-partlyoriginalsin，butpartlytheresultofhisearlyimmorality——ofthemoralattitude。Themosthecouldeverhavesaidtohissonwouldhavebeen：”Lookhere，oldman；don’tforgetyou’reagentleman，”andthenhavewonderedwhimsicallywhetherthatwasnotasnobbishsentiment。Thegreatcricketmatchwasperhapsthemostsearchingandawkwardtimetheyannuallywentthroughtogether，forJolyonhadbeenatEton。Theywouldbeparticularlycarefulduringthatmatch，continuallysaying：”Hooray！Oh！hardluck，oldman！”or”Hooray！Oh！badluck，Dad！”
toeachother，whensomedisasteratwhichtheirheartsboundedhappenedtotheopposingschool。AndJolyonwouldwearagreytophat，insteadofhisusualsoftone，tosavehisson’sfeelings，forablacktophathecouldnotstomach。WhenJollywentuptoOxford，Jolyonwentupwithhim，amused，humble，andalittleanxiousnottodiscredithisboyamongstalltheseyouthswhoseemedsomuchmoreassuredandoldthanhimself。Heoftenthought，’GladI’mapainter’forhehadlongdroppedunder-writingatLloyds——’it’ssoinnocuous。Youcan’tlookdownonapainter——
youcan’ttakehimseriouslyenough。’ForJolly，whohadasortofnaturallordliness，hadpassedatonceintoaverysmallset，whosecretlyamusedhisfather。Theboyhadfairhairwhichcurledalittle，andhisgrandfather’sdeepsetiron-greyeyes。Hewaswell-builtandveryupright，andalwayspleasedJolyon’saestheticsense，sothathewasatinybitafraidofhim，asartistseverareofthoseoftheirownsexwhomtheyadmirephysically。Onthatoccasion，however，heactuallydidscrewuphiscouragetogivehissonadvice，andthiswasit：”Lookhere，oldman，you’reboundtogetintodebt；mindyoucometomeatonce。Ofcourse，I’llalwayspaythem。Butyoumightrememberthatonerespectsoneselfmoreafterwardsifonepaysone’sownway。Anddon’teverborrow，exceptfromme，willyou?”
AndJollyhadsaid：”Allright，Dad，Iwon’t，”andheneverhad。”Andthere’sjustoneotherthing。Idon’tknowmuchaboutmoralityandthat，butthereisthis：It’salwaysworthwhilebeforeyoudoanythingtoconsiderwhetherit’sgoingtohurtanotherpersonmorethanisabsolutelynecessary。”
Jollyhadlookedthoughtful，andnodded，andpresentlyhadsqueezedhisfather’shand。AndJolyonhadthought：’IwonderifIhadtherighttosaythat?’Healwayshadasortofdreadoflosingthedumbconfidencetheyhadineachother；rememberinghowforlongyearshehadlosthisownfather’s，sothattherehadbeennothingbetweenthembutloveatagreatdistance。Heunder-estimated，nodoubt，thechangeinthespiritoftheagesincehehimselfwentuptoCambridgein’65；andperhapsheunderestimated，too，hisboy’spowerofunderstandingthathewastoleranttotheverybone。Itwasthattoleranceofhis，andpossiblyhisscepticism，whichevermadehisrelationstowardsJunesoqueerlydefensive。Shewassuchadecidedmortal；knewherownmindsoterriblywell；wantedthingssoinexorablyuntilshegotthem——andthen，indeed，oftendroppedthemlikeahotpotato。Hermotherhadbeenlikethat，whencehadcomeallthosetears。NotthathisincompatibilitywithhisdaughterwasanythinglikewhatithadbeenwiththefirstMrs。
YoungJolyon。Onecouldbeamusedwhereadaughterwasconcerned；
