第18章

Jamesmadeagreateffort，androsetothefullheightofhisstork-likefigure。”Younevertellmeanything，”hesaid；”he’sgonebankrupt。”

ThedestructionofthatfixedideaseemedtoEmilyallthatmatteredatthemoment。”Hehasnot，”sheansweredfirmly。”He’sgonetoBuenosAires。”

Ifshehadsaid”He’sgonetoMars”shecouldnothavedealtJamesamorestunningblow；hisimagination，investedentirelyinBritishsecurities，couldaslittlegrasponeplaceastheother。”What’shegonetherefor?”hesaid。”He’sgotnomoney。Whatdidhetake?”

AgitatedwithinbyWinifred’snews，andgoadedbytheconstantreiterationofthisjeremiad，Emilysaidcalmly：”HetookWinifred’spearlsandadancer。””What！”saidJames，andsatdown。

Hissuddencollapsealarmedher，andsmoothinghisforehead，shesaid：”Now，don’tfuss，James！”

AduskyredhadspreadoverJames’cheeksandforehead。”Ipaidforthem，”hesaidtremblingly；”he’sathief！I——Iknewhowitwouldbe。He’llbethedeathofme；he……”Wordsfailedhimandhesatquitestill。Emily，whothoughtsheknewhimsowell，wasalarmed，andwenttowardsthesideboardwhereshekeptsomesalvolatile。ShecouldnotseethetenaciousForsytespiritworkinginthatthin，tremulousshapeagainsttheextravaganceoftheemotioncalledupbythisoutrageonForsyteprinciples——theForsytespiritdeepinthere，saying：’Youmustn’tgetintoafantod，it’llneverdo。Youwon’tdigestyourlunch。You’llhaveafit！’Allunseenbyher，itwasdoingbetterworkinJamesthansalvolatile。”Drinkthis，”shesaid。

Jameswaveditaside。”WhatwasWinifredabout，”hesaid，”tolethimtakeherpearls?”

Emilyperceivedthecrisispast。”Shecanhavemine，”shesaidcomfortably。”Ineverwearthem。

She’dbettergetadivorce。””Thereyougo！”saidJames。”Divorce！We’veneverhadadivorceinthefamily。Where’sSoames?””He’llbeindirectly。””No，hewon’t，”saidJames，almostfiercely；”he’satthefuneral。

YouthinkIknownothing。””Well，”saidEmilywithcalm，”youshouldn’tgetintosuchfusseswhenwetellyouthings。”Andplumpinguphiscushions，andputtingthesalvolatilebesidehim，shelefttheroom。

ButJamessatthereseeingvisions——ofWinifredintheDivorceCourt，andthefamilynameinthepapers；oftheearthfallingonRoger’scoffin；ofValtakingafterhisfather；ofthepearlshehadpaidforandwouldneverseeagain；ofmoneybackatfourpercent。，andthecountrygoingtothedogs；and，astheafternoonworeintoevening，andtea-timepassed，anddinnertime，thosevisionsbecamemoreandmoremixedandmenacing——ofbeingtoldnothing，tillhehadnothingleftofallhiswealth，andtheytoldhimnothingofit。WherewasSoames?Whydidn’thecomein?……

Hishandgraspedtheglassofnegus，heraisedittodrink，andsawhissonstandingtherelookingathim。Alittlesighofreliefescapedhislips，andputtingtheglassdown，hesaid：”Thereyouare！Dartie’sgonetoBuenosAires。”

Soamesnodded。”That’sallright，”hesaid；”goodriddance。”

AwaveofassuagementpassedoverJames’brain。Soamesknew。

Soameswastheonlyoneofthemallwhohadsense。Whycouldn’thecomeandliveathome?Hehadnosonofhisown。Andhesaidplaintively：”AtmyageIgetnervous。Iwishyouweremoreathome，myboy。”

AgainSoamesnodded；themaskofhiscountenancebetrayednounderstanding，buthewentcloser，andasifbyaccidenttouchedhisfather’sshoulder。”TheysenttheirlovetoyouatTimothy’s，”hesaid。”Itwentoffallright。I’vebeentoseeWinifred。I’mgoingtotakesteps。”

Andhethought：’Yes，andyoumustn’thearofthem。’

Jameslookedup；hislongwhitewhiskersquivered，histhinthroatbetweenthepointsofhiscollarlookedverygristlyandnaked。”I’vebeenverypoorlyallday，”hesaid；”theynevertellmeanything。”

Soames’hearttwitched。”Well，it’sallright。There’snothingtoworryabout。Willyoucomeupnow?”andheputhishandunderhisfather’sarm。

Jamesobedientlyandtremulouslyraisedhimself，andtogethertheywentslowlyacrosstheroom，whichhadarichlookinthefirelight，andouttothestairs。Veryslowlytheyascended。”Good-night，myboy，”saidJamesathisbedroomdoor。”Good-night，father，”answeredSoames。Hishandstrokeddownthesleevebeneaththeshawl；itseemedtohavealmostnothinginit，sothinwasthearm。And，turningawayfromthelightintheopeningdoorway，hewentuptheextraflighttohisownbedroom。

’Iwantason，’hethought，sittingontheedgeofhisbed；’I

wantason。’

CHAPTERVI

NO-LONGER-YOUNGJOLYONATHOME

Treestakelittleaccountoftime，andtheoldoakontheupperlawnatRobinHilllookednodayolderthanwhenBosinneysprawledunderitandsaidtoSoames：”Forsyte，I’vefoundtheveryplaceforyourhouse。”SincethenSwithinhaddreamed，andoldJolyondied，beneathitsbranches。Andnow，closetotheswing，no-longer-youngJolyonoftenpaintedthere。Ofallspotsintheworlditwasperhapsthemostsacredtohim，forhehadlovedhisfather。

