Thecouplethereforesatthemselvesdowninarm-chairsandwaited。
“Ah，there’sMr。Hewet，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Mr。Hewet，“
shecontinued，“docomeandsitbyus。Iwastellingmyhusbandhowmuchyouremindedmeofadearoldfriendofmine——MaryUmpleby。
Shewasamostdelightfulwoman，Iassureyou。Shegrewroses。
Weusedtostaywithherintheolddays。“
“Noyoungmanlikestohaveitsaidthatheresemblesanelderlyspinster，“saidMr。Thornbury。
“Onthecontrary，“saidMr。Hewet，“Ialwaysthinkitacomplimenttoremindpeopleofsomeoneelse。ButMissUmpleby——whydidshegrowroses？“
“Ah，poorthing，“saidMrs。Thornbury，“that’salongstory。
Shehadgonethroughdreadfulsorrows。AtonetimeIthinkshewouldhavelosthersensesifithadn’tbeenforhergarden。
Thesoilwasverymuchagainsther——ablessingindisguise；
shehadtobeupatdawn——outinallweathers。Andthentherearecreaturesthateatroses。Butshetriumphed。Shealwaysdid。
Shewasabravesoul。“Shesigheddeeplybutatthesametimewithresignation。
“IdidnotrealisethatIwasmonopolisingthepaper，“saidMissAllan，cominguptothem。
“Weweresoanxioustoreadaboutthedebate，“saidMrs。Thornbury，acceptingitonbehalfofherhusband。
“Onedoesn’trealisehowinterestingadebatecanbeuntilonehassonsinthenavy。Myinterestsareequallybalanced，though；Ihavesonsinthearmytoo；andonesonwhomakesspeechesattheUnion——
mybaby！“
“Hirstwouldknowhim，Iexpect，“saidHewet。
“Mr。Hirsthassuchaninterestingface，“saidMrs。Thornbury。
“ButIfeeloneoughttobeveryclevertotalktohim。
Well，William？“sheenquired，forMr。Thornburygrunted。
“They’remakingamessofit，“saidMr。Thornbury。Hehadreachedthesecondcolumnofthereport，aspasmodiccolumn，fortheIrishmembershadbeenbrawlingthreeweeksagoatWestminsteroveraquestionofnavalefficiency。Afteradisturbedparagraphortwo，thecolumnofprintoncemoreransmoothly。
“Youhavereadit？“Mrs。ThornburyaskedMissAllan。
“No，IamashamedtosayIhaveonlyreadaboutthediscoveriesinCrete，“saidMissAllan。
“Oh，butIwouldgivesomuchtorealisetheancientworld！“
criedMrs。Thornbury。“Nowthatweoldpeoplearealone，——we’reonoursecondhoneymoon，——Iamreallygoingtoputmyselftoschoolagain。
Afterallweare_founded_onthepast，aren’twe，Mr。Hewet？
MysoldiersonsaysthatthereisstillagreatdealtobelearntfromHannibal。Oneoughttoknowsomuchmorethanonedoes。
SomehowwhenIreadthepaper，Ibeginwiththedebatesfirst，and，beforeI’vedone，thedooralwaysopens——we’reaverylargepartyathome——andsooneneverdoesthinkenoughabouttheancientsandallthey’vedoneforus。But_you_beginatthebeginning，MissAllan。“
“WhenIthinkoftheGreeksIthinkofthemasnakedblackmen，“
saidMissAllan，“whichisquiteincorrect，I’msure。“
“Andyou，Mr。Hirst？“saidMrs。Thornbury，perceivingthatthegauntyoungmanwasnear。“I’msureyoureadeverything。“
“Iconfinemyselftocricketandcrime，“saidHirst。“Theworstofcomingfromtheupperclasses，“hecontinued，“isthatone’sfriendsareneverkilledinrailwayaccidents。“
Mr。Thornburythrewdownthepaper，andemphaticallydroppedhiseyeglasses。Thesheetsfellinthemiddleofthegroup，andwereeyedbythemall。
“It’snotgonewell？“askedhiswifesolicitously。
Hewetpickeduponesheetandread，“AladywaswalkingyesterdayinthestreetsofWestminsterwhensheperceivedacatinthewindowofadesertedhouse。Thefamishedanimal——“
“Ishallbeoutofitanyway，“Mr。Thornburyinterruptedpeevishly。
“Catsareoftenforgotten，“MissAllanremarked。
“Remember，William，thePrimeMinisterhasreservedhisanswer，“
saidMrs。Thornbury。
“Attheageofeighty，Mr。JoshuaHarrisofEelesPark，Brondesbury，hashadason，“saidHirst。
“……Thefamishedanimal，whichhadbeennoticedbyworkmenforsomedays，wasrescued，but——byJove！itbittheman’shandtopieces！“
