CHAPTERI
IntheduskofanOctoberevening,asensiblelookingwomanoffortycameoutthroughanoakendoortoabroadlandingonthefirstfloorofanoldEnglishcountry—house。Abraidofherhairhadfallenforwardasifshehadbeenstoopingoverbookorpen;
andshestoodforamomenttosmoothit,andtogazecontemplatively——notintheleastsentimentally——throughthetall,narrowwindow。Thesunwassetting,butitsglorieswereattheothersideofthehouse;forthiswindowlookedeastward,wherethelandscapeofsheepwalksandpasturelandwassoberingattheapproachofdarkness。
Thelady,likeonetowhomsilenceandquietwereluxuries,lingeredonthelandingforsometime。Thensheturnedtowardsanotherdoor,onwhichwasinscribed,inwhiteletters,ClassRoomNo。6。Arrestedbyawhisperingabove,shepausedinthedoorway,andlookedupthestairsalongabroadsmoothhandrailthatsweptroundinanunbrokencurveateachlanding,forminganinclinedplanefromthetoptothebottomofthehouse。
Ayoungvoice,apparentlymimickingsomeone,nowcamefromabove,saying,"WewilltaketheEtudesdelaVelocitenext,ifyouplease,ladies。"
Immediatelyagirlinahollanddressshotdownthroughspace;
whirledroundthecurvewithafearlesscentrifugaltossofherankle;andvanishedintothedarknessbeneath。Shewasfollowedbyastatelygirlingreen,intentlyholdingherbreathassheflew;andalsobyalargeyoungwomaninblack,withherlowerlipgraspedbetweenherteeth,andherfinebrowneyesprotrudingwithexcitement。Herpassagecreatedaminiaturetempestwhichdisarrangedanewthehairoftheladyonthelanding,whowaitedinbreathlessalarmuntiltwolightshocksandathumpannouncedthattheaerialvoyagershadlandedsafelyinthehall。
"Ohlaw！"exclaimedthevoicethathadspokenbefore。"Here'sSusan。"
"It'samercyyourneckain'tbroken,"repliedsomepalpitatingfemale。"I'lltellofyouthistime,MissWylie;indeedIwill。
Andyou,too,MissCarpenter:Iwonderatyounottohavemoresenseatyourageandwithyoursize！MissWilsoncan'thelphearingwhenyoucomedownwithathumplikethat。Youshakethewholehouse。"
Ohbother！"saidMissWylie。"TheLadyAbbesstakesgoodcaretoshutoutallthenoisewemake。Letus——"
"Girls,"saidtheladyabove,callingdownquietly,butwithominousdistinctness。
Silenceandutterconfusionensued。Thencameareply,inatoneofhoneyedsweetness,fromMissWylie:
"Didyoucallus,DEARMissWilson？"
"Yes。Comeuphere,ifyouplease,allthree。"
Therewassomehesitationamongthem,eachofferingtheotherprecedence。Atlasttheywentupslowly,intheorder,thoughnotatallinthemanner,oftheirflyingdescent;followedMissWilsonintotheclass—room;andstoodinarowbeforeher,illuminedthroughthreewesternwindowswithaglowofruddyorangelight。MissCarpenter,thelargestofthethree,wasredandconfused。Herarmshungbyhersides,herfingerstwistingthefoldsofherdress。MissGertrudeLindsay,inpalesea—green,hadasmallhead,delicatecomplexion,andpearlyteeth。Shestooderect,withanexpressionofcolddistasteforreproofofanysort。Thehollanddressofthethirdoffenderhadchangedfromyellowtowhiteasshepassedfromthegrayeasterntwilightonthestaircaseintothewarmwesternglowintheroom。Herfacehadabrightolivetone,andseemedtohaveagoldenmicainitscomposition。Hereyesandhairwerehazel—nutcolor;andherteeth,theupperrowofwhichshedisplayedfreely,werelikefinePortlandstone,andslopedoutwardenoughtohavespoilthermouth,hadtheynotbeensupportedbyarichunderlip,andafinelycurved,impudentchin。Herhalfcajoling,halfmockingair,andherreadysmile,weredifficulttoconfrontwithseverity;andMissWilsonknewit;forshewouldnotlookatherevenwhenattractedbyaconvulsivestartandanangrysideglancefromMissLindsay,whohadjustbeenindentedbetweentheribsbyafingertip。
