“Whatisityouwant？“saidEvelyn。“Youmakemefeelasifyouwerealwaysthinkingofsomethingyoudon’tsay……Dosayit！“
ButRachelmadenoresponsetothisinvitationeither。Shestoppedwithherfingersonthehandleofthedoor，asifsherememberedthatsomesortofpronouncementwasduefromher。
“Isupposeyou’llmarryoneofthem，“shesaid，andthenturnedthehandleandshutthedoorbehindher。Shewalkedslowlydownthepassage，runningherhandalongthewallbesideher。
Shedidnotthinkwhichwayshewasgoing，andthereforewalkeddownapassagewhichonlyledtoawindowandabalcony。Shelookeddownatthekitchenpremises，thewrongsideofthehotellife，whichwascutofffromtherightsidebyamazeofsmallbushes。
Thegroundwasbare，oldtinswerescatteredabout，andthebushesworetowelsandapronsupontheirheadstodry。Everynowandthenawaitercameoutinawhiteapronandthrewrubbishontoaheap。
Twolargewomenincottondressesweresittingonabenchwithblood-smearedtintraysinfrontofthemandyellowbodiesacrosstheirknees。Theywerepluckingthebirds，andtalkingastheyplucked。
Suddenlyachickencamefloundering，halfflying，halfrunningintothespace，pursuedbyathirdwomanwhoseagecouldhardlybeundereighty。Althoughwizenedandunsteadyonherlegsshekeptupthechase，eggedonbythelaughteroftheothers；herfacewasexpressiveoffuriousrage，andassheranshesworeinSpanish。
Frightenedbyhand-clappinghere，anapkinthere，thebirdranthiswayandthatinsharpangles，andfinallyflutteredstraightattheoldwoman，whoopenedherscantygreyskirtstoencloseit，droppeduponitinabundle，andthenholdingitoutcutitsheadoffwithanexpressionofvindictiveenergyandtriumphcombined。
ThebloodandtheuglywrigglingfascinatedRachel，sothatalthoughsheknewthatsomeonehadcomeupbehindandwasstandingbesideher，shedidnotturnrounduntiltheoldwomanhadsettleddownonthebenchbesidetheothers。Thenshelookedupsharply，becauseoftheuglinessofwhatshehadseen。ItwasMissAllanwhostoodbesideher。
“Notaprettysight，“saidMissAllan，“althoughIdaresayit’sreallymorehumanethanourmethod……Idon’tbelieveyou’veeverbeeninmyroom，“sheadded，andturnedawayasifshemeantRacheltofollowher。Rachelfollowed，foritseemedpossiblethateachnewpersonmightremovethemysterywhichburdenedher。
Thebedroomsatthehotelwereallonthesamepattern，savethatsomewerelargerandsomesmaller；theyhadafloorofdarkredtiles；
theyhadahighbed，drapedinmosquitocurtains；theyhadeachawriting-tableandadressing-table，andacoupleofarm-chairs。
Butdirectlyaboxwasunpackedtheroomsbecameverydifferent，sothatMissAllan’sroomwasveryunlikeEvelyn’sroom。
Therewerenovariouslycolouredhatpinsonherdressing-table；
noscent-bottles；nonarrowcurvedpairsofscissors；nogreatvarietyofshoesandboots；nosilkpetticoatslyingonthechairs。Theroomwasextremelyneat。Thereseemedtobetwopairsofeverything。
Thewriting-table，however，waspiledwithmanuscript，andatablewasdrawnouttostandbythearm-chaironwhichweretwoseparateheapsofdarklibrarybooks，inwhichthereweremanyslipsofpaperstickingoutatdifferentdegreesofthickness。MissAllanhadaskedRacheltocomeinoutofkindness，thinkingthatshewaswaitingaboutwithnothingtodo。Moreover，shelikedyoungwomen，forshehadtaughtmanyofthem，andhavingreceivedsomuchhospitalityfromtheAmbrosesshewasgladtobeabletorepayaminutepartofit。
Shelookedaboutaccordinglyforsomethingtoshowher。Theroomdidnotprovidemuchentertainment。Shetouchedhermanuscript。
“AgeofChaucer；AgeofElizabeth；AgeofDryden，“shereflected；
“I’mgladtherearen’tmanymoreages。I’mstillinthemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury。Won’tyousitdown，MissVinrace？Thechair，thoughsmall，isfirm……Euphues。ThegermoftheEnglishnovel，“
shecontinued，glancingatanotherpage。“Isthatthekindofthingthatinterestsyou？“
