第4章

类别:其他 作者:Henry, Jr.James字数:10702更新时间:19/01/07 14:51:50
\"Ah,then,it’sformetoaskYOUwhat。Idon’tmyself,yousee,perceiveit。\" Hemadeforalittlenoanswer,andwewerebothindeedbythistimetakenupwiththewithdrawalofthetwoothermembersofourgroup。Theymovedawaytogetheracrosstheshiningfloor,pausing,lookingupatthepaintedvault,sayingtheinevitablethings——bringingofftheirretreat,inshort,inthebestorder。Itstruckmesomehowasaretreat,andyetIinsistedtomyself,oncemore,onitsbeingperfectlynatural。Atthehighdoor,whichstoodopen,theystoppedamomentandlookedbackatus——lookedfrankly,sociably,asifinconsciousnessofoursympatheticattention。 Mrs。Serverwaved,asintemporaryfarewell,afreeexplanatoryhandatme;sheseemedtoexplainthatshewasnowtryingsomebodyelse。ObertmoreoveraddedHISexplanation。\"That’sthewayshecollarsus。\" \"Oh,Longdoesn’tmind,\"Isaid。\"Butwhat’sthewayshestrikesyouasdifferent?\" \"Fromwhatshewaswhenshesattome?Well,apartofitisthatshecan’tkeepstill。Shewasasstillthenasifshehadbeenpaidforit。 Nowshe’sallovertheplace。\"Buthecamebacktosomethingelse。\"Ilikeyourtalking,mydearman,ofwhatyou’don’tperceive。’I’veyettofindoutwhatthatremarkablequantityis。Whatyoudoperceivehasatalleventsgivenmesomuchtothinkaboutthatitdoubtlessoughttoservemeforthepresent。IfeelIoughttoletyouknowthatyou’vemademealsoperceivetheBrissendens。\"IofcourserememberedwhatIhadsaidtohim,butitwasjustthisthatnowtouchedmyuneasiness,andIonlyechoedthename,alittleblankly,withtheinstinctofgainingtime。\"Youputmeonthemwonderfully,\"Obertcontinued,\"thoughofcourseI’vekeptyourideatomyself。Allthesameitshedsagreatlight。\" Icouldagainbutfeeblyrepeatit。\"Agreatlight?\" \"Astowhatmaygoonevenbetweenothersstill。It’sajollyidea——atorchinthedarkness;anddoyouknowwhatI’vedonewithit?I’vehelditup,Idon’tmindtellingyou,tojustthequestionofthechange,sincethisinterestsyou,inMrs。Server。Ifyou’vegotyourmysteryI’llbehangedifIwon’thavemine。Ifyou’vegotyourBrissendensIshallseewhatIcandowithHER。You’vegivenmeananalogy,andIdeclareIfinditdazzling。Idon’tseetheendofwhatmaybedonewithit。IfBrissenden’spayingforhiswife,forheramazingsecondbloom,who’spayingforMrs。 Server?Isn’tTHAT——whatdothenewspaperscallit?——themissingword? Isn’titperhapsinfactjustwhatyoutoldmelastnightyouwereonthetrackof?Butdon’taddnow,\"hewenton,moreandmoreamusedwithhisdivination,\"don’taddnowthattheman’sobviouslyGilbertLong——forI won’tbeputoffwithanythingofthesort。Shecollaredhimmuchtoomarkedly。 Therealmanmustbeoneshedoesn’tmarkedlycollar。\" \"ButIthoughtthatwhatyouamomentagomadeoutwasthatshesomarkedlycollarsallofus。\"ThiswasmyimmediatereplytoObert’sblazeofingenuity,butInonethelesssawmorethingsinitthanIcouldreplyto。Isaw,atanyrate,andsawwithrelief,thatifheshouldlookontheprinciplesuggestedtohimbythecaseoftheBrissendens,therewouldbenodangeratallofhisfindingit。If,accordingly,IwasnervousforMrs。Server,allIhadtodowastokeephimonthisfalsescent。Sinceitwasnotshewhowaspaidfor,butshewhopossiblypaid,hisfancymightharmlesslydiverthimtillthepartyshoulddisperse。