"Youareawarethatyouhavebrokentherules,"saidMissWilsonquietly。
"Wedidn'tintendto。Wereallydidnot,"saidthegirlinholland,coaxingly。
"Praywhatwasyourintentionthen,MissWylie？"
MissWylieunexpectedlytreatedthisasasmartreparteeinsteadofarebuke。Shesentupastrangelittlescream,whichexplodedinacascadeoflaughter。
"Praybesilent,Agatha,"saidMissWilsonseverely。Agathalookedcontrite。MissWilsonturnedhastilytotheeldestofthethree,andcontinued:
"Iamespeciallysurprisedatyou,MissCarpenter。Sinceyouhavenodesiretokeepfaithwithmebyupholdingtherules,ofwhichyouarequiteoldenoughtounderstandthenecessity,Ishallnottroubleyouwithreproaches,orappealstowhichIamnowconvincedthatyouwouldnotrespond,"（hereMissCarpenter,withaninarticulateprotest,burstintotears）;"butyoushouldatleastthinkofthedangerintowhichyourjuniorsareledbyyourchildishness。HowshouldyoufeelifAgathahadbrokenherneck？"
"Oh！"exclaimedAgatha,puttingherhandquicklytoherneck。
"Ididn'tthinktherewasanydanger,"saidMissCarpenter,strugglingwithhertears。"Agathahasdoneitsooft——ohdear！
youhavetornme。"MissWyliehadpulledatherschoolfellow'sskirt,andpulledtoohard。
"MissWylie,"saidMissWilson,flushingslightly,"Imustaskyoutoleavetheroom。"
"Oh,no,"exclaimedAgatha,claspingherhandsindistress。
"Pleasedon't,dearMissWilson。Iamsosorry。Ibegyourpardon。"
"SinceyouwillnotdowhatIask,Imustgomyself,"saidMissWilsonsternly。"Comewithmetomystudy,"sheaddedtothetwoothergirls。"Ifyouattempttofollow,MissWylie,Ishallregarditasanintrusion。"
"ButIwillgoawayifyouwishit。Ididn'tmeantodiso——"
"Ishallnottroubleyounow。Come,girls。"
Thethreewentout;andMissWylie,leftbehindindisgrace,madeasurpassinggrimaceatMissLindsay,whoglancedbackather。
Whenshewasalone,hervivacitysubsided。Shewentslowlytothewindow,andgazeddisparaginglyatthelandscape。Once,whenasoundofvoicesabovereachedher,hereyesbrightened,andherreadylipmoved;butthenextsilentmomentsherelapsedintomoodyindifference,whichwasnotrelieveduntilhertwocompanions,lookingveryserious,re—entered。
"Well,"shesaidgaily,"hasmoralforcebeenapplied？AreyougoingtotheRecordingAngel？"
"Hush,Agatha,"saidMissCarpenter。"Yououghttobeashamedofyourself。"
"No,butyouought,yougoose。Anicerowyouhavegotmeinto！"
"Itwasyourownfault。Youtoremydress。"
"Yes,whenyouwereblurtingoutthatIsometimesslidedownthebanisters。"
"Oh！"saidMissCarpenterslowly,asifthisreasonhadnotoccurredtoherbefore。"Wasthatwhyyoupulledme？"
"Dearme！Ithasactuallydawneduponyou。Youareamostawfullysillygirl,Jane。WhatdidtheLadyAbbesssay？"
MissCarpenteragaingavehertearsway,andcouldnotreply。
"Sheisdisgustedwithus,andnowonder,"saidMissLindsay。
"Shesaiditwasallyourfault,"sobbedMissCarpenter。
"Well,nevermind,dear,"saidAgathasoothingly。"PutitintheRecordingAngel。"
"Iwon'twriteawordintheRecordingAngelunlessyoudosofirst,"saidMissLindsayangrily。"Youaremoreinfaultthanweare。"
"Certainly,mydear,"repliedAgatha。"Awholepage,ifyouwish。"
