andtake her audim ce for granted.

Butwas itthatK ensington Gaidens businessthatdidth eblack hair dry afterthree-quarters of an hour inthe sea ; becausetiny pebbles you can dmostsee into stickto your handg as you

SOMEHOW GOOD 319

and have to bekapt on thethatas she lay,

Didthe job l"whenwill you learnto be more

refined in yourways of speeoh i P m nota preeiem but— ‘ didthe job i' Beally, Sally l .

Observethe efiectofthree weeks in Franoe. The JuliusBradshaws can parlay like anything i No,My darling, don

’tbe a stuok-

, tupper buttell me sgain abou K ensington Gardens.“Itold you. Itwas iustlikethat. Jul ius and l werewalkingl‘he cnethatgoes up snd aorm and comes straightlike

this !” '1‘ishy, helped by a demonstration of bhie finger -tips,flue -transom“y.

oomingtill ahewas em so close, because ofthe 8pekeMomirnentway from Hertford Street,Mayfair, I cannotimagine l“Never mind, Tishy dear 1 It’a no use crying over spil led

milk. Whatdid she say i”ToJulius, of ccurse. Butitmclnded m whether or no.

We-ell , I do nctseem objeetto inthatexpression . Was itl”

Wel hen itcomesto meeting cne’s mother in

Gardens, nearthe Monument,Nov, ian’t

it, Sally 1"

What did your father say ! Didthe moeung inthe park i” Whatdo youthink he’ll saynow i"“Now! Well, you know, I

’ve gothis letter . He’s all right

aud rather dear, lthink. Whatdo yoathink, 8ally iBut with papa you never know .

He a fashion, exceptEgerton, onlyI’m never sure he doesn'tdo itto contradiotmamma."

no SOMEHOW GOOD

Why don ’tthey chuck each other snd have donewith itin em child letsfly straightintothe bull ’s-eye ;then addsthoughT ishy el idedthe absurd flgure of speech and ignored it. The

chauce of patronisingwas notto be lost.things difierently. But, of mum papa and msmma m veryodd. I usedto hearthemthrough my door betweenthe rooms

It wrangle,wrangle,wrangle , t, taght;

”allthrm ghthzuMght

“Y ou

’re surethey alwayswerequar rel ling i

0h dear ,yes. I usedto oatch allthe regular woids—eettleatopposite ends ofthe sametable,the daytime enceptoatand dogflWhatshall youdowhen yougo back l Go straightthere l

Ithink so. Juliusthinks so. After al apa’sthe master

of the house— legally, at any rate.“Shall youwrlte and say you

’re ooming i

Oh, no ! Justgo audtake our chance. We shan’tbe any

wherewhen we come. Whats’sthatlittle maidtalking aboutthere !” The a -bridesmaid isthree or iour yaids away, and idiscoursing eloquently, awordreminded her of atragic event

iswhatsheNever mindthe little poppet, Tisby,til l you’vetold me more

about it.” Sal ly is fnl l of ouriosity.

“Didthatdothe job ordid itnot? Thathswhatl wantto know”

I suppcse itdid, dear , indirectly. Thatwas on Saturdayafternoon. Next morning we breakfasted under a thundercloud

youcatoh itflthats an l’ atme outofthe corner of his eye. Thatwas bad enough, without one

’smarried sister up from the comitrytaking '

one asideto saythatsliewasn’tgoingto interfere, andcal ling onetowitnessthatelie had said nothing so far . All she

saidwas, ‘Me and mamma settle itbetween us.

’ ‘Settlewhatl '

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SOMEHOW GOOD322

certahily sa ,

‘said he emphatioal ly.

‘ButI should -dlsappmve.

‘

said l should be aa sorrwully torthat. ‘Oi oonrse you

would.’ said he. ‘Any dutifulmdaughter would. Butl don’tO

-i the stmngest

so on. No. 1 don’tthink we need be

Astor mamma, of coursa it wouldn’t bereasonableto espectherto . “-

“To axpecthertowhatl”“Weli, I was goingto say keep ber hair

-on. The expression

is Egerton’s. and I

’m sorryto say his expressions

‘ Supposesays the brideto the bridesmaid. And Sally adds :

“Yes.delicious littleMissArkwright, comeandtel l us all aboutittoo.

’

Whereupon Miss Arkwright’s musical tons are “

suddm ly silent,and her eyes,thatare so nearlythe colour ofthe sea behind her ,remain fixed on hertwo petitioners,their owner notseemingquite surewhether she shall wquiesoe, or coquette, or possihly“Tate me l flings herself bodily on Sally, who welcomes herwith, You sweet little darling 1”whileMrs. Jul ius Bradshaw,anticipating requisition, looks in her bag for another chocolate.They will spoil that child between them.

Now tell us about the fleece and dolly, says Sally. But thenarrator, allthe artistrising in her soul ,will have everything inorder.

mproach in hervoice .

I see, ducky. You told the fishes, and now you’ll tell us all

about do“I seepsvivdolly, because my bid sister Totey said ‘Yes.’

seeps in her fings. I seep in my nightgown . K em from

80. 0WGOOD 323

Hownice you mustbe l flmay ba saidto imbibethe atintervals. Tisbyher selfish girl.

seepvethythound. P apa seepsvethythound. Dol ly gotbetweenthetheets andtbe blangticks, and came out. Itwes adood dob. Dane suid itm s—a dood dob!”“Whatdid Jane say was a good job l P oor dol ly oomingout i” A long, grave h denies this. The constructivedificulties ofthetale are beyondthe young narrator ’s skill.She hasto resortto ellipsis.

_

Or I sood have been all over brang and sawdnss. Danesaid so.

n’tyou see. Sally, uys

compartment—the other side of theDolly came outatve stisses -sothe sadtale goes cn

andtved, dolly did. Dane puther head ontoty wivmypocket-banshtiii l”“I see, you little ducky, of course her head had come 03,aud she couldn

’tcry till itwas puton, was that it ! Don’tdance, butsay yes or no.

”This referredto a seatedtriumphal

danoethe chronicler indulged in athaving putso much safelyshe decided on sass as the properthi

zlgito as but it took time. Then she added suddenly :“But

I z e éses.

”8al lytook a good long draught, and said

Of course youdid, darling. Y ou shan’tbe done outofthat!”

But an addendum or appendix was forthcoming.

Mymummar says I musttate dollyto be socked for a pennywhere the man isvivbuttons—and the man let T otey lookfroo his pygless, and see allve long sips, sits miles long— andI shall see when I’m a glowedoup little girl, like Totey

Coastguald ’s telescope, evidently,

” says Sally.

up atthe flagstafi. Six miles long is howfar ofitheywere, notthe length of the ships at all.”

I sawthat. Butwhatcn earth werethe sooks i Does hiswife sell doll’s clothes 3”

We musttryto findthatout. And Sally sets herselftethe task. Butit’s none so easy. Some mystery shrouds.theapproachto this passage in dolly’s future life. It is connected

21— 2

324 SOMEHOW GOOD

atriumph fo her own dramatic power .

but in end cn cmditicnthatallseemgalvanised atan ear ly dsté.

svitals and sewher uptoqualify her forthis experienoe.

sothey depart.“Whata desr httle mite ! saysMrs. Julius -

; andthentheyletthemite lapse. and go backtothe previousquestion.“No, Sally dear, mamma will be mammatothe end oithe“Howen earth can ltelL '

I‘ishy dear l Y ou hsd gotto ‘any

dutiful daughter would,’ etoetera. Cutalong l Oomes of.

in love, I suppose.

” This lastis a refleotion onthe lowstate ofTish s reasoning powers.

ell, justafterthat,when l was to kiss him and go,

papa, me, and said he hsd to say, only hemustn’ttoo long bwauwhe hsdto finish a paper m lthink,B .C.

’

Thatwas it. That one’ll do beautifully. Go ahead I”

Well— of course it doesn’t matter. It was like papa

,any

—whathe saidthen l Itwas aboutAuntto‘I wish itto be

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320 SOMEHOW GOOD

thatletterwlll do]ustsswel lto-morrcw. and 8mitbmustwaitasthesedidntegratethemoral

sense of responl ibility, and make us so oblivious of muslcalcriticismthatwe acceptbran bands and le serenaders,whito or black, and even accordions and hurdy-gurdies, as

intrinsic ieatures cfthe easeabIe—the lsmah i cfthetime mdgivethem a penny ifwe’ve gotcne.

Thatis and will beMr . sne s. Juliusorthosethree days or so.whenmbave gnwnquite oldto

if you add memory oflovethatwas on no accountto

be shown or declared or even hinted at—and or atiresome hitchor parmtin full blow, youwiil have

remain inthe mind ofOonrad Vereber .

stature mightbe It ielito msdnm boretoo hardthey would do well, hmceforward,to hold itartiflxial‘

l

uy

place. ButRosalind and her daughtei- forgave it

Howthe besttime ofthe morning, chick lWelL I can’thelp it.She is an old cat.You’re a perverse little monkey, kitten ; that’s what you

are !~ Rosalind with an excuse -or caress, itmay bein her laugh.thatold iady, both of us. Do you know,to-day shewasquite

m som owsoon,

“Im.thatthe ornnibus l” says Sally.

She continues z“l don ’tbel ieve in musicalchick !

He’s chsnged his identity— Julius Bradshawhas. I ean’tbelieve he wasthatspooney boythatusedto come hankeringafter me atchurchW” Andthe amusementthis memory makes

aboutSally’s lips asthetwo siton into a pause of silence

e face of her mother doesnot catch the amusement, butremains grave andthoughtful . She does notspeak ; butthehandsome eyesthatrestso lovingly onthe speaker are ful l ofsomething fmmthe put—some recordthatitwould be au utterbewildermentto Sal lyto resd—a bewildermentfar beyond

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Why, of course itdoes, mother darling. The vation '

l

Justthink nowi Suppose he could rely on a night.that!”Y es,thatwould be nice.

” Butthese is a preoccupation in hertone, aud 8d lywants synq>athyWhat’s my maternal parentthinking about, as grave as a

judge ! Ja erniah’s al l right, mammy darling l He’s notkilledin a railway accident. Catch bi'a l ”the pcssibility of mishaptothe other . Itmightbe described as

I wasn’tthinking oi Which istrue in a sense, as

8 i E 5:

g 3 2 E .s E

r

SOMEHOW GOOD ssl

you. I .mthinking aboutyou snd Oonrad Vereksr ” Forsoue mysterious reasonthismentien of his name in full sesmstoOur own private opinion is that anyone who closely observes

likethe forsgoing. Vsry rarely indeed does a human creaturesay what it means. Exhaustive definition, lucid statements. con

foreignto its nature.

The congeniai soil in whichthe fruitof lntel ligence ripens is

Suggestion , amlthe wirelesstelegraphs ofthe mind arethemeans by which it rejoices to communicate. Don’t try to saywhat you mean— because you can

’t. You are not clever enough .

T ryto meauwhatyouwantto say, and leavethe dictionarytaks eare of i .tselfThis littl e bitof ph ilosophiaing of ours .has justgiven 8al lytime, pondering gravely withthe eyebrows all atrestand lips

atmto deal fiththe developsd podfion created bythe meresubstitution of a name for a nickname.

Thus

inthe girl’s cheeks. Or is itonlyths sunseti Then Bosalind

saysto herselfthatperhaps she has made a mistake, hsd betterhave leftitalone. Perhaps. Butit’s done now. She is nottu

gging and solemn over it. She speakswith a laugh.

Its notmy ter I ’m afraid of, Sallykin. She’s

gotthe key ef the position. It’s that dear gocd boy.

"

not gota birthday, because it’snotleap-year.he’s notquite half-past seven.”“

Then itwon ’tdoto go by birthdays. Even atthirty-one,though, some boys are notold enoughto knowbettsr . He’svery inexperienced in some“

A babe unborn—only hs canwrite prescriptions. Onlydon

’tdo youmy good. (“Well,

don’t”) Y ou see. he hasn

’tanyoneto '

gototo ask aboutthingsexoeptme. Of eourse l cantell him, ifyou cemetothati”

8

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granted, or hadholiday, andthe wine-trade wasto some of hisvaluablethattime. NotalL bsoausscan do so much bytelegraph . Consequentlywithths rabbite made of shel ls on each side, andthe model ofready for actionDavid muclitoo smal l fcrthe stitches he was compesed of.and even Gol iath notbig mough

of

to havetwo lips— thispiecswon beeome a magaz ine of yel lowtelegrams,which blewItwas onthe sscond of Fenwick’s days cnthisvisitthat an

unumal stom oftelegrama as hs came into breakfastafteran early dip inthe seqeonfirmedths statementinthe paper oithe evening beforsthatW. and S.W. breeses mightbe erpsctedlater. “Whid fieshening,”wasthe phrase inwhichthe forecastthrewdoubts onthe permsnency cf its recentreferencesto a

meteorology as imposturs whenthe returningentered, and postponed ituntilthetelegramre- instated and the window closed, so thatcome in withthe hotrol ls and and

peacs reigned

goingto doto-day iI lmowwhatl ’m goingto do first. I

’m goingto swim roundthe

they’ll never put the machines downto-day.

T hiswas ha mother .

SOMEHOW GOOD 336

It’s halfths fim,

ita little rough.

”

ell , kitten, l suppcss you’ll gu your own wayshall bevery glsd when you’

rs back in your machins.

eup withths chip, and lots of milk.

Y dangerous monkey, ,Sarah and I shall oldaud

o

hm

agg about. Andthen you’ll bshwhppy,Bosey, eli l“No, I shan’ti We shall have you gstting capsiz‘ed,too. (I

No, sotlittle ones—bi’g ones l )Whatathing itisto bs ocnnsctedwith aquatic characters l”“Never you mindths mother , Jeremiah. Y ou gstthe boat.I should like itto dive oii .“All right, I’ll getVercher, and we’ll row out. The doctor’snotbad as an oarsman . Bradshawdoesn’tmake much of it.(Yes, thanks ; another egg. The brown one preferred ; don

’tknowwhy !)dive ofi.

”

All rhich was duly done, and Sally got into greatby scrambling up intothe boatwiththe help of a looped

thatwas speakingwhen ahe dived only justending oif l Surely,after so long a plunge dewmdowmthatvoice should have passedento some newtopic.

For that black and shining merpussy, during one deep diveintothe under -world oftraoklssswatsrslostan appointment with a friend, and had settled in her mindthat, ss soon as shewas cnce more in upper air , shewould mention ittothe crewoithe boatshe had dived from . Shewas longenough under forthat. Then up she eame intothe rise and fall

e head like a sudden l orsley, and as soon as she

and life and hepe fromwhieh carswss an eutesst,flungthewimh andthewaves.pierthis afternoon.

"

This nams

“A lady for you l She’s goin

igto ber dellto

h amm a penny. She'll cry we don go g so

ywill

Then we swstgo, elearly. The doctor mustcometo see

fair, or dolly may get electrocuted, like me.” Fenwick very

rarely spoke of his aocidmtnow; mostlikelywould nothavedonesothistimebutfor a motive akinto hiswife’

s nettle-graspof it, andweuld nothavs her

supposs he shirked spsaking cf it.Butthe laugh goes for a momentoutcfthe iacs downthere

inthewa ndthepearlsthatglittered inthe sun havevanhhedandthe eyes are gravs beneaththeir brews. Only for a mornuit;then allthe Io reley is bsck in efidenceW- and Sally is petificning iotonly one mors plunga andthm she reallywil l

'

swimin. Them pmtem butthe lo reley has her way z her sortthat hali-crown. P robably he,too, oniy saysthisto acoentuatethe not-neeeeearily-to-be-avoided character ofthe subject.naturally enfomed speculation onthe strangs period of

which he knswnothing. T ims did butlittleto minimisethepainful eharacter of such spsculations, although itseemed .tomakethsm lsss and less frequent. Vu'eker said

because he fsltthia partly becauss he was so

Y ou nsedn’trowaway yet, saidthsvoiee fromthewatsr .

The maohines are miles ofi. l ook here, l’m goingto swimthe other sids l”

dons ! Do oonsider your mothsr a little l

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her

you consul ted me, my dear— Iadvised that .Mr . a wick should have

SOMEHOW GOOD

sssmsto him a gale from heaven.

m

mm

Y ou sse somsl am med

flie mvym : Eatmemcry oftwo m -browned

“fl y

me.” Ths dcctcr resisted a P romtheveryItis so otteuthe easewithwemen whc have passsd a geod

deal citime in lndia.

"

Arswoma itiringwhenthqhave pa-ed a good deal oitimsb h al l '

”

“My dear Oonrsd, is iH ibsly I sheuldtalk such nonsmss i

story. Butit wouldaccountfor it—lully l“ever,the speaber was gettingthe bitin hertesth, and earthwould knowvery soon. Dr . .Ounrad was ocuscious atthismommtofthe sensaticn whieh had onoe made flally speak of

hb mamma as anOctopus. Shethrswoutatmtacle.

-sdshaw’s storymay bs nothingand ntsngle him if he slipped ckar fremthis m surrenderedat discretion. Whatm Julius Bradshaw’s story i Amcstuncandidway of putting it,torthe factwas he had hearditall fmm Sal ly inthe strieteststrictestconfidssics. Sothe insincsrity

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ol lattiee structuie aboutitnetcar boyhcod. StSmnsnwu ei anotber scheoh or hsd bseemebaby).youdid so kneel. and as like as nct

itwouldn’tcome ofl. Anyhow, Miss

had a icokthiough aswell , , indeed,

But'te console iu forthe lc- cfths solidtimbeis cf usthatthebroken into b ods of dm ching foamvisitors

al -looking pieoe of cage

outinthe open channel ,

construction of swine“ices-house, or Indiandescription is a random one—that lent itself,

or was lesitbythe company, atieally a:inalmcstneminal figure,and suppossdtc bs desired by pcssessors cf one psnnyto partwith it. For a penny-in -the-slotyou could learn your

It had b‘lk ic candies. yo u

ads curlWa 'm i fthemthatm up,and anybody ch em i Buto o

. Andthe. wasyznbuneh ofand age n dathe Victim who , from motim not

Self upontoto ri -i re. m umi iutGwenny’s duu‘lption had

been wrong in one point. For itwe; yourself, the him ,

Now, this machine was in charge of a young woman, who wasalsoths custcdian of an invisibic lady, who wastc bs ssen ior

hinted,by her Nurss Jans and baby,whossviolsnttempei- hadccndsmnsd his psrambulator, and compel lsd his attendanttocarry him—a o she said—wers befoiehandnamed. For security agaimtpossible disappoinwas iesortsdtothatdolly wouldn’tcry if hsr mammatalksdseriously to her, and it was pointed out thatMr. Fenwick was

ii 5“

344 SOMEHOW GOOD

of an infant’s love ofvain repstiticns. Butal lthess four eventshave done.to last. Fermnately, a yeung lsdy she recognised, and a gentiebeach, bscaine interested in baby,whotook no notics ofthem,

and hiccnppsd. Ent, iben, his eyesweretco besdyto have anyGwendolen,whe continusd notto ioar, and presmtlyvolunteeredMy mummar ais a-comin

’

, andMissNinsdals ais a-eomin’

,

and Miss Ninedale’s mummar sis a-comin’, end ButNurseJane interposed, onthe groundthatthe larb knewalreadywhowas coming. She had no reescntor supposingthis ; butagenes-sl atmosphere od omniscience emong giown-up clames is

desirable.Gwesmywentcntothe eonsideraticn ol aause z withouttaking

Te sss dclly danvalised forn

h psnny Mymummar sayssse—sall—divme a penny”

will be l— Isn’tshs athatie nies i” Observe Lotitia’s family name for her hmband,

born ofcatdey’s.

