第4章

Asamatteroffact，hesawthemverylittleduringhisvisit。Hecheckedhimselfbecausehewasunworthy。Whatrighthadhetopry，eveninthespirit，upontheirbliss？Itwasnocrimetohaveseenthemonthelawn。Itwouldbeacrimetogotoitagain。Hetriedtokeephimselfandhisthoughtsaway，notbecausehewasascetic，butbecausetheywouldnotlikeitiftheyknew。Thisbehaviourofhissuitedthemadmirably。Andwhenanygraciouslittlethingoccurredtothem——anylittlethingthathissympathyhadcontrivedandallowed——theyputitdowntochanceortoeachother。

Sotheloversfallintothebackground。Theyarepartofthedistantsunrise，andonlythemountainsspeaktothem。RickietalkstoMr。Pembroke，amidsttheunlitvalleysofourover—habitableworld。

IV

SawstonSchoolhadbeenfoundedbyatradesmanintheseventeenthcentury。Itwasthenatinygrammar—schoolinatinytown，andtheCityCompanywhogovernedithadtodrivehalfadaythroughthewoodsandheathontheoccasionoftheirannualvisit。Inthetwentiethcenturytheystilldrove，butonlyfromtherailwaystation;andfoundthemselvesnotinatinytown，noryetinalargeone，butamongstinnumerableresidences，detachedandsemi—detached，whichhadgatheredroundtheschool。Fortheintentionsofthefounderhadbeenaltered，oratalleventsamplified，insteadofeducatingthe"pooreofmyhome，"henoweducatedtheupperclassesofEngland。Thechangehadtakenplacenotsoveryfarback。Tillthenineteenthcenturythegrammar—schoolwasstillcomposedofdayscholarsfromtheneighbourhood。Thentwothingshappened。Firstly，theschool’spropertyroseinvalue，anditbecamerich。Secondly，fornoobviousreason，itsuddenlyemittedaquantityofbishops。Thebishops，likethestarsfromaRomancandle，wereallcolours，andflewinalldirections，somehigh，somelow，sometodistantcolonies，oneintotheChurchofRome。Butmanyafathertracedtheircourseinthepapers;manyamotherwonderedwhetherherson，ifproperlyignited，mightnotburnasbright;manyafamilymovedtotheplacewherelivingandeducationweresocheap，whereday—boyswerenotlookeddownupon，andwheretheorthodoxandtheup—to—dateweresaidtobecombined。Theschooldoubleditsnumbers。Itbuiltnewclass—rooms，laboratoriesandagymnasium。Itdroppedtheprefix"Grammar。"Itcoaxedthesonsofthelocaltradesmenintoanewfoundation，the"CommercialSchool，"builtacoupleofmilesaway。Anditstartedboarding—houses。IthadnotthegraciousantiquityofEtonorWinchester，nor，ontheotherhand，haditaconsciouspolicylikeLancing，Wellington，andotherpurelymodernfoundations。

Wheretraditionserved，itclungtothem。Wherenewdeparturesseemeddesirable，theyweremade。ItaimedatproducingtheaverageEnglishman，and，toaverygreatextent，itsucceeded。

HereMr。Pembrokepassedhishappyandindustriouslife。HistechnicalpositionwasthatofmastertoaformlowdownontheModernSide。Buthisworklayelsewhere。Heorganized。Ifnoorganizationexisted，hewouldcreateone。Ifonedidexist，hewouldmodifyit。"Anorganization，"hewouldsay，"isafterallnotanendinitself。Itmustcontributetoamovement。"Whenonegoodcustomseemedlikelytocorrupttheschool，hewasreadywithanother;hebelievedthatwithoutinnumerablecustomstherewasnosafety，eitherforboysormen。

Perhapsheisright，andalwayswillberight。Perhapseachofuswouldgotoruinifforoneshorthourweactedaswethoughtfit，andattemptedtheserviceofperfectfreedom。Theschoolcaps，withtheirelaboratesymbolism，werehis;histhemany—tintedbathing—drawers，thatshowedhowfaraboycouldswim;

histhehierarchyofjerseysandblazers。ItwashewhoinstitutedBounds，andcall，andthetwosortsofexercise—paper，andthethreesortsofcaning，and"TheSawtonian，"abi—terminalmagazine。Hisplumpfingerwasineverypie。Thedomeofhisskull，mildbutimpressive，shoneateverymaster’smeeting。Hewasgenerallyacknowledgedtobethecomingman。

