第2章
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  HORNBLOWER。No;it\'sarepartee。IfyethinksomuchoftheseJackmans,buildthemacottageyourselves;ye\'vegotthespace。

  HILLCRIST。That\'sbesidethepoint。Youpromisedme,andIsoldonthatunderstanding。

  HORNBLOWER。AndIboughtontheunderstandin\'thatI\'dgetsomemorelandfromtheDuke。

  HILLCRIST。That\'snothingtodowithme。

  HORNBLOWER。Ye\'llfindithas;becauseI\'mgoingtohavethosecottages。

  HILLCRIST。Well,Icallitsimply——

  [Hecheckshimself。]

  HORNBLOWER。Lookhere,Hillcrist,ye\'venothadoccasiontounderstandmenlikeme。I\'vegottheguts,andI\'vegotthemoney;

  andIdon\'tsitstillonit。I\'mgoingaheadbecauseIbelieveinmeself。I\'venouseforsentimentandthatsortofthing。FortyofyourJackmansaren\'tworthmelittlefinger。

  HILLCRIST。[Angry]OfalltheblatantthingsIeverheardsaid!

  HORNBLOWER。Well,aswe\'respeakingplainly,I\'vebeenthinkin\'。

  Yewantthevillagerunyouroldfashionedway,andIwantitrunmine。Ifancythere\'snotroomforthetwoofushere。

  MRS。H。Whenareyougoing?

  HORNBLOWER,。Neverfear,I\'mnotgoing。

  HILLCRIST。Lookhere,Mr。Hornblower——thisinfernalgoutmakesmeirritable——putsmeatadisadvantage。ButIshouldbegladifyou\'dkindlyexplainyourself。

  HORNBLOWER。[Withagreatsmile]Ca\'canny;I\'mfra\'theNorth。

  HILLCRIST。I\'mtoldyouwishtobuytheCentryandputmoreofyourchimneysup,there,regardlessofthefact[HePointsthroughthewindow]thatitwouldutterlyruinthehousewe\'vehadforgenerations,andallourpleasurehere。

  HORNBLOWER。Howthemantalks!Why!Ye\'dthinkheownedthesky,becausehisfathersbuilthimahousewithaprettyview,wherehe\'snothingtodobutlive。It\'ssheerwantofsomethingtodothatgivesyeyourfinesentiments,Hillcrist。

  HILLCRIST。Havethegoodnessnottochargemewithidleness。

  Dawker——whereishe?——[Heshowsthebureau]WhenyoudothedrudgeryofyourworksasthoroughlyasIdothatofmyestate——

  IsittrueabouttheCentry?

  HORNBLOWER。Gospeltrue。Ifyewanttoknow,mysonChearlieisbuyin\'itthisveryminute。

  MRS。H。[Turningwithastart]Whatdoyousay?

  HORNBLOWER。Ay,he\'swiththeoldladyshewantstosell,an\'

  she\'llgetherprice,whateveritis。

  HILLCRIST。[Withdeepanger]Ifthatisn\'taskingame,Mr。

  Hornblower,Idon\'tknowwhatis。

  HORNBLOWER。Ah!Ye\'vegotaveryniceexpressionthere。\"Skingame!\"Well,badwordsbreaknobones,an\'they\'rewonderfulforhardenin\'theheart。Ifitwasn\'tforalady\'spresence,Icouldgiveyeaspecimenortwo。

  MRS。H。Oh!Mr。Hornblower,thatneednotstopyou,I\'msure。

  HORNBLOWER。Well,andIdon\'tknowthatitneed。Ye\'reanobstruction——thelikeofyou——ye\'reinmypath。Andanyoneinmypathdoesn\'tstaytherelong;or,ifhedoes,hestaysthereonmyterms。AndmytermsarechimneysintheCentrywhereIneed\'em。

  It\'lldoyeapowerofgood,too,toknowthatye\'renotalmighty。

  HILLCRIST。Andthat\'sbeingneighbourly!