Atthesametime,inthemidstofthesereflections,thequestionofthe\"change\"inher,whichhewasinsomuchbetterapositionthanItomeasure,couldn’thelphavingformeitsportent,andthesenseofthatwas,nodoubt,inmynextwords。 \"WhatmakesyouthinkthatwhatyouspeakofwaswhatIhadinmyhead?\" \"Well,theway,simply,thattheshoefits。She’sabsolutelynotthesamepersonIpainted。It’sexactlylikeMrs。Brissenden’shavingbeenforyouyesterdaynotthesamepersonyouhadlastseenbearinghername。\" \"Verygood,\"Ireturned,\"thoughIdidn’tintheleastmeantosetyoudiggingsohard。However,digonyourside,byallmeans,whileIdigonmine。AllIaskofyouiscompletediscretion。\" \"Ah,naturally!\" \"Weoughttoremember,\"Ipursued,evenattheriskofshowingastoosententious,\"thatsuccessinsuchaninquirymayperhapsbemoreembarrassingthanfailure。Tonoseaboutforarelationthataladyhasherreasonsforkeepingsecret——\" \"Ismadenotonlyquiteinoffensive,Ihold\"——heimmediatelytookmeup——\"butpositivelyhonourable,bybeingconfinedtopsychologicevidence。\" Iwonderedalittle。\"Honourabletowhom?\" \"Why,totheinvestigator。RestingontheKINDofsignsthatthegametakesaccountofwhenfairlyplayed——restingonpsychologicsignsalone,it’sahighapplicationofintelligence。What’signobleisthedetectiveandthekeyhole。\" \"Isee,\"Iafteramomentadmitted。\"Ididhave,lastnight,myscruples,butyouwarmmeup。YetIconfessalso,\"Istilladded,\"thatifIdomusterthecourageofmycuriosity,it’salittlebecauseIfeelevenyet,asIthinkyoualsomust,altogetherdestituteofamaterialclue。IfIhadamaterialclueIshouldfeelashamed:thefactwouldbedeterrent。Istart,formypart,atanyrate,quiteinthedark——orinadarknesslighted,atbest,bywhatyouhavecalledthetorchofmyanalogy。Theanalogytoo,\" Iwoundup,\"mayverywellbeonlyhalfahelp。ItwaseasytofindpoorBriss,becausepoorBrissishere,andit’salwayseasy,moreover,tofindahusband。ButsayMrs。Server’spoorBriss——orhisequivalent,whoeveritmaybe——ISN’There。\" Wehadbeguntowalkawaywiththis,butmycompanionpulledupatthedooroftheroom。\"I’msureheis。Shetellsmehe’snear。\" \"’Tells’you?\"Ichallengedit,butIuncomfortablyreflectedthatitwasjustwhatIhadmyselftoldMrs。Brissenden。 \"Shewouldn’tbeassheisifheweren’t。Herbeingassheisisthesignofit。Hewasn’tpresent——thatishewasn’tpresentinherlifeatall——whenIpaintedher;andthedifferencewe’reimpressedwithisexactlytheproofthatheisnow。\" Mydifficultyinprofitingbythereliefhehadsounconsciouslyaffordedmeresidedofcourseinmynotfeelingfreetoshowforquiteasimpressedashewas。Ihadn’treallymadeoutatallwhathewasimpressedWITH,andIshouldonlyhavespoiledeverythingbyinvitinghimtobedefinite。 Thiswasalittleofaworry,forIshouldhavelikedtoknow;butontheotherhandIfeltmytrackatpresenteffectuallycovered。\"Well,then,granthe’soneofus。Therearemorethanadozenofus——adozenevenwithyouandmeandBrissendencountedout。Thehitchisthatwe’renowherewithoutaprimarylead。AstoBrissendenthereWASthelead。\" \"Youmeanasaffordedbyhiswife’sbloatedstate,whichwasasignal?\" \"Precisely:forthesearchforsomethingorotherthatwouldhelptoexplainit。Givenhiswife’sbloatedstate,hisownshrunkenonewaswhatwastohavebeenpredicated。Iknewdefinitely,inotherwords,whattolookfor。\" \"Whereaswedon’tknowhere?