"Yes——isn’titfunny？"saidtheladynextme。
Itwassofunnythatitsetmethinkingafreshandthat，withtheinterestofit，whichbecameapositiveexcitement，Ihadtokeepmyselfinhandinordernottoopubliclytoexplain，nottobreakoutrightandleftwithmyreflections。Idon’tknowwhy——itwasasenseinstinctiveandunreasoned，butIfeltfromthefirstthatifIwasonthescentofsomethingultimateIhadbetterwasteneithermywondernormywisdom。IWASonthescent——thatIwassureof；andyetevenafterIwassureIshouldstillhavebeenatalosstoputmyenigmaitselfintowords。Iwasjustconscious，vaguely，ofbeingonthetrackofalaw，alawthatwouldfit，thatwouldstrikemeasgoverningthedelicatephenomena——delicatethoughsomarked——thatmyimaginationfounditselfplayingwith。Apartoftheamusementtheyyieldedcame，Idaresay，frommyexaggeratingthem——groupingthemintoalargermystery（andtherebyalarger"law"）thanthefacts，asobserved，yetwarranted；butthatisthecommonfaultofmindsforwhichthevisionoflifeisanobsession。Theobsessionpays，ifonewill；buttopayithastoborrow。Afterdinner，butwhilethemenwerestillintheroom，IhadsometalkagainwithLong，ofwhomIinquiredifhehadbeensoplacedastosee"poorBriss。"
Heappearedtowonder，andpoorBriss，withourshiftingofseats，wasnowatadistance。"Ithinkso——butIdidn’tparticularlynotice。What’sthematterwithpoorBriss？"
"That’sexactlywhatIthoughtyoumightbeabletotellme。Butifnothing，inhim，strikesyou——！"Hemetmyeyesamoment——thenglancedabout。"Whereishe？"
"Behindyou；onlydon’tturnroundtolook，forheknows——"ButIdropped，havingcaughtsomethingdirectedtowardmeinBrissenden’sface。Myinterlocutorremainedblank，simplyaskingme，afteraninstant，whatitwasheknew。
OnthisIsaidwhatImeant。"Heknowswe’venoticed。"
Longwonderedagain。"Ah，butIHAVEN’T！"Hespokewithsomesharpness。
"Heknows，"Icontinued，notingthesharpnesstoo，"what’sthematterwithhim。"
"Thenwhatthedevilisit？"
Iwaitedalittle，havingforthemomentanideaonmyhands。"Doyouseehimoften？"
Longdisengagedtheashfromhiscigarette。"No。WhyshouldI？"
Distinctly，hewasuneasy——thoughasyetperhapsbutvaguely——atwhatImightbecomingto。Thatwaspreciselymyidea，andifIpitiedhimalittleformypressuremyideawasyetwhatmostpossessedme。"Doyoumeanthere’snothinginhimthatstrikesyou？"
Onthis，unmistakably，helookedatmehard。"’Strikes’me——inthatboy？Nothinginhim，thatIknowof，everstruckmeinmylife。He’snotanobjectofthesmallestinteresttome！"
IfeltthatifIinsistedIshouldreallystiruptheoldLong，thestolidcoxcomb，capableofrudeness，withwhoseredemption，reabsorption，supersession——onescarcelyknewwhattocallit——Ihadbeensohappilyimpressed。"Oh，ofcourse，ifyouhaven’tnoticed，youhaven’t，andthematterIwasgoingtospeakofwillhavenopoint。Youwon’tknowwhatImean。"WithwhichIpausedlongenoughtolethiscuriosityoperateifhisdenialhadbeensincere。Butithadn’t。Hiscuriosityneveroperated。
Heonlyexclaimed，moreindulgently，thathedidn’tknowwhatIwastalkingabout；andIrecognisedafteralittlethatifIhadmadehim，withoutintention，uncomfortable，thiswasexactlyaproofofhisbeingwhatMrs。