inawife’scaseonecouldnotbeamused。ToseeJunesetherheartandjawonathinguntilshegotitwasallright，becauseitwasneveranythingwhichinterferedfundamentallywithJolyon’sliberty——theonethingonwhichhisjawwasalsoabsolutelyrigid，aconsiderablejaw，underthatshortgrizzlingbeard。Norwasthereeveranynecessityforrealheart-to-heartencounters。Onecouldbreakawayintoirony——asindeedheoftenhadto。ButtherealtroublewithJunewasthatshehadneverappealedtohisaestheticsense，thoughshemightwellhave，withherred-goldhairandherviking-colouredeyes，andthattouchoftheBerserkerinherspirit。ItwasverydifferentwithHolly，softandquiet，shyandaffectionate，withaplayfulimpinhersomewhere。Hewatchedthisyoungerdaughterofhisthroughtheducklingstagewithextraordinaryinterest。Wouldshecomeoutaswan?Withhersallowovalfaceandhergreywistfuleyesandthoselongdarklashes，shemight，orshemightnot。Onlythislastyearhadhebeenabletoguess。Yes，shewouldbeaswan——ratheradarkone，alwaysashyone，butanauthenticswan。Shewaseighteennow，andMademoiselleBeaucewasgone——theexcellentladyhadremoved，afterelevenyearshauntedbyhercontinuousreminiscencesofthe’well-
brrredlittleTayleurs，’toanotherfamilywhosebosomwouldnowbeagitatedbyherreminiscencesofthe’well-brrredlittleForsytes。’
ShehadtaughtHollytospeakFrenchlikeherself。
PortraiturewasnotJolyon’sforte，buthehadalreadydrawnhisyoungerdaughterthreetimes，andwasdrawingherafourth，ontheafternoonofOctober4th，1899，whenacardwasbroughttohimwhichcausedhiseyebrowstogoup：
Mr。SOAMESFORSYTE
THESHELTER，CONNOISSEURSCLUB，MAPLEDURHAM。ST。JAMES’S。
ButheretheForsyteSagamustdigressagain……
ToreturnfromalongtravelinSpaintoadarkenedhouse，toalittledaughterbewilderedwithtears，tothesightofalovedfatherlyingpeacefulinhislastsleep，hadneverbeen，wasneverlikelytobe，forgottenbysoimpressionableandwarm-heartedamanasJolyon。Asenseasofmystery，too，clungtothatsadday，andabouttheendofonewhoselifehadbeensowell-ordered，balanced，andabove-board。Itseemedincrediblethathisfathercouldthushavevanishedwithout，asitwere，announcinghisintention，withoutlastwordstohisson，andduefarewells。AndthoseincoherentallusionsoflittleHollyto’theladyingrey，’ofMademoiselleBeaucetoaMadameErrantasitsoundedinvolvedallthingsinamist，liftedalittlewhenhereadhisfather’swillandthecodicilthereto。IthadbeenhisdutyasexecutorofthatwillandcodiciltoinformIrene，wifeofhiscousinSoames，ofherlifeinterestinfifteenthousandpounds。HehadcalledonhertoexplainthattheexistinginvestmentinIndiaStock，ear-markedtomeetthecharge，wouldproduceforhertheinterestingnetsumof?430oddayear，clearofincometax。ThiswasbutthethirdtimehehadseenhiscousinSoames’wife——ifindeedshewasstillhiswife，ofwhichhewasnotquitesure。HerememberedhavingseenhersittingintheBotanicalGardenswaitingforBosinney——apassive，fascinatingfigure，remindinghimofTitian’s’HeavenlyLove，’andagain，when，chargedbyhisfather，hehadgonetoMontpellierSquareontheafternoonwhenBosinney’sdeathwasknown。Hestillrecalledvividlyhersuddenappearanceinthedrawing-roomdoorwayonthatoccasion——herbeautifulface，passingfromwildeagernessofhopetostonydespair；rememberedthecompassionhehadfelt，Soames’snarlingsmile，hiswords，”Wearenotathome！”andtheslamofthefrontdoor。
Thisthirdtimehesawafaceandformmorebeautiful——freedfromthatwarpofwildhopeanddespair。Lookingather，hethought：
’Yes，youarejustwhattheDadwouldhaveadmired！’Andthestrangestoryofhisfather’sIndiansummerbecameslowlycleartohim。ShespokeofoldJolyonwithreverenceandtearsinhereyes。”Hewassowonderfullykindtome；Idon’tknowwhy。Helookedsobeautifulandpeacefulsittinginthatchairunderthetree；itwasIwhofirstcameonhimsittingthere，youknow。Suchalovelyday。Idon’tthinkanendcouldhavebeenhappier。Weshouldallliketogooutlikethat。”’QuiterightI’hehadthought。’Weshouldallaliketogooutinfullsummerwithbeautysteppingtowardsusacrossalawn。’Andlookingroundthelittle，almostemptydrawing-room，hehadaskedherwhatshewasgoingtodonow。”Iamgoingtoliveagainalittle，CousinJolyon。It’swonderfultohavemoneyofone’sown。I’veneverhadany。Ishallkeepthisflat，Ithink；I’musedtoit；butIshallbeabletogotoItaly。”