\" \"Mrs。Server’sstate,unfortunately,\"Ireplied,\"isnotbloated。\" Helaughedatmy\"unfortunately,\"thoughrecognisingthatIspokemerelyfromthepointofviewoflucidity,andpresentlyremarkedthathehadhisownidea。Hedidn’tsaywhatitwas,andIdidn’task,intimatingtherebythatIheldittobeinthismannerwewereplayingthegame;butIindulgentlyquestioneditinthelightofitsnotyethavingassistedhim。Heansweredthattheminuteswehadjustpassedwerewhathadmadethedifference; ithadsprungfromthestrongeffectproducedonhimaftershecameinwithme。\"It’sbutnowIreallyseeher。Shedidandsaidnothingspecial,nothingstrikingorextraordinary;butthatdidn’tmatter——itneverdoes: onesawhowsheis。She’snothingbutTHAT。\" \"Nothingbutwhat?\" \"She’sallinit,\"heinsisted。\"Orit’sallinHER。Itcomestothesamething。\" \"Ofcourseit’sallinher,\"IsaidasimpatientlyasIcould,thoughhisattestation——forIwhollytrustedhisperception——leftmesomuchinhisdebt。\"That’swhatwestartwith,isn’tit?Itleavesusasfaraseverfromwhatwemustarriveat。\" Buthewastoointerestedinhisideatoheedmyquestion。Hewaswrappedinthe\"psychologic\"glow。\"IHAVEher!\" \"Ah,butit’saquestionofhavingHIM!\" HelookedatmeonthisasifIhadbroughthimbacktoameredetail,andafteraninstantthelightwentoutofhisface。\"Soitis。Ileaveittoyou。Idon’tcare。\"Hisdrophadtheusualsuddennessofthedropsoftheartistictemperament。\"Lookforthelastman,\"henevertheless,butwithmoredetachment,added。\"Idaresayitwouldbehe。\" \"Thelast?Inwhatsensethelast?\" \"Well,thelastsortofcreaturewhocouldbebelievedofher。\" \"Oh,\"Irejoinedaswewenton,\"thegreatbartothatisthatsuchasortofcreatureasthelastwon’tBEhere!\" Hehesitated。\"Somuchthebetter。Igivehim,atanyrate,whereverheis,uptoyou。\" \"Thankyou,\"Ireturned,\"forthebeautyofthepresent!Youdosee,then,thatourpsychologicglowdoesn’t,afterall,preventthething——\" \"Frombeingnoneofone’sbusiness?Yes。Poorlittlewoman!\"Heseemedsomehowsatisfied;hethrewitallup。\"Itisn’tanyofone’sbusiness,isit?\" \"Why,that’swhatIwastellingyou,\"Iimpatientlyexclaimed,\"thatifeel!\" Chapter5 THEfirstthingthathappenedtomeafterpartingwithhimwastofindmyselfagainengagedwithMrs。Brissenden,stillfullofthequickconvictionwithwhichIhadlefther。\"ItISshe——quiteunmistakably,youknow。I don’tseehowIcanhavebeensostupidasnottomakeitout。Ihaven’tyourcleverness,ofcourse,tillmynoseisrubbedintoathing。ButwhenitIS——!\"Shecelebratedherhumilityinalaughthatwasproud。\"Thetwoareofftogether。\" \"Offwhere?\" \"Idon’tknowwhere,butIsawthemafewminutesagomostdistinctly’slope。’They’vegoneforaquiet,unwatchedhour,poordears,outintotheparkorthegardens。Whenoneknowsit,it’sallthere。Butwhat’sthatvulgarsong?——’You’vegottoknowitfirst!’Itstrikesme,ifyoudon’tmindmytellingyouso,thatthewayYOUgetholdofthingsispositivelyuncanny。Imeanasregardswhatfirstmarkedherforyou。\" \"But,mydearlady,\"Iprotested,\"nothingatallfirstmarkedherforme。SheISN’Tmarkedforme,firstorlast。Itwasonlyyouwhosojumpedather。\" Myinterlocutressstared,andIhadatthismoment,Iremember,analmostintolerablesenseofherfatuityandcruelty。Theywereallunconscious,buttheywere,atthatstage,nonethelessirritating。