  HORNBLOWER。Andhowhaveyetriedbein\'neighbourlytome?IfI

  haven\'tawife,I\'vegotadaughter-in-law。HaveYecelledonher,ma\'am?I\'mnew,andye\'reanoldfamily。Yedon\'tlikeme,yethinkI\'mapushin\'man。Igotochapel,an\'yedon\'tlikethat。

  ImakethingsandIsellthem,andyedon\'tlikethat。Ibuyland,andyedon\'tlikethat。Itthreatenstheviewfromyourwindies。

  Well,Idon\'tlieyou,andI\'mnotgoin\'toputupwithyourattitude。Ye\'vehadthingsyourownwaytoolong,andnowye\'renotgoingtohavethemanylonger。

  HILLCRIST。Willyouholdtoyourwordoverthosecottages?

  HORNBLOWER。I\'mgoin\'tohavethecottages。Ineedthem,andmorebesides,nowI\'mtoputupmenewworks。

  HILLCRIST。That\'sadeclarationofwar。

  HORNBLOWER。Yeneversaidatruerword。It\'soneortheotherofus,andIratherthinkit\'sgoin\'tobeme。I\'mtherisin\'andyou\'rethesettin\'sun,asthepoetsays。

  HILLCRIST。[Touchingthebell]Weshallseeifyoucanriderough-

  shodlikethis。Weusedtohavedecentwaysofgoingaboutthingshere。Youwanttochangeallthat。Well,weshalldoourdamnedesttostopyou。[ToFELLOWSatthedoor]AretheJackmansstillinthehouse?Askthemtobegoodenoughtocomein。

  HORNBLOWER。[Withthefirstsignofuneasiness]I\'veseenthesepeople。I\'venothingmoretosaytothem。Itold\'emI\'dgive\'emfivepoundstocovertheirmoving。

  HILLCRIST。Itdoesn\'toccurtoyouthatpeople,howeverhumble,liketohavesomesayintheirownfate?

  HORNBLOWER。IneverhadanysayinminetillIhadthebrass,andnobodyeverwill。It\'sallhypocrisy。Youcountyfolkarefairawfulhypocrites。Yetalkaboutgoodformandallthatsorto\'

  thing。It\'sjustthecomfortabledoctrineofthemaninthesaddle;

  sentimentalvarnish。Ye\'reeverybitashardasIam,underneath。

  MRS。H。[Whohadbeenstandingverystillallthistime]Youflatterus。

  HORNBLOWER。Notatall。Godhelpsthosewho\'elpthemselves——

  that\'satthebottomofallreligion。I\'mgoin\'tohelpmeself,andGod\'sgoingtohelpme。

  MRS。H。Iadmireyourknowledge。

  HILLCRIST。Weareintheright,andGodhelps——

  HORNBLOWER。Don\'tyebelieveit;ye\'aven\'tgottheenergy。

  MRS。H。Norperhapstheconceit。

  HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthisforefinger]No,no;\'tisn\'tconceittobelieveinyourselfwhenye\'vegotreasonto。[TheJACKMAN\'S

  haveentered。]

  HILLCRIST。I\'mverysorry,Mrs。Jackman,butIjustwantedyoutorealisethatI\'vedonemybestwiththisgentleman。

  MRS。J。[Doubtfully]Yes,sir。Ithoughtifyouspokeforus,he\'dfeeldifferent-like。

  HORNBLOWER。Onecottageisthesameasanother,missis。Imadeyeafairofferoffivepoundsforthemoving。

  JACKMAN。[Slowly]Wewouldn\'ttakefiftytogooutofthat\'ouse。

  Webroughtupthreechildrenthere,an\'buriedtwofromit。

  MRS。J。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]We\'reattachedtoitlike,ma\'am。

  HILLCRIST。[ToHORNBLOWER。Howwouldyoulikebeingturnedoutofaplaceyouwerefondof?

  HORNBLOWER。Notabit。Butlittleconsiderationshavetogivewaytobigones。Now,missis,I\'llmakeittenpounds,andI\'llsendawagontoshiftyourthings。Ifthatisn\'tfair——!Ye\'dbetteraccept,Ishan\'tkeepitopen。

  [TheJACKMANSlookateachother;theirfacesshowdeepanger——

  andthequestiontheyaskeachotheriswhichwillspeak。]

  MRS。J。Wewon\'ttakeit;eh,George?

