youtakeamouthful，andLordknowshowyou’regoingtoswallowit；
butpersevere，andyouoftensettletheattackforgood。Mywife’sacoward。“
Theywerepushingbacktheirchairs。Theladieswerehesitatingatthedoorway。
“I’dbettershowtheway，“saidHelen，advancing。
Rachelfollowed。Shehadtakennopartinthetalk；noonehadspokentoher；butshehadlistenedtoeverywordthatwassaid。
ShehadlookedfromMrs。DallowaytoMr。Dalloway，andfromMr。Dallowaybackagain。Clarissa，indeed，wasafascinatingspectacle。
Sheworeawhitedressandalongglitteringnecklace。
Whatwithherclothes，andherarchdelicateface，whichshowedexquisitelypinkbeneathhairturninggrey，shewasastonishinglylikeaneighteenth-centurymasterpiece——aReynoldsoraRomney。
ShemadeHelenandtheotherslookcoarseandslovenlybesideher。
Sittinglightlyuprightsheseemedtobedealingwiththeworldasshechose；theenormoussolidglobespunroundthiswayandthatbeneathherfingers。Andherhusband！Mr。Dallowayrollingthatrichdeliberatevoicewasevenmoreimpressive。Heseemedtocomefromthehummingoilycentreofthemachinewherethepolishedrodsaresliding，andthepistonsthumping；hegraspedthingssofirmlybutsoloosely；
hemadetheothersappearlikeoldmaidscheapeningremnants。
Rachelfollowedinthewakeofthematrons，asifinatrance；
acuriousscentofvioletscamebackfromMrs。Dalloway，minglingwiththesoftrustlingofherskirts，andthetinklingofherchains。
Asshefollowed，Rachelthoughtwithsupremeself-abasement，takinginthewholecourseofherlifeandthelivesofallherfriends，“Shesaidwelivedinaworldofourown。It’strue。
We’reperfectlyabsurd。“
“Wesitinhere，“saidHelen，openingthedoorofthesaloon。
“Youplay？“saidMrs。DallowaytoMrs。Ambrose，takingupthescoreof_Tristan_whichlayonthetable。
“Myniecedoes，“saidHelen，layingherhandonRachel’sshoulder。
“Oh，howIenvyyou！“ClarissaaddressedRachelforthefirsttime。
“D’yourememberthis？Isn’titdivine？“Sheplayedabarortwowithringedfingersuponthepage。
“AndthenTristangoeslikethis，andIsolde——oh！——it’salltoothrilling！HaveyoubeentoBayreuth？“
“No，Ihaven’t，“saidRachel。`“Thenthat’sstilltocome。
Ishallneverforgetmyfirst_Parsifal_——agrillingAugustday，andthosefatoldGermanwomen，comeintheirstuffyhighfrocks，andthenthedarktheatre，andthemusicbeginning，andonecouldn’thelpsobbing。Akindmanwentandfetchedmewater，Iremember；
andIcouldonlycryonhisshoulder！Itcaughtmehere“(shetouchedherthroat)。“It’slikenothingelseintheworld！Butwhere’syourpiano？““It’sinanotherroom，“Rachelexplained。
“Butyouwillplaytous？“Clarissaentreated。“Ican’timagineanythingnicerthantositoutinthemoonlightandlistentomusic——
onlythatsoundstoolikeaschoolgirl！Youknow，“shesaid，turningtoHelen，“Idon’tthinkmusic’saltogethergoodforpeople——
I’mafraidnot。“
“Toogreatastrain？“askedHelen。
“Tooemotional，somehow，“saidClarissa。“Onenoticesitatoncewhenaboyorgirltakesupmusicasaprofession。SirWilliamBroadleytoldmejustthesamething。Don’tyouhatethekindofattitudespeoplegointooverWagner——likethis——“Shecasthereyestotheceiling，claspedherhands，andassumedalookofintensity。
“Itreallydoesn’tmeanthattheyappreciatehim；infact，Ialwaysthinkit’stheotherwayround。Thepeoplewhoreallycareaboutanartarealwaystheleastaffected。D’youknowHenryPhilips，thepainter？“sheasked。
“Ihaveseenhim，“saidHelen。
“Tolookat，onemightthinkhewasasuccessfulstockbroker，andnotoneofthegreatestpaintersoftheage。That’swhatIlike。“
“Thereareagreatmanysuccessfulstockbrokers，ifyoulikelookingatthem，“saidHelen。
Rachelwishedvehementlythatherauntwouldnotbesoperverse。
“Whenyouseeamusicianwithlonghair，don’tyouknowinstinctivelythathe’sbad？“Clarissaasked，turningtoRachel。“WattsandJoachim——
theylookedjustlikeyouandme。“