Exactly！”Jolyonhadmurmured，lookingatherfaintlysmilinglips；andhehadgoneawaythinking：’Afascinatingwoman！Whatawaste！I’mgladtheDadleftherthatmoney。’Hehadnotseenheragain，buteveryquarterhehadsignedhercheque，forwardingittoherbank，withanotetotheChelseaflattosaythathehaddoneso；andalwayshehadreceivedanoteinacknowledgment，generallyfromtheflat，butsometimesfromItaly；sothatherpersonalityhadbecomeembodiedinslightlyscentedgreypaper，anuprightfinehandwriting，andthewords，’DearCousinJolyon。’Manofpropertythathenowwas，theslenderchequehesignedoftengaverisetothethought：’Well，Isupposeshejustmanages’；slidingintoavaguewonderhowshewasfaringotherwiseinaworldofmennotwonttoletbeautygounpossessed。AtfirstHollyhadspokenofhersometimes，but’ladiesingrey’soonfadefromchildren’smemories；andthetighteningofJune’slipsinthosefirstweeksafterhergrandfather’sdeathwheneverherformerfriend’snamewasmentioned，haddiscouragedallusion。Onlyonce，indeed，hadJunespokendefinitely：”I’veforgivenher。I’mfrightfullygladshe’sindependentnow……”
OnreceivingSoames’card，Jolyonsaidtothemaid——forhecouldnotabidebutlers——”Showhimintothestudy，please，andsayI’llbethereinaminute”；andthenhelookedatHollyandasked：”Doyouremember’theladyingrey，’whousedtogiveyoumusic-
lessons?””Ohyes，why?Hasshecome?”
Jolyonshookhishead，and，changinghishollandblouseforacoat，wassilent，perceivingsuddenlythatsuchhistorywasnotforthoseyoungears。Hisface，infact，becamewhimsicalperplexityincarnatewhilehejourneyedtowardsthestudy。
Standingbythefrench-window，lookingoutacrosstheterraceattheoaktree，weretwofigures，middle-agedandyoung，andhethought：’Who’sthatboy?Surelytheyneverhadachild。’
Theelderfigureturned。ThemeetingofthosetwoForsytesofthesecondgeneration，somuchmoresophisticatedthanthefirst，inthehousebuiltfortheoneandownedandoccupiedbytheother，wasmarkedbysubtledefensivenessbeneathdistinctattemptatcordiality。’Hashecomeabouthiswife?’Jolyonwasthinking；andSoames，’HowshallIbegin?’whileVal，broughttobreaktheice，stoodnegligentlyscrutinisingthis’beardedpard’fromunderhisdark，thickeyelashes。”ThisisValDartie，”saidSoames，”mysister’sson。He’sjustgoinguptoOxford。IthoughtI’dlikehimtoknowyourboy。””Ah！I’msorryJolly’saway。Whatcollege?””B。N。C。，”repliedVal。”Jolly’satthe’House，’buthe’llbedelightedtolookyouup。””Thanksawfully。””Holly’sin——ifyoucouldputupwithafemalerelation，she’dshowyouround。You’llfindherinthehallifyougothroughthecurtains。Iwasjustpaintingher。”
Withanother”Thanks，awfully！”Valvanished，leavingthetwocousinswiththeiceunbroken。”Iseeyou’vesomedrawingsatthe’WaterColours，’”saidSoames。
Jolyonwinced。HehadbeenoutoftouchwiththeForsytefamilyatlargefortwenty-sixyears，buttheywereconnectedinhismindwithFrith’s’DerbyDay’andLandseerprints。HehadheardfromJunethatSoameswasaconnoisseur，whichmadeitworse。Hehadbecomeaware，too，ofacurioussensationofrepugnance。”Ihaven’tseenyouforalongtime，”hesaid。”No，”answeredSoamesbetweencloselips，”notsince——asamatteroffact，it’saboutthatI’vecome。You’rehertrustee，I’mtold。”
Jolyonnodded。”Twelveyearsisalongtime，”saidSoamesrapidly：”I——I’mtiredofit。”
Jolyonfoundnomoreappropriateanswerthan：”Won’tyousmoke?””No，thanks。”
Jolyonhimselflitacigarette。