Briss，atthestation，hadcalledcleverer，andwhatIhadsomuchremarkedwhile，inthegardenbeforedinner，heheldoursmallcompany。Nobody，nothingcould，inthetimeofhisinanity，havemadehimturnahair。Itwasthemarkofhisaggrandisement。ButIsparedhim——sofaraswasconsistentwithmywishforabsolutecertainty；changedthesubject，spokeofotherthings，tookpainstosounddisconnectedly，andonlyafterreferencetoseveraloftheotherladies，thenameoverwhichwehadjustfeltfriction。
"Mrs。Brissenden’squitefabulous。"
Heappearedtohavestrayed，inourinterval，far。"’Fabulous’？"
"Why，forthefigurethat，bycandle—lightandincloth—of—silveranddiamonds，sheisstillabletomake。"
"Ohdear，yes！"HeshowedasrelievedtobeabletoseewhatImeant。
"Shehasgrownsoverymuchlessplain。"
Butthatwasn’tatallwhatImeant。"Ah，"Isaid，"youputittheotherwayatPaddington——whichwasmuchmoretherightone。"
Hehadquiteforgotten。"HowthendidIputit？"
Ashehaddonebefore，Igotridofmyash。"Shehasn’tgrownverymuchlessplain。Shehasonlygrownverymuchlessold。"
"Ah，well，"helaughed，butasifhisinteresthadquicklydropped，"youthis——comparativelyspeaking——beauty。"
"Oh，notalways。LookatpoorBrisshimself。"
"Well，ifyoulikebetter，beautyisyouth。"
"Notalways，either，"Ireturned。"CertainlyonlywhenitISbeauty。
Toseehowlittleitmaybeeither，look，"Irepeated，"atpoorBriss。"
"Ithoughtyoutoldmejustnownotto！"Heroseatlastinhisimpatience。
"Well，atpresentyoucan。"
Ialsogotup，theothermenatthesamemomentmoved，andthesubjectofourreferencestoodinview。Thisindeedwasbutbriefly，for，asiftoexamineapicturebehindhim，thepersonageinquestionsuddenlyturnedhisback。Long，however，hadhadtimetotakehiminandthentodecide。
"I’velooked。Whatthen？"
"Youdon’tseeanything？"
"Nothing。"
"Notwhateveryoneelsemust？"
"No，confoundyou！"
Ialreadyfeltthat，tobesotortuous，hemusthavehadareason，andthesearchforhisreasonwaswhat，fromthismoment，drewmeon。Ihadinfacthalfguesseditaswestoodthere。Butthisonlymademethemoreexplanatory。"Itisn’treally，however，thatBrissendenhasgrownlesslovely——it’sonlythathehasgrownlessyoung。"
Towhichmyfriend，aswequittedtheroom，repliedsimply："Oh！"
TheeffectIhavementionedwas，nonetheless，tooabsurd。Thepooryouth’sback，beforeus，stillasifconsciouslypresented，confessedtotheburdenoftime。"Howold，"Icontinued，"didwemakeoutthisafternoonthathewouldbe？"
"Thatwhowould？"
"Why，poorBriss。"
Hefairlypulledupinourmarch。"Haveyougothimonthebrain？"
"Don’tIseemtoremember，mydearman，thatitwasyouyourselfwhoknew？He’sthirtyatthemost。Hecan’tpossiblybemore。Andthereheis：asfine，asswaddled，asroyalamummy，totheeye，asonewouldwishtosee。Don’tpretend！Butit’sallright。"IlaughedasItookmyselfup。"ImusttalktoLadyJohn。"
Ididtalktoher，butImustcometoit。Whatismosttothepointjusthereisanobservationortwothat，inthesmoking—room，beforegoingtobed，IexchangedwithFordObert。Iforbore，asIhavehinted，toshowallIsaw，butitwaslawfullyopentometojudgeofwhatotherpeopledid；andIhadhadbeforedinnermylittleproofthat，onoccasion，Obertcouldseeasmuchasmost。YetIsaidnothingmoretohimforthepresentaboutMrs。Server。TheBrissendenswerenewtohim，andhisexperienceofeverysortoffacialaccident，ofhumansign，madehimjustthetouchstoneIwanted。Nothing，naturally，waseasierthantoturnhimonthequestionofthefairandthefoul，typeandcharacter，wealandwoe，amongourfellow—visitors；