Y es, itis. They are

hasthe misfortuneto fal l in Nurss’s good

is ealledto cider .

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SOMEOWGOOD

M fi fitmh ble mthsr of a lovnble dsnghter end m

fl w i desth edto bm m sfin mom

h fi equ ofthe Jufiua dnhm before ehe

m u s-pa Muthe putts nm wtb soene of

-m ker—l he

“ GOOD m

ym piek fitheM and dmp. She pntetheeewords bym

mhz h r Gwm yuem hter onMan i a - who isto be eeen cstohingthe hig grey mul let

hsdn’tosnghtit, m m —notwhenthe pnrty errived onthe

strange“deck of the pier thewet-ar reaches at high tide,and pem d ee m esionel mollmto grs a onthe floor d ,withpromises of e beth nextmonth . The gneen nefleoted lightthe endleea -tiee and fnl l ofthewavee Gwenny o unld see bvithoutgetting down) throughthe floor-gape, seemed to be urging the“gentleman to give it up, and poinmunet sun down here, and didn

’t mean to be caught. Buthe

m m m m m m M M“M um-m ou mn if k b eqiflayfltatflwdoereh he fish.“Whata jol ly haader one oofl hn oben hese !arm No-«b oky l I w- ‘tp-tyon dmtoma

Thet’s notathhg ier httb gbhto do."“novel - get”ashore:

Oh, no ! It’s his ma

butthe Goodywonld have keptay irom hie eppointment.

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increaseslevervictin s. Bntshe wasn’t

Y on and l conldtabe itfullqoflyonr flnM Jnlius.m m mm m m ovm m I eonld

borb actwy cppliedtodan sel in oharge were

ceisedthe opportnnitytothmstintheto cry for memy—d iothe ! Buthil fipedm hd and hhqu glan d m d his hfl ehook.

“Howcana m iaht”snid 8aBy.who wassuch

'

He said. Whatdidj wdethatfor, 8an htIstood itfer dx n enths.

AMSnfly l epfied z“I or shsme, yonwioked etel-y l

you’d hem electvoontd onoe,too l

m m pu mm

ao,- withvhilo hn m u lespJn ml - nho l honld uk fior hhn

when showoko up . .nd nhegloptnthu lou¢efl hmThem inwhioh dwu d hu motbu lentthm ndm fio itmM odifying.“You mustn’t lotbutit. doctor.” said Rosalind,

k naptnintofthe incmdnlom inthe minds ' Feuwiok md Bn dshsv.Bntm hthoughtthe otha m heubwholqmd neflher mspeoudhimself of insincerity.

opented on. Thatwould do lzter , though. Shem ld getP ro-yand mhke himtell her all abontit. Inthe oom'ae

nud s grutahskqand mm mbudthnthe hnd no end ol lemto m . ML fl Mra Jnlim Bud-hswmddm lythought,

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som ovGOOD 8“

out. The

“flo

w-M elan ie“! B r u no-11nd

nothing !”.M .-n it?

Whu m d m !"

h n ofln n ddnnb !”

m a m- cheeta h

dipped fiom it,It’a gono now. Itw sm d m m I luven'tbeon

having fim n bh ly”“Oom and dtdovm lovo. M m . don’tfidgefl What

pala—thinh Boa d—orm itobontWDou ho look h itSuppose go ontfior otnmThoy om downtotho ietty,mediod ndvint. 80011 a

whstdo think mymind hooked itonto, ol d lthingl inthe ” Rosalind

23—2

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SOMEHOW GOOD366

oonldn'tgm of oonn e. Why, e big wheel l mtryingto

ltototwentelowly—elowly— likgthe m venhhing . And

“Weethere enything elee !” Ehtire oomeehnentof d erm iell

N 3"

together Onethingo md thing -l l upl eeyj loefi nd l

’

“He wu in it, einging end all . Butthe wholething

mixed np m dqueem'. Itellwengqnife mddm ly. And l shohave losthim outof it, u one loeea e dreem; if ithedn’tbeenseeing him in iswiuu'h nd. Itwee l omethingto hold on by.

"Q

“Ithink l do. I bsd fiozgoteen whstl m dm ing ebom

whm l wohe onthewfe end ulkedthstnomeme. Butl held

“Ithink oo. Why '

ehonld itnotlButit’a all gone olem awuy egd xfl And l can

’tremembu'

eqytbing of itetall—m dtherewu heepe l”‘Never mh d l Ii itm red itwill oomebe

.

fient!”’l mind h id dovnthis mle for iteelf— to

wtexwtly uthoughthere hod beed nothingto ieu . Even ifellthe puthnd been easyto feoe itwould have ehmnk fiomouggeetiom . So moughtfi e m hm fi pe hsps with s litfle

bring“plnnp hil hxjnred mind into mme oheotio oonfnfion. Muterto do nothing l

of hiumemory, juetnowof ell

on his umo—fi r itwu hio—pemed in his rotstionswith one

Mng defind he m plaoed on a moml equ lity with hilnowdying outfis juetas much e proteotagaimtthewey eooislod er pa h mm from mm u itin en eeknowledgmentof iunecessity.

a E.

gThey stoppedrepl ied,

“Itwas K reutsknmmer . 0h deer l”rsther es onewhoHe sewher distress instantly, andwas all aliveto soothe it.Don’t be frightened, darling love I

”he cried, and then his great

good-humoured laugh broke into the tenderness of his speech,without spoiling it. He was so like Gerry, the boythatrodeswaythatday in the dog-cert,when there was only m e.forthe gir

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“Nowe sbss’tl Y ou oniy havetowaita minmte and get

home, leavingthe othersto maketheir own psce. Beoause itwas a case of ohanging everything, and dinner was always so

early atSt. 8eunans“Letthem go on in front. Iwmttotalktom DnOonrsd.

”

Rosalind. perhapathmh his attentionwun’twander if shetahesa fim wne gdoem ’tfed sum aboutitotherwise. Maybe Sally isfrom without. She continues :“I have somethingtote ll you.

Itis nothing butwhatyou have preis coming

oughtto say l am afraid or l hope ith so.“Butareycusure itis so i

Y es, listen ! Ithas all haprmed sinoe

Andthen she narratedtothe doctor ,description of itin ful l ; andthenthe inoidentofthe Baron atSonnenberg,butlessin detail . '

l hen shewentomwalking slower ,notto reaohthe housetoo soon.

“Now,this isthethingthatmahes me sc sure itis m olleotion :justnow, aswcwere oomingtothe jetty, he ssked me suddenlywhatwasthe Baron's name.

I gave awrongversion of it, and he oorrected me.

”This does

notmeetan assent.Thatwas nothing. He hsd

'

heardthink muoh more ofthe story itself gthe incidentofthewheeland so on . Are youquite sure you never repeatedthis Germangentleman’s story toMr . Fenwick i”

E’m . . l

”

So, you see,’ wantyouto heip metothink .

361

Come. come, doctor ! Don’t be ridiculous. Say Bally !

young man’s heertgave a responsive little jump, andthento iteelf,“Butperhaps l ’m only a iamilytriend l”

down.”However, on either ccunt,“Saliy”was nicer than“Miss

“Sallywld me sbcutthe eleotric mtsrtainmentatthe pier

end. I ’m sorry l min ed it. Butifthat’s what’s done it,Fenviek mustts-y itsgain.

”

Hm ’ttry itagain l”No—m sttry itagain. Why, do youthink itbsd for himresnesnber lto“l don’tknowwhattothink.

Oh no ; beddQ Gc ry im’tontof itinthis csse. Net cat

his mind. .“I didn’tmeanthatway. I meantexoluded from psrtioiwOh ym lquite understand. Nowfistm doctor . I want

yonto do me a kindness. Say nothing, evento 8ally,till ltoll you. Sm oothing !”Y oumaytrustme. Rosalind feels no doubtonthatpoint,the more sothatthe little passage aboutSally’s name has landed

her atsome haven ofthe dootor ’s oonfldenoethatneither kncwsthe name of justyet. He is notthe firstmenthathas ieltawelcome in sometrifling word of avery epeoial daughter’smother. Butwoe betothe mother who is premature and

spoils sll l P oor P rosy istoo far goneto be a risky snbjeotofexperiment. Buthe won’t say anything— not he !“After all,you know,

” he continues,“it may all turn out a fal se alarm.

Or false hopeflhould l say l”

No answer . And he doem’tpreastor one. He b in a land o!

“What have and your medical adviseraboutal lthe these in mid-ooean l

” m icktorgetsthelate eventwith pleasnrs. 8ally, with her hairthreateningtocome down-inthewind, is enoughto stampsds atroop ol nighta

P oor P rosy l”h allthe answerthatcomes atpresent. P er

P oorerthan usuaL Sarah !” Butreally justatthis cornerit's asmnch as youcan h

moiouhawakim wgetalong atall ;to say ottheway indulge inturn

on you and your faee inthe oh,thevioiousenergy ofthatatray rlbbcn l Fancyl

havingto use up one handto holdthatlButa lull okmewhenthe corner was fairlyturned, inthe lee

of a home ol many nets,where masses oitoam-fleok had found a

m pite, and leisureto oollapse. a bubhle atatime. Y ou couldseethe prism-soale eaoh hadto itseli, each oithe mil lions, if youlooked closemough. Collectively,their appearanoewasslovenly.

A chestnut-ooloured man a year old,who looked ss if he meantsome dayto be a boatswain , was eeated on a pavementthatdthis foam . However , even for such hands as his—and 8al lyvoioqthoughfinthe lull .“Y es—a little. Pve-toM outall aboutP i-osy.

Found out abouthim i’”

I’ve made himtalk abontitIt’s all abouthis ma and a

young lsdy he’s in love with” Fenwick’

s ha l or h’m l orboth joinedtogether , was probably only meantto handthespeaker m butthetone made her suspicious. She asked himwhy he saidthat, imitating it; on which he answered, “Whyshouldn

'the l”in lovewith me, you’

re mistaken .“Very good ! Qut ulong, Sarah laboutthe young lady he’s in lovewith ”“Wel l , he as good astalked abouther , anyhowl 1 under

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E 5‘E E i

in time—iorthe reoosd olthiswe should have belated intermittentnewspaper ever so long after .

Butthewind notreached its ideal when, atthe end cl spleasantevm ing, 8al ly and her belongings decidedthattheymustjustdowntothe beach and seethewaves beloreto bed. am

’tthere a mocn i Well— yes,therewas a moon,butycu oouldn

’tsee it. M M a difim cutah ly, butnota oonclusive one. Itwasn’ta bed sortof a night, althoughitoertainly was blowing, andthe waves would be grm d seen

close. Sothe partyturned outto go downtothe beach. ItincludedtheJul ius Bradshaws andin as usual . Butthe doctor found outthatitwas pasteleven,

grand ifycuoould haveeemthem fromthe beechm r as much cf itasthey had leltyou

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Notofthewhole of it. Bntof ae much as he could faoe ha 'e

He was sothoroughly waked bythemthata difioulty hecreticn, and gave himselfup a helpless prisoner inthegrasp othisown past.

waters ;then a hasymemory of

a

m

mutasleep, or would be soon. He would

how he oouldo

tel lthe'

storyO

he could notas a motivetorce in hie former life, withcutthe detu‘

ls d his

was hardlytc bethoughtof Ho would conceal itwhile hecould,though, pr0 oOne o

’olock by his watch onthe dressing-table underthe

candle. St. 8ennansmusthave struck unheard. Nowonderinthis wind l Surely ithad rather increesed, if anything.

Fenwick paced with noiseless care about the little room he couldnotbe still . The sustained monotone ofwind and sea was on lycrossed nowandthen by a sound of iall or breakage,to chmniclesome little piece of mischief achieved brthe formerand raisethe latter ’s hopes of some such suecess in itsturnTwo o’clock by the dressing-table watch, and still the noiseless

slippered feetofthe sleepless man came andwent. Little fearof anyone else hearing him l Forthewind seemedto have gotnpthe bitthatwas predicted of it, and had certainly goneround to the suth’

ard. If any sleeper could clingto nuochsciousness through the rattle of the windows and the intermittent

thewind ncne would be aliveto it. Itwould be los‘tintheThree o’clock l Did you,wbo readthis, ever watchthrough a

nightwith something on your mind youareto beforcedto spefi of

debutcf a reluctentmartyr inthe arena ofthe Coliseum i Didspeed ofthe houmthe cruelty cfthe etriking clocks ! Were

closed between you and your lion , asthe gatethatthe eager

eyes of Romewere fixed onwas still a respite fi'om his l Fenwickwas; keenly conscious. Andwhen on a sudden he héard with a .

start that a furtive hand was on the old- fashioned door-latch,he, knowing it could be none other than . Rosalind, sleepless inthe sh rm, feltthatthe lion had stolen a march on him, andthathe mustmake up his

870

necessity, said Alacrity.

'l ‘here could he no doubtof it, on her

For he had recollected, look you,thatatthetime otthatstone-throwintothe rapids above hewas

'

a

somehowesparated from hiswife. thewaythathe knewthiswasthathe could remember plainlythatthe reason he did nctthen a married man, he could remember neither the wife he hadmarried nor anything connectedwith her. He stro ve hardagainstthis partial insightinto his past,which eeemedto him strangerthan complete oblivion. But he soon convinced himself that aslighthasyvision he conjured up of awedding years and yearsago was only a reflex image

— an automatic reaction— from hisrecent . For did notthe wraith of his presentwifequietlytake i place beforethe altarwhere by rights he shouldhave been ableto recall her predeoesscr l Itwas al l confusion ;no doubt of it.But his mind had travelled quicklytoo ; for when Rosalind

looked in athis door he knewwhathe hadto say, for her sake.

Gerry darling, have u never beento bed 1”For a bit,dearest. I found l couldn’t sleep, and gotup.

Isn’titawfuLthe noise i One hears itso inthis house.

WelL I suppoee it’sthe same in any housethatlooks straightover the sea.”

asmvm ’tyou sleptOh yes, a little. Butthen itwoke me. Then lthoughtl

heard you moving.

”

“Sc l was. Now, suppose we both gotc bed, andtryto

sleep. I shall have to, because of my candle. Is that all you’ve

got left 1That’s all, and it

’s guttering. And the paper will catchd irectly.

” She blew it outto avoidthis, and added :“Stop aminute and I’lltakethe paper ofi, and make itdo for a bit.”You can have mine. Leave me yours. ’ For Fenwick’s

was, even now, after burning so long, the better candle-end ofthe two. He took it out of the socket, and slipped its.

paper roll06, an economy suggested by the condition of its fellow.

Butas he did so his own lightflashed full on his face, and

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WI titbestto letyou have yourSally No, leave the pot alone. Mrs. Lobjoitsome freah coflee.

”

“Who'sthe other cup iVereker . He came into breakfast;to see ifwewere

away.

”

“I see. Of coume. Where arethey nowiThey ! . oh, him snd Sal ly l They saidthey’d go and see

if 'l‘xshy andher husbandwera blown away.

”

“WelL I have had my slesp outwith avengeance.quartertoten.

”

“Never mind,darling . So muchthe better . Let’s have a

anxious eyes. She sees aMe less haggardthanthe one she sawlsstnighhtor is itnotdaylightand has notthewind fallentocloud-shadowthatare chasing each other ofithe

p

Britishfla nnel ! And has nota native oi eighty years of age (whichhe igncres) justopenedthe streetdoor on his owu responsihili'yand ahouted alongthe passagethatpra’ans are largethismorning. He is more an institutionthan a man , and is

freely spoken of as“The Shrimps.” A flavour of a T riton

who has gottoo dry onthe beach comes in withthe sea

air, and also a sense of prawmg emptied from a woodenmeasure they have been honourably shaken down into , fallingon a dish held outto reoeivethem by an ambesssdor of

Butfor al lthatthe rising life ofthe hours andthe subsiding

construets for removal a conglomerate of plates and efleteQ ?“‘Goneto sqerry i Notvery likely. What’sthe meamng

ofthati Explain.”“And didn 'tyou saythey had goneto flnd outiftheywereI suppcsedthey changedtheir minds.” Rosalindtalks

absently, as ifthey didn’t matter. All herthoughts are on her

husband. But she doesn’t fancy catechising him about hisexparlences inthe night, neither . She had better lethim alone,and await new oblivion or a healthy revival.He is also disbuit, andwhen he spoke of 8ally andthe doctcr

he had shown no interestin his own words. His eyes do notkindle athem in his oldway, and mightbe seeing nothing, for allthere is inthemtotel l of it. He makesvery shortwork of a

cup cf cofiee, and a mere pretemce of anything else ; andthen ,

suddenly rousing himselfwith a shake, saysthiswon’tdo, andhe mustgo outand geta blow. All right, says Rosalind, andhe

’d betier getDr . Conr-ad, and make him go for awalk. Onlythey are notto fal l overthe olifl.“Fall over the clifll” repeats Fenwick. He laughs. and she

is glsd atthe eound.

“Y ou cculdn

’tfall overthe cliflagainstsuch awind asthis. I defy anyoneto.

” He kisses her end goes

874

out, and ahe hears him finging, as he huntstor a sflokthathasvanished, an old French song :

Auprts deemablcnd-s

Oomme e’estbon—e’estboa—c’estboa.

