Dartiewaslyingonthebedinhisdressing-room，fullyredressedinabluesergesuitandpumps；hisarmswerecrossedbehindhishead，andanextinctcigarettedroopedfromhismouth。
Winifredrememberedridiculouslytheflowersinherwindow-boxesafterablazingsummerday；thewaytheylay，orratherstood——
parched，yetrestedbythesun’sretreat。Itwasasifalittledewhadcomealreadyonherburnt-uphusband。
Hesaidapathetically：”Isupposeyou’vebeentoParkLane。How’stheoldman?”
Winifredcouldnothelpthebitteranswer：”Notdead。”
Hewinced，actuallyhewinced。”Understand，Monty，”shesaid，”Iwillnothavehimworried。Ifyouaren’tgoingtobehaveyourself，youmaygoback，youmaygoanywhere。Haveyouhaddinner?”
No。”Wouldyoulikesome?”
Heshruggedhisshoulders。”Imogenofferedmesome。Ididn’twantany。”
Imogen！IntheplenitudeofemotionWinifredhadforgottenher。”Soyou’veseenher?Whatdidshesay?””Shegavemeakiss。”
WithmortificationWinifredsawhisdarksardonicfacerelaxed。
’Yes！’shethought，’hecaresforher，notformeabit。’
Dartie’seyesweremovingfromsidetoside。”Doessheknowaboutme?”hesaid。
ItflashedthroughWinifredthatherewastheweaponsheneeded。
Hemindedtheirknowing！”No。Valknows。Theothersdon’t；theyonlyknowyouwentaway。”
Sheheardhimsighwithrelief。”Buttheyshallknow，”shesaidfirmly，”ifyougivemecause。””Allright！”hemuttered，”hitme！I’mdown！”
Winifredwentuptothebed。”Lookhere，Monty！Idon’twanttohityou。Idon’twanttohurtyou。Ishan’talludetoanything。
I’mnotgoingtoworry。What’stheuse?”Shewassilentamoment。”Ican’tstandanymore，though，andIwon’t！You’dbetterknow。
You’vemademesuffer。ButIusedtobefondofyou。Forthesakeofthat……”Shemettheheavy-liddedgazeofhisbrowneyeswiththedownwardstareofhergreen-greyeyes；touchedhishandsuddenly，turnedherback，andwentintoherroom。
Shesattherealongtimebeforeherglass，fingeringherrings，thinkingofthissubdueddarkman，almostastrangertoher，onthebedintheotherroom；resolutelynot’worrying，’butgnawedbyjealousyofwhathehadbeenthrough，andnowandagainjustvisitedbypity。
CHAPTERXIV
OUTLANDISHNIGHT
Soamesdoggedlyletthespringcome——noeasytaskforoneconsciousthattimewasflying，hisbirdsinthebushnonearerthehand，noissuefromthewebanywherevisible。Mr。Polteedreportednothing，exceptthathiswatchwenton——costingalotofmoney。Valandhiscousinweregonetothewar，whencecamenewsmorefavourable；
Dartiewasbehavinghimselfsofar；Jameshadretainedhishealth；
businessprosperedalmostterribly——therewasnothingtoworrySoamesexceptthathewas’heldup，’couldmakenostepinanydirection。
HedidnotexactlyavoidSoho，forhecouldnotaffordtoletthemthinkthathehad’pipedoff，’asJameswouldhaveputit——hemightwantto’pipeon’againatanyminute。ButhehadtobesorestrainedandcautiousthathewouldoftenpassthedooroftheRestaurantBretagnewithoutgoingin，andwanderoutofthepurlieusofthatregionwhichalwaysgavehimthefeelingofhavingbeenpossessivelyirregular。
HewanderedthusoneMaynightintoRegentStreetandthemostamazingcrowdhehadeverseen；ashrieking，whistling，dancing，jostling，grotesqueandformidablyjovialcrowd，withfalsenosesandmouth-organs，pennywhistlesandlongfeathers，everyappanageofidiocy，asitseemedtohim。Mafeking！Ofcourse，ithadbeenrelieved！Good！Butwasthatanexcuse?Whowerethesepeople，whatwerethey，wherehadtheycomefromintotheWestEnd?Hisfacewastickled，hisearswhistledinto。Girlscried：’Keepyourhairon，stucco！’Ayouthsoknockedoffhistop-hatthatherecovereditwithdifficulty。Crackerswereexplodingbeneathhisnose，betweenhisfeet。Hewasbewildered，exasperated，offended。
Thisstreamofpeoplecamefromeveryquarter，asifimpulsehadunlockedflood-gates，letflowwatersofwhoseexistencehehadheard，perhaps，butbelievedinnever。This，then，wasthepopulace，theinnumerablelivingnegationofgentilityandForsyteism。Thiswas——egad！——Democracy！Itstank，yelled，washideous！IntheEastEnd，orevenSoho，perhaps——buthereinRegentStreet，inPiccadilly！Whatwere，thepoliceabout！In1900，Soames，withhisForsytethousands，hadneverseenthecauldronwiththelidoff；andnowlookingintoit，couldhardlybelievehisscorchingeyes。Thewholethingwasunspeakable！
Thesepeoplehadnorestraint，theyseemedtothinkhimfunny；suchswarmsofthem，rude，coarse，laughing——andwhatlaughter！
Nothingsacredtothem！Heshouldn’tbesurprisediftheybegantobreakwindows。InPallMall，pastthoseaugustdwellings，toenterwhichpeoplepaidsixtypounds，thisshrieking，whistling，dancingdervishofacrowdwasswarming。FromtheClubwindowshisownkindwerelookingoutonthemwithregulatedamusement。Theydidn’trealise！Why，thiswasserious——mightcometoanything！
Thecrowdwascheerful，butsomedaytheywouldcomeindifferentmood！Herememberedtherehadbeenamobinthelateeighties，whenhewasatBrighton；theyhadsmashedthingsandmadespeeches。
Butmorethandread，hefeltadeepsurprise。Theywerehysterical——itwasn’tEnglish！Andallaboutthereliefofalittletownasbigas——Watford，sixthousandmilesaway。Restraint，reserve！
Thosequalitiestohimmoredearalmostthanlife，thoseindispensableattributesofpropertyandculture，wherewerethey?