“Andhowmuchnicerthey’dhavelookedwithcurls！“saidHelen。
“Thequestionis，areyougoingtoaimatbeautyorareyounot？“
“Cleanliness！“saidClarissa，“Idowantamantolookclean！“
“Bycleanlinessyoureallymeanwell-cutclothes，“saidHelen。
“There’ssomethingoneknowsagentlemanby，“saidClarissa，“butonecan’tsaywhatitis。“
“Takemyhusbandnow，doeshelooklikeagentleman？“
ThequestionseemedtoClarissainextraordinarilybadtaste。
“Oneofthethingsthatcan’tbesaid，“shewouldhaveputit。
Shecouldfindnoanswer，butalaugh。
“Well，anyhow，“shesaid，turningtoRachel，“Ishallinsistuponyourplayingtometo-morrow。“
TherewasthatinhermannerthatmadeRachelloveher。
Mrs。Dallowayhidatinyyawn，ameredilationofthenostrils。
“D’youknow，“shesaid，“I’mextraordinarilysleepy。It’stheseaair。
IthinkIshallescape。“
Aman’svoice，whichshetooktobethatofMr。Pepper，stridentindiscussion，andadvancinguponthesaloon，gaveherthealarm。
“Good-night——good-night！“shesaid。“Oh，Iknowmyway——doprayforcalm！Good-night！“
Heryawnmusthavebeentheimageofayawn。Insteadoflettinghermouthdroop，droppingallherclothesinabunchasthoughtheydependedononestring，andstretchingherlimbstotheutmostendofherberth，shemerelychangedherdressforadressing-gown，withinnumerablefrills，andwrappingherfeetinarug，satdownwithawriting-padonherknee。Alreadythiscrampedlittlecabinwasthedressingroomofaladyofquality。Therewerebottlescontainingliquids；
thereweretrays，boxes，brushes，pins。Evidentlynotaninchofherpersonlackeditsproperinstrument。ThescentwhichhadintoxicatedRachelpervadedtheair。Thusestablished，Mrs。Dallowaybegantowrite。Apeninherhandsbecameathingonecaressedpaperwith，andshemighthavebeenstrokingandticklingakittenasshewrote:
Pictureus，mydear，afloatintheveryoddestshipyoucanimagine。
It’snottheship，somuchasthepeople。Onedoescomeacrossqueersortsasonetravels。ImustsayIfindithugelyamusing。
There’sthemanageroftheline——calledVinrace——anicebigEnglishman，doesn’tsaymuch——youknowthesort。Asfortherest——theymighthavecometrailingoutofanoldnumberof_Punch_。They’relikepeopleplayingcroquetinthe’sixties。Howlongthey’veallbeenshutupinthisshipIdon’tknow——yearsandyearsIshouldsay——
butonefeelsasthoughonehadboardedalittleseparateworld，andthey’dneverbeenonshore，ordoneordinarythingsintheirlives。It’swhatI’vealwayssaidaboutliterarypeople——
they’refarthehardestofanytogetonwith。Theworstofitis，thesepeople——amanandhiswifeandaniece——mighthavebeen，onefeels，justlikeeverybodyelse，iftheyhadn’tgotswallowedupbyOxfordorCambridgeorsomesuchplace，andbeenmadecranksof。
Theman’sreallydelightful(ifhe’dcuthisnails)，andthewomanhasquiteafineface，onlyshedresses，ofcourse，inapotatosack，andwearsherhairlikeaLibertyshopgirl’s。Theytalkaboutart，andthinkussuchpoopsfordressingintheevening。However，Ican’thelpthat；I’dratherdiethancomeintodinnerwithoutchanging——
wouldn’tyou？Itmatterseversomuchmorethanthesoup。
(It’soddhowthingslikethat_do_mattersomuchmorethanwhat’sgenerallysupposedtomatter。I’dratherhavemyheadcutoffthanwearflannelnexttheskin。)Thenthere’saniceshygirl——
poorthing——Iwishonecouldrakeheroutbeforeit’stoolate。
Shehasquiteniceeyesandhair，only，ofcourse，she’llgetfunnytoo。Weoughttostartasocietyforbroadeningthemindsoftheyoung——muchmoreusefulthanmissionaries，Hester！Oh，I’dforgottenthere’sadreadfullittlethingcalledPepper。
He’sjustlikehisname。He’sindescribablyinsignificant，andratherqueerinhistemper，poordear。It’slikesittingdowntodinnerwithanill-conditionedfox-terrier，onlyonecan’tcombhimout，andsprinklehimwithpowder，asonewouldone’sdog。
It’sapity，sometimes，onecan’ttreatpeoplelikedogs！
