Sheleantforwardoverthetable，staringblankly。Butpresentlyherhalf-avertedfacebegantohauntmeasshehadsatatthetable，andherarmandthelongdroopofhershoulder。
ThenextdayIdidanunexampledthing。Isentatelegramtomyuncle，“Badtempernotcomingtobusiness。”andsetoffforHighgateandEwart。Hewasactuallyatwork——onabustofMillie，andseemedverygladforanyinterruption。
“Ewart，youoldFool。”Isaid，“knockoffandcomeforaday’sgossip。I’mrotten。There’sasympatheticsortoflunacyaboutyou。Let’sgotoStainesandpaddleuptoWindsor。”
“Girl？”saidEwart，puttingdownachisel。
“Yes。”
ThatwasallItoldhimofmyaffair。
“I’vegotnomoney。”heremarked，toclearupambiguityinmyinvitation。
Wegotajarofshandy-gaff，somefood，and，onEwart’ssuggestion，twoJapanesesunshadesinStaines；wedemandedextracushionsattheboathouseandwespentanenormouslysoothingdayindiscourseandmeditation，ourboatmooredinashadyplacethissideofWindsor。IseemtorememberEwartwithacushionforward，onlyhisheelsandsunshadeandsomeblackendsofhairshowing，avoiceandnomore，againsttheshining，smoothly-streamingmirrorofthetreesandbushes。
“It’snotworthit。”wastheburthenofthevoice。“You’dbettergetyourselfaMillie，Ponderevo，andthenyouwouldn’tfeelsoupset。”
“No。”Isaiddecidedly，“that’snotmyway。”
AthreadofsmokeascendedfromEwartforawhile，likesmokefromanaltar。
“Everything’samuddle，andyouthinkitisn’t。Nobodyknowswhereweare——because，asamatteroffactwearen’tanywhere。
Arewomenproperty——oraretheyfellow-creatures？Orasortofproprietarygoddesses？They’resoobviouslyfellow-creatures。
Youbelieveinthegoddess？”
“No。”Isaid，“that’snotmyidea。”
“Whatisyouridea？”
“Well“
“H’m。”saidEwart，inmypause。
“Myidea。”Isaid，“istomeetonepersonwhowillbelongtome——towhomIshallbelong——bodyandsoul。Nohalf-gods！Waittillshecomes。Ifshecomesatall。Wemustcometoeachotheryoungandpure。”
“There’snosuchthingasapurepersonoranimpureperson。
Mixedtobeginwith。”
Thiswassomanifestlytruethatitsilencedmealtogether。
“Andifyoubelongtoherandshetoyou，Ponderevo——whichend’sthehead？”
Imadenoanswerexceptanimpatient“oh！”
Foratimewesmokedinsilence。
“DidItellyou，Ponderevo，ofawonderfuldiscoveryI’vemade？”
Ewartbeganpresently。
“No。”Isaid，“whatisit？”
“There’snoMrs。Grundy。”
“No？”
“No！Practicallynot。I’vejustthoughtallthatbusinessout。
She’smerelyaninstrument，Ponderevo。She’sbornetheblame。
Grundy’saman。Grundyunmasked。Ratherleanandoutofsorts。
Earlymiddleage。Withbunchyblackwhiskersandaworriedeye。
Beengoodsofar，andit’sfrettinghim！Moods！There’sGrundyinastateofsexualpanic，forexample，——’ForGod’ssakecoveritup！Theygettogether——theygettogether！It’stooexciting！
Themostdreadfulthingsarehappening！’Rushingabout——longarmsgoinglikeawindmill。’Theymustbekeptapart！’Startsoutforanabsoluteobliterationofeverythingabsoluteseparations。Onesideoftheroadformen，andtheotherforwomen，andahoarding——withoutpostersbetweenthem。Everyboyandgirltobesewedupinasackandsealed，justtheheadandhandsandfeetoutuntiltwenty-one。Musicabolished，calicogarmentsfortheloweranimals！Sparrowstobesuppressed——ab-so-lutely。”
Ilaughedabruptly。
“Well，that’sMr。Grundyinonemood——anditputsMrs。
Grundy——She’samuch-malignedperson，Ponderevo——arakeatheart——anditputsherinamostpainfulstateoffluster——mostpainful！She’sanamenablecreature。WhenGrundytellsherthingsareshocking，she’sshocked——pinkandbreathless。Shegoesabouttryingtoconcealherprofoundsenseofguiltbehindahaughtyexpression。
