“Butyoudidn’tgetoutofbedtotellmethat，“headdedseverely。
“Igotoutofbed，“saidHewetvaguely，“merelytotalkIsuppose。“
“MeanwhileIshallundress，“saidHirst。Whennakedofallbuthisshirt，andbentoverthebasin，Mr。Hirstnolongerimpressedonewiththemajestyofhisintellect，butwiththepathosofhisyoungyetuglybody，forhestooped，andhewassothinthatthereweredarklinesbetweenthedifferentbonesofhisneckandshoulders。
“Womeninterestme，“saidHewet，who，sittingonthebedwithhischinrestingonhisknees，paidnoattentiontotheundressingofMr。Hirst。
“They’resostupid，“saidHirst。“You’resittingonmypyjamas。“
“Isupposethey_are_stupid？“Hewetwondered。
“Therecan’tbetwoopinionsaboutthat，Iimagine，“saidHirst，hoppingbrisklyacrosstheroom，“unlessyou’reinlove——thatfatwomanWarrington？“heenquired。
“Notonefatwoman——allfatwomen，“Hewetsighed。
“ThewomenIsawto-nightwerenotfat，“saidHirst，whowastakingadvantageofHewet’scompanytocuthistoe-nails。
“Describethem，“saidHewet。
“YouknowIcan’tdescribethings！“saidHirst。“Theyweremuchlikeotherwomen，Ishouldthink。Theyalwaysare。“
“No；that’swherewediffer，“saidHewet。“Isayeverything’sdifferent。
Notwopeopleareintheleastthesame。Takeyouandmenow。“
“SoIusedtothinkonce，“saidHirst。“Butnowthey’realltypes。
Don’ttakeus，——takethishotel。Youcoulddrawcirclesroundthewholelotofthem，andthey’dneverstrayoutside。“
(“Youcankillahenbydoingthat“)，Hewetmurmured。
“Mr。HughlingElliot，Mrs。HughlingElliot，MissAllan，Mr。andMrs。Thornbury——onecircle，“Hirstcontinued。“MissWarrington，Mr。ArthurVenning，Mr。Perrott，EvelynM。anothercircle；
thenthereareawholelotofnatives；finallyourselves。“
“Areweallaloneinourcircle？“askedHewet。
“Quitealone，“saidHirst。“Youtrytogetout，butyoucan’t。
Youonlymakeamessofthingsbytrying。“
“I’mnotaheninacircle，“saidHewet。“I’madoveonatree-top。“
“Iwonderifthisiswhattheycallaningrowingtoe-nail？“
saidHirst，examiningthebigtoeonhisleftfoot。
“Iflitfrombranchtobranch，“continuedHewet。“Theworldisprofoundlypleasant。“Helaybackonthebed，uponhisarms。
“Iwonderifit’sreallynicetobeasvagueasyouare？“askedHirst，lookingathim。“It’sthelackofcontinuity——that’swhat’ssooddboutyou，“hewenton。“Attheageoftwenty-seven，whichisnearlythirty，youseemtohavedrawnnoconclusions。
Apartyofoldwomenexcitesyoustillasthoughyouwerethree。“
Hewetcontemplatedtheangularyoungmanwhowasneatlybrushingtherimsofhistoe-nailsintothefire-placeinsilenceforamoment。
“Irespectyou，Hirst，“heremarked。
“Ienvyyou——somethings，“saidHirst。“One:yourcapacityfornotthinking；two:peoplelikeyoubetterthantheylikeme。
Womenlikeyou，Isuppose。“
“Iwonderwhetherthatisn’treallywhatmattersmost？“saidHewet。
Lyingnowflatonthebedhewavedhishandinvaguecirclesabovehim。
“Ofcourseitis，“saidHirst。“Butthat’snotthedifficulty。
Thedifficultyis，isn’tit，tofindanappropriateobject？“
“Therearenofemalehensinyourcircle？“askedHewet。
“Nottheghostofone，“saidHirst。
AlthoughtheyhadknowneachotherforthreeyearsHirsthadneveryetheardthetruestoryofHewet’sloves。Ingeneralconversationitwastakenforgrantedthattheyweremany，butinprivatethesubjectwasallowedtolapse。Thefactthathehadmoneyenoughtodonowork，andthathehadleftCambridgeaftertwotermsowingtoadifferencewiththeauthorities，andhadthentravelledanddrifted，madehislifestrangeatmanypointswherehisfriends’
livesweremuchofapiece。
“Idon’tseeyourcircles——Idon’tseethem，“Hewetcontinued。
“Iseeathinglikeateetotumspinninginandout——knockingintothings——
dashingfromsidetoside——collectingnumbers——moreandmoreandmore，tillthewholeplaceisthickwiththem。Roundandroundtheygo——