Only, when he has ioundthe stick and his hat, he doo notgo at butcomes baek, and says, as he kisses hor again :

I’m al l right." Which musthave been entirely brain-wave or thought-reading, as Rosalindhsd said never aword of her anxiety, so far .

Fenwickwalked awaybrisklytowardstheflagstaflwhere Sallyand Vereker

'had been looking outto sea. Inthe dassling sunshine—allthe more dan lingtorthe suddenness oi its come andthe revir al cf memcry had bmughthack iIf he muld notsucceed altogether in puttingthemasidg aat

sunshine, and Sal lyto come. However. before he reachedtheflagstaflhemetthedoctor, and heardthath{iss8al ly had ectual lygone downtothe machinesto see if Gabriel wouldn'tputonedown nearthe water, sothatshe could run a littleway. She

house and putthem on

and walk downtcthe sea in a olcak. Itwasquite ridiculous,such

“She'll be all safe,”was Fenwick’s ccmmmtwhen he heardthis. Theywon’tlether havethe l prkey-twill knickm andthe shortskirt. Shealways leavesthemtherete dry. She

’s all t. Let’stake aturn acrosstheflelds ; it’stoowindy forthe

All of us had. A'

cutthree inthe mm-ning lthcughtthenousewould blowdown. Andtherewas a door ba

l

ngedmtc”“Y ou had a worse nightthanthe restcf us. Look atme

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SOMEBOWGOOD“Thatiswhatevc yone says ifyeu afi hhn if he evertasted

m achine. ButVerakerthinkstalk’s sake, and humeurs him . He can gettothe memcry

subiectlater .“A t el mine, be saya, who’s bern living atwas me

o

abouta fruitthatwasverysz ‘dthere,he calledthern They mustbevery unlike by his

tion.

”

asthcughtryingto recall it. Dr . Gcnrad

He aaidthey arewhattheJaps call jel ly-plums—g reatbigfruit,very juicy.

”“I know. They

’re persimmens, or a sortof persimmons.We use

id

o

to getbts efthem m fi hfornig and even up atthein him wuteo-mukedte ucape mticqandthere oould be no

silent, for a fewpsces. Then he spokeyour head. It

is justss ltold you itweuld be. Itis all coming baek.

" Helaid his lefthand on his eompanicn

’s shoulder esthey steod

side-by-side cnthe chalk pethway, and with his rightfeltthewristthatwas nearesthim . Fenwickwas in aquiver al lthreughhis frame, and his pulsewas beating furicusly ss Dr . Conrad’s

But he spoke with self-control, and his stepwas steady astheywsl ked en slowlytogetherthemomentafter.“

Itis all coming back. Ithae come back. I shall remember

all in time.” Then he repeated Vereker’s words,

“I must keepmy head.

in silence.

speak yet.would only make it worse.

spokeundertone—a m ice ef acquieseence, er rather ebedience. “Perhaps itwill notbe so badwhen l remember mers.

”Theywalked

to all appearance sbruckmnce ertwioa on some uewunwebomevein ofthought, judging frem a startor a momentarytenaicn ofthe armthatnowheld his, decidedthatitwould be aswelltospeakte him new, and delay no longer .

Butmuchthatmustdisquietitfltcam etbe etherwise.

”

De youmindtel ling me l”No, -surely, dear fellow|—surely l willtell yeu. Why sheuld

I noti ButwhatI sayte you dm 'trepeatto Sally or her

mother . Notjust now, you knew.

‘ Wait l”

Therewas a recess inthewall of mortar-bedded flintsthatranalongthe path,whichweuld give sheltertmmthewindto lightacigar. Fenwick stopped andtook two from a cigar-case, Sally'spresentto him lastflflstmas, and cfimed cneto Dr . 00nrsd,who, however, didn’t wantto smoke so early. He lighted hisown inthe m ess,with on ly a slighttremcr ofthe hand, barelyvisib le evento Vereker ’s exper-ienced eye ; andthen, as hethrewemotion, though alwayswith an apparentsense ef his bewilder

I amthatman Harrissonthatwas in allthe newspaper-s justVereker failed forthe mommtto graspthe degree of his ownastonishment, and usedthe residuum of his previous calmnessto say :

m“Ithatman i l mean oWlte say‘ l sasthatman i’

{kinewl wssthatm in my old dream I knewitnew, inone.

"

presen u

“Letfl’sbe steady !" Fenwick’s voice, this, has a

sense of ease in it, aspitched ontheshall getita l l

doctor recovered his presence efmind.

“Stop a minnte,”

he.tell anything until you’re clearer abcutthe whelething .talkto me now. Waittill youare in a stateto knewhow

youwishtotell '. ButFenwickwould have ncne ofthis.ook his heed decidedly.

Mtalkto some cne aboutit. And my wife l can

Why not iYou will see. You need not be frightened oftoo many -con

fldences. I haven’t recollected any grave misdemeanours yet.I’ll keepthemtc myselfwhenthey come. Nowlistentewhat

I can and do recollect pretty clearly.

” Heif his flrstitem was shaky ;then said, Y es l—cf oourse.

” Andwenton asthoughthe pcintwere cleared up.

5555?

B

is

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remdnsd unbrehsn. Bewdtsd a mommtandthmqohs lna way.“l em rsrnsmbsr accus to m

Yuck.

Of course,

married man l”

Itaeesns—eoM me—perfectly ineredibleinerediblethatyou shi e ldhave no recollection ataflofthe marriags,“divom erwhatever itwas. .

forgotten ef

“Oh per-teeth !“W ’s my case. When I - tryto

mm rries l knowl masthave had atthattime inYou will

needs atthetime have bem a happiness and a delight. And yetitnowpresents itselfto me es an er cruciatingtcrment—ss part

88!

whieh l hadtc bs an aeter, butcfwhich land eonfusien.“Whatwas itt

ItI helt’s likethh . I am ata m

trees inthe heat.ltstruck

of his ewn self-controL heanswered :

I sse s girl or weinan getle. —beganto be a little afraid

gvingway. Howm youtel lwho she oughtto have

been !”

Fenwick resumed hiswalk, and when he replied did so in avoioethathad lesstension in it, astheugh something less painfulhadtouched his mind“It's rum, I t Butthe wholething isteo rumtebearthinking —at,to beartalking sbout. Astotheexactreasenwby l knewit’s nother ,that's simple enough l”“Whatis itl”

BecauseMm Fenwick gete outofthetrain—myhere, Sally

’s mother. And it’s just the same with theapproacht'o a memorythatconnects itseli with it—a

shadowy, indistinctceremeny, also inthe heat, much moi e indistinct than the railway-station. My real wife’s imageRcsey

’s, here—justtakeethe place atthe altar wherethe other

cne should be, aud prevents my getting attar . Itisthe onlything diatmakesthe r'r am bearab .

Vereker said nothing. He did notwantte disturb auy l ul l

882 SOMEHOW GOODstm

u

i

rdhis companicn

’smind. After a alightpausethe

I acceuntfor itseemsto me sufieient. I cannoton perhaps l sheuld

express itbetter by aaying l cannotconnectthewife—s‘dea withimage excepthers. And, of course,the strong doininant

ble memory.

”

Vereker was with an unqualified assent at the moment.Forthough Sally, aswe have seen , badtakm him intc her ocn ~

fldencethe day after her mother’swedding—and indeed, had

itself ofihand, as itwould

s“

3

8

5

two lovers at a simmering railway-station, name not known.

The idea ofthe s‘

mposes'

ble per se is probablythe cne a flniteintelligence most readily admits, and is always cordially welcomein intellectual difliculties—a universal resolution of logical discords. Inthe case ofthesetwe men, atthatmoment, neitherwas capable of knowing the actual truth had he been told it,whateverthe evidenee ; still less of catching atslightconnecting:links. Fenwick went on speaking

I don’t know whether you wil l understand it—yes l I think,Mm Fenwick comes in. Itseemsto bring fresh air into whatelse would be— ugh I" He shuddered a half- intentional shudderthen, dropping his voice, went on , speaking quickly :

“The thing

makes part of some tragedy—some se'

d story—something bestforgotten ! If I could only dareto hope I mightrememberno more—might even forget it altogether

’

Perhaps if you could remember the whole the painfulnessmightdisappear . Dees notenything inthe image ofthe rail

way-station give a clue to its whereabouts l”

No. It hardly amounts to an image at all— more a fact thanan image. Butthe heatwss a fact. Andthe dresseswere al l

Then the Mrs. Fenwick that comes out of the train isn’tdressed as she dresses here i”

Why, n -n -no l No. certainly not. But that’s natural,

you know. Of course, my mind supplies a dress for the heaIt doesn’t diminish the puzzlement.”

Yes—r yes— but it does, though. Because, look here ! It’s

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Surely ! So l hsd.

dently, inthe etrees andturmoil ofthemghtithad sfipped from him .

word ortwo, and itcame back.“I know, I know. I’ve got it

Butnow—thatagain l k was itto recover.“Very likely.

” He wants, but his mind is dwelling onlaugh, pleasantinthe ears of his compen ion . Wh ,tliatwasAnd I didn

’tknowhim frcm Adam l”true ! Halfthethingsthatcome backto youwil l be no pain

atall when you have fairly gothold ofthem. Only, wai’tl

Don’t struggle to remember. but letthem come.”" All right, old chap ! I

’l l be good.

” But he hasstrong convictions on the subject, clearly. Thetwotogether in silenceu far asthe lowfiintwall , in another m ess of

which Fenwick lights another cigar, as before. Then he turnstothe doctor and says“Notaword ofthisto Rosey—norto Sallykin l” The doctorseems perplexed, but ascents and promises.

“Honest h im !

as Sally says,” adds Fenwick. And the doctor repeats that

afidavit, andthen says :“I shall haveto finesse a good deaL I can managewithMrs.

Fenwick. But— I wish I felt equally secure with Miss Sally.

”

He feelsvery insecure indeed inthatquarter, ifthetruth is

2SOMEHOW GOOD

told. And he is aflictedwith a double embsrran menthere, ashe has never leftsalb withouther “misa” in tormwich while, onthe other hand, he holds a dsflni licencefrom her mother Butlook Sally inthe face and conoeal anything.“K iss who !” says Fenwick. “Oh—Sally, you mean ! 0!course she

’ll rushthe position . hei- l”

pmtecthis oume momentary nesitaticn abouthowto speak oi Sally may

'xave somethingto do with Veieker’s givingthe oonvu'sation a

inhismind allthroughtheir interview, ofhis identitywith flarrissou.

" Look here, Fenwick,” he says. “It’s allvery fine yourtalking aboutkeepinn s. Feuwick inthe dark aboutthis. I

know it’s for her own sake—but you can’t.”" Andwhy notl I can

’thave Rosey knotave snotherwife living

Y ou don’tknowshe

’s ahva ior onething !

H’m l . I don

’tbnow, certainly. ButI should haveknowmsomehowfif shewere deed. Oi course. if further memorywith '

E arrisson and claim all your propei-tywithouther know

There may be

fly dear boy — Fenwick says this very quietly that’sexactlythe reason why l said youwould haveto help metosettle whether l should bethatman again or not. I say aot,ifthe decision lieswith me.

”

“Notl— notatall ?” Th e doctor iairly gasps ; his breathistaken away. Never perhaps was a young man freer from

thought and influence of money than he, more absorbed in professional study and untainted by the supremacies of property.

But for all that he was human, and English, and theore ticallywoepted gold asthething ofthiugs,the '

one greataim and

measure of suocess.aim, not his. For he was, in his own eyes, a humble plodder, notinthe swim atall . Buthe ascribedtothe huge sums real peoplehad a rightto, outsidethe limits ofthe likes cf him, a kind oi

25

Bo,when l ‘enwickmade inthat mustneeds involvethe enbe spoken oi with awe, even o!poc r .Oonrad feltthatall his powers otcounsel had besn outshot, andthathismindwas reeling on its pedestal . Thata poorhcnestlove ota woman stil l more eo ; butthatashould renounce his mil lions ! Was it decentl waswas itconsideratetoMammon l ButthatmustFenwick’s meaning,too. The doctor did notrecover his speech

Howahould I be

know; ieel as you

lie neglectedat the bank, unclaimed, forsaken , doing no more mischief thanwhen itwasharmless dustand nuggets in the sand ofthe K londyke. While itwasthere, goldwas a bit—a mighty small bit

since. Nowthatitis inthe beepingof chaps who won’t give it up half as easily as the K londyke did,I suppose it has a again,ence of cost betwmn it out and out of thebank is a negl igible r.in chatting economics in this way. Some of itwas so obviouslytrueto Vercher that he at once concluded it would be classed

fal lacies ; he had had experience ofthis sortofthing.

But he paid little attention, as he was thinking of howmuchof this interview he could repeat to Sally,to whom every steptheytook broughthim nearer . T he rear oi a l ion in his pathwas every moment more audible to the ears of his imagination.

And it lefthim silent , but Fenwick went onWe won’t trouble about the darling dustand nuggets ; letthem lie in pawn, and wait for a claimant. They won

’t findMr. Harrisson’

s heir-at- law in a hurry. If ever proof comes of

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Y ovnever meanto say you’ve been inthcwatar l

Itwasquite clear, fromthe bluish finger -tips cfthe giovelessma puuy

— for atSh Senuanssisixes a'

re notde n’

guciir intheshe has been in, and has only

‘

ButFenwick,who ukedthequestiomgraspsd a bandful of looeeblaok hair for confim atiom aud found itwet.“Haven’t l l” says the incorrigible one. And

you ahould

have heardthe rumpus over getting a machine down.

’

too. She’l l drown hc self, snd notcare a penny aboutallthetrouble she gives.

” Y ou see,Rosalindwouldn’tthrowher wordsintothis callous form if shepussy. Butjustnowshe is to beveryparticular.Whathas paued between him and Dr . Oonrad l Whatdcesthe latter knownowmorethan she does hersslfi Sh

'

e fallsbackwith him, and allowsthe othertwoto go on in frcnt. ObviouslyWhathas hetold you, Dr . Conrad l This is notunex

pected, andthe answer . is a prepared one, under

pressure betweenthe dootor and his oonscienco.-

y gieatkindness—don ’tsay yeswithouthearingwhatitis—Mask youto allowmeto keep back all your husband saysto me, andtotake for grautedthathe repeatsto you al l he feels certsin of himself in his own recollections.

”

He haatold youmore l”Y es, he has. ButI am far from certainthatanything he

has said can be relied upon— in his presentmtate Anyway, Ishould be very sorryto take upon myself the responsibil ity ofting it.“Hewishes younotto doso l

E

E

? a

“Ithink so. I should say sc. Do youmind i”

“I won’tpress ycuto repeatsnything youwishto”Butis his mind easier l After alLthat’sthe M

easier .

”He felthewasquite

warranted in sayingtbis. Aud l should saythatii he doesbeen sayingto me,

itwill only showhowuncertain and untrustworthy al l

preeentrecol lections are. I cannotte ll you howetrongly l

feelthatthe bestcourse isto leave his mindto its own naturaldevelopment. Itmay even bethatthe partial and distortedimages of events such as he hss bem speaking olto me

al

lessbytryingtoveriiythem—and leastof al l by usingthemstimulusto further m ol lection .

”

Y outhink l had better notask him l

mind on otherof one thing— that the efiorttohim in itself, quite independent

endeavouring“I have seenthat,too, inthe sl ightrecurrences he has had

whea asthers. Iquite agreewith you aboutthebestcourseto pursue. Iietus have patienoe andwait.Of course, Vereker had notthe remotestconcepticnthattheless Fenwick remembered, the better hiswifewould be pleased.

Sothe pfincipd idu in hismind atthatmomentwm whataverysensible aswell as handsomewoman hewastalkingto l Itwasthe way in which most people catalogued Rosalind Fenwick.

Buther ready assentto hiswishes had intensifiedthe doctor ’sfirst item of description. A subord inate wave of his thoughtcreated an image cfthegir l Fenwick musthave pictui-edto himo

self coming outofthe railway carriage. He on ly repeated :“Letus have patience, andwait,”with a feeling of relief from possible

But in order to avoid showing his wish to abate inquiry, he

could talk about aspects of the ' case that would not involve it.He could tell of analogous em swell known ,or in his own practice.For instance, that of a Frenchwoman who wandered away from

8ally and Fenwick, cn in front, had caurhtup with—or bacocaughtupwith by—a mixed partywof a sortto suspmd, divert

all convusation of a continuous sort. MissGwendolenArkwrightand her nexteldestsister had established fiemsolveson Fenwick’s shoulders, andthe Julius Bradshaws had lurtintersectedthem from a side-alley. . The lattes-weie on iaie pcintthe 3.l § , and everytwas a clear reprieve,til l 8.16 atany rste .

There could be no doubt,in his miiidthsn when she sawhim last, justafter breakfast.Because, you see, she exaggerated. However, one thing she saidwasquitetrue. There were no breakers outbeyondthe said

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a.

.

.

fie

Mm

.

mm

.MWWW

and

justbrandyit, b

And

gentleman coming and the table allonly she knewtherewould

something happen iftoo much hurry and sure enough she broke

m

.

m

m

mm

mm“MMmm

m

m

Wu

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wmm.

mW

M“M

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e

ei

.

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a

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mm

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Man

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e.

.mmmwmm

a decanter. We do not like the responsibility of punctuation in

vreviveu

to her son, assisting herto lunch. But the excellent womanI thought you had forgotten me,”quoth the

said m aie if itwssthe name of somebody else, and epeltl l double with a compassionate moan.

som owGOODBoealind w gladto see her hnsbm d ln p od

Be mqnite l ike hlmsell belorethatnnlorm stothan oonl rontits ble distnrbing inflnenoea. “I!vo oan on ly knownothlng tit. and be aswe are l”wasthetnppermostin her mind.

thatitwam ’tOxfidtreetthiatim and so itdidn". matter .

I shall walk straight into papa’s library.” said that

married lady in answesto an inqnirytrom Sal ly, astheyback a littbto ohat. “I shal l juntwalk straightm andwe’ve oome baok.

”

“Whatdo you snpposethe P rofessor will eay lMy dear l— it’s the merest toss up. If he’s got

interesting Greek or P ha nioian nonsense on hand, he'll let meabout, only itpaya—he mqy look up and kiss me, or even go sc

l

b

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patienee for immediatetown -eventin folk justofi a

Thesetwoweretoo keento grapplewiththeir dcmesticto allowof delays. So, after getting some dinner in a

Georgiana Terrace, Baymter,they mustneeds cab

Grove Road. As for what happened whenthey gotthere, we shall knowas much aswe wantof itlater .