ShelookedatRachelwithgreatkindnessandsimplicity，asthoughshewoulddoherutmosttoprovideanythingshewishedtohave。
Thisexpressionhadaremarkablecharminafaceotherwisemuchlinedwithcareandthought。
“Ohno，it’smusicwithyou，isn’tit？“shecontinued，recollecting，“andIgenerallyfindthattheydon’tgotogether。
Sometimesofcoursewehaveprodigies——“ShewaslookingaboutherforsomethingandnowsawajaronthemantelpiecewhichshereacheddownandgavetoRachel。“Ifyouputyourfingerintothisjaryoumaybeabletoextractapieceofpreservedginger。Areyouaprodigy？“
Butthegingerwasdeepandcouldnotbereached。
“Don’tbother，“shesaid，asMissAllanlookedaboutforsomeotherimplement。“IdaresayIshouldn’tlikepreservedginger。“
“You’venevertried？“enquiredMissAllan。“ThenIconsiderthatitisyourdutytotrynow。Why，youmayaddanewpleasuretolife，andasyouarestillyoung——“Shewonderedwhetherabutton-hookwoulddo。“Imakeitaruletotryeverything，“shesaid。“Don’tyouthinkitwouldbeveryannoyingifyoutastedgingerforthefirsttimeonyourdeath-bed，andfoundyouneverlikedanythingsomuch？
IshouldbesoexceedinglyannoyedthatIthinkIshouldgetwellonthataccountalone。“
Shewasnowsuccessful，andalumpofgingeremergedontheendofthebutton-hook。Whileshewenttowipethebutton-hook，Rachelbitthegingerandatoncecried，“Imustspititout！“
“Areyousureyouhavereallytastedit？“MissAllandemanded。
ForanswerRachelthrewitoutofthewindow。
“Anexperienceanyhow，“saidMissAllancalmly。“Letmesee——Ihavenothingelsetoofferyou，unlessyouwouldliketotastethis。“
Asmallcupboardhungaboveherbed，andshetookoutofitaslimelegantjarfilledwithabrightgreenfluid。
“CremedeMenthe，“shesaid。“Liqueur，youknow。ItlooksasifIdrank，doesn’tit？AsamatteroffactitgoestoprovewhatanexceptionallyabstemiouspersonIam。I’vehadthatjarforsix-and-twentyyears，“sheadded，lookingatitwithpride，asshetippeditover，andfromtheheightoftheliquiditcouldbeseenthatthebottlewasstilluntouched。
“Twenty-sixyears？“Rachelexclaimed。
MissAllanwasgratified，forshehadmeantRacheltobesurprised。
“WhenIwenttoDresdensix-and-twentyyearsago，“shesaid，“acertainfriendofmineannouncedherintentionofmakingmeapresent。Shethoughtthatintheeventofshipwreckoraccidentastimulantmightbeuseful。However，asIhadnooccasionforit，Igaveitbackonmyreturn。Ontheeveofanyforeignjourneythesamebottlealwaysmakesitsappearance，withthesamenote；
onmyreturninsafetyitisalwayshandedback。Iconsideritakindofcharmagainstaccidents。ThoughIwasoncedetainedtwenty-fourhoursbyanaccidenttothetraininfrontofme，Ihavenevermetwithanyaccidentmyself。Yes，“shecontinued，nowaddressingthebottle，“wehaveseenmanyclimesandcupboardstogether，havewenot？Iintendoneofthesedaystohaveasilverlabelmadewithaninscription。Itisagentleman，asyoumayobserve，andhisnameisOliver……IdonotthinkIcouldforgiveyou，MissVinrace，ifyoubrokemyOliver，“shesaid，firmlytakingthebottleoutofRachel’shandsandreplacingitinthecupboard。
Rachelwasswingingthebottlebytheneck。ShewasinterestedbyMissAllantothepointofforgettingthebottle。
“Well，“sheexclaimed，“Idothinkthatodd；tohavehadafriendfortwenty-sixyears，andabottle，and——tohavemadeallthosejourneys。“
“Notatall；Icallitthereverseofodd，“MissAllanreplied。
“IalwaysconsidermyselfthemostordinarypersonIknow。
It’sratherdistinguishedtobeasordinaryasIam。Iforget——
areyouaprodigy，ordidyousayyouwerenotaprodigy？“
ShesmiledatRachelverykindly。Sheseemedtohaveknownandexperiencedsomuch，asshemovedcumbrouslyabouttheroom，thatsurelytheremustbebalmforallanguishinherwords，couldoneinducehertohaverecoursetothem。ButMissAllan，whowasnowlockingthecupboarddoor，showednosignsofbreakingthereticencewhichhadsnowedherunderforyears。