outthere，overtherim——outofsight。“
Hisfingersshowedthatthewaltzingteetotumshadspunovertheedgeofthecounterpaneandfallenoffthebedintoinfinity。
“Couldyoucontemplatethreeweeksaloneinthishotel？“askedHirst，afteramoment’spause。
Hewetproceededtothink。
“Thetruthofitisthatoneneverisalone，andoneneverisincompany，“heconcluded。
“Meaning？“saidHirst。
“Meaning？Oh，somethingaboutbubbles——auras——whatd’youcall’em？
Youcan’tseemybubble；Ican’tseeyours；allweseeofeachotherisaspeck，likethewickinthemiddleofthatflame。
Theflamegoesaboutwithuseverywhere；it’snotourselvesexactly，butwhatwefeel；theworldisshort，orpeoplemainly；allkindsofpeople。“
“Anicestreakybubbleyoursmustbe！“saidHirst。
“Andsupposingmybubblecouldrunintosomeoneelse’sbubble——“
“Andtheybothburst？“putinHirst。
“Then——then——then——“ponderedHewet，asiftohimself，“itwouldbeane-nor-mousworld，“hesaid，stretchinghisarmstotheirfullwidth，asthoughevensotheycouldhardlyclaspthebillowyuniverse，forwhenhewaswithHirsthealwaysfeltunusuallysanguineandvague。
“Idon’tthinkyoualtogetherasfoolishasIusedto，Hewet，“
saidHirst。“Youdon’tknowwhatyoumeanbutyoutrytosayit。“
“Butaren’tyouenjoyingyourselfhere？“askedHewet。
“Onthewhole——yes，“saidHirst。“Ilikeobservingpeople。
Ilikelookingatthings。Thiscountryisamazinglybeautiful。
Didyounoticehowthetopofthemountainturnedyellowto-night？
Reallywemusttakeourlunchandspendthedayout。You’regettingdisgustinglyfat。“HepointedatthecalfofHewet’sbareleg。
“We’llgetupanexpedition，“saidHewetenergetically。“We’llasktheentirehotel。We’llhiredonkeysand——“
“Oh，Lord！“saidHirst，“doshutit！IcanseeMissWarringtonandMissAllanandMrs。Elliotandtherestsquattingonthestonesandquacking，’Howjolly！’“
“We’llaskVenningandPerrottandMissMurgatroyd——everyonewecanlayhandson，“wentonHewet。“What’sthenameofthelittleoldgrasshopperwiththeeyeglasses？Pepper？——Peppershallleadus。“
“ThankGod，you’llnevergetthedonkeys，“saidHirst。
“Imustmakeanoteofthat，“saidHewet，slowlydroppinghisfeettothefloor。“HirstescortsMissWarrington；Pepperadvancesaloneonawhiteass；provisionsequallydistributed——orshallwehireamule？
Thematrons——there’sMrs。Paley，byJove！——shareacarriage。“
“That’swhereyou’llgowrong，“saidHirst。“Puttingvirginsamongmatrons。“
“Howlongshouldyouthinkthatanexpeditionlikethatwouldtake，Hirst？“askedHewet。
“FromtwelvetosixteenhoursIwouldsay，“saidHirst。“Thetimeusuallyoccupiedbyafirstconfinement。“
“Itwillneedconsiderableorganisation，“saidHewet。Hewasnowpaddingsoftlyroundtheroom，andstoppedtostirthebooksonthetable。Theylayheapedoneuponanother。
“Weshallwantsomepoetstoo，“heremarked。“NotGibbon；no；
d’youhappentohave_Modern__Love_or_John__Donne_？Yousee，Icontemplatepauseswhenpeoplegettiredoflookingattheview，andthenitwouldbenicetoreadsomethingratherdifficultaloud。“
“Mrs。Paley_will_enjoyherself，“saidHirst。
“Mrs。Paleywillenjoyitcertainly，“saidHewet。“It’soneofthesaddestthingsIknow——thewayelderlyladiesceasetoreadpoetry。
Andyethowappropriatethisis:
IspeakasonewhoplumbsLife’sdimprofound，OnewhoatlengthcansoundClearviewsandcertain。
But——afterlovewhatcomes？
Ascenethatlours，Afewsadvacanthours，Andthen，theCurtain。
IdaresayMrs。Paleyistheonlyoneofuswhocanreallyunderstandthat。“
“We’llaskher，“saidHirst。“Please，Hewet，ifyoumustgotobed，drawmycurtain。Fewthingsdistressmemorethanthemoonlight。“
Hewetretreated，pressingthepoemsofThomasHardybeneathhisarm，andintheirbedsnextdoortoeachotherboththeyoungmenweresoonasleep。