Forthe presentour business lieswith Fenwick and hiswife ; towatch, in sympathy with the latter, for the next development inthe stran ‘

ge mental state ofthe former , andto hopewith her,“it musthe confessed, for con tinued quiescence , or, better still ,for a complete return of oblivion.

Itseemed so cruelly hardto Rosalindthatitmightnothe .

Whathad sheto gain bythe revival of a forgotten pest—a pasther own share of which she had for twenty years striventoforget i Utterly guiltless as, conceivably, she may have knownherselfto h mhe had striven againstthatpastastheguilty strivewith the memory of a oohcealed crime. And herewas she, attheend

.

oithis.

twenty years, with all she mostlonged for atthein her possession, mysteriously attained with athoroughneu nd combination of circumstances, no patience or

forbearance of her own, no self-restraint or generosity of heryoung husband’s could possibly have brought about. Thinkonly of what we do know of this imperfect story ! Conceivethatitshould have been possible forthe Algernon P alliser ofthose days to knowand understaud ittothe ful l ; indulgethesupposition, however strained it may be,thathis so knowing itwould nothave pMed him in a ielon

’s dock fox-the promptand

righteous murder of the betrayer —we take the firstoonvenientname—of the woman he loved. Convince yourself this couldhave been ; figureto yourself a happywedded life forthe coupleafter Miss Sally had made

'

her unconscious debutwith the eupremestindifierenceto her antecedents construct a hypothetica lbliss forthem atall costs, andthen say if you can fil l out-thepicture with a relation between Sally and her putative fatherto be compared for a momentto the one chance has favourednow for the stepfather and stepdaughter of our story.

Our own imagination is at fault about the would-have-beensand might-have-beens inthis case. The on ly picture our mindcan iorm oiwhatwould have iol lowed atull grasp oi allthe facteby Algernon Pallisermay be dictated or sugge'wd by a memoryof what sent Mr . Slater. of Livermore

’s Rents, 1308,tothehospital. Rosalind knew nothing of Mr. Slater, butshe could

SOMEHOW GOOD 397

remember-wellwell all Gerry's ieats of strength in his youth— allthe crs'cking ofwalnuts in his arm-ioints and bending of kitchenhis own anger wher- pmvnked ; ithad died down nowto atrifle,but she could dntectthe trifle still. Was such an executivetobetrusted noti utakethe lam into its own hands,to fal l intothe grasp of an .

~fiended legix- lative function later— onetoo dullto be able to define offence so asto avoid the condemnation, now

and agaim oi a culpritwhosetechnical crime hasthe applause

ofthe whole humsn '

race l Hsdthe author of al l her wrongsmethis death atthe hands of her young husband, mightnot'thishusband of her later life— beside her now— be still serving histime atthe galleys, with every compulsory sharer in his con

demnationthinking him a hero lItwas all so much bettm'

as ithadturned out. Only, could itremain so '

i

At least, nothing was wrong now, at this moment. Whatever her husband had saidto Vereker inthatmo walk,thepresent hour was a breathing-space for Rosalind. e K reutzkammer recurrence of the previous evening was losing its forcefor her , andthere had been nothing sinoethatshe knewof.

Mtic ideas — the phrase he had used in the night—mightmean anything or nothing.

They came back from the railway-station by what was knownto them as the long short cut in contradistinction to the shortshort cut. The latter, Sally said, had the courage of its opinions,while the former was a time-serving cut. Could she have influenced it at the first go-ofi— when it originally started fromthe V-shaped stile your skirts stuck in, behind the Wheatsheafit might have mustered the m olution to go straight on, insteadof going 06 at a tangent to Gattrell ’s Farm, half a mile out ofthe way. Was it intimidated by a statement thatwould be prosecuted, nailed to an oak-tree, legible a hundred

iyears ago, perhaps,when its nailsvverve notrust, and real ly heldttight— instm of, as now, merely countenancing its wish toremain from old hahitl Itmay have been so frightened in itatimid youth ; but if so, surely the robust self-assertion of itsstraight start forGattrell ’shad in it somethingofcontempt for thepoor old

'

board, coupled with its well-known intention oi turningtothe leitand going slapthroughthewoodthe minute you (orit) gotthere. It may even have twitted thatboardwith its apathyin respectottrespassers. Hadth ethreatever been carried outl

398 SOMEHOW GOOD

The lcng shcrtcutwas, accordingtothe aboriginal . a goodishethical, spir itual—somehow metaphysical

or supraphysical— in which it was a short out, for all that .The road was a dale farther, some did say, along of ,

the dust.Sothe reason whywss allowedto lapsa andthe facttotake care

of itself for once. Helped by an illusion that a paththroughan undergrowth of nut-trees and sn overgmwth of oak on such

a lovely afternoon as this wasn’t distance at all —even whenyou gothooked in the brambles—and by other palliative incidents, itwasvoted avery shortcutindeed. Certainly nottoolong foc sdmd’

s bmathing-spaca snd had itbeen even a

longer short outshe would have been well contented.Every hour pm now, without a new recurrence of somebygone, was goingto give her—she knewit well beforehanda sense of greater security. And every little incident on thewalkthatmade a change inthe rhythm of eventwaswelcome.

When they paused for refreshments—ginger beer in stone bottles—atGattrell’s, and oldMrs. Gattrell, while she undidthe corks,outlined the troubles of her husband’s family and her own, shefelt grateful for both to have kept clear of India and thecolonies.” No memories of California or the Arctic Circle couldarise from Mrs. Gattrel l ’stwin-sister Debory, who suffered fromnecessaryto correctan impression of overstrsintothe mind inpursuit of research. Nor from her elder sister Hannah,whoseneuralgia sick headaches were a martyrdom to herself, butapparently a source ofpr ideto her family. Ofwhichthe inflation ,

strangeto say,wasthe greater because Dr . K nox was oi opinionthat they would yield to treatment and tonics :thoughthe oldlsdy hersel f was opposedto both, and said elder -flower-water.She was a pleasant old personage, Mrs. Gattrell, who alwrvsshone out as a beacon of robust health above a fever-stricken,

paralysed, plague-spotted, debilitated, and disintegrating crowdof blood-relations and connexions by marriage. But not one ofallthese hsd ever leftthe sciltheywere born on , none oe s.

Gattrell 's people holding with foreign parts. And nothingwhatever had ever taken place at St. Egbert's till the railwaycome ; so it wasn

’t likely to arouse memories ofthe ice-fields ofthe northern cold or the tiger-hunts of the southern heat.Rosalind found herself asking of eaoh newthing as itarces

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édmm eemt—to puthappinesstothetouch, and win or lose

it ail l Sally could be gotoutofthe waytor long enoughtoallowof a resumption cf equilibrium afterthe shock cfthe firstdisclosure and a completely establ ished understanding that she

‘80tell, and he cculd hear ,the whole sto ry oftwenty yearsthe only mem e by which Sally could have been established,mightnotthistell for peace ?’ Mightitnotevwraisethetion,“Whatdoes a cloud oftwenty years ago matter at

and suggest'the answer, “Nothing ! For did notSallyto us outofthe cloud, and couldwe dowithouther i"

SOMEHOW GOOD 401

itpointedto a gradual resumption of his of s fewdays ago. After all , had he nothad

Wellperhapsthe lastwas a shade morevividthsnthe others. Butthen see now, had he notforgottsn ital reedyto all outwardthe minds ofthetwo ofthem workedto a common

a id—silence. Hers inthe hopethatthe effects ofthe galvanichis g his inthe fearthatbehindthe unraised curtsinthatstil lhid his early life fmm himselfwas hiddenwhatmightbecome a

powerto breed unrestfor hers.

Butitall depended on his own mastery of himself. Excepthetold it,who shculd kncwthathewas Harrhson i And howhe feltthe I Whowas goingto suspectthata

would keep ita secretl And fcr hiswife’s saketoo lfour or dve-figure man might—yes. But hundreds ofthousands l—think of itl

Bo iteame aboutthatduringthe remainder cfthatday anddpart

ofthe nextFenwick eitber msde no furtherFor he notofonly

keptsfleneewith Rod butevenwith Verekei-was absoluwyof the medical authority andto abstain from question or suggestion ; . forthe present certainly, and, unless her silence—asmight be— should seem to imply a motiveon hei-part, to maintainituntil her husband revived the subject by disclosing furtherrecollections of the bygone time. Happily Sally knew nothingabout it ;M her mother was convinced of And Sally wasn

’tlikely to know anything, for Vereker

’

s professional discretioncould be relied on, even if her suspicions were excited. And,

andthatRcsalind had a semitone of ccnsolaticn in her mannerthewalk home. Exceptfor mg eta morethan cnce expressed ,thatitwould be muchtoo late fortea when we gotin , and a

passingword onthe factthat at the seaside one got as greedyas some celebrated glutum— a Roman emperor, perhaps—veryfewideaswere interchanged . But a little conversationwasmadeoutcfthe scarcity of a good deal , forthe persistentoptimismof Sally recognised that it was awfully jolly saying nothing onsuch a lovely evening. Slight fatigue, combined with the beautyof sky and sea and distantdownland,the lengthening shadcwsof the wheataheaves, and the scarletof poppies in the stubble,seemed goodto justify contemplation and sil ence. It was an

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ven ation during the visit, which, indramatic propriety,was always spcken of in afterQ 'usade.

” Itcameto an end in due ooumqthebenedictions.retiringto bed,with

Verekerwd ked bwkwith our friendstoMm le bjoit’sthmughthe sweetnight-air a cousiderate little shower of rain,“

to burn and brandtheir nothingness intothevisitorsto St.Sennm awho laughed andtalked and smoked andtook no notice ;and, indeed, rather than otherwise,Beltand Aldebai-an had been puttheretomake ita fine nightforthemto laugh andtalk and smoke in .

Itwas pleasantto Vereker , after hiswalkwith Fenwick inthemorning,to findthe latter like his usual cheerful self again.

The doctor had had rather atryingtimewith hisGoody mother ,scthatthe day had been more one oftensicnthan of peacoand itwas a heavenly respite himto from filial duties dutifullyborne,to walk home w1ththe goddess of his paradisa—theparadisethatwaswas so soonto cometo an end and send himtothe release of his“locum, Mr. Neckitt. Never urind. The

SOMEHOW GOOD 406

much as one g-ieral practitiouer, with a dutyto his mother,oould iri rsason expect. Was Dr . Ocn

was soon restaboutthis Fenwickwasn’tgomgtotalk abouthimself. Very much the reverse, if one

’s own reverse is some oneelse. He was gcingtotalk sboutthe dcctor , into whose arm

he his own as soon as he had lighted secoud cigar

Forthey had notwalked ck from lggulden’s

Nowtel l me aboutSir DioscoridesNaylerewe s sNo, she didn

’t—SallyYou told

and shetold me. What’sthe damageto be lHowmuch did Sally tell you i” The little formality co

easiertothe dcctor’s shyness as itfigures,thhtimaquotationwise. It is a repeat of Fenwick’s use of it.Sally said three thousand.

”

Yes, that’s what I told her. But it’s notomcial . Hemay

want more. He may let me have it for three. Only I don’tknow why I should have it for less than anyone else.”“Never you mind why ! That’s no concern of yours, mydear bcy. What you

’ve gottothink of is cf yourself and

him !“Yes, of course, I havetothink of my mo Onc enahear in the speaker’s voice what may be either self-reproach forhaving neglectedthis aspectcfthe casemrverytolerantindict.What's the man thinking of ? Of course you have, butl

didn’t mean your mother. She’s a dear old lady ” -th'

u came

to svoid oonlsssiou,stammeringto

Amsdian shepherde- sud sthunderholt.”“Of oouree ehewould. I ssy, Fenwiek, look here.Hevewother . man.oldNo, I

’ve enough. Thstone’s lested sllthstl wss s greetiool—didwnmg

“I see you know.

”he ssys helplessly.

K nowyou loveSsllyt—o i oourse l do l So doesher mother .

Sodoesyourmiorthstmstter . So dou every ouqexoepthm elf.

Why, even you yourself know it! She never will know it,

humbug-girl l oooked uptotoll her sbout. I oltogether lostsndwes s fool .”my heed ,“l oan’tseewhstend you pmposedto yourself by doing it,

ssys Fenwink s little maliciously.

“Ii Selb hsd reoommended

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lookthe lateness ol the iaee. andtha latter ans

edthequestion olthe iormer.mhto Sally l shall havato.

” Andthen addsd, wlthan awestruok iaoe and bated breath A

saidto hls oomdou'twonder

saidtilltheyeameto 's ;tinthe altting-roomfm ‘

hls

here. Monday, won’t it be ! And don’tthink“Oh no ! I

'

m a philosophical sortol ehap. l am ! Neverin extremee. Good night !”“I see. Spentia/afic metuitseom do‘s ahem n som beas

m m flom e.

”Fenwick ranthisthnough in a

bosom well prepared for either lot. fears. Fenwlek caughthim up and eompletedthe sentem e

Fearswhstis good m d hopee ior whatis not. Cut awayThen he paused a

M OWGOOD 400

M a be sawthe dootor lookinc aquestim athlm ino

E i brah n dh

szfimou or lm wentup

an empty room, andwas disoluthe darkness—a meek, sub

accustomedto sllghu:toutand goto bed. ltis al l—quitenotoomp lain. withbed.tl m so sorry. l had nc ldea you had

l— itdces notmatter inthe leastnow. What isBe oareiulwiththe grease over mywork. These

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self-sacrificing motherwas sittlng inthe dark,withthet ! To be suretherewas novisiblemasonwhyshe shouldit putout. except as a picturesque and imaginatverubbing her altruism into its nearest victim. Unless,it was done in order that

seemto announcetothe returningtruantthatshe had gonetoandto lull his mindto uneonsoiousness ofthe ambushthat

Anyhow,the dcctor was so impressed with his own del in

putout,totake his motber into his confidence abouthie conth Fenwiek. Which he certainly would have done—late asthe hour was— ii ithad been leftin . So he said good

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recal led for his justification one in particular. Thetunilyocnolave atK rakatoaVilla had recunedto a remark ofBosallnd’

s

aboutthe dlawbackto Ve‘reker’s practice cf hia bachelorhood.

Hewssthen , as itwere , broughtup for a second reading, andnewclauses addedto him containh g schedules of pouiblewives.answer. She rejwted almcetall applicsnts forthe postcfdootor’swifewithoutexaminingtheir clfimg onthe ground of

mord or phydcd detect—sa for instmcqyou never would goandtie up poor P roeyto awife

rthatgollcped. Sylvia P eplow,indeed ! Interrup ted aboutthe nature cf“golloping.

” Sally

bewcrththinking of“asked atthis point. Rosalind hsd justleftthe roomto speaktoAnne. Buthe didn ’twantSarahto be obligcdto answer , sohewenton Why aie alltheee young ladies’ ineomes en ctlyin roundthousands i”

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SOMEHOW GOOD

livingthingthatcame into his arms from itBossy.

”l nthe

face ofthat,whatwastheworth of-anything he should recollectnow,thathe shonld notdiscard itas a mere phantasm, for harsake !

Do you— you who read—findthis so very dificultto understand ! Oan u recal l no like imperfectmemcry cf your ownthat, multip a hundredfold, would supply an analogy, astandpointto look into Fenwick’s disordered mind from !After his delirious collision with his firstvigorous revival of

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Littlethingswould floatinto his mind like house-fiies intotheagain uncapturcd, orwhin and burr round and againsteach other

live in peacewith cne another. Ifthey came,they came ; and ifas, satisfiedthat seetothatstar, heturnedto go siu-aighthometo Lobjoit’s. Thatwould justlastoutthecigar. Butwhatwas itnowl Whatwaathe flythatflewmtohis sun -raythistime,thatitshould make him remember a line

itMthe cbamr gnwthe RowyM cm e mtd it. As longasthatwenton,therewas nothing of itall he oould place faithin. He had beentoldthatno man could be convinced, by hisown reascn, of his own hallucination. Hewould supply a casetothe contrary. Itwould amuse him one day, if ever he camelind all his rxperienoes, and howbravely he ioughtagainstwhathe knewto be delusion.

Buthe mustmake an effortagainstthis scrtcfthing. Here

remain himself, and refuseto be flarrisscn , no som er was heleftalone for a fewminutesthan he mustneeds be raking upthe pust. Andthat,too, because of a line of Horaoe !—soundin itself,butquite cutsm nder from itsorigin,thebookhe resd itin, orthevoice he heard read it. Whatdidthatline matter !

5 a“s E 5 i g r

well make a pointoi recallingthe prom aaee of any littlethingthathad happened inthis his presen lite. Wamtor irutance,Huy andthe fatboy in “P lckwick.

” Rosalind had resd himWas he goingtoworry himselfto recallthat,which could do h im nc harmto

know! Surely nctAnd if so,why striveto bring backthingsbetter fiorgotten ! Itrs uselessto endeavourto makethe stateom wick’

s mMatthis pcintofthe imperfectrevival ofmemcry. appear otherthan incredible. A perscn who has hadthe painful experience of forgetting his own name m a dream

would perhaps undmtand itbest. Or, withoutgo '

socan no help be gottowards itfrom our irequentcertainfiesabout

phrase (for instance) that we think we cannotthatwe believe no human powerE F

i

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;

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Hisquestionwas asked of hiswife as he came into her '

bedrcmn

cn his return. He mountedthe stairs singingto himseli,till he came in -towhere Rosalind was sitting reading,with herwonderful hair combed free—p rcbably bySal lyfioi-a ttest. Thenhe asked hisquestion rather suddenly, and itmade her start.He gave her a kiss ior apolcgy. “What’sthequesticnj Whendid I resdto you aboutMary andthetstboy ! I couldn

’tsay.

I feel as if l hsd,though .“Was itoutinthe garden atK Villa ! Itwasn ’there.

He usually cal led K rakatoa“K ”for working purposes.