  JACKMAN。Notafarden。Wecometherewhenwewasmarried。

  HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthisfinger]Ye\'reveryimprovidentfolk。

  HILLCRIST。Don\'tlecturethem,Mr。Hornblower;theycomeoutofthismilesaboveyou。

  HORNBLOWER。[Angry]Well,Iwasgoingtogiveyeanotherweek,butye\'llgooutnextSaturday;andtakecareye\'renotlate,oryourthings\'llbeputoutintherain。

  MRS。H。[ToMRS。JACKMAN]We\'llsenddownforyourthings,andyoucancometousforthetimebeing。

  [MRS。JACKMANdropsacurtsey;hereyesstabHORNBLOWERS。]

  JACKMAN。[Heavily,clenchinghisfists]You\'renogentleman!

  Don\'tputtemptationinmyway,that\'sall,HILLCRIST。[Inalowvoice]Jackman!

  HORNBLOWER。[Triumphantly]Yehearthat?That\'syourprotegee!

  Keepouto\'myway,meman,orI\'llputthepoliceontoyeforutterin\'threats。

  HILLCRIST。You\'dbettergonow,Jackman。

  [TheJACKMANSmovetothedoor。]

  MRS。J。[Turning]Maybeyou\'llrepentitsomeday,sir。

  [Theygoout,MRS。HILLCRISTfollowing。]

  HORNBLOWER。We-ell,I\'msorrythey\'resuchunreasonablefolk。I

  nevermetpeoplewithlessnotionofwhichsidetheirbreadwasbuttered。

  HILLCRIST。AndInevermetanyonesopachydermatous。

  HORNBLOWER。What\'sthat,inHeaven\'sname?Yeneedn\'wrapitupinlongwordsnowyourgoodlady\'sgone。

  HILLCRIST。[Withdignity]I\'mnotgoinginforaslangingmatch。

  Iresentyourconductmuchtoodeeply。

  HORNBLOWER。Lookhere,Hillcrist,Idon\'tobjecttoyoupersonally;

  yeseemtomeapoorcreaturethat\'sboundtogetleftwithyourgoutandyourdignity;butofcourseyecanmakeyourselfverydisagreeablebeforeye\'redone。NowIwanttobethemovin\'spirithere。I\'mfullofplans。I\'mgoin\'tostandforParliament;I\'mgoin\'tomakethisaprosperousplace。I\'magood-maturedmanifyou\'lltreatmeassuch。Now,youtakemeonasaneighbourandallthat,andI\'11managewithoutchimneysontheCentry。Isitabargain?[Heholdsouthishand。]

  HILLCRIST。[Ignoringit]Ithoughtyousaidyoudidn\'tkeepyourwordwhenitsuitedyoutobreakit?

  HORNBLOWER。Now,don\'tgetonthehighhorse。Youandmecouldbeverygoodfriends;butIcanbeaverynastyenemy。Thechimneyswillnotlooknicefromthatwindie,yeknow。

  HILLCRIST。[Deeplyangry]Mr。Hornblower,ifyouthinkI\'lltakeyourhandafterthisJackmanbusiness,you\'regreatlymistaken。YouareproposingthatIshallstandinwithyouwhileyoutyranniseovertheneighbourhood。Pleaserealisethatunlessyouleavethosetenanciesundisturbedasyousaidyouwould,wedon\'tknoweachother。

  HORNBLOWER。Well,thatwon\'ttroublememuch。Now,ye\'dbetterthinkitover;ye\'vegotgoutandthatmakesyehasty。Itellyeagain:I\'mnotthemantomakeanenemyof。Unlessye\'refriendly,sureasIstandhereI\'llruinthelookofyourplace。

  [Thetootofacarisheard。]

  There\'smycar。IsentChearlieandhiswifeinittobuytheCentry。Andmakenomistake——he\'sgotitinhispacket。It\'syourlastchance,Hillcrist。I\'mnotaversetoyouasaman;Ithinkye\'rethebestofthefossilsroundhere;atleast,Ithinkyecandomethemostharmsocially。Comenow!

  [Heholdsouthishandagain。]

  HILLCRIST。Notifyou\'dboughttheCentrytentimesover。Yourwaysarenotmine,andI\'llhavenothingtodowithyou。

  HORNBLOWER。[Veryangry]Really!Isthatso?Verywell。Nowye\'regoin\'tolearnsomething,an\'it\'stimeyedid。D\'yerealisethatI\'m\'verynearlyroundye?[Hedrawsacircleslowlyintheair]I\'matUphill,theworksarehere,here\'sLongmeadow,here\'stheCentrythatI\'vejustbought,there\'sonlytheCommonlefttogiveyetouchwiththeworld。NowbetweenyouandtheCommonthere\'sthehighroad。

  Icomeoutonthehighroadheretoyournorth,andIshallcomeoutonittheretoyourwest。WhenI\'vegotmenewworksupontheCentry,Ishallbemakin\'atrolleytrackbetweentheworksuptotheroadatbothends,soanygoodswillberunningrightroundye。

  How\'llyelikethatforacountryplace?