Hislastachievementhadbeentheorganizationoftheday—boys。

Theyhadbeenlefttoomuchtothemselves，andwereweakinespritdecorps;theywereapttoregardhome，notschool，asthemostimportantthingintheirlives。Moreover，theygotoutoftheirparents’hands;theydidtheirpreparationanytimeandsometimesanyhow。Theyshirkedgames，theywereoutatallhours，theyatewhattheyshouldnot，theysmoked，theybicycledontheasphalt。Nowallwasover。Likeboarders，theyweretobeinat7:15P。M。，andwerenotallowedoutafterunlesswithawrittenorderfromtheirparentorguardian;they，too，mustworkatfixedhoursintheevening，andbeforebreakfastnextmorningfrom7to8。Gameswerecompulsory。Theymustnotgotopartiesintermtime。Theymustkeeptobounds。Ofcoursethereformwasnotcomplete。Itwasimpossibletocontrolthedieting，though，onaprintedcircular，day—parentswereimploredtoprovidesimplefood。Anditisalsobelievedthatsomemothersdisobeyedtheruleaboutpreparation，andallowedtheirsonstodoalltheworkover—nightandhavealongersleepinthemorning。Butthegulfbetweenday—boysandboarderswasconsiderablylessened，andgrewstillnarrowerwhentheday—boystoowereorganizedintoaHousewithhouse—masterandcoloursoftheirown。"ThroughtheHouse，"saidMr。Pembroke，"onelearnspatriotismfortheschool，justasthroughtheschoolonelearnspatriotismforthecountry。

Ouronlycourse，therefore，istoorganizetheday—boysintoaHouse。"Theheadmasteragreed，asheoftendid，andthenewcommunitywasformed。Mr。Pembroke，toavoidthetonguesofmalice，hadrefusedthepostofhouse—masterforhimself，sayingtoMr。Jackson，whotaughtthesixth，"Youkeeptoomuchinthebackground。Hereisachanceforyou。"Butthiswasafailure。

Mr。Jackson，ascholarandastudent，neitherfeltnorconveyedanyenthusiasm，andwhenconfrontedwithhisHouse，wouldsay，"Well，Idon’tknowwhatwe’reallherefor。NowIshouldthinkyou’dbettergohometoyourmothers。"Hereturnedtohisbackground，andnexttermMr。Pembrokewastotakehisplace。

SuchwerethethemesonwhichMr。PembrokediscoursedtoRickie’scivilear。Heshowedhimtheschool，andthelibrary，andthesubterraneanhallwheretheday—boysmightleavetheircoatsandcaps，andwhere，onfestaloccasions，theysupped。HeshowedhimMr。Jackson’sprettyhouse，andwhispered，"Wereitnotforhisbrilliantintellect，itwouldbeacaseofOuickmarch！"Heshowedhimtheracquet—court，happilycompleted，andthechapel，unhappilystillinneedoffunds。Rickiewasimpressed，butthenhewasimpressedbyeverything。OfcourseaHouseofday—boysseemedalittleshadowyafterAgnesandGerald，butheimpartedsomerealityeventothat。

"Theracquet—court，"saidMr。Pembroke，"ismostgratifying。Weneverexpectedtomanageitthisyear。ButbeforetheEasterholidayseveryboyreceivedasubscriptioncard，andwasgiventounderstandthathemustcollectthirtyshillings。Youwillscarcelybelieveme，buttheynearlyallresponded。Nexttermtherewasadinnerinthegreatschool，andallwhohadcollected，notthirtyshillings，butasmuchasapound，wereinvitedtoit——fornaturallyonewasnotpreciseforafewshillings，theresponsebeingthereallyvaluablething。

Practicallythewholeschoolhadtocome。"

"Theymustenjoythecourttremendously。"

"Ah，itisn’tusedverymuch。Racquets，asIdaresayyouknow，isratheranexpensivegame。Onlythewealthierboysplay——andI’msorrytosaythatitisnotofourwealthierboysthatwearealwaystheproudest。Butthepointisthatnopublicschoolcanbecalledfirst—classuntilithasone。Theyarebuildingthemrightandleft。"