AnuncomfortablesensationkeptRachelsilent；ontheonehand，shewishedtowhirlhighandstrikeasparkoutofthecoolpinkflesh；
ontheothersheperceivedtherewasnothingtobedonebuttodriftpasteachotherinsilence。
“I’mnotaprodigy。IfinditverydifficulttosaywhatImean——“
sheobservedatlength。
“It’samatteroftemperament，Ibelieve，“MissAllanhelpedher。
“Therearesomepeoplewhohavenodifficulty；formyselfIfindthereareagreatmanythingsIsimplycannotsay。ButthenI
considermyselfveryslow。Oneofmycolleaguesnow，knowswhethershelikesyouornot——letmesee，howdoesshedoit？——bythewayyousaygood-morningatbreakfast。ItissometimesamatterofyearsbeforeIcanmakeupmymind。Butmostyoungpeopleseemtofinditeasy？“
“Ohno，“saidRachel。“It’shard！“
MissAllanlookedatRachelquietly，sayingnothing；shesuspectedthatthereweredifficultiesofsomekind。Thensheputherhandtothebackofherhead，anddiscoveredthatoneofthegreycoilsofhairhadcomeloose。
“Imustaskyoutobesokindastoexcuseme，“shesaid，rising，“ifIdomyhair。Ihaveneveryetfoundasatisfactorytypeofhairpin。Imustchangemydress，too，forthematterofthat；
andIshouldbeparticularlygladofyourassistance，becausethereisatiresomesetofhookswhichI_can_fastenformyself，butittakesfromtentofifteenminutes；whereaswithyourhelp——“
Sheslippedoffhercoatandskirtandblouse，andstooddoingherhairbeforetheglass，amassivehomelyfigure，herpetticoatbeingsoshortthatshestoodonapairofthickslate-greylegs。
“Peoplesayyouthispleasant；Imyselffindmiddleagefarpleasanter，“
sheremarked，removinghairpinsandcombs，andtakingupherbrush。
Whenitfelllooseherhaironlycamedowntoherneck。
“Whenonewasyoung，“shecontinued，“thingscouldseemsoveryseriousifonewasmadethatway……Andnowmydress。“
Inawonderfullyshortspaceoftimeherhairhadbeenreformedinitsusualloops。Theupperhalfofherbodynowbecamedarkgreenwithblackstripesonit；theskirt，however，neededhookingatvariousangles，andRachelhadtokneelonthefloor，fittingtheeyestothehooks。
“OurMissJohnsonusedtofindlifeveryunsatisfactory，Iremember，“
MissAllancontinued。Sheturnedherbacktothelight。“Andthenshetooktobreedingguinea-pigsfortheirspots，andbecameabsorbedinthat。Ihavejustheardthattheyellowguinea-pighashadablackbaby。Wehadabetofsixpenceonaboutit。
Shewillbeverytriumphant。“
Theskirtwasfastened。Shelookedatherselfintheglasswiththecuriousstiffeningofherfacegenerallycausedbylookingintheglass。
“AmIinafitstatetoencountermyfellow-beings？“sheasked。
“Iforgetwhichwayitis——buttheyfindblackanimalsveryrarelyhavecolouredbabies——itmaybetheotherwayround。Ihavehaditsooftenexplainedtomethatitisverystupidofmetohaveforgottenagain。“
Shemovedabouttheroomacquiringsmallobjectswithquietforce，andfixingthemabouther——alocket，awatchandchain，aheavygoldbracelet，andtheparti-colouredbuttonofasuffragesociety。
Finally，completelyequippedforSundaytea，shestoodbeforeRachel，andsmiledatherkindly。Shewasnotanimpulsivewoman，andherlifehadschooledhertorestrainhertongue。Atthesametime，shewaspossessedofanamountofgood-willtowardsothers，andinparticulartowardstheyoung，whichoftenmadeherregretthatspeechwassodifficult。
“Shallwedescend？“shesaid。
SheputonehanduponRachel’sshoulder，andstooping，pickedupapairofwalking-shoeswiththeother，andplacedthemneatlysidebysideoutsideherdoor。Astheywalkeddownthepassagetheypassedmanypairsofbootsandshoes，someblackandsomebrown，allsidebyside，andalldifferent，eventothewayinwhichtheylaytogether。
“Ialwaysthinkthatpeoplearesoliketheirboots，“saidMissAllan。
“ThatisMrs。Paley’s——“butasshespokethedooropened，andMrs。Paleyrolledoutinherchair，equippedalsofortea。
ShegreetedMissAllanandRachel。