No, it certainly wasn’t here. It musthave been at home“,

I Ask

She would know, though. She always knows. She’s not

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Sallywouldn'tadmitthatthe wu flatper sa butonlythat

ithad becor e so owingtothe ure cf snd her

m ently been wel l under inspection and ha'

d stcodthetest.mother ! To which Bosalind repl iedthathe was a nicefellowindeed, on ly soquiet. If he had had hisviolinwi him,

he would have been much more perceptible. But she supposeditwas'

besttotravelwith itas little as possible. For ithad beenleftlocked up athome . It’sgotan insuranoepolioyallto itself,said Sally, for three hundred pounds.” She wasquite awestruckby the three hundred golden sovereigns which these pounds would

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d” 80- m

sure. Dutl dcn'tknowaboutthe oldn

coektbatlstitalcne.

much as posalble. Inthis casa a

ticn of his own. nsver heard of itbefore .

Butitwsstrue she had heard ofths elderly Nearmongh !

Astoths m wd cf msmcduthatksptwmh g some absoscme mue phantoma mtcthe arena cd l 'mwick’s

m icrthis stcryfreaks cf mernory. Butthe only pcintwe are nearly concernedwith isthe rigid barrler drawn acronthe backward pathwayothis recollection atsome period betwemten and dfteen yearshiswife were safe fromthe intrusion oftheir former selvesthe scene oftheir presenthappinew—safe possibly from a

cf interierence :" mighter ercise ior ill—safe certainly from rlsk

of a sevelaticn eo Sally cf her mother’s histor-y and her ownone cithethreewho5

dthem m mue dremthey all bekmged fcr himtothatburied

htbatralnan.a

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to note aboutit,keptout« the

.

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ma

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wwwmw

mews

wwwm

wmm

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to maksthatthoughta bladsto penetratethewccre ofbbn mcther ’ssoul . Itwasacasstor her strmgtbthe slice ofthe nams l

dumb white face ahe herself could sse inthe mirror sbe -ttheir owner’s pearlyteetl are detaining an end of, tofalling hrthe parafin ahe is so intmtm as ahewatMs itcnthe soap-diah.“I’ve mads itsuchButitSally

’svcicewas free

Sir Oughtred P endu'flsld. Why !I rernembertherewas a small boy in

ago, named P enderfleld. Ia

nsttle-graspingthere was inher cwn strength.

Never seen him. Don’t

wantto ! I

Butthis relerstothegn fln lcsmgemottothe hair .tim y rsl arling. Nowl wantto getto bed, if_you

’ve no obieo“Mainly,

“mother darling ; butsay I’m right aboutthe

Dragon and Sir P enderfleld. Bm uu l m you know.

”

m yare, I’ve beui keeping yout! Good night !”

“Hullo l lightoutalready! Begyour pardm darl ing. Goodt !”wl wasn'taalsep.

”So hecame in and said good todicially

and dsparted. Hisvoice and his presenoe had sta cil a night

ma ideathatwu onthewatchto sdas cn hsr—hcémbrought acronthis unsuspectsd relaticn

events had a full declaraficn cfthd r kinahip iselftorthe night.“War ieh rum grcssm nm gsbcrqwls l aisc l aximalaa.

There could be no further

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to getatgone it!Whatevertheywantto stickytha n up so icr l cau’tI dare say. Catch me ! No, I’mths

No’W oiwe., itahm ’tgetcold. I

can gormandise and read aloud

with a

“Whata couple of bigAs if I couldn’tpo-iess minutes !

Iatitia’s

I knewI shouldn'tsleep unlesswe did. P awn id‘Wouldn’t

itdo aswell if he cal ledthere

SOMEHOW GOOD

was aahamed cf itbetorevisitors, because she did another rathermoreto P aggy, she keptherselfto herself. Butitdidn ’tmatter ,because ofwhathappm sd. Really, itquite made meI meanthewaythe lady P agwas introducedto ruahed into hisarms. I waan’tsure l hadn'tbettertake him away atonce.

Gafim nhwhose playing oithe(me she had ever

with him again ! Alas, no !ior ahewas cifto Viumato-morrow,the ahip wentdown shewould

he pointed

SOMEHOW GOOD

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all aboutl Oh mysn ciou .

them !’

and allwhata long letter l” .

‘With love fmm usThere nowlthatis a letter and a half.both,

’ mine aflectionatdy. And twelve pag e}And —W.

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M OWGOODdarling !

mm

dMmic.

nm"

a word crtwo of caufiontocl ifla, orto getrun over atlevel-crossingsgetcold, etc., m d ahewould fall back on

think.

tothink itout. Justa iewOh yes, ahewiould

a certain sense. Shewculd haveThe loss cfthe husband whomto love more dsarly, crthstask el er

betom in

. G .

M OWGOOD

“mu

mWWWmwm.

feared onthataccount,from hrm and

oftion, in sometime !

ignorancegbutsheand nottoto be

nightbefore hewentawayto be ccnnected with mental dis

fl

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she -shed

xthmthatdtho pdneipd ! Shethis inthe negstive ofi-hm d. The pon do

ha mmtho mqnny aqhom hnd nho oome ofmy otherteohnical psmnitythmthewoun ed ono ahe hadto ownto. Wuthm nomo m rible hw

to hin orhno, ifthstwero poan’

blo i H eo, smalytho Univerwmustbethe work of. m Ahnighty Fiend. a Damimgm with s

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4 m qm emtM H M —Mtsort a! m an yvith e ehopmm l Thstvu whstmy k heard, know. IN N “?“Wun’tib, u “m a -M m m of ymfi ingifi ontheir perflthm m y hsve been e eom on ol pm el feeling inthe ouebim piquvhetem one liheeto ed l it. I n h om deu Lfi-e.

M a bl e-ch a otic!dm n ly l h nvl dfll be d evith“Dm ’th n n e enym m P la netuh .

”

“Wu itsome menth ewas after T ishy f"

n akedM ud,ecu}who m webride. She had

notpubinwaw» fwdtwo together.kn ows it, and it’s calvmym atedtotim moue of "wing my“. Y ou

3 However. it”cotterto l ay itnov—cl com e, quite between c umclvu , you know. Ith w w '

nm wm yw Be’ethe

488

emerge oleu'

, hm d-in-hnnd with 5 b lue statement"P

her mother. A: it m .

swuy fromthstwom n l”tol d etd e. “Mou thful -on]

interwetedthe npnhototthettd e u pmhibifive d ma ely goinghononr botmdto hsve promil edto meetl omebody oomevhere

-ohd r .

d hie mid on mto beetthe donh y inoe-mfly lib ewpet,“He

’s gone for e welk slongthe ol ifi by himeelf. I wonkl

The dootor peum e momentfillthe donkeychd r k e hwpqeooompm ied byMn m iok.

“I

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the ouu le- mtterh g d itswuth se itspeebto ite own heort,und ite sullen seorets rem bente fiom oevemto oevem hthew m d ite innermostbleokness. We knowthe lsstprisMo bmediofidns oltho mn itmeunsto hide from u —flle“M d da peirh g nghtonthe other olouds—elondsthstere uotin it. mere outsiders or speotetors. We oen remnherthem slterwe heve gothome intimeto evoid ewetfi g,“een geoour moistwetee-ooloureoutsnd do e m oneotiond membeforethey go ontol onr heeds—orthinkweButwe knowutoothetthere oomeeetimeof o n ddenwind snd

“to !”

B - d fi d ud

m h M '

L-the lom weM M d oW b mthetwu

dthelove—etom of our snelogy, ad m i -ad d “beeten don bytom u by“

end deufimed b

z‘timnder.wtol meeh d ‘ n - n ofl hyfl

“m mhed heen eo emtly deow h fi ww A inthe hm d wu worthtwo in fi ebfi . Gov-p

I

80 Dt. 00nrsd seemedto heve grown m th n ever whenhe snd Sully gotm y fmm uflthewn figj h f enwiok hed faflenMto reaouethe oeptive, oetopo -ee¢t. WhueotSolly’eheertrejmoedflorthis young men’e m d n bordmetiontohis sh lful snd overwhelming psrentwns e eemtentthorn in herside. To n y she fieltfior him isto ug nothkg .

'Do seythetehewouid heve iumped outd her ekinwith joyetheu ingthethewum’ gedtou ymh dymnkmwm n ndthetthetyoung hdyu nwed -By ta ms of upituh fim hivolvmgthe diebmfing otthe fieonb , n d her ultimete diqm n lto BedfordPukth e oompenh n—tovouoh forthis utmightbs rsd i . ButSellytold herself —wd hsr mother . forthetM aho d ould eo iump outt;of her ekin m d youm yW ha m We not to ; butitmsy hove beenm ica- sli m .

the son of Jakeh (Prov. xxx. ) evidentlywomen mtworth m d ynig andthewey of eo mtter for lthiel ond Ucalto spendtime andthought5 5

H optott. 0niy ehe wonidn ’truehthe mtter ; itwed d

givingly oi iteethey opproeched it.“It’e s hendy littie forest," mid she ;

“only you can

’t liedown in it without sticking out. If you don

’t expect to. it

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M OWOOOD‘

m

(l l -owingsdded :

“Wel l,Thistd ento her iu-itiento

knowinwhiohtotell it. And sueh evooebnh ry lum

mm

mm

one ever ssqeetsthem l

so

—the t of ocm oioumessesthet, ifhhe e bel l irrthe pdm of hig snd sending mneicsl messegesup his

arm ; end totolk eboutdewponds. They occur on thetops of

terms of their water-supply. Dr. Oonrsd knew all shootthem,

memwho hed dug it, and didn ’tlive long enengh, poortellowlto knowitm e dewpond, or prehistoric. Seilywes inteneeted.

A litfle bhd withvery long legs didn ’tseemto m end wulkedW ank e huny, butquiekly, for-

sllthst.e httle derling !” 8sily scid.

“Did you hesrthot

delicioue little nefie he mede l Im’the ewuteb oul el i" fi l ly

She(mgh probsble.

Mlyw m kh gwto oontribute her shsretotheflofion ehout

“O M OWGOOD

meter-m l yam » coming through the clover-field. Butit ween ’t,

to piokwith you.

—there '

itis, overhome seperete.”son os keh.would heve seen

m m exsggsreting o oertsin spiritol brsu do z snd if he hsdthis spiritto ite souree—the hend - incident. We believe itweecnly sfiectstim in Agur , endthsthe knewsll ebcutthe subject.men, muids, ;end every other sortonly he didn‘tthink sny ofthefemole sorts worth his Orientel oonsideu-stion. Itwus s fer

where

itdoes notdototresd on with shoe-soleswell polished ontwooometo eome pointintelk where silence is notmwelcome.

Whenthey ufived h its n dfi mtbetr psrposes of

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hereto oue or other

they m l”

“Nome—I don’tmesnthet. Never mind. P lltel l youwhenen interestor culling ithonesw1 1

did,whoeversn interestwhen itdoem ’t, llhe us. Butto

wish yonwonldn ’

“Hetewheti’tcell ithom styP

M

Shewu n’totsll m ethstthe nsme ofthetherh hsdn’tsomehow

M OWm

u

m

Y ou’ve no idee howl like itwhen peopleNow.do seybther .

Bah i a?I

’tinthe ccnversetion eesesofithe oontext. T he little

am

youyou

seid oell

you—don'tblush,

looktqithe ohmoh-dcor withthe big key, uidto reoeivo

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the hill , andthemlastglintofthe sunvanishes. Then Sally goes

on 05“No, l don’tsee. Speakingto me, 17hati Be an explieitlittle general practitioner , or we shallquanel, afier all, and gohome difierentways.”“Well, look hero l Y ou know , the manthatdrivesme round in London l Bailey m

“Yes. Howdoes he eome in i

other day if itdoesn'ttum ontthathe’s been married ever so

long !0MAndwhen ltaxed himwith needless secrecy

of an old hiend,whatdoesthe young humbug say i ‘The fiact

is, sir, l hadn’tthe oheekto toli yon.

’ Welh l was likethat. I

hadn’tthe oheek.

"

call him a young humbug.

That’s notfair .

Sauoetorthe goose is sauoe forthe gander . Y ou called me

WME I don’tsee anythhig intMt. Of com'

se, it’squite a“Verywel l,then . I shall sayHere was Sally’

s opportunity,had a ohanoetil l nowof br ingingquite sum ol ha self and ha powers of oonductingthe mand shewasmistaken . Sheknewnothing ofthetraps and pm

gaping for her . Her openingthough ; itwes al l prepared.“Don’t you see, Dr. Conrad dear,difierentl When you'

ro married, your wifiewil l oall mof course. But . . ,wel l if l had a husband, you know,

would csl l yos Dr . Vereher . Sureto l” Sally feltsatisfiedwiththe sound ofhervoioe. Butthedoctor said never aword, and hished invented nothingto say, so far . Bo awavering creptinnothing in itself atfirst, apar’tfrom her oonscionsnees uf it.

shemightn’tquite—notaltogether, you know— I mean, she mighttthink

SOMEHOW GOOD 1 461

it. . Butambushes revaaled themselves in every hedge,readyto hreak outif she endedthis sentenee. Dr . Conrad madeoomplmon“

youWhom do mean by sha Sally lWhy, of course !m

Who oould I mean butthe gh-l youto'ld meahoutthatyouthinkwouldn’tagreewith your mother ‘

i"

I tsothough See whata mess l msde d itl No. 8ally,there’s no suoh person. Now l ahall haveto speakthetruth,andthen l shall haveto go away from you, and itwill all he

But interposes onthetense speeoh,sound of growing determinathm inthe doetor’svoioe :“Oh no, don

’t—no, don’t ! Don’t say anything that will

change itxtfrom m . See howhappywe are l Howoould itbebetter] I’ll oall youConrad, or anything you like. Only, don

’tmake itdifiarent.

I promlse l The doctor calms down .

But Sally dearest—I may say Sal ly deareet, mayn ’t“Welh perhaps. Only you mustmakethatdo forthepresent."

Butthere is a haunting sense oftheOetopus inthe eonsoientions soul of her eon, and eventhough he is allowedto say“8al lydearest,"the burden is on him o&knowingthethe hss heen sweptaway intheturmoil ofthiswhir lwind of self, and he is feel ingto say psoowi, and make amende by oonfession . He“

Sal ly dearest" do iorthe moment. butcaptnres as a

for it,with a caressing other hand, beiore he speaks again. Hethatremains atrestin hil l—andthen oontinues“DearestSally, I dare say you see howitwas -abontmother .

Itwuvery stupid ofmqand l did itvery hadly. I gotpussled,and lostmy head .

”

Ithoughtitwas a real young lady, anyhow.

I saw you did. And I do think— just now— I should haveletyou oontinue believing inthe real young lsdy ” . onlywhenu saidthat.“SaidwhatiSaidthataboutyour

oouldn’tstand it. -I’m initwus. Bowcould l have borne it—gone on atal l

with youmarriedto anyone else i”Ho askethis in atone of

sefiom oonviotiom oi onewho is dim ng’

a strmgezgi

mqoon‘

2

over it.“Y ouwould have hadto. Mau getcn oapi

have to. Butvery likely l wcn ’tyou.’thetoo

sure ! I haven’tcommitted “I

nfl ow " Nevertheless,the hand rernains passive in dootor’s, as he oontinnes hisdiagnosis“

I shouldn’tdessrve you. But,then,who ocnld i

Sallytacitly refusesto help in answeringthisquestion.“Ivote for neither of usmarrying anyhody else,butgoing

had shuther identity. Authmughthiswd h ever sincethehand

inoident, she had been hard atwork ignoring suggesfions ‘

of her

safe to play with. Now she felt she had established a sort ofmediasvim dc

'

whichWould not involve her in the horrors of a

bitternessthatshe had notieed in fiieuds’ iamilies on suoh ocoa

sions. Why shouldn’t she and poor Prosy walk about together

u muoh uthey hked— yea even oall in ata churoh snd getwould do for a good long fimeto oume, beoause she understoodP rosy downtothe ground, and, otcourse, she knewthathismistrusting her was outofthequesficn.

'

As forthe dootor, hiswasthe sortoftemperamentone o&tenmeetswith invery fair men of histype—mtm sely shy, hutwitha backing otresolution on oooasion showm hred of a oapaoityfor high- passistrung on. He had iormed his intention ful ly snd

clearly oftell ing Sallythewhole h 'uth beforethey arrived atSt.Sennansthatevening, snd had heen hastenedto whatwasvirtnal ly an avowal by a prematnre aooident, aswe have seen . Nowthe murderwu m h and hewu walking home alowly beaidethemarvehthe mystery,thathadtaken possession ofthe inmostrecesses of his life—verymuoh in her pooket, ifthetmth mustbetold—with an almostintolerable seamhingfire of joyfinding everycould have fallan ather feetand kissedthem, oould have pouredouthisvery suul in passionate prohtationg oould and would

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Itsounds so reproachful . It’s liheWilliam.

”

DoesWil liam sound reproachlul l”

Oi ooursc itdoes i Willy-yum ! A mostreproachfnlNo, P rosy dear, I shali cal l you P rosy,whateverthemay be. People must puttheir own construction upon it."“Mother callsme Connyvery orten.

”

When she's nottaldng exception to oh no l I

knoww I was only jolring .therqthen l we won'tquarrelP lease don

’tl”

“Because . . I mmtsay ithecause it’strue, only itseemsWell ! Becausewhati’Becausethen itwon’tbethe same as your mcther . It

can’the.

"

attendants iortheir ma’su nd l should saythe sm e ifthey hadin Christendom

feet confidence, freedom without reserve asto another self,suddm discovered intheworking id f

.tity of a fel low-cieature.

darlingand holdtothetop l " His hps find hm natnral ly andwithoutdieguise. Itisthe elosedthe“I remember” says Sal ly Thatbegan it. Oh, what a

loan -

gmtime ago

1°

agothatdoes seem nowl Whata rum startitfilzwho turn-out !” Forthe merpussy is her inoorrigi

self, and will hetothe last.When Sal ly reached home,very late, shewas notdispleased,

usetothinkwith ; notwith any admimion,thow,thatshe either faltor looked unusually m ltéa—huprised, because itwas eighto'clock, and she feltthattevenMrs. Lobjoit’s good-nature might have limits.Butwhile shcwu setthng dowm in a happy, excited dream

ahe half m nderedthatshe did mtwake from hack camethe“OP“All rightl" notfol lowed hy immediate obedm e. Themafterhalf a moment’s delay, in which she felt some surprise at herselffornotgoing outtomeetthem coming upthe staim her mother’s

ce app ,thataskedwherethe kitten was.“0h, here you are, ohick i— how long have you been in !

Why, Sal lykin l what is it, child i . oh, Gerry—Gerrycome up here and heerthis l” Forthe merpjussy, .in spite ofmany stoical resolutions, had merged a of verbalcommunioation in a burstof happytears on her mother’s homm .