"Andnowyoumustfinishthechapel？"

"Nowwemustcompletethechapel。"Hepausedreverently，andsaid，"Andhereisafragmentoftheoriginalbuilding。"

Rickieatoncehadarushofsympathy。He，too，lookedwithreverenceatthemorselofJacobeanbrickwork，ruddyandbeautifulamidstthemachine—squaredstonesofthemodernapse。

Thetwomen，whohadsolittleincommon，werethrilledwithpatriotism。Theyrejoicedthattheircountrywasgreat，noble，andold。

"ThankGodI’mEnglish，"saidRickiesuddenly。

"ThankHimindeed，"saidMr。Pembroke，layingahandonhisback。

"We’vebeennearlyasgreatastheGreeks，Idobelieve。Greater，I’msure，thantheItalians，thoughtheydidgetclosertobeauty。GreaterthantheFrench，thoughwedotakealltheirideas。Ican’thelpthinkingthatEnglandisimmense。Englishliteraturecertainly。"

Mr。Pembrokeremovedhishand。Hefoundsuchpatriotismsomewhatcraven。Genuinepatriotismcomesonlyfromtheheart。Itknowsnoparleyingwithreason。EnglishladieswilldeclareabroadthattherearenofogsinLondon，andMr。Pembroke，thoughhewouldnotgotothis，wasonlyrestrainedbythecertaintyofbeingfoundout。OnthisoccasionheremarkedthattheGreekslackedspiritualinsight，andhadalowconceptionofwoman。

"Astowomen——oh！theretheyweredreadful，"saidRickie，leaninghishandonthechapel。"Irealizethatmoreandmore。Butastospiritualinsight，Idon’tquiteliketosay;andIfindPlatotoodifficult，butIknowmenwhodon’t，andIfancytheymightn’tagreewithyou。"

"FarbeitfrommetodisparagePlato。AndforphilosophyasawholeIhavethegreatestrespect。Butitisthecrownofaman’seducation，notthefoundation。Myself，Ireaditwiththeutmostprofit，butIhaveknownendlesstroubleresultfromboyswhoattemptittoosoon，beforetheywereset。"

"Butifthoseboyshaddiedfirst，"criedRickiewithsuddenvehemence，"withoutknowingwhatthereistoknow——"

"Orisn’ttoknow！"saidMr。Pembrokesarcastically。

"Orwhatthereisn’ttoknow。Exactly。That’sit。"

"MydearRickie，whatdoyoumean？Ifanoldfriendmaybefrank，youaretalkinggreatrubbish。"And，withafewwell—wornformulae，heproppeduptheyoungman’sorthodoxy。Thepropswereunnecessary。Rickiehadhisownequilibrium。NeithertheRevivalismthatassailsaboyatabouttheageoffifteen，northescepticismthatmeetshimfiveyearslater，couldswayhimfromhisallegiancetothechurchintowhichhehadbeenborn。

Buthisequilibriumwaspersonal，andthesecretofituselesstoothers。Hedesiredthateachmanshouldfindhisown。

"Whatdoesphilosophydo？"theproppercontinued。"Doesitmakeamanhappierinlife？Doesitmakehimdiemorepeacefully？I

fancythatinthelong—runHerbertSpencerwillgetnofurtherthantherestofus。Ah，Rickie！Iwishyoucouldmoveamongtheschoolboys，andseetheirhealthycontemptforalltheycannottouch！"Herehewasgoingtoofar，andhadtoadd，"Theirspiritualcapacities，ofcourse，areanothermatter。"ThenherememberedtheGreeks，andsaid，"Whichprovesmyoriginalstatement。"

Submissivesigns，asofonepropped，appearedinRickie’sface。

Mr。PembrokethenquestionedhimaboutthemenwhofoundPlatonotdifficult。Butherehekeptsilence，pattingtheschoolchapelgently，andpresentlytheconversationturnedtotopicswithwhichtheywerebothmorecompetenttodeal。

"DoesAgnestakemuchinterestintheschool？"

