\"Buthehasn\'t。Richardhasn\'ttoldmeanything。\"
\"Ethel！Thenwhatisthematter？\"
\"Itoldhimsomething。ItoldhimthatifitwasgoingtobeanystoryaboutaboutsomethingIshouldn\'tlike，Ishouldsimplyfollowitwithastoryabouthimthathewouldn\'tlike。\"
\"Ethel！Youdarling！\"
\"Oh，yes，andIsaidIwassureyouwouldalllisten，eventhoughIwasnotanauthormyself。AndIhaveitready，youknow，andit\'sawfullylikeRichard，onlyadifferentsideofhimfromtheburglarone。\"
\"But，mydear，whatdidhedowhenyou\"
Thisenquirywas，however，cutshortbytheentranceofthemen。AndfromtheglancethatcamefromRichard\'seyesastheyimmediatelysoughtouthiswife，Mrs。DavenportknewthathecouldnothavedoneanythingveryseveretoEthelwhenshemadethatthreattohimduringtheirdrive。
Richardatoncemadehiswaytotheeasy-chairarrangedeachnightinagoodpositionforthenarratoroftheevening，andbaptised\"TheSingstool\"byMr。Graves。Mr。GraveswasanardentWagnerian，andespeciallydevotedtoTheMastersingersofNuremberg。
\"Shallwehave，\"hewhisperedtoMr。Hillard，\"aBeckmesserfiascoto-night，orwillitbeaWaltersuccess？\"
ButMr。Hillard，besidesbeinganauthorandacritic，caredlittleforthetooliteraryclevernessofMr。Graves。Hethereforeheavilycrushedthatgentleman\'sallusiontoWagner\'sopera。\"Iremember，\"hesaid，\"thesingingcontestbetweenBeckmesserandWalter，andIdoubtifwearetobeafflictedwithanythingsodullinthishouse。\"
Richardhadsettledhimselfintheeasy-chair，andwaslookingthoughtfullyatvariousobjectsintheroom，whilethesmall-talkwassubsidingaroundhim。
\"Why，Mr。Field，\"saidMrs。Davenport，\"youlookasifyoucouldfindnothingtosuggestyourstorytoyou。\"
\"Onthecontrary，\"saidRichard，\"itisthenumberofthingsthatsuggestit。Thisnewspaperhere，thathasarrivedsinceIwaslastintheroom，hasacolumnwhichremindsmeveryforciblyoftheexperiencethatIhaveselectedtotellyou。ButIthinkthemostappropriateofallisthatpicture。\"Hepointedtothelargestpictureonthewall。\"\'BreakingHomeTies\'isitstitle，Irememberverywell。ItisareplicaoftheoriginalthatdrewsuchcrowdsintheArtBuildingattheWorld\'sFair。\"
WhileRichardwassayingthis，hiswifehadpossessedherselfofthenewspaper，andhenowobservedhoweagerlyshewasscanningitspages。
\"Itisthefinancialcolumn，Ethel，thatrecallsmystory。\"
Ethel，afterahopelessglanceatthis，resumedherseatnearthesofabyMrs。Davenport。
\"Thereweremanypaintings，\"continuedRichard，\"inthatArtBuilding，ofmeritincomparablygreaterthan\'BreakingHomeTies\'；andyetthecrowdneverlookedatthose，becauseitdidnotunderstandthem。Butatanyhouroftheday，ifyouhappenedtopassthispicture，ittookyousometimetodoso。YoucouldpassanyofJohnSargeant\'spictures，forinstance，ataspeedlimitedonlybyyourownpowersofrunning；butyoucouldneverrunpast\'BreakingHomeTies。\'Youhadtoworkyourwaythroughthecrowdinfrontofthatjustasyouhavetodoatafire，oranewsofficeduringafootballgame。TheAmericanpeoplecouldnevergetenoughofthatmotherkissingherboygoodbye，whilethewagonwaitsattheopendoortotakehimawayfromheruponhisfirstjourneyintotheworld。Theideaheldadailypathosforthem。Manyhadthemselvesbeenthroughsuchleavetakings；andnowordsostirsthegeneralheartastheword\'mother\'。Songwritersknowthis；andtheartistknewitwhenhedecidedtopaint\'BreakingHomeTies。\'And\'Mother\'isthetitleofmystoryto-night。\"