'ittimetoLi! 1:1tW WWW:

else l—“We'

e ll l I don’t see that it’s anything sovu-

yi iarkable, after all. I

’ve been my medical sdviser’samour-agingwuitto know.Jeiemlah.”

Was it a fancyof Safly

’

a as she ended ofi a hui-ried

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a s som owcoon

be mthatitwasmere brain-froth lman with“Bessie "

and“Elinor ”tattooed on his armmachine dowm as like as not. Butyou could never sa'y,to a

full,timesm‘m wm d

finow. But

yearwas goingtoher swimming. .

( 60°

ghn

&m§gtam

”Mm hh

o. l otso stm ige as mightthink it.up and dcwn among wa watqfldyeozr seafu ing, and you’l l finda manyhave never studied it, forthe purpcse. Msnythatwouldmake swimmm with a bitof prwtioqwlll hold ofl, forthifightinr it, like itor no i”“Drown ! The soonerthe better .

” Fenwick has no doubtyonns Benitmin

leaming of ii , forthe same reason . And nota moke can he

swim, any morethan his father .

”

“Weil lFenwick. “Mdaughter swims

SOMEBOWGOOD

M like.said ofthatsix hours putme oflof ng

’em larn

jamintc swim when hewas ahyocngsta . And when got to

mudwundersts

irtiging ltcld im my mind, and he ver putthFenwick would have likedti go ontalking wi

i“i

i

worlti Ferry well l Nor you,Mn Bilkington l FerryI shall hafi cne myself. and youshallthrowstoanss.

” And

voice brolee into song

“l ch hatt’ sinen xameradm'

Einen bssssrn findstdut."butended on

'“Mein guter K amerad,”exclaiming stentorianly,

hesitating a momentin doutwhatto do. His

ii

inelinadon westoP safria id.

and-

gotltosalind outfcr a '

walk, as originally

be inbut

Rosalindnottoin

Drbeforethanfor

.

m

.

u

um

mmm

mmm

h

e

her inmostheartsnother Sally, locked in and unconfessed,that

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her husband’s memory, it would remain permanently incredibleby him,withwhatefiectofa half—knowledge ofthe pastGod onlyknow. The sense of reprieve got the better of the new-hornapprehension—bid itstmd over for awhflqatleest. Sufioientforthe daywasthe evil thereof.Meanwhile, Gerry, absolutely unconsd ous of her emotion, andthan over previous ones, stood gaz ing down intothe clear rock

poolthatcontainedthe outtlefish.

.

“Do oome and look athim ,

Bosey love,”said he. “His mannerscan he no doubtaboutthequality of his black.

She leaned a bitheavily onthe arm shetook asthey leftthecuttlefish to his illuonditioned solitude. “Tired, dearest !”said her husband ; and she answered,“Just a little I” But hismind was a clean sheeton which his story wonld haveto be

life, in a citadel defended hy human experience atbay, she

wavered in her resolution of a few hours since—or, rather, she

riage had not been so much as mentioned. She admittedtheexistence of the institution , butproposed— now and for thefuture—to regard it as prematnre. Wasn’t even sure she wouldtell anybody, except Tisby and perhaps also Henriette Prince,because shewas sureto ask, and possibly K aren Braun if she didask. Butshe didn’tseem atall clearwhatshewas goingto say

Acfled“it ” without an anMedent, got materialised, and didaboutlt, and justthose one ortwo others. Butif Itwasto make any difiersnce, orthere wasto he any fuss, she

justbreak ltofin nd have donewith lt.

464 80- 0WGOOD

fromthe feotthstl r . l 'enwiekwouldvery likely heve lett¢ sthe -(Mounta in. If so.thiswes his lsstnothing mettered. Leweud oxder mightbe blowed,

Whioh he dn etebouttm o’elook. ButFenwlek hsd never

hed he oome heckto his owuItwes efter his

home.ficotm mthe stnhmend SellyM mfird forthe nighh hfling her mther nottb fldget

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in it Then bothvoioesand silenoe comes“Who’sthe other l

”

In a blue sooteJivin' in one olbeach . Big oustomer . P rodoooes a rousin

’impremion.“Isthsthis daughterthstswims i i . Thet’s‘ him— ooming

.n yu

But it isn’t. It is the Baron, wrathful, shouting, swearing,neither in German nor English, hutin either or both . Wherethe pell iThis is anM suliohss hoteL and every or

'

ie oonneoted with itis an l sel . Whathewants is some oognao and a doctortorthoThe atfitude ofthe lsdywiththe esrrings epitomiz esthe com

plete indifierenoe of a hotel—keepertothe private lives of itsguests nowsdays. Thatbel l mustbe seento, she says. Otherwise she is cel lous. The respeotable waiter hurries forthecognac. and returnswith a newly-drawn bottle andtvo glsssesthe smoking-room,to findthatthe gentleman has reoovered,won’thsve sny. He suggeststhstour young man oonld

fiy awsy with Dr . M ol l l" whioh doesn’tlook like

'l h e respeotahlewsitertskes note of his appesranoe,and reports oi itto his pfinoipal on dramsfitotasmatter inmto whioh humsn sympathies enter .“Veryqueer he looks. Dooto reaction, orthe ooatin’

s ofthe stomsoh . No,there’s8

£3

5

Butnotto onethatsees in mankind only athingthstoomes andgoes snd psys its bil l—or doesn’t. The lady inthe bureauappearsto listen slightlytothevoioesthatcome airesh fromthesmoking- room, but their duration is all she is concerned with.“He’s going now,

" she says. He is ; and he does look queervery queer. His companion does not at the door, butwalks outintothe airwith himwithouthis hat, speakingto himafiectionste exhortation, and the way he takes his arm is afiectionste. Thevoices go outof hearmg, snd itis so long hefiore

SOMEHOW GOOD “7the Buen ntumqhatMthathe musthave gone allthewaytothe sea-housss down onthe beach.

Salb retiredto her own couch in orderto supply an inducemeutto her motherto goto bed herself, and situp no longer iornotto he a goose and fidget. Butshewasvery deliberate aboutit; andthough sbe didn’tfldget,shewentallthe slowerthatshemightthink bwk on a day-fl hour—oftwenty years ago.“onthe incidentthatGerry hsd half recalled,quite acourately as

iar ss itwent, butstrangely unsupported by surroundings or

concomitants.Itcame baokto her with both . She could rernember eventheMiss Stanynaught, her dAapa on inthis case,tothe dancewhereshewasto meetGerrs Htturned outmd howForsyth wastold notto come forthem befothree inthe moi-ning, as hewould only haveto wait; and hgoverness of late, who was o

Forsyth dt'd havetowait; and 52 r E 5 5 E.

lemonade and ioes ; andthentheir entry intothe dancinglikemsd ; and an c ~ited daughter greeting a gentlemancome upstairs behind Palliser, you are

late. Y ou don’tdeserveto be al lowedto danoe atall ." And

Arthur Fenwick.

”

each other. Whata sauoy girl Jessie wss,to be sure l Sheintroducedthsm with a run, Mr . Algernon P slliser, Miss

Fenwick’s desertion. It seemed al l so strange now—such e

van ished wor ld ! Justfanoy l— she hsd beenbeen speoulating if

M OWGOODshould acceptArthnr . if he gottothe pointM ugH

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‘é

Bmedictsaid itto Beatl-ioe.

”

“Did he l And did Beatrice say she wouldn’twalta with0h, please l I

'm so sorry. No—itwasu’tBenediot— itwus

me button your for

both us,thoughtRosaMwere deter-minedto begin atonce and notlosea minute.

'miatdear -oldtime n mbetore l

Then, even clearer stil l , came backto herthe '

dim summer

burned out, andthe flagging musio oltheweary musioians afar ,and she and Gerrywiththe gscden nearlytothemselves. Shelivethe longer—e Chinese lsnter-n atthe pointof death, orthesky, stirred bythe mom ingwind. Andthevoice c en '

ywhsneetumtothe house and a farewel l beoame inevitable. She shuther

'

eyes,'

and oould hear itand herI shsll goto lndia in sixweeksmnd never see you again.

”

Y es, youwill ; becauseArthur Fenwick isto br-ing you round“It' l l“That won’tmaks hsVingto go any better . Andthen

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hadto betound in an emergmoy shemightnothavethe strmgthto n set.

she mustuse itfor;Sally’smw4tm 4mu mx

fimml Bywn h wmmmd

mmmmmmm

wwm

ms

m

mm

m

h

mwmwm

m

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wm

mmw

47!som owGOOD

mmm

mmmm

m

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m

mm

me“

E“waswfim

mmw

war

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m

m.

awmmmm

nwmmwmwm

mm

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ew

s.

mmmmm

.

mm“mmwmm

mm

fim

mnwm

fimm

.

m

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u

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m

m

b

.

w.

m

mm

mwmmmm

m

mwwmmmm

mmm

mmMm

mm

mmw

m

mmwm

mu

m

m. “”

mu

mm;mmww

.

au

mummmm

mh

mw

m

.

m

Mm

a

mn

u

m

mm

.“o

n

m

wm

mmmmwmwm

w.

MWmM.

w

:mmm

wmmmmm

WMWWm

um

mM

mmwmmmn

MWMWMWMW

We

wmw

TmJm

Qmwm

m3mWm““Ms

mw%wmmmm

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uietly now,He was speaking moreqtell me—have you remembered al l r”

I think so, darling.

”

m

0 000“tK h a n -” haw ”“showOh yqthunm l—o bln d

" m?”m m xm m m wmw i Who b

“Biop sblk dmtlovo l m mthat Mthe cumulonim m floo,

fim ‘thu r.”m d he “No z it'l d l flghtl

wasn’tthe first. Tho firetwutel ling him my story— the accidant, m d so on—m d itm hud workto oonvinoe him itmMy -me atflonnemberg. Thatm nther s difionlty, bm uu

I hadtthe m e I hd mAmM and ho m ly m

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474 som owoow“In" .

“h umm uuum u l e.-0 000 00thomu .m l m ld hflmM 'OOO

”

“hu mbm ath.M oons-neo n

I oonld notgoflttoldthm . I dld notknovfiho phn n bmo otought. . l itW M M u m MMM n hb -bonflc gm“h awker h h h m wwhfi MM uflm eantimen a “Ma l ina- bd Tha n -bo bcat!“M M M M MM ole-a to mcan“

Dum m m n m 1 10 m l flm 'u h

MR. I d flflun hwwm n .

“Y es, l might. Therevaomou'twmo. Bho m o b mo nndmhtmg‘mm m

MM MMMMMWNQM own ‘ Put

her.ButOh. it !

gazing -trtightinto her eyuwith m u pmadon d m bowfldorment. “Y es, du ling,whatis itt”ndd nho, uthongh ho lud

C78M OWOOOD

thateven when he broke away from her thathim stUmbdb—bmke an y from her notion had al lthe force and meaning of a blowimege ofthewrong eho hnd donqor eeemedthetahe hsd nothing ior hlmthmngh itd l

butlove and forgiveness. At least. she would have tried tomake sure that he

.

hed.

been ehle to honneotand compare the

“0h. l eee l M a dden ,

God ltdld l“M GMIt

atthink oltheW ol ltnflltrain !"When ehe oould ehe heve heen l Sheen amel.”

in e cob—ble her l—ehe and Conradme honieto yon. Bntdid youknovme

M m

fidsy our story beganwith hsd leaped inh

stil l slmostwhispering hoersely, with a

constan note d amssementand‘

something like pauic in hisvoice :“H ithsdn’thappened—the sccident— I suppose l sbouldhave gcne bscktothe hotel . And whatshould l hsve donenextlWere you poor, Gerry dar ling l

"

0

if he wa etryingto supp ly briefiy whathe knewthe womanbeside him mustbo yearningto know, if notquite unlike otherwomen.

“I wasn’t wel l of!before—didn’t get on at the BaratStIn uis—butnotpoor exaetly. Then l made s small pile

cattle-ranching in Texas, and somehow wentto live stQuebec .There weie a lotof Freneh Cansdians Itookto . T hen afm

Y es, iove,whatlHaveH“payouburly relations living in fi ngland l

haven’tspokento one ofthem for years sud

yom —notsincethen. 0ne ofthem’s a Bart.with a

his nose in Shropshire. He’

.s an uncle Thenthere’

.s my sisterif she’ ys notdesd— m sister Livy. She’sMrs. Huxtable. I

fanoythey al lthink l ’ym deed inthe bush in Austi-alia. I hsd

“New,so

lie down onthe bedthere, and l 'l l sitby youtill you goto slesp .

Or looh you getto bed comfortably, and l 'll be bsek in a fewminutes and sitby you. Justtill you go ofi. Nowdo as ltel lHe obeyed like a child. Itwas m derful hcwfinthe retum

ing power of her sel f-command, shetook him, as itwere, in hand,and mscued him fromthe tension of his bewilderment. Apartfrom the factthatthe fibre of her nature was exceptionallystrong, her experience of this lasthour had removed the mostpart of the opp) " “sion that had weighed her down for more thana twelvemonth—tlvs doubt as to which way a discovery of hispostwould tell on her husband’s love for her. She had nofeeling now but anxiety on his behalf, and this really helped her

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“I shall ask itinthe end, so notnowin his hsnd a shuimthatranthrough as hh

rspeated slter him.

“Why hesitate l "Thetremor strsngthsned in her hsnd m d heard in his

answered zwith m efiortI dothink. Eh

Shewas his and Rosalind’s—a putof lheir existence, a necessity.

Itwas easy snd natural for himto dissociatethe living, breathingrealityItwasoi her daughter’s love.“

Y ou badtorgotten, dear, she repeated ; butyou know.

l had iwgotum because oi Sally herself ; butshe isShewaited. expecting himto say more ; buthe did notspeak

CHAP TER XLIV

A oomvm ssdawn chased a greytwilightfiomthe sea andwhiteclifis of St. Sennans, and a sickly efiortoithe sunto risevisibly,ending above a cloud-bank in a red half-circle that seemed a

quite unconnected with the struggling light, was bafiedby a higher cloud-bank stillthatcamo disoouragingly fromthewest, andquenchedthe hopes ofthe fewearly riserswhowere

as St. Seunanstower ohimed six. The gullthatflewhighabovethe green waste oi white-flecksd waterswas whiter stillagainstthe inky blue oithe cloud-eurtainthathsd disallowedthe day, andthe palervapour -driftsthatpaused and ehanged

lostthemselves and died ; butthe air

seawas sweetand mild forthetime of year, andtheverdiotoithe coestguaidsman atthe flagstafi, who in pursuanoe of his

sinecure had seen the night out, was that the day was prettysureto be an unoertain sart,with little iroshets onthe water,like over yander . He seemedtothinkthata certainty oftainty had allthevalue of a forecast, and was aswellwith his reportas hewasthathe had notseen a smugglerthroughthetelesoope he closed as he uttered it.“WelL I should judge itmightbetair ly doubtful , wasthereply ofthe man he was speaking with Itwasthe man whotattooed on hisarm. Theywere notleg ble now, as a couple of life-belts, or hencoops, as they aresometimes called, hung overthe arm and hidthem . The boyBenjaminwaswith his father, and carried athird. An explanation oithem came in answerto intem gation inthe eye ofthe“Justto putatouch of newpainton ’

em againstthe weather.” The speaker made one movementof his headsay that they had come from the pier-end, and another that hehad taken them hometo repaint by contract.

-uard asked,scamely as onewho had notheory himself ; more as one archso

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h SOMEHOW GOOD

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atthevery leastof perturbation suchthatSslly mightcome,aknowledgethathsdto be keptfrom her atall com .

his candlewith s cautious m'

atch, snd found whatsoMe—a lucky newspaper of the morning. If

only he could read itwithoutaudible rustling, unhesrd bythesleepers !The printwas slmosttoo smallto be resd bythe lightof a

single candle ; buttherewerethe usual headings,the usuai ranksof capitalsthattel l usyoung ladywho hsd bought, cr wastrying on, a large hat, andwhose top-story above, in profile, had gotso far ahead of herother stories below. There were the consignmen ts of locustfiights of boots

,for this young lady’s friends, with heels in the

som cwcoco 433

And sllthe sdvertisementsthatsome one’

im beiieve,ortheywould notpsy hor insertion ; butthatwe ignore, incisdulous. tried hard, or his own sake,to makethewholething mean something, but hisMusedto respondto his efiorts, snd he let5 a

5

5 i

a

; 5; E i 5 E

Sally wasthere, loving himtoo, butknowing ncthing, andneedingto knownothing ;thatone of his firstgreetings intheday to some would be from Conrad Vereker , probably too muchintoxicated with his own happinessto give much attentiontowhathewasbeginningto acknowledgewas some kind ofphysicalor nervous fever. If he oould only sleep !Buthe could not—cculd hardly clcse his eyes. He saidto

himself again and againthatnothing wasthe matter ;thst, ifsnything, he and Roseyweie better ofithanthey had been yet;thatthey had pamedthrough a land of perilto a gmtdeliverof memoriesthathis feverish conditicn would notletsieep. orthatwere its cause, came on him more and morethicklyallthose hours ofthe dreary night. They came,too, with a

growing orce, each cne as itreturned having morethe charscterof awsking dream ,vivid almosttcthe pointof reality. Butallsnded alike. He always found himself breaking away fromRosey in theverm da inthe bungd owatUmbaua and could

hear again her cry of despair z“Oh, Gei-ry, Gerry ! Itis not

as you think. Oh, stay, stay! Give me a chance to show youhowl love you l” Thetramp of his horse as he rcde awsyfrom his home andthatwhite figure leftprostrate intheversudaabove him, became a real soundthatbeatpainfully upon hisears ; andthevoice ofthe friend he sought—eu old soldier in

camp at Sabatco,where he rode almostwithouta halt—as heroused him inthe dawn ofthe nextday, cameto him sgsin

almostasthough spoM inthe room bedde him H‘Leftyow

wife, P alliser l My God, sir lwhat’sto come naxtl Andtiienthe wicked hardness of his own heartn nd his stuiabom refusal1— 2

him,whenthe only sane coursewsstowsitfm his return.

'

B -itthe,seccrul sctofthe dramatook his mind agsinto l iosey in her

loneliness 3forwhen hewas found by a search-psrty stthe hcot

her many decisionsthstitwas stil ltoo soon for an snswer ,followed by as many others astimewentonthatitwas nottoolate ! If he had received such a letter from her then, might itnotall have been difierenti May she nothavewritten one l

He hadtalked so littlewith her ; nothing forbadethe ides. Andso his mind travelled round with mono tonous return, alwaystothatoMfimqsndthose old scenea d al lthe pain cfthem .