Contemplatingitsgreatgirth——crinkledandalittlemossed，butnotyethollow——hewouldspeculateonthepassageoftime。Thattreehadseen，perhaps，allrealEnglishhistory；itdated，heshouldn’twonder，fromthedaysofElizabethatleast。Hisownfiftyyearswereasnothingtoitswood。Whenthehousebehindit，whichhenowowned，wasthreehundredyearsofageinsteadoftwelve，thattreemightstillbestandingthere，vastandhollow——

forwhowouldcommitsuchsacrilegeastocutitdown?AForsytemightperhapsstillbelivinginthathouse，toguarditjealously。

AndJolyonwouldwonderwhatthehousewouldlooklikecoatedwithsuchage。Wistariawasalreadyaboutitswalls——thenewlookhadgone。WoulditsholditsownandkeepthedignityBosinneyhadbestowedonit，orwouldthegiantLondonhavelappeditroundandmadeitintoanasyluminthemidstofajerry-builtwilderness?

Often，withinandwithoutofit，hewaspersuadedthatBosinneyhadbeenmovedbythespiritwhenhebuilt。Hehadputhisheartintothathouse，indeed！Itmightevenbecomeoneofthe’homesofEngland’——arareachievementforahouseinthesedegeneratedaysofbuilding。Andtheaestheticspirit，movinghandinhandwithhisForsytesenseofpossessivecontinuity，dweltwithprideandpleasureonhisownershipthereof。Therewasthesmackofreverenceandancestor-worship(ifonlyforoneancestor)inhisdesiretohandthishousedowntohissonandhisson’sson。Hisfatherhadlovedthehouse，hadlovedtheview，thegrounds，thattree；hislastyearshadbeenhappythere，andnoonehadlivedtherebeforehim。TheselastelevenyearsatRobinHillhadformedinJolyon’slifeasapainter，theimportantperiodofsuccess。Hewasnowintheveryvanofwater-colourart，hangingonthelineeverywhere。Hisdrawingsfetchedhighprices。Specialisinginthatonemediumwiththetenacityofhisbreed，hehad’arrived’——

ratherlate，butnottoolateforamemberofthefamilywhichmadeapointoflivingforever。Hisarthadreallydeepenedandimproved。Inconformitywithhispositionhehadgrownashortfairbeard，whichwasjustbeginningtogrizzle，andhidhisForsytechin；hisbrownfacehadlostthewarpedexpressionofhisostracisedperiod——helooked，ifanything，younger。Thelossofhiswifein1894hadbeenoneofthosedomestictragedieswhichturnoutintheendforthegoodofall。Hehad，indeed，lovedhertothelast，forhiswasanaffectionatespirit，butshehadbecomeincreasinglydifficult：jealousofherstep-daughterJune，jealousevenofherownlittledaughterHolly，andmakingceaselessplaintthathecouldnotloveher，illasshewas，and’uselesstoeveryone，andbetterdead。’Hehadmournedhersincerely，buthisfacehadlookedyoungersinceshedied。Ifshecouldonlyhavebelievedthatshemadehimhappy，howmuchhappierwouldthetwentyyearsoftheircompanionshiphavebeen！

Junehadneverreallygotonwellwithherwhohadreprehensiblytakenherownmother’splace；andeversinceoldJolyondiedshehadbeenestablishedinasortofstudioinLondon。ButshehadcomebacktoRobinHillonherstepmother’sdeath，andgatheredthereinsthereintohersmalldecidedhands。JollywasthenatHarrow；HollystilllearningfromMademoiselleBeauce。TherehadbeennothingtokeepJolyonathome，andhehadremovedhisgriefandhispaint-boxabroad。Therehehadwandered，forthemostpartinBrittany，andatlasthadfetchedupinParis。Hehadstayedthereseveralmonths，andcomebackwiththeyoungerfaceandtheshortfairbeard。Essentiallyamanwhomerelylodgedinanyhouse，ithadsuitedhimperfectlythatJuneshouldreignatRobinHill，sothathewasfreetogooffwithhiseaselwhereandwhenheliked。Shewasinclined，itistrue，toregardthehouseratherasanasylumforherproteges！buthisownoutcastdayshadfilledJolyonforeverwithsympathytowardsanoutcast，andJune’s’lameducks’abouttheplacedidnotannoyhim。Byallmeansletherhavethemdown——andfeedthemup；andthoughhisslightlycynicalhumourperceivedthattheyministeredtohisdaughter’sloveofdominationaswellasmovedherwarmheart，heneverceasedtoadmireherforhavingsomanyducks。Hefell，indeed，yearbyyearintoamoreandmoredetachedandbrotherlyattitudetowardshisownsonanddaughters，treatingthemwithasortofwhimsicalequality。WhenhewentdowntoHarrowtoseeJolly，heneverquiteknewwhichofthemwastheelder，andwouldsiteatingcherrieswithhimoutofonepaperbag，withanaffectionateandironicalsmiletwistingupaneyebrowandcurlinghislipsalittle。Andhewasalwayscarefultohavemoneyinhispocket，andtobemodishinhisdress，sothathissonneednotblushforhim。Theywereperfectfriends，butneverseemedtohaveoccasionforverbalconfidences，bothhavingthecompetitiveself-consciousnessofForsytes。Theyknewtheywouldstandbyeachotherinscrapes，buttherewasnoneedtotalkaboutit。Jolyonhadastrikinghorror-