“Haveyoudonewhatyousaidyou’ddo？“sheasked。
“Asearchingquestion！Ianswer——YesandNo。IfontheonehandI
havenotaccomplishedwhatIsetouttoaccomplish——whichofusdoes！——
ontheotherIcanfairlysaythis:Ihavenotloweredmyideal。“
Helookedresolutelyatasea-gull，asthoughhisidealflewonthewingsofthebird。
“But，“saidRachel，“what_is_yourideal？“
“Thereyouasktoomuch，MissVinrace，“saidRichardplayfully。
Shecouldonlysaythatshewantedtoknow，andRichardwassufficientlyamusedtoanswer。
“Well，howshallIreply？Inoneword——Unity。Unityofaim，ofdominion，ofprogress。Thedispersionofthebestideasoverthegreatestarea。“
“TheEnglish？“
“IgrantthattheEnglishseem，onthewhole，whiterthanmostmen，theirrecordscleaner。But，goodLord，don’trunawaywiththeideathatIdon’tseethedrawbacks——horrors——unmentionablethingsdoneinourverymidst！I’mundernoillusions。Fewpeople，Isuppose，havefewerillusionsthanIhave。Haveyoueverbeeninafactory，MissVinrace！——No，Isupposenot——ImaysayIhopenot。
AsforRachel，shehadscarcelywalkedthroughapoorstreet，andalwaysundertheescortoffather，maid，oraunts。
“Iwasgoingtosaythatifyou’deverseenthekindofthingthat’sgoingonroundyou，you’dunderstandwhatitisthatmakesmeandmenlikemepoliticians。YouaskedmeamomentagowhetherI’ddonewhatIsetouttodo。Well，whenIconsidermylife，thereisonefactIadmitthatI’mproudof；owingtomesomethousandsofgirlsinLancashire——andmanythousandstocomeafterthem——
canspendanhoureverydayintheopenairwhichtheirmothershadtospendovertheirlooms。I’mprouderofthat，Iown，thanIshouldbeofwritingKeatsandShelleyintothebargain！“
ItbecamepainfultoRacheltobeoneofthosewhowriteKeatsandShelley。ShelikedRichardDalloway，andwarmedashewarmed。
Heseemedtomeanwhathesaid。
“Iknownothing！“sheexclaimed。
“It’sfarbetterthatyoushouldknownothing，“hesaidpaternally，“andyouwrongyourself，I’msure。Youplayverynicely，I’mtold，andI’venodoubtyou’vereadheapsoflearnedbooks。“
Elderlybanterwouldnolongercheckher。
“Youtalkofunity，“shesaid。“Yououghttomakemeunderstand。“
“Ineverallowmywifetotalkpolitics，“hesaidseriously。
“Forthisreason。Itisimpossibleforhumanbeings，constitutedastheyare，bothtofightandtohaveideals。IfIhavepreservedmine，asIamthankfultosaythatingreatmeasureIhave，itisduetothefactthatIhavebeenabletocomehometomywifeintheeveningandtofindthatshehasspentherdayincalling，music，playwiththechildren，domesticduties——whatyouwill；
herillusionshavenotbeendestroyed。Shegivesmecouragetogoon。
Thestrainofpubliclifeisverygreat，“headded。
Thismadehimappearabatteredmartyr，partingeverydaywithsomeofthefinestgold，intheserviceofmankind。
“Ican’tthink，“Rachelexclaimed，“howanyonedoesit！“
“Explain，MissVinrace，“saidRichard。“ThisisamatterIwanttoclearup。“
Hiskindnesswasgenuine，andshedeterminedtotakethechancehegaveher，althoughtotalktoamanofsuchworthandauthoritymadeherheartbeat。
“Itseemstomelikethis，“shebegan，doingherbestfirsttorecollectandthentoexposehershiveringprivatevisions。
“There’sanoldwidowinherroom，somewhere，letussupposeinthesuburbsofLeeds。“
Richardbenthisheadtoshowthatheacceptedthewidow。
“InLondonyou’respendingyourlife，talking，writingthings，gettingbillsthrough，missingwhatseemsnatural。Theresultofitallisthatshegoestohercupboardandfindsalittlemoretea，afewlumpsofsugar，oralittlelessteaandanewspaper。