  [ForanswerHILLCRIST,whoisangrybeyondthepowerofspeech,walks,forgettingtousehisstick,uptotheFrenchwindow。

  Whilehestandsthere,withhisbacktoHORNBLOWER,thedoorL。

  isflungopen,andJimenters,precedingCHARLES,hiswifeCHLOE,andROLF。CHARLESisagoodish-looking,moustachedyoungmanofabouttwenty-eight,withawhiterimtothecollarofhiswaistcoat,andspats。HehashishandbehindCHLOE\'S

  back,asiftopreventherturningtail。Sheisratherahandsomeyoungwoman,withdarkeyes,fullredlips,andasuspicionofpowder,alittleunder-dressedforthecountry。

  ROLF,mhobringsuptherear,isabouttwenty,withanopenfaceandstiffishbutter-colouredhair。JILLrunsovertoherfatheratthewindow。Shehasabottle。

  JILL。[Sottovoce]Look,Dodo,I\'vebroughtthelot!Isn\'titatreat,dearPapa?Andhere\'sthestuff。Hallo!

  [Theexclamationisinducedbytheapprehensionthattherehasbeenarow。HILLCRISTgivesastifflittlebow,remainingwhereheisinthewindow。JILL,staysclosetohim,staringfromonetotheother,thenblockshimoffandengageshiminconversation。CHARLEShasgoneuptohisfather,whohasremainedmaliciouslystill,wherehedeliveredhislastspeech。

  CHLOEandROLFstandawkwardlywaitingbetweenthefireplaceandthedoor。]

  HORNBLOWER。Well,Chearlie?

  CHARLES。Notgotit。

  HORNBLOWER。Not!

  CHARLES。I\'dpracticallygothertosayshe\'dsellatthreethousandfivehundred,whenthatfellowDawkerturnedup。

  HORNBLOWER。Thatbull-terrierofachap!Why,hewashereawhileago。Oh——ho!Sothat\'sit!

  CHARLES。Iheardhimgallopup。Hecamestraightfortheoldlady,andgotheraway。WhathesaidIdon\'tknow;butshecamebacklookingwiserthananowl;saidshe\'dthinkitover,thoughtshehadotherviews。

  HORNBLOWER。Didyetellhershemighthaveherprice?

  CHARLES。PracticallyIdid。

  HORNBLOWER。Well?

  CHARLES。Shethoughtitwouldbefairertoputituptoauction。

  Therewereotherenquiries。Oh!She\'saleeryoldbird——remindsmeofoneofthosepicturesofFate,don\'tyouknow。

  HORNBLOWER。Auction!Well,ifit\'snotgonewe\'llgetityet。

  ThatdamnedlittleDawker!I\'vehadarowwithHillcrist。

  CHARLES。Ithoughtso。

  [TheyareturningcautiouslytolookatHILLCRIST,whenJILL

  stepsforward。]

  JILL。[Flushedanddetermined]That\'snotabitsportingofyou,Mr。Hornblower。

  [AtherwordsROLEcomesforwardtoo。]

  HORNBLOWER。Yeshouldhearbothsidesbeforeyesaythat,missy。

  JILL。Thereisn\'tanothersidetoturningouttheJackmansafteryou\'dpromised。

  HORNBLOWER。Oh!dearme,yes。Theydon\'tmatterarowofgingerbreadtotheschemesI\'vegotforbetterin\'thisneighbourhood。

  JILL。Ihadbeenstandingupforyou;nowIwon\'t。

  HOUNBLOWER。Dear,dear!What\'llbecomeofme?

  JILL。Iwon\'tsayanythingabouttheotherthingbecauseIthinkit\'sbeneath,dignitytonoticeit。Buttoturnpoorpeopleoutoftheircottagesisashame。

  HORNBLOWER。Hoityme!