"Ib—believeyouLIKEwritingintheRecordingAngel,"saidMissCarpenterspitefully。
"Yes,Jane。Itisthebestfuntheplaceaffords。"
"Itmaybefuntoyou,"saidMissLindsaysharply;"butitisnotverycreditabletome,asMissWilsonsaidjustnow,totakeaprizeinmoralscienceandthenhavetowritedownthatIdon'tknowhowtobehavemyself。Besides,IdonotliketobetoldthatIamill—bred！"
Agathalaughed。"Whatadeepoldthingsheis！Sheknowsallourweaknesses,andstabsatusthroughthem。Catchhertellingme,orJanethere,thatweareill—bred！"
"Idon'tunderstandyou,"saidMissLindsay,haughtily。
"Ofcoursenot。That'sbecauseyoudon'tknowasmuchmoralscienceasI,thoughInevertookaprizeinit。"
"Younevertookaprizeinanything,"saidMissCarpenter。
"AndIhopeInevershall,"saidAgatha。"Iwouldassoonscrambleforhotpenniesinthesnow,likethestreetboys,asscrambletoseewhocananswermostquestions。Dr。Wattsisenoughmoralscienceforme。NowfortheRecordingAngel。"
Shewenttoashelfandtookdownaheavyquarto,boundinblackleather,andinscribed,inredletters,MYFAULTS。Thisshethrewirreverentlyonadesk,andtosseditspagesoveruntilshecametooneonlypartlycoveredwithmanuscriptconfessions。
"Forawonder,"shesaid,"herearetwoentriesthatarenotmine。SarahGerram！Whathasshebeenconfessing？"
"Don'treadit,"saidMissLindsayquickly。"Youknowthatitisthemostdishonorablethinganyofuscando。"
"Poch！Ourlittlesinsarenotworthmakingsuchafussabout。I
alwaysliketohavemyentriesread:itmakesmefeellikeanauthor;andsoinChristiandutyIalwaysreadotherpeople's。
ListentopoorSarah'staleofguilt。'1stOctober。IamverysorrythatIslappedMissChambersinthelavatorythismorning,andknockedoutoneofherteeth。Thiswasverywicked;butitwascomingoutbyitself;andshehasforgivenmebecauseanewonewillcomeinitsplace;andshewasonlypretendingwhenshesaidsheswallowedit。SarahGerram。"'
"Littlefool！"saidMissLindsay。"Theideaofourhavingtorecordinthesamebookwithbratslikethat！"
"Hereisatouchingrevelation。'4thOctober。HelenPlantagenetisdeeplygrievedtohavetoconfessthatItookthefirstplaceinalgebrayesterdayunfairly。MissLindsaypromptedme;'and——"
"Oh！"exclaimedMissLindsay,reddening。"Thatishowshethanksmeforpromptingher,isit？HowdaresheconfessmyfaultsintheRecordingAngel？"
"Servesyourightforpromptingher,"saidMissCarpenter。"Shewasalwaysadouble—facedcat;andyououghttohaveknownbetter。"
"Oh,IassureyouitwasnotforhersakethatIdidit,"repliedMissLindsay。"ItwastopreventthatJacksongirlfromgettingfirstplace。Idon'tlikeHelenPlantagenet;butatleastsheisalady。'
"Stuff,Gertrude,"saidAgatha,withatouchofearnestness。"Onewouldthink,tohearyoutalk,thatyourgrandmotherwasacook。
Don'tbesuchasnob。"
"MissWylie,"saidGertrude,becomingscarlet:"youarevery——oh！
oh！StopAg——oh！IwilltellMiss——oh！"Agathahadinsertedasteelyfingerbetweenherribs,andwasticklingherunendurably。
"Sh—sh—sh,"whisperedMissCarpenteranxiously。"Thedoorisopen。"
"AmIMissWylie？"demandedAgatha,relentlesslycontinuingthetorture。"AmIvery——whateveryouweregoingtosay？AmI？amI？
amI？"
"No,no,"gaspedGertrude,shrinkingintoachair,almostinhysterics。"Youareveryunkind,Agatha。Youhavehurtme。"
"Youdeserveit。Ifyouevergetsulkywithmeagain,orcallmeMissWylie,Iwillkillyou。Iwillticklethesolesofyourfeetwithafeather,"（MissLindsayshuddered,andhidherfeetbeneaththechair）"untilyourhairturnswhite。Andnow,ifyouaretrulyrepentant,comeandrecord。"