sothatmymentionoftheairofdisparityinthecoupleIhavejustnamedcameinitsorderandproduceditseffect。Thiseffectwasthatofmyseeing——whichwasallIrequired——thatifthedisparitywasmarkedforhimthisexpertobservercouldyetreaditquitethewrongway。Whyhadsofineayoungcreaturemarriedamanthreetimesherage？HewasofcourseastoundedwhenItoldhimtheyoungcreaturewasmuchnearerthreetimesBrissenden’s，andthisledtosomeinterestingtalkbetweenusastotheconsequences，ingeneral，ofsuchassociationonsuchterms。Theparticularcasebeforeus，Ieasilygranted，sinnedbyover—emphasis，butitwasafair，thoughagross，illustrationofwhatalmostalwaysoccurredwhentwentyandforty，whenthirtyandsixty，matedormingled，livedtogetherinintimacy。Intimacyofcoursehadtobepostulated。Theneitherthehighnumberorthelowalwaysgottheupperhand，anditwasusuallythehighthatsucceeded。
Itseemed，inotherwords，morepossibletogobackthantokeepstill，togrowyoungthantoremainso。IfBrissendenhadbeenofhiswife’sageandhiswifeofBrissenden’s，itwouldthusbehewhomusthaveredescendedthehill，itwouldbeshewhowouldhavebeenpushedoverthebrow。Therewasreallyatouchingtruthinit，thestuffof——whatdidpeoplecallsuchthings？——anapologueoraparable。"Oneofthepair，"Isaid，"hastopayfortheother。Whatensuesisamiracle，andmiraclesareexpensive。What’sagreateronethantohaveyouryouthtwiceover？It’sasecondwind，another’go’——whichisn’tthesortofthinglifemostlytreatsusto。Mrs。Brisshadtogethernewblood，herextraallowanceoftimeandbloom，somewhere；
andfromwhomcouldshesoconvenientlyextractthemasfromGuyhimself？
SheHAS，byanextraordinaryfeatoflegerdemain，extractedthem；andhe，onhisside，tosupplyher，hashadtotapthesacredfount。Butthesacredfountislikethegreedyman’sdescriptionoftheturkeyasan’awkward’
dinnerdish。Itmaybesometimestoomuchforasingleshare，butit’snotenoughtogoround。"
Obertwasatalleventssufficientlystruckwithmyviewtothrowoutaquestiononit。"Sothat，payingtohislastdrop，Mr。Briss，asyoucallhim，canonlydieofthebusiness？"
"Oh，notyet，Ihope。ButbeforeHER——yes：long。"
Hewasmuchamused。"Howyoupolishthemoff！"
"Ionlytalk，"Ireturned，"asyoupaint；notabitworse！Butonemustindeedwonder，"Iconceded，"howthepoorwretchesfeel。"
"YoumeanwhetherBrissendenlikesit？"
Imadeupmymindonthespot。"Ifhelovesherhemust。Thatisifhelovesherpassionately，sublimely。"Isawitall。"It’sinfactjustbecausehedoessoloveherthatthemiracle，forher，iswrought。"
"Well，"myfriendreflected，"fortakingamiraclecoolly——！"
"Shehasn’therequal？Yes，shedoestakeit。Shejustquietly，butjustselfishly，profitsbyit。"
"Anddoesn’tseethenhowhervictimloses？"
"No。Shecan’t。Theperception，ifshehadit，wouldbepainfulandterrible——mightevenbefataltotheprocess。Soshehasn’tit。Shepassesroundit。Ittakesallherfloodoflifetomeetherownchance。Shehasonlyawonderfulsenseofsuccessandwell—being。TheOTHERconsciousness——"
"Isallfortheotherparty？"