  ROLF。[Suddenly]Youhaven\'tbeendoingthat,father?

  CHARLES。Shutup,Rolf!

  HORNBLOWER。[TurningonROLF]Ha!Here\'saleagueo\'Youth!Myyoungwhipper-snapper,keepyourmouthshutandleaveittoyourelderstoknowwhat\'sright。

  [UndertheweightofthisrejoinderROLFstandsbitinghislips。Thenhethrowshisheadup。]

  ROLF。Ihateit!

  HORNBLOWER。[Withrealvenom]Oh!Yehateit?Yecangetoutofmyhouse,then。

  JILL。Freespeech,Mr。Hornblower;don\'tbeviolent。

  HORNBLOWER。Ye\'reright,younglady。Yecanstayinmyhouse,Rolf,andlearnmanners。Come,Chearlie!

  JILL。[Quitesoftly]Mr。Hornblower!

  HILLCRIST。[Fromthewindow]Jill!

  JILL。[Impatiently]Well,what\'sthegoodofit?Life\'stooshortforrows,andtoojolly!

  ROLF。Bravo!

  HORNBLOWER。[Whohasshownasignofweakening]Now,lookhere!

  Iwillnothaverevoltinmyfamily。Ye\'lljusthavetolearnthatamanwho\'sworkedasIhave,who\'srisenasIhave,andwhoknowstheworld,istheproperjudgeofwhat\'srightandwrong。I\'llanswertoGodformeactions,andnottoyouyoungpeople。

  JILL。PoorGod!

  HORNBLOWER。[Genuinelyshocked]Yeblasphemousyoungthing![ToROLF]Andye\'rejustasbad,yeyoungfreethinker。Iwon\'thaveit。

  HILLCRIST。[Whohascomedown,Right]Jill,Iwishyouwouldkindlynottalk。

  JILL。Ican\'thelpit。

  CHARLES。[PuttinghisarmthroughHORNBLOWER\'S]Comealong,father!Deeds,notwords。

  HORNBLOWER。Ay!,Deeds!

  [MRS。HILLCRISTandDAWKERShaveenteredbytheFrenchwindow。]

  MRS。H。Quiteright!

  [Theyallturnandlookather。]

  HORNBLOWER。Ah!Soyeputyourdogontoit。[HethrowsouthisfingeratDAWKERS]Verysmart,that——Igiveyecredit。

  MRS。H。[PointingtoCHLOE,whohasstoodbyherself,forgottenanduncomfortablethroughoutthescene]

  MayIaskwhothisladyis?

  [CHLOEturnsroundstartled,andhervanitybagslipsdownherdresstothefloor。]

  HORNBLOWER。No,ma\'am,yemaynot,foryeknowperfectlywell。

  JILL。Ibroughtherin,mother[ShemovestoCHLOE\'sside。]

  MRS。H。Willyoutakeheroutagain,then。

  HILLCRIST。Amy,havethegoodnesstoremember——

  MRS。H。Thatthisismyhousesofarasladiesareconcerned。

  JILL。Mother!

  [ShelooksastonishedatCHLOE,who,abouttospeak,doesnot,passinghereyes,withaqueer,half-scarredexpression,fromMRS。HILLCRISTtoDAWKER。]

  [ToCHLOE]I\'mawfullysorry。Comeon!

  [Theygoout,Left。ROLFhurriesafterthem。]

  CHARLES。You\'veinsultedmywife。Why?Whatdoyoumeanbyit?

  [MRS。HILLCRISTsimplysmiles。]

  HILLCRIST。Iapologise。Iregretextremely。Thereisnoreasonwhytheladiesofyourfamilyorofmineshouldbeinvolvedinourquarrel。ForHeaven\'ssake,let\'sfightlikegentlemen。

  HORNBLOWER。Catchwords——sneers!No;we\'llplaywhatyecallaskingame,Hillcrist,withoutgloveson;wewon\'tspareeachother。Yelookoutforyourselves,for,begod,afterthismorningImeanbusiness。Andasforyou,Dawker,yeslydog,yethinkyourselfveryclever;butI\'llhavetheCentryyet。Come,Chearlie!

  [Theygoout,passingJILL,whoiscominginagain,inthedoorway。]

  HILLCRIST。Well,Dawker?