WidowsalloverthecountryIadmitdothis。Still，there’sthemindofthewidow——theaffections；thoseyouleaveuntouched。Butyouwasteyouown。“
“Ifthewidowgoestohercupboardandfindsitbare，“Richardanswered，“herspiritualoutlookwemayadmitwillbeaffected。IfImaypickholesinyourphilosophy，MissVinrace，whichhasitsmerits，Iwouldpointoutthatahumanbeingisnotasetofcompartments，butanorganism。Imagination，MissVinrace；useyourimagination；
that’swhereyouyoungLiberalsfail。Conceivetheworldasawhole。
Nowforyoursecondpoint；whenyouassertthatintryingtosetthehouseinorderforthebenefitoftheyounggenerationIamwastingmyhighercapabilities，Itotallydisagreewithyou。
Icanconceivenomoreexaltedaim——tobethecitizenoftheEmpire。
Lookatitinthisway，MissVinrace；conceivethestateasacomplicatedmachine；wecitizensarepartsofthatmachine；
somefulfilmoreimportantduties；othersperhapsIamoneofthem
serveonlytoconnectsomeobscurepartsofthemechanism，concealedfromthepubliceye。Yetifthemeanestscrewfailsinitstask，theproperworkingofthewholeisimperilled。“
Itwasimpossibletocombinetheimageofaleanblackwidow，gazingoutofherwindow，andlongingforsomeonetotalkto，withtheimageofavastmachine，suchasoneseesatSouthKensington，thumping，thumping，thumping。Theattemptatcommunicationhadbeenafailure。
“Wedon’tseemtounderstandeachother，“shesaid。
“ShallIsaysomethingthatwillmakeyouveryangry？“hereplied。
“Itwon’t，“saidRachel。
“Well，then；nowomanhaswhatImaycallthepoliticalinstinct。
Youhaveverygreatvirtues；Iamthefirst，Ihope，toadmitthat；
butIhavenevermetawomanwhoevensawwhatismeantbystatesmanship。Iamgoingtomakeyoustillmoreangry。
IhopethatInevershallmeetsuchawoman。Now，MissVinrace，areweenemiesforlife？“
Vanity，irritation，andathrustingdesiretobeunderstood，urgedhertomakeanotherattempt。
“Underthestreets，inthesewers，inthewires，inthetelephones，thereissomethingalive；isthatwhatyoumean？Inthingslikedust-carts，andmenmendingroads？YoufeelthatallthetimewhenyouwalkaboutLondon，andwhenyouturnonatapandthewatercomes？“
“Certainly，“saidRichard。“Iunderstandyoutomeanthatthewholeofmodernsocietyisbaseduponcooperativeeffort。
Ifonlymorepeoplewouldrealisethat，MissVinrace，therewouldbefewerofyouroldwidowsinsolitarylodgings！“
Rachelconsidered。
“AreyouaLiberalorareyouaConservative？“sheasked。
“IcallmyselfaConservativeforconveniencesake，“saidRichard，smiling。“Butthereismoreincommonbetweenthetwopartiesthanpeoplegenerallyallow。“
Therewasapause，whichdidnotcomeonRachel’ssidefromanylackofthingstosay；asusualshecouldnotsaythem，andwasfurtherconfusedbythefactthatthetimefortalkingprobablyranshort。
Shewashauntedbyabsurdjumbledideas——how，ifonewentbackfarenough，everythingperhapswasintelligible；everythingwasincommon；forthemammothswhopasturedinthefieldsofRichmondHighStreethadturnedintopavingstonesandboxesfullofribbon，andheraunts。
“Didyousayyoulivedinthecountrywhenyouwereachild？“
sheasked。
Crudeashermannersseemedtohim，Richardwasflattered。
Therecouldbenodoubtthatherinterestwasgenuine。
“Idid，“hesmiled。
“Andwhathappened？“sheasked。“OrdoIasktoomanyquestions？“