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nctthink of itlesths should cry outsloud.Onlytwo orthm houu mcm snd fncsslindWhats cowsrd’shimto besrwhatshe herself hsd borne in

l Ofcourss lButhowhe sure hs should notWelLthewcsd wss caution .thatwss sll . He siipped on

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old Goody, shewas nothslf bad . Nothingwsshalfbad in Sally’seyes that morning. and almost everything was wholly good.She had sleptso sound shcwas sure itwas late . Butitwasonly half-putsix, and the early greetings ofMrs. Lobjoitbelowwere notto the baker , nor evento the milk, but _

to next door,which was dealing with the question of its mat and clean stepthrough the agency of its proprietress, whose voice chimedcheerfufly with Mrs. Lobjoit’s over the surprise of the latterfinding lser streetdoor had been opened, andthatsome one hadalready passed out. ForMrs. Lobjoithad madethatsure, thenight before, that she had

“shotto ” the bottom bolt that

SOH OWGOOD 487

recognise therethe fisgstsfi sndthe oldtown. Itwas odd snd unlike him,

Sallywas slarmed. Besides, howwhite he looked lthe incidentofthe g '

slvsnio battery atthe pisr-end is only fournotbe misled bythe cicse detailswe have given

Sally’s alarm stthe hsggard look of her stepfather’s facetook swa bmth ; atlesst, she did notfind her voice soon

loud because of her mother—as he turned away. Or it seemed so,hcr that wasthe only way she could account for his walkingaway so abruptly. In her hurry to getdressed and follow him.

she caught up an undergarment that lay onthe floor, withoutseeingthather own footwas onthetapethatwasto secure it,and a rip and partial disruption was the consequence. Nevermind, itwould hold uptil l she came in . Or, if itdidn’t, wherewas that safety-pin that was on her dressing table yesterday lNot there 1 Again, never mind ! She would do, somehowShe hurried on her clcthes, and her hatand waterproof. and left

shs wss still

Ma ther“.

Bewo

N

ewtotertsn

“In yu der." And the lifedisposed of, he sdded :

“lthoughttofromthe pier-end, snd make a finish

But Jacob preferred not to be led away inshould stand ’

em by, inthe shadow, forthe mattwo.

” said he.

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the phsntoms of his

granted, had gone for a longwalk over whatwas nowto him s

land of enchantment —the same ground he and Sally had passedover on the previous evening. He and his mother would beontheir wayto London in a fewhours, snd hewould liketo seethe landmarksthatweseto be a precious memory for alltimeyetonce morewhile he hadthe chance . Who could saythatheIf Fenwick , inchoosing this direction first, had a half-formedidea of attracting the doctor’s attention, the appearance of

Mrs. Iggulden’s shuttered parlour-window would have dis

couraged him. Ittold atale of a hcusehold stil l asleep , andquite truly as far as she herself was concerned. For Dr. Conrad.ss mighthave been expected,wasvery late in coming homethenight before ; and his mother

's peculiarity of not being abletosleep if keptup till eleven, combinedwith the need of a statementof her position, a declaration of policy, and almost a budget, ifnot quite, on the subject of her son

’s future housekeeping, havingresulted in what threatened to become an all-night sitting, thegood woman’s doses and repentances, with jerks, on the stairsovernight, had produced their consequences in the morning.

Fenwick passed the house, and walked on as far as where the

as we have seen, under 8ally’s window, failed in his dreanw

stateto see her as she looked overthe cross-bar athim, andthenmtontowardsthe cldtown . Itmavbe she was notveryvisible ;the double glasses of an or m m sh-windoware almost(equal to opacity. But even withthat the extreme aberrationwh wick s mind atthe momenti;the onlyway oo acoountfor

notseeing .herh"

,In facthis mental perturbaticn came aud wentbyOgusts.

as his memory caught at or relinquished agitating points ofreminiscence, always dwelling onthatparting fmmatUmballa. His brain and nervous systemwere in a

involved a climax and reaction ; and, unhappily,this climax,duringwhich his identifioation ofhis presentselfwith hismemorycame at an inopportune moment. If he could only have kept

But, really, speculation on so strange a frame of mind is uselesswe can only acceptthe facts asthey stand.

He had no m ollection afterwards of what followed whenhe psssedthe house and failedto see Sally or hear her cal l outtc him. Forthetime being he was back again in his life of

twenty years ago. Those who find this hard to bel ieve maysee no way of m ounting for what came about but by ascribingto Fenwick an intention of suicide. For our part we believehim to have been absolutely incapable of such an setfrom aselfish impulse ; and, moreover, it is absurd to imputeto himsuch a motive, at this time, however strongly he might .havebeen impelled towards it by discoveringthe injustice and crueltyof his own unforgiveness towards his young wife at some previoustime—as, for instance, in America—when she herself was beyondhis reach, and a recantation of his error impossible. Unless weaccept his conduct as the resul t of a momentary dementia, produced by over-strain, it must remain inexplicable.Itappearedto him, so far as hewas afterwards ableto defineor record it, that he was no longer walking on the familiar trackbetweenthe fewlodging-housesthatmadeupthe old St. Germans,and the still

'

older fishing quarter near the jetty, but that he wasagain on his way from Lahore to K urachi, from which he wasto embark for a newland where his broken heartmightdo itsbestto heal ; for if ever a man was utterly broken-hearted itwashe when he came away from Lahore, after his futile attempt to

492 SOMEHOW GOOD

in early years, revivea with a suggested deubt— is ittrue o

false !He sstagain onthe Esp lanede atBombay, asthe sunvanishel

in a flood of rosy gold, end releasedthe world from his heatHe feltegainthe relief ofthe eveningwind ; heard againthe chaof a gmup of Ehrglish oflicers who sipped sherry-cobhlers atatable a fiswpaces ofi.

“I always change my mind,”said on

ofthem,

“baokwards and forwardstillthe lastminute ;then fmake itthe lastone.

” He quite understoodthis man’s speech

andthoughthowlike himself l For fromthetime he leftLe-horhe,too, hsd gone beckwards and forwards, now reeolvingtno remedy butin distance apart, and al lthere mightbe c

oblivion. Was there not yettime ! He could still go backeven now. Butno ;the old obduracywas on him. Rosey ha l

Then he seemedto have come againto hic lastminute. Onohe m fairly onthe shipthatwas even nowcoaling for he

would be cast. The starsthathe snd Bose;

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Roon smart,out‘oars!’ Roon , boy

-you’ve no time to lose ! And esfather dashes down the steps he spoke of as the ladder”theruns for all he isworthto carrythe alarmtothe shore.

his gh g and hu semthe boy’s return from below; and atthsametime heard, nothiswords, buttheterror inthem, and bgsome mysta ious agency has senta flyingword alongthe beeclthat has brought a population out to help.

A badtime ofthetideto geta boatofi sharp, and a lomshelving run of sandy shingle before we reschthe sea ; for althe hoats' are onthe upper strand ofthe beach, abovethe lashigh-water mark andthe fiowofthetide is scamely an hou

old. There is a short squat cobble, fiat-bottomed and of intolerableweight, down nearthewaters, and its owner makes for itAnother man drives him outseawards, against the constant lifiof breaking waves, large enough to be troublesome, small enouglto be numerous. They give no chanoetothe second manttleap intothe boat, so deep has hetc go, pushing on untilth¢pads sre outandthe boatcontrolled ; buthe has barelytim<tc feelthe underdrawofthe recoiling wave whenthe straightscour of a keel comes down alongthe sand and pebbles—thrEllen Jane, St. Sennans—half-pushed, half-borne by a crew threeminutes have extemporised. You two in the bows, and youtwo utarm andthe spontaneous natural lsader—the mantheemergency msker

—atthetiuer- ropes, and EUenJane isofi,welJdrenched atthe outset. An oar swings round high inthe air ,

SOMEHOW GOOD 496

notto knock cne of youtwo astarn intothewater , andthen ,Give way l” and then the short, quick rhythm of the stroke,

and four men attheir utmoststress, esch knowing life and deathmay hang uponthe greatnesstf his efiort.The cobble is soon outshot, but its owner will notgive in.

He bears away from the course of the boat that has passed him,

to seek their common object where the tide-drift may have sweptit, beyond some light craft at their moorings which would havehidden it for a while. He has the right of it this time, for as hepasses, straining at his sculls, under the stern of a pleasureyachtatanchor , his eye is caughtby a black s

'

potrising on awave, and he makes for it. Not too fast at the last. though,butcautiously, so as to grasp the man with the life-belt and holdhim firmtil l help shal l cometo gethim on board. He mighteasily have overshot him ; but he has him now. and the four-oarsights him as she swings round between the last-moored boatand the pier ; and comes apace, the quicker for the tide.Whatis itye say, master ? Whatdo ye make itoutthegentleman says, Peter i

”For Fenwick, hauled on board the

cobble with the help of a man from the other boat, who returnsto his car , is alive and conscious, but notmuch more. A brandyfiask comes from somewhere in the steerage, where a mop and atin pot and a boathook live, and its effectis good. The half

drowned man becomes articulate enough to justify the report,It’s his daughter he’s asking for—overboard, too ! and thenthe man who spoke first says You be easy in your mind,master ; we

’ll find her. Bear away a bit, and lieto , Tom.

”

Tom isthe man inthe cobble, and he does as he is bidden. Heships his sculls and drifts, watching round on al l sides for whatmay be just afioatnear the surface. The four-oar remains, andthe eyes of her creware straining hardto catch a sightof anythingthatis notmere liftand ripple of awave.

Then more boats one after another, andmore. andthe gatheringmwd that lines the shore sees them scatter and lie to, some waysport, to watch the greater space of water. All drift, becausehey know that what they seek is drifting, too, and that if theynove they lose their only chance ; forthe thing they havetolnd is so small , sc amell, andthatgreatwaste of pitiless sea is1) large. It rs their only chance.The crowd, always growing, moves along the beach as thestills of drifting boats move slowly with the tide. They cancar the shouting from boatto boat, but catch but little of the

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498 SOMEHOW GOOD

148. if you meanthim, hadspoke asto space, butas onetoo hidifierenton all pointstomuchwho oVerheaid her .

Verakerthanked her , andturnedto go.

caughta fragmentof oonversation between her andundress uniform— a holland or

“white- jean jacket,

woollen comforter . He had losthisvoioe. or mostscuttlewith a pair of sl ippers in it, inexplicably.“

There’s a startdownthere P arty overthe pisr -end !

Couldn’t Forcibly. No partic'larsto identify, so far.’. They

’re no hringing him here i

”

If you knowyou can say. Whotold you, and whatdid k¢say 8 Make yourself understood

if ain’t right. Beyond that I take no responsibility.

The Lady c!the Bureau came out ; moved, no doubt. byimage d a drowned man whose m ourceswould notmeetthecredits she might be compelledto give him. She came out tothe front through the swing-door, looked up and down the road,and seemedto go back happier . Dr. Conrad’

s curiosity wasroused. and he started at once for the beach, but absolutelywithout a trace of personal misgiving. No doubt the tendency

outside our own circle had something to do with this. As hepassed down an alley behind some cottages—a short wayto thepier— hewas aware of a boytelling atale in aten 'ifiedvoioetohim

, fonowed hy the woman and boy.

I ask your pardon, air Whathe

turns for helpto his companion.

“Y oute ll him,

he , and gives in.

'

ear is cm ing into Dr.“Find something has happened cnthe beach. Butthey’veGothim outl Gotwhom outi Speakup,for Beaven’

ssake l"

It might tleman you know, sir , Butthe speaka’s husm m leftleftthetel lingto his wife,tairly strikes in here,to havethe satisfaction of lighteningthe

communication. “Buthe’s out safe, sir. You may relythe yoong lad .

”He has md e itharder for hiswifetotel lthe

rest. and she hesitates. ButDrH Conrad has stayed for no moreHe is going ata run downthe sloped passagethatleadstothesea. The boy follows him , and by some dexterous use of privatethoroughfares, knownto him, but not tothe doctor, arrives first,md is soonvisible ahefl nmningtowardsthe scattered groupsthat line the beach. The man and woman follow more slowly.

Fewofthosewho readthis,we hope, have ever hadto iwe ashook so appalling asthe onethatConrad Vereker sustainedwhsn he cameto knowwhatitwasthatwas being carried upthe beach fmmthe boatthathad justbeen driven stern ontothe shingle, asheemergedto a ful lviewofthe sea andthecrowd, thickening as its last stragglers arrived to meet it. Butmost of uswho are not young have unhapp ily had some experioence ofthe sort, and manywill recognise (ifwe can describe it)the feelingthatwas his in excesswhen a chance bystander—notthat drove the story hometo him, and forced him to understand.

It’s the swimming girl from Lobjoit’s, and she’s drooned.

” Itwas as well , for he hadto know. Whatdid itmatter howhebecame the blank thing standing there , ableto sayto itself,“Then Sally is dead,

”andto attaohtheir meeningtothewords.

but notto comprehend why he went on living ! One way offor al ltime is as good as another

; buthowhe cameto be so

Ifwe could knowhoweach man feelswho'

hears inthe feion’s

dock the sentence of penal servitude for l ife, it may be we should32- 2

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SOMEBOWGOOD

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SOMEHOW GOOD

9. E

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uncommon one ; but notwithout a certainThe hmthatbreaks covestincun social disadvantagn A

shielded Rosalind fromthe hounds,Buteven asthethonghtwas registered inher mind,thatohild

lay lifeless ; and her husband, stunned and dumb in his despair.dared noteven thatshe,too, should kncw,to share his

Those people aretakingtheirtime,” said she. Notthatshe was pressingl anxious forthemto come home. Itwas

more Gerry lived inthe presentthe better .

were far and away the best foreground forthe panorama of his mind justnow, and she herselfwouid bemiddle distance. There would be time and

enough hereafter, when the storm had subsided, for a revelationed chapters of his life in Canada and elsewhere .to her, aiterthetension andtrial ofthe night,to feelthathe was happy with Sally and poor P rosy. What

did it really matter how long they dawdled i She could hearin an ticipation their voices and the laughter that would tell her

this case. Wasthere nottheOctopus i Butthen she remem

Still. Rosalind felt her own reserves on the subject, althoughshe had always taken the part oftheOctopus on principle whenAnyhow, no useto beg and borrowtroubles l Lether dwell onthe happiness onlythatwas beforethem all . 8he pictured avariety of homes for Sally inthetimeto come,with beautiful grandehildren—only, mind you,many, many years ahead 1 8he could notcastherself forthepart ol while shetwinedthatglorious hair into itsplace with handsthatfor softness and whiteness would haveborne comparison with Sal ly’s own.

Inthe old days, beforethe news cl eviltravelled fast, thewg wifewould live for days,wesks, months,refiected lightof a sea-oavern no man

’s eye had ever seen ; or

or of plague ; or,worstof all , penned in some dungeon,madtothink ol home,waking from dreams of her hthetermr oftheintolerable night, its choking heator deadly chill . And allthoseweeks or monthsthe dearth of newswould seem justtheany of us. And shewould live on in contentand hope, jestingeven in anticipation of his return .

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soc SOMEHOW GOOD

Rosalind did notliketobutold Simonto‘ok itas spoken.

All fower ot’em- fine lads all— pntofitotheontothe Foreland. Therewas noneto help.

nmety-nine i Possibly yes—only she could not know it now.

She did nottm ble herself onthe pointof her party retum ingand notfinding her . Ten chanoesto cnstheywould hear aboutthe accidentand guesswhere she had gone. Mosthhelytheywould followher Besides, she meantto go back as soon as

girlwhom she said,

“1s ita bad accidentl Do yon knowwho it

is l” nor whythis girl muttered something under her breath,then gotaway, nor why so many eyes, all

fixed on her . She asked again ofthewoman nearesther, Do

you knowwho itis l” butthe woman gasped, and becamehysterical . making her afraid she lisd aooosted some anxi0us

relative or near friend, who oould notbearto speak i E

ha did,

re mand

as sorry

stil l allthe eyes

bowere fixed upcn her . A shudder ranthrough

thather. Could pity she sawinthem—pity for k r fGod

’s sake,tel l me atonce l Tel l mewhatthis ‘

Stil l silence l She could heu itsobs here thereinthe crowd, andthentwowomen potedto where an elderlyman who looked lihe a doctor came irom a doorway close by.

removal by friends, andthenthe strong Sootch accentofthefar . I wouldna undertake myself-to saythe seestol ic motionas Rosalind caughthis arm and hungto it, crying out:“Whydo yontell methis i For God

’

s saka speak plsin l I ainstrongerthsn youthink.

Becausetheytauld me yewerethe girl ’s mither .

Inthe shorttimethathad psssed sinoe R-osalind’s mind first

of mishap to one of them.

“How

shall betold ofthis l When andwherewill she know!”Twothewomm caughther as she fel l, snd

vely,“The young doctor-gentleman !” and theninterrogati

answersthe lastquestion. He is lookingtothe young lady inatthe Cofieehouse. Butno one says whathas happened .

Will younottel l me now! 0h,tell me—tel l methewhole lButmy hus

band wil l be here directly. Itwss he broughtthe gentleman

ts’s a hrtmythein.

ask

your

’swet

a shifttotry again .

Tom .

m !”

nigh wontspeeohtotellthave rowedButhad

spoke.Rosey

for anything may happen

getthee

.

a

of a high grsndtather olock, and ofthe name ofthe msker on

its face Thomas Locock, Rochester." She sees it throughmd

itfat

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610 M OWGOODno Tom nodded s-ant,tried my luok. \

ltwas a bad businemthat

the fisher-folk glanced at eachwent noiselesslydromthe roomdarkened wor ld ; and Conrad Vereker, whomthey could not

r 5 :

immersion, abruptsuppressionatthe eostof sanity, hsdquite as muchto dowiththishe was atfirstableto grasp ofthe exta itcfthe disaster . Butaotual chil l and exposure had contributedtheir sharetotherower ofthe cobbleturned in-shore at'onoe, some ofthis mighthave been saved ; butthatwould have been one pair of eyestheoonstitutiod hadthe chm eto rem ertitself, his revival wmtquickly. Hewas awakeningto a world with a black grief

’

it; butRoseywasthere, and hadto be lived for, andthinkhis debtto her ! Think ofthe greatwrong he did her inHer hand in his gave him strengthto speak, andthough hisvoicewasweak itwould reachthe headthatrested on hisbosom.

i S E E ‘i E g 5 8.