  DAWKER。[Grinning]Safeforthemoment。Theoldlady\'llputituptoauction。Couldn\'tgethertobudgefromthat。Saysshedon\'twanttobeunneighbourlytoeither。But,ifyouaskme,it\'smoneyshesmells!

  JILL。[Advancing]Now,motherMRS。H。Well?

  JILL。Whydidyouinsulther?

  MRS。H。IthinkIonlyaskedyoutotakeherout。

  JILL。Why?EvenifsheisOldCombustion\'sdaughter-in-law?

  MRS。H。MydearJill,allowmetojudgethesortofacquaintancesI

  wishtomake。[ShelooksatDAWKER。]

  JILL。She\'sallright。Lotsofwomenpowderandtouchuptheirlipsnowadays。Ithinkshe\'sratheragoodsort;shewasawfullyupset。

  MRS。H。Tooupset。

  JILL。Oh!don\'tbesomysterious,mother。Ifyouknowsomething,dospititout!

  MRS。H。Doyouwishmeto——er——\"spititout,\"Jack?

  HILLCRIST。Dawker,ifyoudon\'tmind——

  [DAWKER,withanod,passesawayoutoftheFrenchwindow。]

  Jill,berespectful,anddon\'ttalklikeabargee。

  JILL。It\'snogood,Dodo。Itmademeashamed。It\'sjustas——ascaddishtoinsultpeoplewhohaven\'tsaidaword,inyourownhouse,asitistobe——oldHornblower。

  MRS。H。Youdon\'tknowwhatyou\'retalkingabout。

  HILLCRIST。What\'sthematterwithyoungMrs。Hornblower?

  MRS。H。Excuseme,Ishallkeepmythoughtstomyselfatpresent。

  [ShelookscoldlyatJILL,andgoesoutthroughtheFrenchwindow。]

  HILLCRIST。You\'vethoroughlyupsetyourmother,Jill。

  JILL。It\'ssomethingDawker\'stoldher;Isawthem。Idon\'tlikeDawker,father,he\'ssocommon。

  HILLCRIST。Mydear,wecan\'tallbeuncommon。He\'sgotlotsofgo,Youmustapologisetoyourmother。

  JILL。[Shaking-herclubbedhair]They\'llmakeyoudothingsyoudon\'tapproveof,Dodo,ifyoudon\'tlookout。Mother\'sfearfullybitterwhenshegetsherknifein。IfoldHornblower\'sdisgusting,it\'snoreasonweshouldbe。

  HILLCRIST。SoyouthinkI\'mcapable——that\'snice,Jill!

  JILL。No,no,darling!Ionlywanttowarnyousolemnlythatmother\'lltellyouyou\'refightingfair,nomatterwhatsheandDawkerdo。

  HILLCRIST。[Smiling]Jill,Idon\'tthinkIeversawyousoserious。

  JILL。No。Because——[Sheswallowsalumpinherthroat]Well——I

  wasjustbeginningtoenjoy,myself;andnow——everything\'sgoingtobebitterandbeastly,withmotherinthatmood。Thathorribleoldman!Oh,Dodo!Don\'tletthemmakeyouhorrid!You\'resuchadarling。How\'syourgout,ducky?

  HILLCRIST。Better;lotbetter。

  JILL。There,yousee!Thatshows!It\'sgoingtobehalf-

  interestingforyou,butnotfor——us。

  HILLCRIST。Lookhere,Jill——isthereanythingbetweenyouandyoungwhat\'s-his-name——Rolf?

  JILL。[Bitingherlip]No。But——nowit\'sallspoiled。

  HILLCRIST。Youcan\'texpectmetoregretthat。

  JILL。Idon\'tmeananytoshaboutlove\'syoungdream;butIdolikebeingfriends。Iwanttoenjoythings,Dodo,andyoucan\'tdothatwheneverybody\'sonthehate。You\'regoingtowallowinit,andsoshallI——oh!IknowIshall!——weshallallwallow,andthinkofnothingbut\"oneforhisnob。\"

  HILLCRIST。Aren\'tyoufondofyourhome?

  JILL。Ofcourse。Iloveit。

  HILLCRIST。Well,youwon\'tbeabletoliveinitunlesswestopthatruffian。Chimneysandsmoke,thetreescutdown,pilesofpots。Everykindofabomination。There![Hepoints]Imagine!