“I’mflattered，Iassureyou。But——letmesee——whathappened？
Well，riding，lessons，sisters。Therewasanenchantedrubbishheap，Iremember，whereallkindsofqueerthingshappened。Odd，whatthingsimpresschildren！Icanrememberthelookoftheplacetothisday。
It’safallacytothinkthatchildrenarehappy。They’renot；
they’reunhappy。I’veneversufferedsomuchasIdidwhenIwasachild。“
“Why？“sheasked。
“Ididn’tgetonwellwithmyfather，“saidRichardshortly。
“Hewasaveryableman，buthard。Well——itmakesonedeterminednottosininthatwayoneself。Childrenneverforgetinjustice。
Theyforgiveheapsofthingsgrown-uppeoplemind；butthatsinistheunpardonablesin。Mindyou——IdaresayIwasadifficultchildtomanage；butwhenIthinkwhatIwasreadytogive！No，Iwasmoresinnedagainstthansinning。AndthenIwenttoschool，whereIdidveryfairlywell；andandthen，asIsay，myfathersentmetobothuniversities……D’youknow，MissVinrace，you’vemademethink？Howlittle，afterall，onecantellanybodyaboutone’slife！HereIsit；thereyousit；both，Idoubtnot，chock-fullofthemostinterestingexperiences，ideas，emotions；
yethowcommunicate？I’vetoldyouwhateverysecondpersonyoumeetmighttellyou。“
“Idon’tthinkso，“shesaid。“It’sthewayofsayingthings，isn’tit，notthethings？“
“True，“saidRichard。“Perfectlytrue。“Hepaused。“WhenI
lookbackovermylife——I’mforty-two——whatarethegreatfactsthatstandout？Whatweretherevelations，ifImaycallthemso？
Themiseryofthepoorand——“hehesitatedandpitchedover“love！“
Uponthatwordheloweredhisvoice；itwasawordthatseemedtounveiltheskiesforRachel。
“It’sanoddthingtosaytoayounglady，“hecontinued。
“Buthaveyouanyideawhat——whatImeanbythat？No，ofcoursenot。
Idon’tusethewordinaconventionalsense。Iuseitasyoungmenuseit。Girlsarekeptveryignorant，aren’tthey？
Perhapsit’swise——perhaps——You_don’t_know？“
Hespokeasifhehadlostconsciousnessofwhathewassaying。
“No；Idon’t，“shesaid，scarcelyspeakingaboveherbreath。
“Warships，Dick！Overthere！Look！“Clarissa，releasedfromMr。Grice，appreciativeofallhisseaweeds，skimmedtowardsthem，gesticulating。
Shehadsightedtwosinistergreyvessels，lowinthewater，andbaldasbone，onecloselyfollowingtheotherwiththelookofeyelessbeastsseekingtheirprey。ConsciousnessreturnedtoRichardinstantly。
“ByGeorge！“heexclaimed，andstoodshieldinghiseyes。
“Ours，Dick？“saidClarissa。
“TheMediterraneanFleet，“heanswered。
“The_Euphrosyne_wasslowlydippingherflag。Richardraisedhishat。
ConvulsivelyClarissasqueezedRachel’shand。
“Aren’tyougladtobeEnglish！“shesaid。
Thewarshipsdrewpast，castingacuriouseffectofdisciplineandsadnessuponthewaters，anditwasnotuntiltheywereagaininvisiblethatpeoplespoketoeachothernaturally。Atlunchthetalkwasallofvalouranddeath，andthemagnificentqualitiesofBritishadmirals。Clarissaquotedonepoet，Willoughbyquotedanother。
Lifeonboardaman-of-warwassplendid，sotheyagreed，andsailors，wheneveronemetthem，werequiteespeciallyniceandsimple。
Thisbeingso，noonelikeditwhenHelenremarkedthatitseemedtoheraswrongtokeepsailorsastokeepaZoo，andthatasfordyingonabattle-field，surelyitwastimeweceasedtopraisecourage——“ortowritebadpoetryaboutit，“snarledPepper。
ButHelenwasreallywonderingwhyRachel，sittingsilent，lookedsoqueerandflushed。