“Wildwithhunger，Isuppose，“commentedMissAllan。
“You’reallneglectingthechiefadvantageofbeingabroad，“
saidMr。HughlingElliot，whohadjoinedthegroup。“YoumightreadyournewsinFrench，whichisequivalenttoreadingnonewsatall。“
Mr。ElliothadaprofoundknowledgeofCoptic，whichheconcealedasfaraspossible，andquotedFrenchphrasessoexquisitelythatitwashardtobelievethathecouldalsospeaktheordinarytongue。
HehadanimmenserespectfortheFrench。
“Coming？“heaskedthetwoyoungmen。“Weoughttostartbeforeit’sreallyhot。“
“Ibegofyounottowalkintheheat，Hugh，“hiswifepleaded，givinghimanangularparcelenclosinghalfachickenandsomeraisins。
“Hewetwillbeourbarometer，“saidMr。Elliot。“HewillmeltbeforeIshall。“Indeed，ifsomuchasadrophadmeltedoffhisspareribs，theboneswouldhavelainbare。Theladieswereleftalonenow，surrounding_The__Times_whichlayuponthefloor。
MissAllanlookedatherfather’swatch。
“Tenminutestoeleven，“sheobserved。
“Work？“askedMrs。Thornbury。
“Work，“repliedMissAllan。
“Whatafinecreaturesheis！“murmuredMrs。Thornbury，asthesquarefigureinitsmanlycoatwithdrew。
“AndI’msureshehasahardlife，“sighedMrs。Elliot。
“Oh，it_is_ahardlife，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Unmarriedwomen——
earningtheirlivings——it’sthehardestlifeofall。“
“Yetsheseemsprettycheerful，“saidMrs。Elliot。
“Itmustbeveryinteresting，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“Ienvyherherknowledge。“
“Butthatisn’twhatwomenwant，“saidMrs。Elliot。
“I’mafraidit’sallagreatmanycanhopetohave，“sighedMrs。Thornbury。“Ibelievethattherearemoreofusthanevernow。
SirHarleyLethbridgewastellingmeonlytheotherdayhowdifficultitistofindboysforthenavy——partlybecauseoftheirteeth，itistrue。AndIhaveheardyoungwomentalkquiteopenlyof——“
“Dreadful，dreadful！“exclaimedMrs。Elliot。“Thecrown，asonemaycallit，ofawoman’slife。I，whoknowwhatitistobechildless——“
shesighedandceased。
“Butwemustnotbehard，“saidMrs。Thornbury。“TheconditionsaresomuchchangedsinceIwasayoungwoman。“
“Surely_maternity_doesnotchange，“saidMrs。Elliot。
“Insomewayswecanlearnagreatdealfromtheyoung，“
saidMrs。Thornbury。“Ilearnsomuchfrommyowndaughters。“
“IbelievethatHughlingreallydoesn’tmind，“saidMrs。Elliot。
“Butthenhehashiswork。“
“Womenwithoutchildrencandosomuchforthechildrenofothers，“
observedMrs。Thornburygently。
“Isketchagreatdeal，“saidMrs。Elliot，“butthatisn’treallyanoccupation。It’ssodisconcertingtofindgirlsjustbeginningdoingbetterthanonedoesoneself！Andnature’sdifficult——
verydifficult！“
“Aretherenotinstitutions——clubs——thatyoucouldhelp？“
askedMrs。Thornbury。
“Theyaresoexhausting，“saidMrs。Elliot。“Ilookstrong，becauseofmycolour；butI’mnot；theyoungestofelevenneveris。“
“Ifthemotheriscarefulbefore，“saidMrs。Thornburyjudicially，“thereisnoreasonwhythesizeofthefamilyshouldmakeanydifference。Andthereisnotraininglikethetrainingthatbrothersandsistersgiveeachother。Iamsureofthat。
Ihaveseenitwithmyownchildren。MyeldestboyRalph，forinstance——“
ButMrs。Elliotwasinattentivetotheelderlady’sexperience，andhereyeswanderedaboutthehall。
“Mymotherhadtwomiscarriages，Iknow，“shesaidsuddenly。
“Thefirstbecauseshemetoneofthosegreatdancingbears——
theyshouldn’tbeallowed；theother——itwasahorridstory——ourcookhadachildandtherewasadinnerparty。SoIputmydyspepsiadowntothat。“
“Andamiscarriageissomuchworsethanaconfinement，“
Mrs。Thornburymurmuredabsentmindedly，adjustingherspectaclesandpickingup_The__Times_。Mrs。Elliotroseandflutteredaway。