  [HepointsthroughtheFrenchwindow,asifhecouldseethosechimneysrisingandmarringthebeautyofthefields]Iwasbornhere,andmyfather,andhis,andhis,andhis。Theylovedthosefields,andthoseoldtrees。Andthisbarbarian,withhis\"improvement\"schemes,forsooth!IlearnedtorideintheCentrymeadows——prettiestspringmeadowsintheworld;I\'veclimbedeverytreethere。Whymyfathereversold——!Butwhocouldhaveimaginedthis?Andcomeatabadmoment,whenmoney\'sscarce。

  JILL。[Cuddlinghisarm]Dodo!

  HILLCRIST。Yes。Butyoudon\'tlovetheplaceasIdo,Jill。Youyoungstersdon\'tloveanything,Isometimesthink。

  JILL。Ido,Dodo,Ido!

  HILLCRIST。You\'vegotitallbeforeyou。Butyoumayliveyourlifeandneverfindanythingsogoodandsobeautifulasthisoldhome。I\'mnotgoingtohaveitspoiledwithoutafight。

  [ConsciousofbattingbetrayedSentiment,hewalksoutattheFrenchwindow,passingawaytotheright。JILLfollowingtothewindow,looks。Thenthrowingbackherhead,sheclaspsherhandsbehindit。]

  JILL。Oh——oh-oh!

  [Avoicebehindhersays,\"JILL!\"Sheturnsandstartsback,leaningagainsttherightlintelofthewindow。ROLFappearsoutsidethewindowfromLeft。]

  Whogoesthere?

  ROLE。[ButtressedagainsttheLeftlintel]Enemy——afterChloe\'sbag。

  JILL。Pass,enemy!Andall\'sill!

  [ROLFpassesthroughthewindow,andretrievesthevanitybagfromthefloorwhereCHLOEdroppedit,thenagaintakeshisstandagainsttheLeftlinteloftheFrenchwindow。]

  ROLF。It\'snotgoingtomakeanydifference,isit?

  JILL。Youknowitis。

  ROLF。Sinsofthefathers。

  JILL。Untothethirdandfourthgenerations。Whatsinhasmyfathercommitted?

  ROLF。None,inaway;only,I\'veoftentoldyouIdon\'tseewhyyoushouldtreatusasoutsiders。Wedon\'tlikeit。

  JILL。Well,youshouldn\'tbe,then;Imean,heshouldn\'tbe。

  ROLF。Father\'sjustashumanasyourfather;he\'swrappedupinus,andallhis\"gettingon\"isforus。WouldyouliketobetreatedasyourmothertreatedChloe?Yourmother\'ssetthestrokefortheotherbig-wigsabouthere;nobodycallsonChloe。Andwhynot?Whynot?Ithinkit\'scontemptibletobarpeoplejustbecausethey\'renew,asyoucallit,andhavetomaketheirpositioninsteadofhavingitleftthem。

  JILL。It\'snotbecausethey\'renew,it\'sbecause——ifyourfatherbehavedlikeagentleman,he\'dbetreatedlikeone。

  ROLF。Wouldhe?Idon\'tbelieveit。Myfather\'saveryableman;

  hethinkshe\'sentitledtohaveinfluencehere。Well,everybodytriestokeephimdown。Oh!yes,theydo。Thatmakeshimmadandmoredeterminedthanevertogethisway。Yououghttobejust,Jill。

  JILL。Iamjust。

  ROLF。No,you\'renot。Besides,what\'sitgottodowithCharlieandChloe?Chloe\'sparticularlyharmless。It\'sprettysickeningforher。Fatherdidn\'texpectpeopletocalluntilCharliemarried,butsince——

  JILL。Ithinkit\'sallverypetty。

  ROLF。Itis——adog-in-the-mangerbusiness;Ididthinkyouwereaboveit。

  JILL。Howwouldyouliketohaveyourhomespoiled?

  ROLE。I\'mnotgoingtoargue。Onlythingsdon\'tstandstill。

  Homesaren\'tanymoreproofagainstchangethananythingelse。

  JILL。Allright!Youcomeandtryandtakeours。

  ROLF。Wedon\'twanttotakeyourhome。

  JILL。LiketheJackmans\'?

  ROLF。Allright。Iseeyou\'rehopelesslyprejudiced。

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