"Theauthorofthesacrifice。"
"Thenhowbeautifully’poorBriss，’"mycompanionsaid，"musthaveit！"
Ihadalreadyassuredmyself。Hehadgonetobed，andmyfancyfollowedhim。"Oh，hehasitsothat，thoughhegoes，inhispassion，aboutwithher，hedaresscarcelyshowhisface。"AndImadeafinalinduction。"Theagentsofthesacrificeareuncomfortable，Igather，whentheysuspectorfearthatyousee。"
Myfriendwascharmedwithmyingenuity。"Howyou’veworkeditout！"
"Well，IfeelasifIwereonthewaytosomething。"
Helookedsurprised。"Somethingstillmore？"
"Somethingstillmore。"IhadanimpulsetotellhimIscarceknewwhat。
ButIkeptitunder。"Iseemtosnuffup——"
"Quoidonc？"
"Thesenseofadiscoverytobemade。"
"Andofwhat？"
"I’lltellyouto—morrow。Good—night。"
Chapter3
Ididonthemorrowseveralthings，butthefirstwasnottoredeemthatvow。ItwastoaddressmyselfstraighttoGraceBrissenden。"Imustletyouknowthat，inspiteofyourguarantee，itdoesn’tgoatall——oh，butnotatall！I’vetriedLadyJohn，asyouenjoined，andIcan’tbutfeelthatsheleavesusverymuchwherewewere。"Then，asmylistenerseemednotquitetorememberwherewehadbeen，Icametoherhelp。"YousaidyesterdayatPaddington，toexplainthechangeinGilbertLong——don’tyourecall？——thatthatwoman，plyinghimwithhergeniusandgivinghimofherbest，iscleverenoughfortwo。She’snotcleverenoughthen，itstrikesme，forthree——oratanyrateforfour。IconfessIdon’tseeit。
Doesshereallydazzleyou？"Myfriendhadcaughtup。"Oh，you’veastandardofwit！"
"No，I’veonlyasenseofreality——asensenotatallsatisfiedbythetheoryofsuchaninfluenceasLadyJohn’s。"
Shewondered。"Suchaoneaswhoseelsethen？"
"Ah，that’sforusstilltofindout！Ofcoursethiscan’tbeeasy；
forastheappearanceisinevitablyakindofbetrayal，it’sinsomebody’sinteresttoconcealit。"
ThisMrs。Brissendengrasped。"Oh，youmeaninthelady’s？"
"Inthelady’smost。ButalsoinLong’sown，ifhe’sreallytenderofthelady——whichispreciselywhatourtheoryposits。"
Mycompanion，onceroused，wasallthere。"Isee。Youcalltheappearanceakindofbetrayalbecauseitpointstotherelationbehindit。"
"Precisely。"
"Andtherelation——todothatsortofthing——mustbenecessarilysoawfullyintimate。"
"Intimissima。"
"Andkeptthereforeinthebackgroundexactlyinthatproportion。"
"Exactlyinthatproportion。"
"Verywellthen，"saidMrs。Brissenden，"doesn’tMr。Long’stendernessofLadyJohnquitefallinwithwhatImentionedtoyou？"
Irememberedwhatshehadmentionedtome。"HismakinghercomedownwithpoorBriss？"
"Nothingless。"
"Andisthatallyougoupon？"
"Thatandlotsmore。"
Ithoughtaminute——butIhadbeenabundantlythinking。"Iknowwhatyoumeanby’lots。’IsBrissendeninit？"
"Dearno——poorBriss！Hewouldn’tlikethat。isawthemanoeuvre，butGuydidn’t。Andyoumusthavenoticedhowhestucktoheralllastevening。"
"HowGilbertLongstucktoLadyJohn？Ohyes，Inoticed。TheywerelikeLordLutleyandMrs。Froome。Butisthatwhatonecancallbeingtenderofher？"
Mycompanionweighedit。"HemustspeaktoherSOMETIMES。I’mgladyouadmit，atanyrate，"shecontinued，"thatitdoestakewhatyousoprettilycallsomewoman’ssecretlygivinghimofherbesttoaccountforhim。"
"Oh，thatIadmitwithallmyheart——oratleastwithallmyhead。Only，LadyJohnhasnoneofthesigns——"