Itwasn’tEnglish！No，itwasn’tEnglish！SoSoamesbrooded，threadinghiswayon。Itwasasifhehadsuddenlycaughtsightofsomeonecuttingthecovenant’forquietpossession’outofhislegaldocuments；orofamonsterlurkingandstalkingoutinthefuture，castingitsshadowbefore。Theirwantofstolidity，theirwantofreverence！Itwaslikediscoveringthatnine-tenthsofthepeopleofEnglandwereforeigners。Andifthatwereso——then，anythingmighthappen！
AtHydeParkCornerheranintoGeorgeForsyte，verysunburntfromracing，holdingafalsenoseinhishand。”Hallo，Soames！”hesaid，”haveanose！”
Soamesrespondedwithapalesmile。”Gotthisfromoneofthesesportsmen，”wentonGeorge，whohadevidentlybeendining；”hadtolayhimout——fortryingtobashmyhat。Isay，oneofthesedaysweshallhavetofightthesechaps，they’regettingsodamnedcheeky——allradicalsandsocialists。
Theywantourgoods。YoutellUncleJamesthat，it’llmakehimsleep。”
’Invinoveritas，’thoughtSoames，butheonlynodded，andpassedonupHamiltonPlace。TherewasbutatrickleofroysterersinParkLane，notverynoisy。Andlookingupatthehouseshethought：’Afterall，we’rethebackboneofthecountry。Theywon’tupsetuseasily。Possession’sninepointsofthelaw。’
But，asheclosedthedoorofhisfather’shousebehindhim，allthatqueeroutlandishnightmareinthestreetspassedoutofhismindalmostascompletelyasif，havingdreamedit，hehadawakenedinthewarmcleanmorningcomfortofhisspring-mattressedbed。
Walkingintothecentreofthegreatemptydrawing-room，hestoodstill。
Awife！Somebodytotalkthingsoverwith。Onehadaright！Damnit！Onehadaright！
PARTIII
CHAPTERI
SOAMESINPARIS
Soameshadtravelledlittle。Agednineteenhehadmadethe’pettytour’withhisfather，mother，andWinifred——Brussels，theRhine，Switzerland，andhomebywayofParis。Agedtwenty-seven，justwhenhebegantotakeinterestinpictures，hehadspentfivehotweeksinItaly，lookingintotheRenaissancenotsomuchinitashehadbeenledtoexpect——andafortnightinParisonhiswayback，lookingintohimself，asbecameaForsytesurroundedbypeoplesostronglyself-centredand’foreign’astheFrench。Hisknowledgeoftheirlanguagebeingderivedfromhispublicschool，hedidnotunderstandthemwhentheyspoke。Silencehehadfoundbetterforallparties；onedidnotmakeafoolofoneself。Hehaddislikedthelookofthemen’sclothes，theclosed-incabs，thetheatreswhichlookedlikebee-hives，theGallerieswhichsmelledofbeeswax。HewastoocautiousandtooshytoexplorethatsideofParissupposedbyForsytestoconstituteitsattractionundertherose；andasforacollector’sbargain——notonetobehad！AsNicholasmighthaveputit——theywereagraspinglot。Hehadcomebackuneasy，sayingPariswasoverrated。
When，therefore，inJuneof1900hewenttoParis，itwasbuthisthirdattemptonthecentreofcivilisation。Thistime，however，themountainwasgoingtoMahomet；forhefeltbynowmoredeeplycivilisedthanParis，andperhapshereallywas。Moreover，hehadadefiniteobjective。Thiswasnomeregenuflexiontoashrineoftasteandimmorality，buttheprosecutionofhisownlegitimateaffairs。Hewent，indeed，becausethingsweregettingpastajoke。
Thewatchwentonandon，and——nothing——nothing！JolyonhadneverreturnedtoParis，andnooneelsewas’suspect！’Busywithnewandveryconfidentialmatters，Soameswasrealisingmorethaneverhowessentialreputationistoasolicitor。Butatnightandinhisleisuremomentshewasravagedbythethoughtthattimewasalwaysflyingandmoneyflowingin，andhisownfutureasmuch’inirons’asever。SinceMafekingnighthehadbecomeawarethata’youngfoolofadoctor’washangingroundAnnette。Twicehehadcomeacrosshim——acheerfulyoungfool，notmorethanthirty。
NothingannoyedSoamessomuchascheerfulness——anindecent，extravagantsortofquality，whichhadnorelationtofacts。Themixtureofhisdesiresandhopeswas，inaword，becomingtorture；