\"Mother！\"ThiswasEthel\'sbewilderedecho，\"WhoseMother？\"shesoftlymurmuredtoherself。
Richardcontinued。\"ItconcernsthecircumstancesunderwhichIbecameengagedtomywife。\"
TherewasamovementfromEthelasshesatbythesofa。
\"Notallthecircumstances，ofcourse，\"thenarratorcontinued，withacertainguardedcandourinhistone。\"Therearecertaincircumstanceswhichnaturallyattendeveryengagementbetweenhappyandanddevoted
youngpeoplethattheykeeptothemselvesquitecarefully，inspiteofthefactthatanyonewhohasbeenthroughtheexperienceofbeingengagedtwoorthreetimes\"
TherewasanothermovementfromEthelbythesofa。
\"orevenonlyonce，asismycase，\"thenarratorwenton，\"anybody，I
say，whohasbeenthroughtheexperienceofbeingengagedonlyonce，canformaverycorrectideaofthecircumstancesthatattendthehappyengagementsofallyoungpeople。Iimaginetheyprevailinallcountries，justasthefeelingabout\'mother\'prevails。Yes，\'Mother\'istherighttitleformystory，asyoushallsee。Isitnotstrangethatifyouadd\'in-law\'totheword\'mother，\'howimmediatelythesentimentofthetermisaltered？asstronglyindeedaswhenyouprefixtheword\'step\'toit。
Butitiswithneitherofthesecompositeformsofmotherthatanystorydeals。
\"EthelhasalwaysmaintainedthatifIhadreallyunderstoodher，itneverwouldhavehappened。Shesays\"
\"Richard，I\"
\"Mydear，youshalltellyourstoryafterwards，andIpromisetolistenwithoutaworduntilyouarefinished。Mrs。FieldsaysthatifIhadunderstoodhernatureasamanoughttounderstandthegirlhehasbeenthinkingaboutforseveralyears，Ishouldhaveknownshecarednothingaboutmyincome。\"
\"Ididn\'tcare！I\'dhave\"butMr。Fieldcheckedheroutburst。
\"Shewasgoingtosay，\"saidMr。Field，\"thathadIaskedhertomarrymewhenIbecamesurethatIwishedtomarryher，shewouldhavebeenwillingtoleaveNewYorkandgotothewastelandinMichiganthatwasherinheritancefromagrandfather，andtherebuildacabinandliveinitwithme；andthatwhileIshotprairiechickensfordinnershewouldhavemilkedthecowwhichsomememberofthefamilywouldhavebeenwillingtogiveusasaweddingpresentinsteadofastatueoftheWingedVictory，orsilverspoonsandforks，hadwesodesired。\"
Richardmadeapausehere，andlookedathiswifeasifheexpectedhertocorrecthim。ButEthelwasplainlysatisfiedwithhisstatement，andhethereforecontinued。
\"Ithinkitisidealwhenagirlisreadytodosomuchasthatforaman。ButIshouldnotthinkitidealinamantoallowthegirlhelovedtodoitforhim。NordidIthenknowanythingaboutthelandsinMichiganthoughthiswouldhavemadenodifference。Ethelhadbeenaccustomedtoahouseseveralstorieshigh，withhotandcoldwaterinmostofthem，andsomebodytoanswerthedoor-bell。\"
\"Thedoor-bell！\"exclaimedEthel。\"Icouldhavegonewithouthearingthat。\"
\"Yes，Ethel，onlytohearthewelkinringwouldhavebeenenoughforyou。