"Notasmuchasshedid。Itistheresultofherengagement。Ifournaughtysoldierhadnotcarriedheroff，shemighthavemadeanidealschoolmaster’swife。Ioftenchaffhimaboutit，forhealittledespisestheintellectualprofessions。Natural，perfectlynatural。Howcanamanwhofacesdeathfeelaswedotowardsmensaortupto？"

"Perfectlytrue。Absolutelytrue。"

Mr。PembrokeremarkedtohimselfthatFrederickwasimproving。

"Ifamanshootsstraightandhitsstraightandspeaksstraight，ifhisheartisintherightplace，ifhehastheinstinctsofaChristianandagentleman——thenI，atallevents，asknobetterhusbandformysister。"

"Howcouldyougetabetter？"hecried。"Doyourememberthethingin’TheClouds’？"Andhequoted，aswellashecould，fromtheinvitationoftheDikaiosLogos，thedescriptionoftheyoungAthenian，perfectinbody，placidinmind，whoneglectshisworkattheBarandtrainsalldayamongthewoodsandmeadows，withagarlandonhisheadandafriendtosetthepace;thescentofnewleavesisuponthem;theyrejoiceinthefreshnessofspring;overtheirheadstheplane—treewhisperstotheelm，perhapsthemostgloriousinvitationtothebrainlesslifethathaseverbeengiven。

"Yes，yes，"saidMr。Pembroke，whodidnotwantabrother—in—lawoutofAristophanes。Norhadhegotone，forMr。Daweswouldnothavebotheredoverthegarlandornoticedthespring，andwouldhavecomplainedthatthefriendrantooslowlyortoofast。

"Andasforher——！"ButhecouldthinkofnoclassicalparallelforAgnes。Sheslippedbetweenexamples。AkindlyMedea，aCleopatrawithasenseofduty——thesesuggestedheralittle。ShewasnotborninGreece，butcameoverseastoit——adark，intelligentprincess。Withallhersplendour，therewerehintsofsplendourstillhidden——hintsofanolder，richer，andmoremysteriousland。Hesmiledattheideaofherbeing"notthere。"

Ansell，cleverashewas，hadmadeabadblunder。Shehadmorerealitythananyotherwomanintheworld。

Mr。Pembrokelookedpleasedatthisboyishenthusiasm。Hewasfondofhissister，thoughheknewhertobefulloffaults。

"Yes，Ienvyher，"hesaid。"Shehasfoundaworthyhelpmeetforlife’sjourney，Idobelieve。Andthoughtheychafeatthelongengagement，itisablessingindisguise。Theylearntoknoweachotherthoroughlybeforecontractingmoreintimateties。"

Rickiedidnotassent。Thelengthoftheengagementseemedtohimunspeakablycruel。Hereweretwopeoplewholovedeachother，andtheycouldnotmarryforyearsbecausetheyhadnobeastlymoney。

NotallHerbert’spiousskillcouldmakethisoutablessing。Itwasbadenoughbeing"sorich"attheSilts;herehewasmoreashamedofitthanever。Inafewweekshewouldcomeofageandhismoneybehisown。Whatapitythingsweresocrookedlyarranged。Hedidnotwantmoney，oratalleventshedidnotwantsomuch。

"Suppose，"hemeditated，forhebecamemuchworriedoverthis，——

"supposeIhadahundredpoundsayearlessthanIshallhave。

Well，Ishouldstillhaveenough。Idon’twantanythingbutfood，lodging，clothes，andnowandthenarailwayfare。Ihaven’tanytastes。Idon’tcollectanythingorplaygames。Booksarenicetohave，butafterallthereisMudie’s，orifitcomestothat，theFreeLibrary。Oh，myprofession！IforgotIshallhaveaprofession。Well，thatwillleavemewithmoretosparethanever。"Andhesupposedawaytillhelosttouchwiththeworldandwithwhatitpermits，andcommittedanunpardonablesin。

Ithappenedtowardstheendofhisvisit——anotherairlessdayofthatmildJanuary。Mr。Daweswasplayingagainstascratchteamofcads，andhadtogodowntothegroundinthemorningtosettlesomething。Rickieproposedtocometoo。

Hithertohehadbeennonuisance。"Youwillbefrightfullybored，"saidAgnes，observingthecloudonherlover’sface。"AndGeraldwalkslikeamaniac。"