"Youmustrecordfirst。Itwasallyourfault。"
"ButIamtheyoungest,"saidAgatha。
"Well,then,"saidGertrude,afraidtopressthepoint,butdeterminednottorecordfirst,"letJaneCarpenterbegin。Sheistheeldest。"
"Oh,ofcourse,"saidJane,withwhimperingirony。"LetJanedoallthenastythingsfirst。Ithinkit'sveryhard。YoufancythatJaneisafool;butsheisn't。"
"Youarecertainlynotsuchafoolasyoulook,Jane,"saidAgathagravely。"ButIwillrecordfirst,ifyoulike。"
"No,youshan't,"criedJane,snatchingthepenfromher。"Iarmtheeldest;andIwon'tbeputoutofmyplace。"
Shedippedthepenintheinkresolutely,andpreparedtowrite。
Thenshepaused;considered;lookedbewildered;andatlastappealedpiteouslytoAgatha。
"WhatshallIwrite？"shesaid。"Youknowhowtowritethingsdown;andIdon't。"
"Firstputthedate,"saidAgatha。
"Tobesure,"saidJane,writingitquickly。"Iforgotthat。
Well？"
"Nowwrite,'IamverysorrythatMissWilsonsawmewhenIsliddownthebanistersthisevening。JaneCarpenter。'"
"Isthatall？"
"That'sall:unlessyouwishtoaddsomethingofyourowncomposition。"
"Ihopeit'sallright,"saidJane,lookingsuspiciouslyatAgatha。"However,therecan'tbeanyharminit;forit'sthesimpletruth。Anyhow,ifyouareplayingoneofyourjokesonme,youareanastymeanthing,andIdon'tcare。Now,Gertrude,it'syourturn。Pleaselookatmine,andseewhetherthespellingisright。"
"Itisnotmybusinesstoteachyoutospell,"saidGertrude,takingthepen。And,whileJanewasmurmuringatherchurlishness,shewroteinaboldhand:
"Ihavebrokentherulesbyslidingdownthebanistersto—daywithMissCarpenterandMissWylie。MissWyliewentfirst。"
"Youwretch！"exclaimedAgatha,readingoverhershoulder。"Andyourfatherisanadmiral！"
"Ithinkitisonlyfair,"saidMissLindsay,quailing,butassumingthetoneofamoralist。"Itisperfectlytrue。"
"Allmymoneywasmadeintrade,"saidAgatha;"butIshouldbeashamedtosavemyselfbyshiftingblametoyouraristocraticshoulders。Youpitifulthing！Here:givemethepen。"
"Iwillstrikeitoutifyouwish;butIthink"
"No:itshallstaytheretowitnessagainstyou。HowseehowI
confessmyfaults。"Andshewrote,inafine,rapidhand:
"ThiseveningGertrudeLindsayandJaneCarpentermetmeatthetopofthestairs,andsaidtheywantedtoslidedownthebanistersandwoulddoitifIwentfirst。Itoldthemthatitwasagainsttherules,buttheysaidthatdidnotmatter;andastheyareolderthanIam,Iallowedmyselftobepersuaded,anddid。"
"Whatdoyouthinkofthat？"saidAgatha,displayingthepage。
Theyreadit,andprotestedclamorously。
"Itisperfectlytrue,"saidAgatha,solemnly。
"It'sbeastlymean,"saidJaneenergetically。"TheideaofyourfindingfaultwithGertrude,andthengoingandbeingtwiceasbadyourself！Ineverheardofsuchathinginmylife。"
"'Thusbadbegins;butworseremainsbehind,'astheStandardElocutionistsays,"saidAgatha,addinganothersentencetoherconfession。
"Butitwasallmyfault。AlsoIwasrudetoMissWilson,andrefusedtoleavetheroomwhenshebademe。Iwasnotwilfullywrongexceptinslidingdownthebanisters。IamsofondofaslidethatIcouldnotresistthetemptation。"
"Bewarnedbyme,Agatha,"saidJaneimpressively。"Ifyouwritecheekythingsinthatbook,youwillbeexpelled。"
"Indeed！"repliedAgathasignificantly。"WaituntilMissWilsonseeswhatyouhavewritten。"
"Gertrude,"criedJane,withsuddenmisgiving,"hasshemademewriteanythingimproper？Agatha,dotellmeif——"