"Ofbeingthebeneficentwoman？WhatthenAREthey——thesigns——tobesoplain？"Iwasnotyetquitereadytosay，however；onwhichsheadded：
"Itprovesnothing，youknow，thatYOUdon’tlikeher。"
"No。Itwouldprovemoreifshedidn’tlikeME，which——fatuousfoolasyoumayfindme——Iverilybelieveshedoes。Ifshehatedmeitwouldbe，yousee，formyruthlessanalysisofhersecret。SheHASnosecret。
Shewouldlikeawfullytohave——andshewouldlikealmostasmuchtobebelievedtohave。Lastevening，afterdinner，shecouldfeelperhapsforawhilethatsheWASbelieved。Butitwon’tdo。There’snothinginit。
Youaskedmejustnow，"Ipursued，"whatthesignsofsuchasecretwouldnaturallybe。Well，bethinkyourselfamomentofwhatthesecretitselfmustnaturallybe。"
Oh，shelookedasifsheknewallaboutTHAT！"Awfullycharming——mustn’tit？——toactuponaperson，throughanaffection，sodeeply。"
"Yes——itcancertainlybenovulgarflirtation。"Ifeltalittlelikeateacherencouraginganaptpupil；butIcouldonlygoonwiththelesson。
"Whoeversheis，shegivesallshehas。Shekeepsnothingback——nothingforherself。"
"IseebecauseHEtakeseverything。Hejustcleansherout。"Shelookedatmepleasedatlastreallytounderstand——withthebestconscienceintheworld。"WhoIStheladythen？"
ButIcouldanswerasyetonlybyaquestion。"Howcanshepossiblybeawomanwhogivesabsolutelynothingwhatever；whoscrapesandsavesandhoards；whokeepseverycrumbforherself？Thewholeshow’sthere——toministertoLadyJohn’svanityandadvertisethebusiness——behindhersmartshop—window。Youcanseeit，asmuchasyoulike，andevenamuseyourselfwithpricingit。Butsheneverpartswithanarticle。IfpoorLongdependedonHER——"
"Well，what？"Shewasreallyinterested。
"Why，he’dbethesamepoorLongasever。Hewouldgoasheusedtogo——nakedandunashamed。No，"Iwoundup，"hedeals——turnedoutaswenowseehim——atanotherestablishment。"
"I’llgrantit，"saidMrs。Brissenden，"ifyou’llonlynamemetheplace。"
Ah，Icouldstillbutlaughandresume！"Hedoesn’tscreenLadyJohn——shedoesn’tscreenherself——withyourhusbandorwithanybody。It’sshewho’sherselfthescreen！Andpleasedassheisatbeingsoclever，andatbeingthoughtso，shedoesn’tevenknowit。Shedoesn’tsomuchassuspectit。
She’sanunmitigatedfoolaboutit。’OfcourseMr。Long’sclever，becausehe’sinlovewithmeandsitsatmyfeet，anddon’tyouseehowcleverIam？Don’tyouhearwhatgoodthingsIsay——waitalittle，I’mgoingtosayanotherinaboutthreeminutes；andhow，ifyou’llonlygivehimtimetoo，hecomesoutwiththemafterme？Theydon’tperhapssoundsogood，butyouseewherehehasgotthem。I’msobrilliant，infine，thatthemenwhoadmiremehaveonlytoimitateme，which，youobserve，theystrikinglydo。’Somethinglikethatisallherphilosophy。"
Myfriendturneditover。"Youdosoundlikeher，youknow。Yethow，ifawoman’sstupid——"
"Canshehavemadeamanclever？Shecan’t。Shecan’tatleasthavebegunit。Whatweshallknowtherealpersonby，inthecasethatyouandIarestudying，isthatthemanhimselfwillhavemadeherwhatshehasbecome。ShewillhavedonejustwhatLadyJohnhasnotdone——shewillhaveputuptheshuttersandclosedtheshop。Shewillhaveparted，forherfriend，withherwit。"
"Sothatshemayberegardedasreducedtoidiocy？"
"Well——soIcanonlyseeit。"