"IhadalittlethoughtoftheMuseumthismorning，"saidMr。

Pembroke。"Itisverystronginflintarrow—heads。"

"Ah，that’syourline，Rickie。IdoenvyyouandHerbertthewayyouenjoythepast。"

"IalmostthinkI’llgowithDawes，ifhe’llhaveme。Icanwalkquitefastjusttothegroundandback。Arrowheadsarewonderful，butIdon’treallyenjoythemyet，thoughIhopeIshallintime。"

Mr。Pembrokewasoffended，butRickieheldfirm。

Inaquarterofanhourhewasbackatthehousealone，nearlycrying。

"Oh，didthewretchgotoofast？"calledMissPembrokefromherbedroomwindow。

"Iwenttoofastforhim。"Hespokequitesharply，andbeforehehadtimetosayhewassorryanddidn’tmeanexactlythat，thewindowhadshut。

"They’vequarrelled，"shethought。"Whateverabout？"

Shesoonheard。Geraldreturnedinacoldstormytemper。Rickiehadofferedhimmoney。

"Mydearfellowdon’tbesocross。Thechild’smad。"

"Ifitwas，I’dforgivethat。ButIcan’tstandunhealthiness。"

"Now，Gerald，that’swhereIhateyou。Youdon’tknowwhatitistopitytheweak。"

"Woman’sjob。SoyouwishI’dtakenahundredpoundsayearfromhim。Didyoueverhearsuchblastedcheek？Marryus——he，you，andme——ahundredpoundsdownandasmuchannual——he，ofcourse，topryintoallwedid，andwetokowtowandeatdirt—pietohim。Ifthat’sMr。RicketyElliot’sideaofasoldierandanEnglishman，itisn’tmine，andIwishI’dhadahorse—whip。"

Shewasroaringwithlaughter。"You’rebabies，apairofyou，andyou’retheworst。Whycouldn’tyouletthelittlesillydowngently？Therehewaspuffingandsniffingundermywindow，andI

thoughthe’dinsultedyou。Whydidn’tyouaccept？"

"Accept？"hethundered。

"Itwouldhavetakenthenonsenseoutofhimforever。Why，hewasonlytalkingoutofabook。"

"Morefoolhe。"

"Well，don’tbeangrywithafool。Hemeansnoharm。Hemuddlesalldaywithpoetryandolddeadpeople，andthentriestobringitintolife。It’stoofunnyforwords。"

Geraldrepeatedthathecouldnotstandunhealthiness。

"Idon’tcallthatexactlyunhealthy。"

"Ido。Andwhyhecouldgivethemoney’sworse。"

"Whatdoyoumean？"

Hebecameshy。"Ihadn’tmeanttotellyou。It’snotquiteforalady。"For，likemostmenwhoareratheranimal，hewasintellectuallyaprude。"Hesayshecan’tevermarry，owingtohisfoot。Itwouldn’tbefairtoposterity。Hisgrandfatherwascrocked，hisfathertoo，andhe’sasbad。Hethinksthatit’shereditary，andmaygetworsenextgeneration。He’sdiscusseditalloverwithotherUndergrads。Abrightlottheymustbe。Hedaren’triskhavinganychildren。Hencethehundredquid。"

Shestoppedlaughing。"Oh，littlebeast，ifhesaidallthat！"

Hewasencouragedtoproceed。Hithertohehadnottalkedabouttheirschooldays。Nowhetoldhereverything，——the"barley—sugar，"ashecalledit，thepinsinchapel，andhowoneafternoonhehadtiedhimhead—downwardontoatreetrunkandthenranaway——ofcourseonlyforamoment。

Forthisshescoldedhimwell。Butshehadathrillofjoywhenshethoughtoftheweakboyintheclutchesofthestrongone。

V

Geralddiedthatafternoon。Hewasbrokenupinthefootballmatch。RickieandMr。Pembrokewereonthegroundwhentheaccidenttookplace。Itwasnogoodtorturinghimbyadrivetothehospital，andhewasmerelycarriedtothelittlepavilionandlaiduponthefloor。Adoctorcame，andsodidaclergyman，butitseemedbettertoleavehimforthelastfewminuteswithAgnes，whohadriddendownonherbicycle。