Hereagongsounded;andthethreegirlssimultaneouslyexclaimed"Grub！"andrushedfromtheroom。
CHAPTERII
Onesunnyafternoon,ahansomdroveatgreatspeedalongBelsizeAvenue,St。John'sWood,andstoppedbeforealargemansion。A
youngladysprangout;ranupthesteps,andrangthebellimpatiently。Shewasoftheolivecomplexion,withasharpprofile:darkeyeswithlonglashes;narrowmouthwithdelicatelysensuouslips;smallhead,feet,andhands,withlongtaperfingers;litheandveryslenderfiguremovingwithserpent—likegrace。Orientaltastewasdisplayedinthecolorsofhercostume,whichconsistedofawhitedress,close—fitting,andprintedwithanelaboratechinabluepattern;ayellowstrawhatcoveredwithartificialhawthornandscarletberries;andtan—coloredglovesreachingbeyondtheelbow,anddecoratedwithaprofusionofgoldbangles。
Thedoornotbeingopenedimmediately,sherangagain,violently,andwaspresentlyadmittedbyamaid,whoseemedsurprisedtoseeher。Withoutmakinganyinquiry,shedartedupstairsintoadrawing—room,whereamatronofgoodpresence,withfeaturesofthefinestJewishtype,satreading。Withherwasahandsomeboyinblackvelvet,whosaid:
"Mamma,here'sHenrietta！"
"Arthur,"saidtheyoungladyexcitedly,"leavetheroomthisinstant;anddon'tdaretocomebackuntilyougetleave。"
Theboy'scountenancefell,andhesulkilywentoutwithoutaword。
"Isanythingwrong？"saidthematron,puttingawayherbookwiththeunconcernedresignationofanexperiencedpersonwhoforeseesastorminateacup。"WhereisSidney？"
"Gone！Gone！Desertedme！I——"Theyounglady'sutterancefailed,andshethrewherselfuponanottoman,sobbingwithpassionatespite。
"Nonsense！IthoughtSidneyhadmoresense。There,Henrietta,don'tbesilly。Isupposeyouhavequarrelled。"
"No！No！！No！！！"criedHenrietta,stampingonthecarpet。"Wehadnotaword。Ihavenotlostmytempersinceweweremarried,mamma;IsolemnlyswearIhavenot。Iwillkillmyself;thereisnootherway。There'sacurseonme。Iammarkedouttobemiserable。He——"
"Tut,tut！Whathashappened,Henrietta？Asyouhavebeenmarriednownearlysixweeks,youcanhardlybesurprisedatalittletiffarising。Youaresoexcitable！Youcannotexpecttheskytobealwayscloudless。Mostlikelyyouaretoblame;forSidneyisfarmorereasonablethanyou。Stopcrying,andbehavelikeawomanofsense,andIwillgotoSidneyandmakeeverythingright。"
"Buthe'sgone,andIcan'tfindoutwhere。Oh,whatshallIdo？"
"Whathashappened？"
Henriettawrithedwithimpatience。Then,forcingherselftotellherstory,sheanswered:
"WearrangedonMondaythatIshouldspendtwodayswithAuntJudithinsteadofgoingwithhimtoBirminghamtothathorridTradeCongress。Wepartedonthebestofterms。Hecouldn'thavebeenmoreaffectionate。Iwillkillmyself;Idon'tcareaboutanythingoranybody。AndwhenIcamebackonWednesdayhewasgone,andtherewasthisletter。"Sheproducedaletter,andweptmorebitterlythanbefore。
"Letmeseeit。"
Henriettahesitated,buthermothertooktheletterfromher,satdownnearthewindow,andcomposedherselftoreadwithouttheleastregardtoherdaughter'svehementdistress。Theletterranthus:
"Mondaynight。
"MyDearest:Iamoff——surfeitedwithendearment——tolivemyownlifeanddomyownwork。Icouldonlyhavepreparedyouforthisbycoldnessorneglect,whicharewhollyimpossibletomewhenthespellofyourpresenceisuponme。IfindthatImustflyifIamtosavemyself。
