第37章

anotherofthehundredparticularfriendsofhisson，exceedinglyunwelcome；anditneededallthefelicityofbeingagainathome，andalltheforbearanceitcouldsupply，tosaveSirThomasfromangeronfindinghimselfthusbewilderedinhisownhouse，makingpartofaridiculousexhibitioninthemidstoftheatricalnonsense，andforcedinsountowardamomenttoadmittheacquaintanceofayoungmanwhomhefeltsureofdisapproving，andwhoseeasyindifferenceandvolubilityinthecourseofthefirstfiveminutesseemedtomarkhimthemostathomeofthetwo。

Tomunderstoodhisfather’sthoughts，andheartilywishinghemightbealwaysaswelldisposedtogivethembutpartialexpression，begantosee，moreclearlythanhehadeverdonebefore，thattheremightbesomegroundofoffence，thattheremightbesomereasonfortheglancehisfathergavetowardstheceilingandstuccooftheroom；

andthatwhenheinquiredwithmildgravityafterthefateofthebilliard-table，hewasnotproceedingbeyondaveryallowablecuriosity。Afewminuteswereenoughforsuchunsatisfactorysensationsoneachside；andSirThomashavingexertedhimselfsofarastospeakafewwordsofcalmapprobationinreplytoaneagerappealofMr。Yates，astothehappinessofthearrangement，thethreegentlemenreturnedtothedrawing-roomtogether，SirThomaswithanincreaseofgravitywhichwasnotlostonall。

“Icomefromyourtheatre，“saidhecomposedly，ashesatdown；“Ifoundmyselfinitratherunexpectedly。

Itsvicinitytomyownroom——butineveryrespect，indeed，ittookmebysurprise，asIhadnotthesmallestsuspicionofyouractinghavingassumedsoseriousacharacter。

Itappearsaneatjob，however，asfarasIcouldjudgebycandlelight，anddoesmyfriendChristopherJacksoncredit。“

Andthenhewouldhavechangedthesubject，andsippedhiscoffeeinpeaceoverdomesticmattersofacalmerhue；

butMr。Yates，withoutdiscernmenttocatchSirThomas’smeaning，ordiffidence，ordelicacy，ordiscretionenoughtoallowhimtoleadthediscoursewhilehemingledamongtheotherswiththeleastobtrusivenesshimself，wouldkeephimonthetopicofthetheatre，wouldtormenthimwithquestionsandremarksrelativetoit，andfinallywouldmakehimhearthewholehistoryofhisdisappointmentatEcclesford。

SirThomaslistenedmostpolitely，butfoundmuchtooffendhisideasofdecorum，andconfirmhisill-opinionofMr。Yates’shabitsofthinking，fromthebeginningtotheendofthestory；andwhenitwasover，couldgivehimnootherassuranceofsympathythanwhataslightbowconveyed。

“Thiswas，infact，theoriginof_our_acting，“saidTom，afteramoment’sthought。“MyfriendYatesbroughttheinfectionfromEcclesford，anditspread——asthosethingsalwaysspread，youknow，sir——thefaster，probably，from_your_havingsooftenencouragedthesortofthinginusformerly。Itwasliketreadingoldgroundagain。“

Mr。Yatestookthesubjectfromhisfriendassoonaspossible，andimmediatelygaveSirThomasanaccountofwhattheyhaddoneandweredoing：toldhimofthegradualincreaseoftheirviews，thehappyconclusionoftheirfirstdifficulties，andpresentpromisings

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