Whenshehadheardwhatoneofthemillionvoicesspeakinginthepaperhadtosay，andnoticedthatacousinofhershadmarriedaclergymanatMinehead——ignoringthedrunkenwomen，thegoldenanimalsofCrete，themovementsofbattalions，thedinners，thereforms，thefires，theindignant，thelearnedandbenevolent，Mrs。Thornburywentupstairstowritealetterforthemail。
Thepaperlaydirectlybeneaththeclock，thetwotogetherseemingtorepresentstabilityinachangingworld。Mr。Perrottpassedthrough；
Mr。Venningpoisedforasecondontheedgeofatable。Mrs。Paleywaswheeledpast。Susanfollowed。Mr。Venningstrolledafterher。
Portuguesemilitaryfamilies，theirclothessuggestinglaterisinginuntidybedrooms，trailedacross，attendedbyconfidentialnursescarryingnoisychildren。Asmiddaydrewon，andthesunbeatstraightupontheroof，aneddyofgreatfliesdronedinacircle；iceddrinkswereservedunderthepalms；thelongblindswerepulleddownwithashriek，turningallthelightyellow。Theclocknowhadasilenthalltotickin，andanaudienceoffourorfivesomnolentmerchants。
Bydegreeswhitefigureswithshadyhatscameinatthedoor，admittingawedgeofthehotsummerday，andshuttingitoutagain。
Afterrestinginthedimnessforaminute，theywentupstairs。
Simultaneously，theclockwheezedone，andthegongsounded，beginningsoftly，workingitselfintoafrenzy，andceasing。
Therewasapause。Thenallthosewhohadgoneupstairscamedown；
cripplescame，plantingbothfeetonthesamesteplesttheyshouldslip；primlittlegirlscame，holdingthenurse’sfinger；
fatoldmencamestillbuttoningwaistcoats。Thegonghadbeensoundedinthegarden，andbydegreesrecumbentfiguresroseandstrolledintoeat，sincethetimehadcomeforthemtofeedagain。
Therewerepoolsandbarsofshadeinthegardenevenatmidday，wheretwoorthreevisitorscouldlieworkingortalkingattheirease。
Owingtotheheatoftheday，luncheonwasgenerallyasilentmeal，whenpeopleobservedtheirneighborsandtookstockofanynewfacestheremightbe，hazardingguessesastowhotheywereandwhattheydid。
Mrs。Paley，althoughwelloverseventyandcrippledinthelegs，enjoyedherfoodandthepeculiaritiesofherfellow-beings。ShewasseatedatasmalltablewithSusan。
“Ishouldn’tliketosaywhat_she_is！“shechuckled，surveyingatallwomandressedconspicuouslyinwhite，withpaintinthehollowsofhercheeks，whowasalwayslate，andalwaysattendedbyashabbyfemalefollower，atwhichremarkSusanblushed，andwonderedwhyherauntsaidsuchthings。
Lunchwentonmethodically，untileachofthesevencourseswasleftinfragmentsandthefruitwasmerelyatoy，tobepeeledandslicedasachilddestroysadaisy，petalbypetal。Thefoodservedasanextinguisheruponanyfaintflameofthehumanspiritthatmightsurvivethemiddayheat，butSusansatinherroomafterwards，turningoverandoverthedelightfulfactthatMr。Venninghadcometoherinthegarden，andhadsattherequitehalfanhourwhileshereadaloudtoheraunt。Menandwomensoughtdifferentcornerswheretheycouldlieunobserved，andfromtwotofouritmightbesaidwithoutexaggerationthatthehotelwasinhabitedbybodieswithoutsouls。Disastrouswouldhavebeentheresultifafireoradeathhadsuddenlydemandedsomethingheroicofhumannature，buttragediescomeinthehungryhours。Towardsfouro’clockthehumanspiritagainbegantolickthebody，asaflamelicksablackpromontoryofcoal。Mrs。Paleyfeltitunseemlytoopenhertoothlessjawsowidely，thoughtherewasnoonenear，andMrs。Elliotsurveyedherfoundflushedfaceanxiouslyinthelooking-glass。
Halfanhourlater，havingremovedthetracesofsleep，theymeteachotherinthehall，andMrs。Paleyobservedthatshewasgoingtohavehertea。
“Youlikeyourteatoo，don’tyou？“shesaid，andinvitedMrs。Elliot，whosehusbandwasstillout，tojoinherataspecialtablewhichshehadplacedforherunderatree。