"IamafraidthatIcannotgiveyousatisfactoryandintelligiblereasonsforthisstep。Youareabeautifulandluxuriouscreature:lifeistoyoufullandcompleteonlywhenitisacarnivaloflove。Mycaseisjustthereverse。BeforethreesoftspeecheshaveescapedmeIrebukemyselfforfollyandinsincerity。Beforeacaresshashadtimetocool,astrenuousrevulsionseizesme:Ilongtoreturntomyoldlonelyascetichermitlife;tomydrybooks;mySocialistpropagandism;myvoyageofdiscoverythroughthewildernessofthought。ImarriedinaninsanefitofbeliefthatIhadashareofthenaturalaffectionwhichcarriesothermenthroughlifetimesofmatrimony。
AlreadyIamundeceived。Youaretometheloveliestwomanintheworld。Well,forfiveweeksIhavewalkedandtalliedanddalliedwiththeloveliestwomanintheworld,andtheupshotisthatI
amflyingfromher,andamforahermit'scaveuntilIdie。Lovecannotkeeppossessionofme:allmystrongestpowersriseupagainstitandwillnotendureit。Forgivemeforwritingnonsensethatyouwon'tunderstand,anddonotthinktoohardlyofme。Ihavebeenasgoodtoyouasmyselfishnatureallowed。
DonotseektodisturbmeintheobscuritywhichIdesireanddeserve。Mysolicitorwillcallonyourfathertoarrangebusinessmatters,andyoushallbeashappyaswealthandlibertycanmakeyou。Weshallmeetagain——someday。
"Adieu,mylastlove,"SidneyTrefusis。"
"Well？"criedMrs。Trefusis,observingthroughhertearsthathermotherhadreadtheletterandwascontemplatingitinadaze。
"Well,certainly！"saidMrs。Jansenius,withemphasis。"Doyouthinkheisquitesane,Henrietta？Orhaveyoubeenplaguinghimfortoomuchattention？Menarenotwillingtogiveuptheirwholeexistencetotheirwives,evenduringthehoneymoon。"
"Hepretendedthathewasneverhappyoutofmypresence,"sobbedHenrietta。"Thereneverwasanythingsocruel。Ioftenwantedtobebymyselfforachange,butIwasafraidtohurthisfeelingsbysayingso。Andnowhehasnofeelings。Buthemustcomebacktome。Mustn'the,mamma？"
"Heoughtto。Isupposehehasnotgoneawaywithanyone？"
Henriettasprangup,hercheeksvividscarlet。"IfIthoughtthatIwouldpursuehimtotheendoftheearth,andmurderher。Butno;heisnotlikeanybodyelse。Hehatesme！Everybodyhatesme！
Youdon'tcarewhetherIamdesertedornot,norpapa,noranyoneinthishouse。"
Mrs。Jansenius,stillindifferenttoherdaughter'sagitation,consideredamoment,andthensaidplacidly:
"Youcandonothinguntilwehearfromthesolicitor。Inthemeantimeyoumaystaywithus,ifyouwish。Ididnotexpectavisitfromyousosoon;butyourroomhasnotbeenusedsinceyouwentaway。"
Mrs。Trefusisceasedcrying,chilledbythisfirstintimationthatherfather'shousewasnolongerherhome。Amorerealsenseofdesolationcameuponher。Underitscoldinfluenceshebegantocollectherself,andtofeelherpriderisinglikeabarrierbetweenherandhermother。
"Iwon'tstaylong,"shesaid。"Ifhissolicitorwillnottellmewhereheis,IwillhuntthroughEnglandforhim。Iamsorrytotroubleyou。"
"Oh,youwillbenogreatertroublethanyouhavealwaysbeen,"
saidMrs。Janseniuscalmly,notdispleasedtoseethatherdaughterhadtakenthehint。"Youhadbettergoandwashyourface。Peoplemaycall,andIpresumeyoudon'twishtoreceivetheminthatplight。IfyoumeetArthuronthestairs,pleasetellhimhemaycomein。"
Henriettascrewedherlipsintoacuriouspoutandwithdrew。
Arthurthencameinandstoodatthewindowinsullensilence,broodingoverhisrecentexpulsion。Suddenlyheexclaimed:
"Here'spapa,andit'snotfiveo'clockyet！"whereuponhismothersenthimawayagain。