"Andthatifwelook，therefore，fortherightidiot——"
"Weshallfindtherightwoman——ourfriend’smysticEgeria？Yes，weshallbeatleastapproachingthetruth。Weshall’burn，’astheysayinhide—and—seek。"IofcoursekepttothepointthattheidiotwouldhavetoBEtherightone。ANYidiotwouldn’tbetothepurpose。Ifitwasenoughthatawomanwasafoolthesearchmightbecomehopelesseveninahousethatwouldhavepassedbutillforafool’sparadise。Wewereononeoftheshadedterraces，towhich，hereandthere，atallwindowstoodopen。
ThepicturewithoutwasallmorningandAugust，andwithinallcleardimnessandrichgleams。Westoppedonceortwice，rakingthegloomforlights，anditwasatsomesuchmomentthatMrs。BrissendenaskedmeifIthenregardedGilbertLongasnowexaltedtothepositionofthemostbrilliantofourcompanions。"Thecleverestmanoftheparty？"——itpulledmeupalittle。"Hardlythat，perhaps——fordon’tyouseetheproofsI’mmyselfgivingyou？ButsayheIS"——Iconsidered——"thecleverestbutone。"ThenextmomentIhadseenwhatshemeant。"Inthatcasethethingwe’relookingforoughtlogicallytobetheperson，oftheoppositesex，givingusthemaximumsenseofdepletionforhisbenefit？Thebiggestfool，yousuggest，MUST，consistently，betherightone？Yesagain；itwouldsoseem。Butthat’snotreally，yousee，theshortcutitsounds。Thebiggestfooliswhatwewant，butthequestionistodiscoverwhoISthebiggest。"
"I’mgladthenifeelsosafe！"Mrs。Brissendenlaughed。
"Oh，you’renotthebiggest！"Ihandsomelyconceded。"Besides，asI
say，theremustbetheotherevidence——theevidenceofrelations。"
Wehadgoneon，withthis，afewsteps，butmycompanionagaincheckedme，whilehernodtowardawindowgavemyattentionalead。"Won’tTHAT，asithappens，thendo？"Wecouldjustsee，fromwherewestood，acornerofoneoftherooms。Itwasoccupiedbyaseatedcouple，aladywhosefacewasinsightandagentlemanwhoseidentitywasattestedbyhisback，abacksomehowrepleteforus，atthemoment，withaguiltysignificance。
ThereWAStheevidenceofrelations。ThatwehadsuddenlycaughtLongintheactofpresentinghisreceptacleatthesacredfountseemedannouncedbythetoneinwhichMrs。Brissendennamedtheotherparty——"Mme。deDreuil！"
Welookedateachother，Iwasaware，withsomeelation；butourtriumphwasbrief。TheComtessedeDreuil，wequicklyfelt——anAmericanmarriedtoaFrenchman——wasn’tatallthething。Shewasalmostasmuch"allthere"
asLadyJohn。Shewasonlyanotherscreen，andweperceived，forthatmatter，thenextminute，thatLadyJohnwasalsopresent。Anotherstephadplaceduswithinrangeofher；thepicturerevealedintherichduskoftheroomwasagroupofthree。Fromthatmoment，unanimously，wegaveupLadyJohn，andaswecontinuedourstrollmyfriendbroughtoutherdespair。"ThenhehasnothingBUTscreens？Theneedforsomanydoessuggestafire！"
Andinspiteofdiscouragementshesounded，interrogatively，oneaftertheother，thenamesofthoseladiestheperfectionofwhosepresenceofmindmight，whenconsidered，passasquestionable。Wesoon，however，feltourprocesstobe，practically，atrifleinvidious。Notoneofthepersonsnamedcould，atanyrate——todothemalljustice——affectusasanintellectualruin。ItwasnaturalthereforeforMrs。Brissendentoconcludewithscepticism。