Itwasastrangelamentableinterview。Thegirlwassoaccustomedtohealth，thatforatimeshecouldnotunderstand。Itmustbeajokethathechosetoliethereinthedust，witharugoverhimandhiskneesbentuptowardshischin。Hisarmswereassheknewthem，andtheiradmirablemusclesshowedclearandcleanbeneaththejersey。Theface，too，thoughalittleflushed，wasuninjured:itmustbesomecuriousjoke。

"Gerald，whathaveyoubeendoing？"

Hereplied，"Ican’tseeyou。It’stoodark。"

"Oh，I’llsoonalterthat，"shesaidinheroldbriskway。Sheopenedthepaviliondoor。Thepeoplewhowerestandingbyitmovedaside。Shesawadesertedmeadow，steamingandgrey，andbeyonditslateroofedcottages，rowbesiderow，climbingashapelesshill。TowardsLondontheskywasyellow。"There。That’sbetter。"Shesatdownbyhimagain，anddrewhishandintoherown。"Nowweareallright，aren’twe？"

"Whereareyou？"

Thistimeshecouldnotreply。

"Whatisit？WhereamIgoing？"

"Wasn’ttherectorhere？"saidsheafterasilence。

"Heexplainedheaven，andthinksthatI——but——Icouldn’ttellaparson;butIdon’tseemtohaveanyuseforanyofthethingsthere。"

"WeareChristians，"saidAgnesshyly。"Dearlove，wedon’ttalkaboutthesethings，butwebelievethem。Ithinkthatyouwillgetwellandbeasstrongagainasever;but，inanycase，thereisaspirituallife，andweknowthatsomedayyouandI——"

"Ishan’tdoasaspirit，"heinterrupted，sighingpitifully。"I

wantyouasIam，anditcannotbemanaged。Therectorhadtosayso。Iwant——Idon’twanttotalk。Ican’tseeyou。Shutthatdoor。"

Sheobeyed，andcreptintohisarms。Onlythistimehergraspwasthestronger。Herheartbeatlouderandlouderasthesoundofhisgrewmorefaint。Hewascryinglikealittlefrightenedchild，andherlipswerewetwithhistears。"Bearitbravely，"

shetoldhim。

"Ican’t，"hewhispered。"Itisn’ttobedone。Ican’tseeyou，"

andpassedfromhertremblingwithopeneyes。

Sherodehomeonherbicycle，leavingtheotherstofollow。Someladieswhodidnotknowwhathadhappenedbowedandsmiledasshepassed，andshereturnedtheirsalute。

"Oh，miss，isittrue？"criedthecook，herfacestreamingwithtears。

Agnesnodded。Presumablyitwastrue。Lettershadjustarrived:

onewasforGeraldfromhismother。Life，whichhadgiventhemnowarning，seemedtomakenocommentnow。Theincidentwasoutsidenature，andwouldsurelypassawaylikeadream。Shefeltslightlyirritable，andthegriefoftheservantsannoyedher。

Theysobbed。"Ah，lookathismarks！Ah，littlehethought——

littlehethought！"Inthebrownhollandstripbythefrontdooraheavyfootballboothadleftitsimpress。TheyhadnotlikedGerald，buthewasaman，theywerewomen，hehaddied。Theirmistressorderedthemtoleaveher。

Formanyminutesshesatatthefootofthestairs，rubbinghereyes。Anobscurespiritualcrisiswasgoingon。

Shouldsheweepliketheservants？OrshouldshebearupandtrustintheconsolerTime？Wasthedeathofamansoterribleafterall？Assheinvitedherselftoapathytherewerestepsonthegravel，andRickieElliotburstin。Hewassplashedwithmud，hisbreathwasgone，andhishairfellwildlyoverhismeagreface。Shethought，"Thesearethepeoplewhoareleftalive！"

>Fromthebottomofhersoulshehatedhim。

"Icametoseewhatyou’redoing，"hecried。

"Resting。"

Hekneltbesideher，andshesaid，"Wouldyoupleasegoaway？"

"Yes，dearAgnes，ofcourse;butImustseefirstthatyoumind。"