BetweentheextinctionofHewet’scandleandtherisingofaduskySpanishboywhowasthefirsttosurveythedesolationofthehotelintheearlymorning，afewhoursofsilenceintervened。Onecouldalmosthearahundredpeoplebreathingdeeply，andhoweverwakefulandrestlessitwouldhavebeenhardtoescapesleepinthemiddleofsomuchsleep。Lookingoutofthewindows，therewasonlydarknesstobeseen。Allovertheshadowedhalfoftheworldpeoplelayprone，andafewflickeringlightsinemptystreetsmarkedtheplaceswheretheircitieswerebuilt。RedandyellowomnibuseswerecrowdingeachotherinPiccadilly；sumptuouswomenwererockingatastandstill；buthereinthedarknessanowlflittedfromtreetotree，andwhenthebreezeliftedthebranchesthemoonflashedasifitwereatorch。Untilallpeopleshouldawakeagainthehouselessanimalswereabroad，thetigersandthestags，andtheelephantscomingdowninthedarknesstodrinkatpools。
Thewindatnightblowingoverthehillsandwoodswaspurerandfresherthanthewindbyday，andtheearth，robbedofdetail，moremysteriousthantheearthcolouredanddividedbyroadsandfields。Forsixhoursthisprofoundbeautyexisted，andthenastheeastgrewwhiterandwhiterthegroundswamtothesurface，theroadswererevealed，thesmokeroseandthepeoplestirred，andthesunshoneuponthewindowsofthehotelatSantaMarinauntiltheywereuncurtained，andthegongblaringallthroughthehousegavenoticeofbreakfast。
Directlybreakfastwasover，theladiesasusualcircledvaguely，pickinguppapersandputtingthemdownagain，aboutthehall。
“Andwhatareyougoingtodoto-day？“askedMrs。ElliotdriftingupagainstMissWarrington。
Mrs。Elliot，thewifeofHughlingtheOxfordDon，wasashortwoman，whoseexpressionwashabituallyplaintive。Hereyesmovedfromthingtothingasthoughtheyneverfoundanythingsufficientlypleasanttorestuponforanylengthoftime。
“I’mgoingtotrytogetAuntEmmaoutintothetown，“saidSusan。
“She’snotseenathingyet。“
“Icallitsospiritedofheratherage，“saidMrs。Elliot，“comingallthiswayfromherownfireside。“
“Yes，wealwaystellhershe’lldieonboardship，“Susanreplied。
“Shewasbornonone，“sheadded。
“Intheolddays，“saidMrs。Elliot，“agreatmanypeoplewere。
Ialwayspitythepoorwomenso！We’vegotalottocomplainof！“
Sheshookherhead。Hereyeswanderedaboutthetable，andsheremarkedirrelevantly，“ThepoorlittleQueenofHolland！
Newspaperreporterspractically，onemaysay，atherbedroomdoor！“
“WereyoutalkingoftheQueenofHolland？“saidthepleasantvoiceofMissAllan，whowassearchingforthethickpagesof_The_
_Times_amongalitterofthinforeignsheets。
“Ialwaysenvyanyonewholivesinsuchanexcessivelyflatcountry，“
sheremarked。
“Howverystrange！“saidMrs。Elliot。“Ifindaflatcountrysodepressing。“
“I’mafraidyoucan’tbeveryhappyherethen，MissAllan，“
saidSusan。
“Onthecontrary，“saidMissAllan，“Iamexceedinglyfondofmountains。“
Perceiving_The__Times_atsomedistance，shemovedofftosecureit。
“Well，Imustfindmyhusband，“saidMrs。Elliot，fidgetingaway。
“AndImustgotomyaunt，“saidMissWarrington，andtakingupthedutiesofthedaytheymovedaway。
Whethertheflimsinessofforeignsheetsandthecoarsenessoftheirtypeisanyproofoffrivolityandignorance，thereisnodoubtthatEnglishpeoplescarceconsidernewsreadthereasnews，anymorethanaprogrammeboughtfromamaninthestreetinspiresconfidenceinwhatitsays。Averyrespectableelderlypair，havinginspectedthelongtablesofnewspapers，didnotthinkitworththeirwhiletoreadmorethantheheadlines。
“Thedebateonthefifteenthshouldhavereachedusbynow，“
Mrs。Thornburymurmured。Mr。Thornbury，whowasbeautifullycleanandhadredrubbedintohishandsomewornfaceliketracesofpaintonaweather-beatenwoodenfigure，lookedoverhisglassesandsawthatMissAllanhad_The__Times_。