He faltered again before anding:I don’ knowwhy shewen

Thatwas all Fenwiok couldtell . The explanation came later .

It wasthatunhappy petticoat-tape ! A swimmer’s leg-strokejudgedwrongly intryingto returntothepier , butremember—sheoould notinthe firstmoma its knowthatthe mishap had besn

swimmingour judgment, shewould have done betterto remain nearthelife-belt. even if she, too, had ul timate ly had to depend on it.

Afier he had endedwhathe hadtotell he remainedquite stil l ,followed. '

hvioe orthe door, and asking“8hall l go i” she was always metwith“Whatgoodwill itdo ‘

i Conradwilltel l usatonce," and returnedto her place beside him. After all ,whatshe heard mightbetheend of Hope. Better stave ofi Despairtothe last.She watchedthe deliberate hands ofthe clock going cmel ly

M OWGOOD613

for a minate. The othess have done itbsfore.’hand as shewarmthos—therewho hassaid

hopes,”in

words justhers, and

a chance i”

a chanoe.

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staggeredtothe door of

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“We arshere Conrad knowswhatof red hopa

'

or a bold bid for itwhen his oldwords “Why doesthatsolamn old fool

wan

iStSennanstower answered fr-omwithout. Then Bosalind said,“Shall I godarling, if youwishto. Buths wouldtell us atoncltherewere anything.

" She answered, “Y es, perhaps it’s no use,”and fell back into silenoe.

shewould liketo have enny in,to cry on her and ma.ke her

perhaps feel less like a granite-block in pain; But,then,notSally a baby ofthree once i She oould remembertheof sorrow. Howcould she havetold him of iti

518

each in a ring of pain,men t. How was it

SOM OWGOODWhatwas shsthathad outlived himto bsar allthis l Much,

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whathad partedhear that the heart

Mediterranean ; andthough she could notsmile now, could knowafioatuponthewater still i A score of little memories of a likesortchssed one another as her mind ran on , allthroughthechildhood and girlhood oftheir subjtct. And now— itwas all

offromhour

. Another hcur l The olock gave outitswarningthatwas still would sound in her ears once more.to strike, in deadly earnestwith its long premonitoryallthosetwelve strokes soquick uponthe heelssounded butnow, as itseemed. Another hourthose stil l left for reasonable hope ; another

satetlekto msassre oatthe StSa inans“Shall l gonow, ,te l ec

ni”

like.” Hs<

ma d-rim: you couldto hea'

r if itwssto bsth?death-sentenes.

heart-broken, all with life andthoughtless youth and

upon her his fanewel l khs, notto berenewed until butatthe tshe shuddered away,horrorstricken, fromthe ni@tmarethatany memory mustbe ofwhatthen crossed her life, and mbbedthem both of happhie Andthen ha '

powers of reason reeled and swam, and her brainthrobbed as sheflirt in it “Betterhappiness so lost, allthestartsup, ah his life roused into hisfaoe. Ifonbthatclookwonldendthath ng nnneoessary roll of wam ing, and strihe l Butbeforethe long-deferred single stroke oomesto say another hourhas psn ed he is up and atthe door,What’sthem doctor i Tell it out,man l— never fear.

Rosalind dares notask ; herMartgives a greatbound, and flops,

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P son sson Sums Wuaor , Mrs. Julius Bradshaw’s P 696» was

enjoying himself thoroughly. He was the sol: occupant of

200, Ladbroke Grove Road, servants

pleased him better than to have Londonto himself— that is tosay,to himself and five millions of perfectstrangers. He had itnow, and could wallow unmolested in Sabellian researches, andtear the flimsythbories of Bopsius—whose name we haven’t gotquite right—to tatters. Indeed, we are notreally sure theresearcheswere Sabellian. But no matter !Just at the moment at which we find him, the Professor was

notengaged in any resesrches atalh unless running one’s

s of a leading joumaLto make surethere isnothing inthem . is a research . Thatiswhathewas doing inhis library. And hewas '

alsotalkingto himself— a person from

whcm he had no reserves or concealments. Whathe hadto say

K’m I— h

’m i The Cyclopean Cyclopedia.

’ Forty volumesthirty-dve pounds. A digest of human

knowledge, past. present, and probable. With a brief appendixenumeratingthethings of which we are still ignorant, and of

our future ignorance of which we are scion certain .

h'm l dear at the price. But stop a bit! ‘Untiltwelve o’clock on Saturday next copies ofthe above, withrevolving bookcase, can be secured for the low price of sevenpounds This did not seem to increasethe speaker’sconfidence, and he continued, as he wrestled with a rearrangement of the sheet :“Shiny paper, and every volume weighs aton. Very full of matter— everything in it except the thing youwant to know. By-the-bye what a singular thing it is, when

youcometothink of it,thatso manypeoplewill sell youathing

som owGOOD sitworth a poMfor sixpence,whowon’tgive you a shill ing outrighton anyterms! Itmusthaveto dowiththeir unwil lingnessto encourage mendicancy. A noble self-denial, prompted bycharity organisations ! Hullo l— what’s this ! ‘Heroic rescuefrom drowning at St. Sennans-on -Sea.’ E ’

m— h’m— h

’m -can’t

read al lthat. Butihat’a wherethe married couple went—St.Sennans-on-Sea. The bride announced her intention

lyestenisy

of looking in atfiveto-day fortea So I snppose bedisturbedThe soliloquist thought it nwessary to repeat his last wordstwice.to convince herself and the atmosphere that his '

positionwas one of grievance. Having done this, and feeling he oughtto substantiate his suggestion that hewas juston the point ofputting salt on the tail of an unidentified Samnite, or a finishingtouch on the demolition of Bopsius, he folded his newspaper.which we suspect he had not been reading candidly from, andmourned his writing.

Did youever have aquarter of an hour of absolutely unalloyedhappinem ! Probably not, if you have nevor known the joys ofprofound antiquarian eruditiomwith an unelucidated pastbehindfifteen minutesthattol lowed were notwithout alloy, buthadthis additional sest—thatthatgirl w come bother lng indirectly, and hewould gethis grievance, and work it. And atno serious enpense, for hewas reallyvery partialto his daughter ,andmeant, au losd de soi,to enjoy hervisit. Nevertheless, dis.cipfine hadtobemaintained if onlytor purposesof selfdweption ,

andthe P rofemor really bel ieved in his own“Humph l I supposeditwould bethat," whea ititia’

s knock came atthe -streetdoor.“

Suoh a shameto disturb you, papa dear ! Butyou’ll havctbgive metea—you said youwould.

”

Well—never mind. Sitdown and

don’t fidget. No_!make your

you are here. Getme ‘ P asseri P icturm Etruscorum,

’ that’sright. Very good find for a young married woman. Now aitdown and m -lthe paper— there’s somethingwill interestyou.

Y oumay ring fortea. only don’t talk.

”

Sabellians, or Bopsius, or both, and Le titia acted as instructed,but without coming onthenewspapen -paragraph. She couldn’t

iask for a clue after so broad a hint, so she hadto bswith supposing her father referredtothe return of SirP enderfield, Bart., as a Home Rule Umonistsndthe firsthadi

i

i i

herself. So she madethetea, andwaitedstopped, and the Sabellians or Bopsius

and ratified.Histone surrendered

the grievance as an act of liberality, but maintainedthe pr inciple.“Wel l, havewe found it“Foundwhati”No ! Do show me that.” Le titia forms

a lifeboat going out to a wreck. How excitedbeen“

Here, give it me and I’

ll find it. Y es— that’s right—aand a totake leu sugar because of

‘Hemic rescue

-tl ing clopemmtat01aphamRise ’

. . Gotit!Lnfitia supphedthe cup ofteqpoursd one fcr herself, and

sister—“cl ito Soathend. And justfancy, papa ; P sg and I

p yedlayed from ninetil lm -to-one mght, and he never

feltit, nor had m y nor anytm‘Fh

Thetopic iii sohastowait.form of perversion better

than Very dha aditableto hil n. I hope you blewhim wel l

Do youknow, I’m real lybeginningto believq’

s fw, and iti-the little galvanioShouldn

’tym uy sqthough, seni- slythere wasn ’ta hig galvafi battsry, itmustIt Bntwliatdoes

Why uf cenrse,

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I was forgetting all aboutscarcely casther eyes on it when she gave a cry. oh, papa,

papa ; it’s Soay I Oh dear l" And then “Oh dear, oh dear !I can hardly seeto make itout. Butl ’m sure she

’s al l right!

They say so.

”And ksptontryingto read . Bertather did

was, under the circumstances, the best thing to do— tookthe paper from her , and as she sank backwith a beating'

heattsnd flushed face on m chsir she had justrisen hem readtheparagraphto her u follows :“

Elm ore Ensoul m u Dnowsnro u Sr . Sa l m on-8m .

Bush, atpresenton avisitatthe oldtown,wsswalking onthepier-end, atthe pointwherethere is no rail or rope forthesecurity ofthe public, his footl lipped. and hewas precipitatcdintothem a heightof atleastten feet. Notbeing a swimmer,his life was for some minutes inthe greatestdanger ; butfortunately for him his stepdaughter, Miss Rosalind Nightingale.whose daring and bril liantfeats in swimming have been for somewesks pastthe admiraticn and euvy oi allthevisitorstotheplaces, was class at hand, and without a moment

’s hesitationplunged in to his rescue. Encumbered as she was by clothing.she was nevertheless able to keep Mr. Fcnwick above water, andultimately to reach a life-buoy that was thrown fromthe pier.

SOMEHOWGOOD 623

safety, shethoughther bestcoursewould beto returntothepier. Shewas unable intbe endto remh it, and her strengthgivingway, shswas picked up, sfter an immed on of morethantwenty minutes, by the boats that put of!fromthe shore. It

red ily be imaginedthata scene of greatencitementensued,andthata period of mostpainful anxiety follcwed, for itwasnot till nearly four hours afterwards that, thanks to the skilland assiduity of Dr. FergusMaccoll, of 22A, Albion Crmcsnt,assisted by Dr. Vereker , of London, the young lady showed signsof l ife. We are happy to say that the latestbulletins appearto pointto a speedy and complete recovery, with no worse consequences than a bad fright. We understand that the expediency of placmg a proper railing atal l dangercus points onthepier is being madethe subjectof a numerously signed petitionto the Town Council."

" That seems all right, said the Professor. And he saidnothing further, but remained rubbing his shaved surface in asort of compromising way— a way that invited or permittedexception to be takento his remark.

All right i Yes, but—oh, papa, do think what might havehappened I They might both have been drowned.

”

But they weren’t l”“Ol coursetheyweren'tl Butthey su'gkthave been .

Well, it would have proved that people are best away fromthe seaside. Notthatany further proof is necessary. Now,good-bye, my dear ; l mustgetbsckto myworThat afternoon Julius Bradshaw went on a business missionto Gomhil l, and was detained in the City till past five o’clock.

Itwasthcntoo lateto retumtothe office, as sixwasthe closinghour ; so he decided ontbe '

l‘wopenny Tubeto Lancaster Gate,

the nearest pointto home. There was a great shouting of

evm ing papers roundthe opening intothe bowels ofthe earthat the corner of the Bank, and Jul ius

’s attention was caught byan unearthly boywith a strange accent.

Mail andEcho,’ third edition, all the latest news for a ’

apeny.

Fullest partic’lars - in my copies. Alderman hose to death onthe Halps. Shocking neglect of twins.

’

’Oxton man biles histhird wife alive. Cricket this day— Surrey going strong. Moreabout heroic rescue from drowning at St. Senna’s. Full and

ack’rate partic'lars in my copies only. Catch hold Julius

m SOEEKOWGOOD

St. 8enna’s, wherethey makethe leatury

mss Rosaliiid Nightingale. I see her inthe fogNo, no lies atal l ! Told ms her name of her own

accord , and wentindoors.

" Juliuswould havetriedto gettcthe bottom ofthis if he had notbeen sotakm aback by it, ematthe costof more pence for conversation ; butb{°thetime hehad foundthathismtormanthad oertainly reador atleastmastsred Sally’

s name right,the boy hadvanished .

i. i

Eventhe Twopenny Tubewastooso mad was be with impatieme toWhen he gotthem and wentupstairswaiting '

furiously forthe post3for '

ahewassureher a btter from Sally or her mother . And she was right, forthe mshtothe streetdoorthatfollowedthe postman’

s kncck

Y ou may just as well read it upstairs comfortably, Tish,”clear— for the arrival or the letter practically shows it— thatnobody is incapacitated by the accident. (bme along up i”

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l shouldn’tconsidsr ithonourabletoPltP rosy,mean.of rsmaining single. Y ou seewhat

(rich“Itwas all Jeremiah’

was doing. He admitsnight. Anyhow, itwas likethis :l followsd him downtothe

I

isworst, butlthmk reviving. I can'twrite aboutitI ’lltell

youwhen l come back.

Thsywon’ttell me howlong l was comingto,

have been much than lthought, hen one comestothinkwof it. 0nly I can

’ttel l , bscausswhen poor dear P rosy had gotmeto‘—down at Lloyd’s Coffee-hom e, where old Simon site allday—and l had beenvvrapped up in whatl heard a SootchmancaH

‘weel -wwmed blawnkeh ’md bmughthome in

system, fol lowed by Silvester ’s, and hnally opened avein . Andtherewas l alive allthetime, and notgratefulto P rosy atall ,l cmten yom for bringing meto. I have requssted nottc be

P artd avc btoflj om r ln‘qlo. Notvintalflglbls l

aotualbtumbleddown insensible l I had no idsa oftheturn-outthue'sbeui until justnow,when mother andJeremiah oonfesssdup. Justfancy itl Nowl mustshutupto catchthe post.“Y our evm' afiectJrlend,“

BR I T .

"

ashore insem ible, and remained so nearly four hours. For along time I was almostwithout hope, but we persevered againstevery disoouragement, with complete final sweess. I am a good

nowof the effect ofthe shock on Mrs. Fenwickher husband than for anything that may happento MissN.,time (the news came ratheri

i i i

hereafter '

notspecified. I'

am ashamedto say l showed weakneu (butnottill l wu smethe lungswere acting naturally),

‘ Bssaotaqam

M OWGOOD

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Nm Y on NA'mgN.

“A novel ol naeom onqualtty. Awortoltme bumour ."NWY ou Ov‘nm .

allm lfiell wflbthe hm“l l yoo makethe actme of joe ‘fm ud bltwile, end

mtban youeonld lwmme lmmoflal Ptctwietor ‘m leM ‘”

Mur m u rs.

Ne ruda -hook!mlu n who m enjoy a good ltory. h ll oltheteympe&y u dm m w w u m m mm m um mwhole hootol mlnor chn aetuI a-tnthe pren ehfion dthe chldm ottbe dory.”“A booktbatnearly defiee commeat. butwhou every pqe

contains charm lorthe reeder .

”

“And itm fly m a book—merely a boob—thh deepf glowing,moving ammmg aboundlng duptetoutoflile!"“lth nd ofiemitmnd bem mu book h kesm h a bold

nponthe imagh atlon. Buta newnovel otan old-tlme sofl ealled

lu meh e mood m ywrote',The New "

; witfi ouch feelings Dm m penned‘Dovld

m 5 surnam e? op THE ENGLISH NOm .

M ’MM MM ‘M M ‘

Audwtthu n m a m m m m m tu m

"M ‘

l m "

"m um m wmwsn m m m g m m Nowe: do“. Mr. Rooowelt, PunterKipling, all of u. liketo be

Duu cul onm

Y oo nem lon lnte'

rmW M. To bold bl ln l m m iousl ad“l earned—ta a word,to playwith ll! AMinthan " us ~- l "i~I! l ”m l!WWIIMr. De "Wm ?M Mom“mad .r n lm‘cr'twhim "

“He ll . showall (th atbomW ent-,who mingle. mtandM a m w a m m m m m .km -

a m m um m -mw um a m m mumm m dm a mem pfltya m kumM "

“He bqbeW sMa blaM on o‘mM MM MMMM othnmonr. The ploth eh bonmtm niou and a ddng.”

“A book . mu m -awn, fun; atria -awn,tweet, dun .o'dlnnruy packedwfihthe oh ufiom ol m and above al l ,W h m .

" My

NATION.“in ‘Alios- ior-Short'T he novel holds oncby itswisda nlwitflnd

an aboundingtide oi litethatruns strongiyNewY ou Evenmo Sun.“We oould notlay itaside. The more careful ly you read 'Aiiee

'the better youwil l like it. "NewY ou Trims.O!the literaryqual ity ofMr . DeMorgan'

swork itis impossibletospeakwithouta degree of enthusiasmwhich mightinvite suspicion ofincoherence. Thesetwovo lumes of his seemto usto prove noton lythatthe English novel is notdead,butthatitissafeto develop onthel ines laid down bythe old masters.Spec-ram s.“This newstory wil l establish his rightto be aceepted withouthesitation asqvery eonsiderablo noveiist. I'Ie follmthewtradition. msm h hm gm md hm We e-amtouselvesthink ot‘ n hsttu dz n andtobm mors hopdul fiurmMonthauthatawriter likeMr. De l l organ should go hacktotheold models lor hismethods otanalysis. Ittakes a iongtimeto getatthe henrtotone otMr . DeMorgan’

s characta ‘

s— lttahes a lonntimetotathom B-nond or P sndeunis- butwhen m e has dom sqone hasa friend every one of whose moral lineaments one knows and re

members.

Booxium .

Especial ly doMr . DeMorgan’s almostunique powersof observation and descri ption recall Ch ris Dictate.while inthe knowledge

of menthathe displays. he bids fairto rival Thacherna. itwouldindeed be hardto findtwo books inwhich al lthe oharacterswere so

human, so intensely l iving.

"

DAILY Cnnomcut.“Themantle ofCharles Dickens has{alien onthe shoulders oftheauthm of Alice-tor-Shorh ’”

“itwill be hailed as a masterpiece bythose who do notal lowthesuperfluous fiction of nowadaysto bury itoutof sight— ‘Aliee-t’orShort’ is a masterpiece in its kind. Like ‘David Copperfield,

‘

l ike ‘ The Neweomes,’like ‘Middlemarch,’ itmay be read in its

entirety or in partwith equal pleasure."