Herbreathcaught。Herevesmovedtothetreads，goingoutwards，sofirmly，soirretrievably。

Hepanted，"It’stheworstthingthatcaneverhappentoyouinallyourlife，andyou’vegottomindityou’vegottomindit。

They’llcomesaying，’Bearuptrusttotime。’No，no;they’rewrong。Mindit。"

Throughallhermiserysheknewthatthisboywasgreaterthantheysupposed。Herosetohisfeet，andwithintenseconvictioncried:"ButIknow——Iunderstand。It’syourdeathaswellashis。

He’sgone，Agnes，andhisarmswillneverholdyouagain。InGod’sname，mindsuchathing，anddon’tsitfencingwithyoursoul。Don’tstopbeinggreat;that’stheonecrimehe’llneverforgiveyou。"

Shefaltered，"Who——whoforgives？"

"Gerald。"

Atthesoundofhisnamesheslidforward，andallherdishonestylefther。Sheacknowledgedthatlife’smeaninghadvanished。

Bendingdown，shekissedthefootprint。"Howcanheforgiveme？"

shesobbed。"Wherehashegoneto？Youcouldneverdreamsuchanawfulthing。Hecouldn’tseemethoughIopenedthedoor——wide——

plentyoflight;andthenhecouldnotrememberthethingsthatshouldcomforthim。Hewasn’ta——hewasn’teveragreatreader，andhecouldn’trememberthethings。Therectortried，andhecouldn’t——Icame，andIcouldn’t——"Shecouldnotspeakfortears。Rickiedidnotcheckher。Heletheraccuseherself，andfate，andHerbert，whohadpostponedtheirmarriage。Shemighthavebeenawifesixmonths;butHerberthadspokenofself—controlandofalllifebeforethem。Heletherkissthefootprintstilltheirmarksgavewaytothemarksofherlips。

Shemoaned。"Heisgone——whereishe？"andthenherepliedquitequietly，"Heisinheaven。"

Shebeggedhimnottocomforther;shecouldnotbearit。

"Ididnotcometocomfortyou。Icametoseethatyoumind。Heisinheaven，Agnes。Thegreatestthingisover。"

Herhatredwaslulled。Shemurmured，"DearRickie！"andheldupherhandtohim。Throughhertearshismeagrefaceshowedasaseraph’swhospokethetruthandforbadehertojugglewithhersoul。"DearRickie——butfortherestofmylifewhatamItodo？"

"Anything——ifyourememberthatthegreatestthingisover。"

"Idon’tknowyou，"shesaidtremulously。"Youhavegrownupinamoment。Younevertalkedtous，andyetyouunderstanditall。

Tellmeagain——Icanonlytrustyou——whereheis。"

"Heisinheaven。"

"Youaresure？"

ItpuzzledherthatRickie，whocouldscarcelytellyouthetimewithoutasavingclause，shouldbesocertainaboutimmortality。

VI

Hedidnotstopforthefuneral。Mr。PembrokethoughtthathehadabadeffectonAgnes，andpreventedherfromacquiescinginthetragedyasrapidlyasshemighthavedone。Asheexpressedit，"onemustnotcourtsorrow，"andhehintedtotheyoungmanthattheydesiredtobealone。

RickiewentbacktotheSilts。

Hewasonlythereafewdays。AssoonastermopenedhereturnedtoCambridge，forwhichhelongedpassionately。Thejourneythitherwasnowfamiliartohim，andhetookpleasureineachlandmark。ThefairvalleyofTewinWater，thecuttingintoHitchinwherethetraintraversesthechalk，BaldockChurch，Roystonwithitspromiseofdowns，werenothinginthemselves，butdearasstagesinthepilgrimagetowardstheabodeofpeace。

Ontheplatformhemetfriends。Theyhadallhadpleasantvacations:itwasahappyworld。Theatmospherealters。

Cambridge，accordingtohercustom，welcomedhersonswithopendrains。Pettycurywasup，sowasTrinityStreet，andnavviespeepedoutofKing’sParade。Hereitwasgas，thereelectriclight，buteverywheresomething，andalwaysasmell。Itwasalsothedaythatthewheelsfelloffthestationtram，andRickie，whowasnaturallyinside，wasamongthepassengerswho"sustainednoinjurybutashock，andhadasheartyalaughoverthemishapafterwardsasanyone。"