"Shemayexist——andexistasyourequireher；butwhat，afterall，provesthatshe’shere？Shemayn’thavecomedownwithhim。Doesitnecessarilyfollowthattheyalwaysgoabouttogether？"
Iwasreadytodeclarethatitnecessarilyfollowed。Ihadmyidea，andIdidn’tseewhyIshouldn’tbringitout。"It’smybeliefthathenomoregoesawaywithoutherthanyougoawaywithoutpoorBriss。"
Shesurveyedmeinsplendidserenity。"Butwhathaveweincommon？"
"Withthepartiestoanabandonedflirtation？Well，you’veincommonyourmutualattachmentandthefactthatyou’rethoroughlyhappytogether。"
"Ah，"shegood—humouredlyanswered，"wedon’tflirt！"
"Well，atallevents，youdon’tseparate。Hedoesn’treallysufferyououtofhissight，and，tocirculateinthesocietyyouadorn，youdon’tleavehimathome。"
"Whyshouldn’tI？"sheasked，lookingatme，Ithought，justatrifleharder。
"Itisn’taquestionofwhyyoushouldn’t——it’saquestionofwhetheryoudo。Youdon’t——doyou？That’sall。"
Shethoughtitoverasifforthefirsttime。"ItseemstomeIoftenleavehimwhenIdon’twanthim。"
"Oh，whenyoudon’twanthim——yes。Butwhendon’tyouwanthim？Youwanthimwhenyouwanttoberight，andyouwanttoberightwhenyoumixinascenelikethis。Imean，"Icontinuedformyprivateamusement，"whenyouwanttobehappy。Happiness，youknow，is，toaladyinthefulltideofsocialsuccess，evenmorebecomingthananewFrenchfrock。Youhavetheadvantage，foryourbeauty，ofbeingadmirablymarried。Youbloominyourhusband’spresence。Idon’tsayheneedalwaysbeatyourelbow；I
simplysaythatyou’remostcompletelyyourselfwhenhe’snotfaroff。
Iftherewerenothingelsetherewouldbethehelpgivenyoubyyourquietconfidenceinhislawfulpassion。"
’’I’mboundtosay，"Mrs。Brissendenreplied，"thatsuchhelpisconsistentwithhisnothavingspokentomesinceweparted，yesterday，tocomedownherebydifferenttrains。Wehaven’tsomuchasmetsinceourarrival。
Myfindinghimsoindispensableisconsistentwithmynothavingsomuchaslookedathim。Indispensable，please，forwhat？"
"Foryournotbeingwithouthim。"
"WhatthendoIdoWITHhim？"
Ihesitated——thereweresomanywaysofputtingit；butIgavethemallup。"Ah，IthinkitwillbeonlyHEwhocantellyou！Mypointisthatyou’vetheinstinct——playinginyou，oneitherside，withalltheeaseofexperience——ofwhatyouaretoeachother。AllImeanisthatit’stheinstinctthatLongandhisgoodfriendmusthave。Theytooperhapshaven’tspokentoeachother。Butwherehecomesshedoes，andwhereshecomeshedoes。That’swhyIknowshe’samongus。"
"It’swonderfulwhatyouknow！"Mrs。Brissendenagainlaughed。"HowcanyouthinkofthemasenjoyingthefacilitiesofpeopleinOURsituation？"
"Ofpeoplemarriedandthereforelogicallyinpresence？Idon’t，"I
wasabletoreply，"speakoftheirfacilitiesasthesame，andIrecogniseeverylimittotheirfreedom。ButImaintain，nonetheless，thatsofarastheyCANgo，theydogo。It’sarelation，andtheyworktherelation：
therelation，exquisitesurely，ofknowingtheyhelpeachothertoshine。
Whyaretheynot，therefore，likeyouandBrissenden？WhatImakeoutisthatwhentheydoshineonewillfind——thoughonlyafterahunt，Iadmit，asyousee——theymustbothhavebeeninvolved。Feelingtheirneed，andconsummatelyexpert，theywillhavemanaged，havearranged。"
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