Mr。Janseniuswasamanofimposingpresence,notyetinhisfiftiethyear,butnotfarfromit。Hemovedwithdignity,bearinghimselfasifthecontentsofhismassivebrowwereprecious。HishandsomeaquilinenoseandkeendarkeyesproclaimedhisJewishorigin,ofwhichhewasashamed。Thosewhodidnotknowthisnaturallybelievedthathewasproudofit,andwereatalosstoaccountforhispermittinghischildrentobeeducatedasChristians。Wellinstructedinbusiness,andsubjecttonoemotionoutsidetheloveoffamily,respectability,comfort,andmoney,hehadmaintainedthecapitalinheritedfromhisfather,andmadeitbreednewcapitalintheusualway。Hewasabanker,andhisobjectassuchwastointerceptandappropriatetheimmensesavingwhichthebankingsystemeffects,andso,asfaraspossible,toleavetherestoftheworldworkingjustashardasbeforebankingwasintroduced。Butastheworldwouldnotonthesetermshavebankedatall,hehadtogivethemsomeofthesavingasaninducement。Sotheyprofitedbythesavingaswellashe,andhehadthesatisfactionofbeingatonceawealthycitizenandapublicbenefactor,richincomfortsandeasyinconscience。
Heenteredtheroomquickly,andhiswifesawthatsomethinghadvexedhim。
"Doyouknowwhathashappened,Ruth？"hesaid。
"Yes。Sheisupstairs。"
Mr。Janseniusstared。"Doyoumeantosaythatshehasleftalready？"hesaid。"Whatbusinesshasshetocomehere？"
"Itisnaturalenough。Whereelseshouldshehavegone？"
Mr。Jansenius,whomistrustedhisownjudgmentwhenitdifferedfromthatofhiswife,repliedslowly,"Whydidshenotgotohermother？"
Mrs。Jansenius,puzzledinherturn,lookedathimwithcoolwonder,andremarked,"Iamhermother,amInot？"
"Iwasnotawareofit。Iamsurprisedtohearit,Ruth。Haveyouhadalettertoo"Ihaveseentheletter。ButwhatdoyoumeanbytellingmethatyoudonotknowIamHenrietta'smother？Areyoutryingtobefunny？"
"Henrietta！Isshehere？Isthissomefreshtrouble？"
"Idon'tknow。Whatareyoutalkingabout？"
"IamtalkingaboutAgathaWylie。"
"Oh！IwastalkingaboutHenrietta。"
"Well,whataboutHenrietta？"
"WhataboutAgathaWylie？"
AtthisMr。Janseniusbecameexasperated,andhedeemeditbesttorelatewhatHenriettahadtoldher。WhenshegavehimTrefusis'sletter,hesaid,morecalmly:"Misfortunesnevercomesingly。Readthat,"andhandedheranotherletter,sothattheybothbeganreadingatthesametime。
Mrs。Janseniusreadasfollows:
"AltonCollege,Lyvern。
"ToMrs。Wylie,AcaciaLodge,Chiswick。
"DearMadam:IwritewithgreatregrettorequestthatyouwillatoncewithdrawMissWyliefromAltonCollege。Inanestablishmentlikethis,whererestraintuponthelibertyofthestudentsisreducedtoaminimum,itisnecessarythatthesmalldegreeofsubordinationwhichisabsolutelyindispensablebeacquiescedinbyallwithoutcomplaintordelay。MissWyliehasfailedtocomplywiththiscondition。Shehasdeclaredherwishtoleave,andhasassumedanattitudetowardsmyselfandmycolleagueswhichwecannot,consistentlywithourdutytoourselvesandherfellowstudents,passover。IfMissWyliehasanycausetocomplainofhertreatmenthere,orofthestepwhichshehascompelledustotake,shewilldoubtlessmakeitknowntoyou。
"PerhapsyouwillbesogoodastocommunicatewithMissWylie'sguardian,Mr。Jansenius,withwhomIshallbehappytomakeanequitablearrangementrespectingthefeeswhichhavebeenpaidinadvanceforthecurrentterm。
"Iam,dearmadam,"Yoursfaithfully,"MariaWilson。"
"Aniceyounglady,that！"saidMrs。Jansenius。
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