Thegreatcomfortisthatwe’reawayfromnewspapers，sothatRichardwillhavearealholidaythistime。Spainwasn’taholiday……
“Youcoward！“saidRichard，almostfillingtheroomwithhissturdyfigure。
“Ididmydutyatdinner！“criedClarissa。
“You’veletyourselfinfortheGreekalphabet，anyhow。“
“Oh，mydear！Who_is_Ambrose？“
“IgatherthathewasaCambridgedon；livesinLondonnow，andeditsclassics。“
“Didyoueverseesuchasetofcranks？ThewomanaskedmeifI
thoughtherhusbandlookedlikeagentleman！“
“Itwashardtokeeptheballrollingatdinner，certainly，“
saidRichard。“Whyisitthatthewomen，inthatclass，aresomuchqueererthanthemen？“
“They’renothalfbad-looking，really——only——they’resoodd！“
Theybothlaughed，thinkingofthesamethings，sothattherewasnoneedtocomparetheirimpressions。
“IseeIshallhavequitealottosaytoVinrace，“saidRichard。
“HeknowsSuttonandallthatset。Hecantellmeagooddealabouttheconditionsofship-buildingintheNorth。“
“Oh，I’mglad。Themenalways_are_somuchbetterthanthewomen。“
“Onealwayshassomethingtosaytoamancertainly，“saidRichard。
“ButI’venodoubtyou’llchatterawayfastenoughaboutthebabies，Clarice。“
“Hasshegotchildren？Shedoesn’tlooklikeitsomehow。“
“Two。Aboyandgirl。“
ApangofenvyshotthroughMrs。Dalloway’sheart。
“We_must_haveason，Dick，“shesaid。
“GoodLord，whatopportunitiestherearenowforyoungmen！“
saidDalloway，forhistalkhadsethimthinking。“Idon’tsupposethere’sbeensogoodanopeningsincethedaysofPitt。“
“Andit’syours！“saidClarissa。
“Tobealeaderofmen，“Richardsoliloquised。“It’safinecareer。
MyGod——whatacareer！“
Thechestslowlycurvedbeneathhiswaistcoat。
“D’youknow，Dick，Ican’thelpthinkingofEngland，“saidhiswifemeditatively，leaningherheadagainsthischest。“Beingonthisshipseemstomakeitsomuchmorevivid——whatitreallymeanstobeEnglish。Onethinksofallwe’vedone，andournavies，andthepeopleinIndiaandAfrica，andhowwe’vegoneoncenturyaftercentury，sendingoutboysfromlittlecountryvillages——
andofmenlikeyou，Dick，anditmakesonefeelasifonecouldn’tbear_not_tobeEnglish！ThinkofthelightburningovertheHouse，Dick！WhenIstoodondeckjustnowIseemedtoseeit。
It’swhatonemeansbyLondon。“
“It’sthecontinuity，“saidRichardsententiously。AvisionofEnglishhistory，KingfollowingKing，PrimeMinisterPrimeMinister，andLawLawhadcomeoverhimwhilehiswifespoke。Heranhismindalongthelineofconservativepolicy，whichwentsteadilyfromLordSalisburytoAlfred，andgraduallyenclosed，asthoughitwerealassothatopenedandcaughtthings，enormouschunksofthehabitableglobe。
“It’stakenalongtime，butwe’veprettynearlydoneit，“hesaid；
“itremainstoconsolidate。“
“Andthesepeopledon’tseeit！“Clarissaexclaimed。
“Ittakesallsortstomakeaworld，“saidherhusband。“Therewouldneverbeagovernmentifthereweren’tanopposition。“
“Dick，you’rebetterthanIam，“saidClarissa。“Youseeround，whereIonlysee_there_。“Shepressedapointonthebackofhishand。
“That’smybusiness，asItriedtoexplainatdinner。“
“WhatIlikeaboutyou，Dick，“shecontinued，“isthatyou’realwaysthesame，andI’macreatureofmoods。“
“You’reaprettycreature，anyhow，“hesaid，gazingatherwithdeepereyes。
“Youthinkso，doyou？Thenkissme。“
Hekissedherpassionately，sothatherhalf-writtenletterslidtotheground。Pickingitup，hereaditwithoutaskingleave。
“Where’syourpen？“hesaid；andaddedinhislittlemasculinehand:
R。D。_loquitur_:Claricehasomittedtotellyouthatshelookedexceedinglyprettyatdinner，andmadeaconquestbywhichshehasboundherselftolearntheGreekalphabet。Iwilltakethisoccasionofaddingthatwearebothenjoyingourselvesintheseoutlandishparts，andonlywishforthepresenceofourfriends(yourselfandJohn，towit)tomakethetripperfectlyenjoyableasitpromisestobeinstructive