“Grundy，meanwhile，isinastateofcompletewhirlabout。Longleanknucklyhandspointingandgesticulating！’They’restillthinkingofthings——thinkingofthings！It’sdreadful。Theygetitoutofbooks。Ican’timaginewheretheygetit！Imustwatch！There’repeopleovertherewhispering！Nobodyoughttowhisper！——There’ssomethingsuggestiveinthemereact！Then，pictures！Inthemuseum——thingstoodreadfulforwords。Whycan’twehavepureart——withtheanatomyallwrongandpureandnice——andpurefictionpurepoetry，insteadofallthisstuffwithallusions——allusions？。Excuseme！There’ssomethingupbehindthatlockeddoor！Thekeyhole！Intheinterestsofpublicmorality——yes，Sir，asapuregoodman——Iinsist——I’LL
look——itwon’thurtme——Iinsistonlookingmyduty——M’m’m——thekeyhole！’“
Hekickedhislegsaboutextravagantly，andIlaughedagain。
“That’sGrundyinonemood，Ponderevo。Itisn’tMrs。Grundy。
That’soneofthelieswetellaboutwomen。They’retoosimple。
Simple！WomanAREsimple！Theytakeonjustwhatmentell’em。”
Ewartmeditatedforaspace。“Justexactlyasit’sputtothem。”
hesaid，andresumedthemoodsofMr。Grundy。
“ThenyougetoldGrundyinanothermood。Evercaughthimnosing，Ponderevo？Madwiththeideaofmysterious，unknown，wicked，deliciousthings。Thingsthataren’trespectable。Wow！
Thingshemustn’tdo！。Anyonewhoknowsaboutthesethings，knowsthere’sjustasmuchmysteryanddeliciousnessaboutGrundy’sforbiddenthingsasthereisabouteatingham。Jollyniceifit’sabrightmorningandyou’rewellandhungryandhavingbreakfastintheopenair。Jollyunattractiveifyou’reoffcolour。ButGrundy’scovereditallupandhiddenitandputmuckyshadesandcoversoverituntilhe’sforgottenit。Beginstofesterrounditinhismind。Hasdreadfulstruggles——withhimselfaboutimpurethoughts。ThenyousetGrundywithhotears，——curiousinundertones。Grundyontheloose，Grundyinahoarsewhisperandwithfurtiveeyesandconvulsivemovements——makingthingsindecent。Evolving——indensevapours——indecency！
“Grundysins。Oh，yes，he’sahypocrite。Sneaksroundacornerandsinsugly。It’sGrundyandhisdarkcornersthatmakevice，vice！Weartists——wehavenovices。
“Andthenhe’sfranticwithrepentance。Andwantstobecrueltofallenwomenanddecentharmlesssculptorsofthesimplenude——likeme——andsobacktohispanicagain。”
“Mrs。Grundy，Isuppose，doesn’tknowhesins。”Iremarked。
“No？I’mnotsosure。But，blessherheartshe’sawoman。
She’sawoman。ThenagainyougetGrundywithalargegreasysmile——likeanaccidenttoabuttertub——alloverhisface，beingLiberalMinded——GrundyinhisAnti-Puritanmoments，’tryingnottoseeHarminit’——Grundythefriendofinnocentpleasure。HemakesyousickwiththeHarmhe’stryingnottoseeinit。
“Andthat’swhyeverything’swrong，Ponderevo。Grundy，damnhim！
standsinthelight，andweyoungpeoplecan’tsee。Hismoodsaffectus。Wecatchhisgustsofpanic，hisdiseaseofnosing，hisgreasiness。Wedon’tknowwhatwemaythink，whatwemaysay，hedoeshissillyutmosttopreventourreadingandseeingtheonething，theonesortofdiscussionwefind——quitenaturallyandproperly——supremelyinteresting。Sowedon’tadolescence；weblunderuptosex。Dare——daretolook——andhemaydirtyouforever！Thegirlsareterror-strickentosilencebyhissignificantwhiskers，bytheblearysomethinginhiseyes。”
SuddenlyEwart，withanalmostJack-in-the-boxeffect，satup。
“He’saboutuseverywhere，Ponderevo。”hesaid，verysolemnly。