Herfinebosomheaved,herblueeyesexpandedwithhersuccessful,hersimplifiedegotism。 Icouldn’t,inshort,Ifound,bearherbeingsokeenaboutMrs。ServerwhileshewassostupidaboutpoorBriss。SheseemedtorecalltomenoblythefactthatSHEhadn’talover。No,shewasonlyeatingpoorBrissupinchbyinch,butshehadn’talover。\"Idon’t,\"Iinsisted,\"seeinMrs。 Serveranyoftherightsigns。\" Shelookedalmostindignant。\"EvenafteryourtellingmethatyouseeinLadyJohnonlythewrongones?\" \"Ah,butthereareotherwomenherethanMrs。ServerandLadyJohn。\" \"Certainly。Butdidn’twe,amomentago,thinkofthemallanddismissthem?IfLadyJohn’soutofthequestion,howcanMrs。ServerpossiblyNOTbeinit?Wewantafool——\" \"Ah,DOwe?\"Iinterruptinglywailed。 \"Why,exactlybyyourowntheory,inwhichyou’vesomuchinterestedme!Itwasyouwhostruckofftheidea。\" \"Thatwewantafool?\"Ifeltmyselfturninggloomyenough。\"Dowereallywantanyoneatall?\" Shegaveme,inmomentarysilence,astrangesmile。\"Ah,youwanttotakeitbacknow?You’resorryyouspoke。Mydearman,youmaybe——\"butthatdidn’thinderthefact,inshort,thatIhadkindlednearmeafine,ifmodestandtimid,intelligence。Theredidremainthetruthofourfriend’sstrikingdevelopment,towhichIhadcalledherattention。Regrettingmyrashnessdidn’tmaketheprodigyless。\"You’llleadmetobelieve,ifyoubackout,thatthere’ssuddenlysomeoneyouwanttoprotect。Weakman,\" sheexclaimedwithanassurancefromwhich,Iconfess,Iwastotakealarm,\"somethinghashappenedtoyousinceweseparated!Weakman,\"sherepeatedwithdreadfulgaiety,\"you’vebeensquared!\" Iliterallyblushedforher。\"Squared\"? \"Doesitinconvenientlyhappenthatyoufindyou’reinlovewithheryourself?\" \"Well,\"Irepliedonquickreflection,\"do,ifyoulike,callitthat; foryouseewhatamotiveitgivesmeforbeing,insuchamatterasthiswonderfulonethatyouandIhappenedtofindourselvesforamomentmakingsofreewith,absolutelysureabouther。IAMabsolutelysure。There!Shewon’tdo。Andforyourpostulatethatshe’satthepresentmomentinsomesequesteredspotinLong’scompany,suffermewithoutdelaytocorrectit。Itwon’tholdwater。Ifyou’llgointothelibrary,throughwhichI havejustpassed,you’llfindherthereinthecompanyoftheComtedeDreuil。\" Mrs。Brissstaredagain。\"Already?SheWAS,atanyrate,withMr。Long,andshetoldmeonmymeetingthemthattheyhadjustcomefromthepastels。\" \"Exactly。TheymettheresheandIhavinggonetogether;andtheyretiredtogetherundermyeyes。Theymusthaveparted,clearly,themomentafter。\" Shetookitallin,turneditallover。\"Thenwhatdoesthatprovebutthatthey’reafraidtobeseen?\" \"Ah,they’reNOTafraid,sincebothyouandIsawthem!\" \"Oh,onlyjustlongenoughforthemtopublishthemselvesasnotavoidingeachother。Allthesame,youknow,\"shesaid,\"theydo。\" \"Doavoideachother?Howisyourbeliefinthat,\"Iasked,\"consistentwithyourbeliefthattheyparadetogetherinthepark?\" \"Theyignoreeachotherinpublic;theyforegatherinprivate。\" \"Ah,buttheyDON’T——since,asItellyou,she’sevenwhilewetalkthecentreofthemysticcircleofthetwaddleofM。deDreuil;chainedtoastakeifyouCANbe。Besides,\"Iwoundup,\"it’snotonlythatshe’snotthe’rightfool’——it’ssimplythatshe’snotafoolatall。Wewantthewomanwhohasbeenrenderedmostinane。Butthisladyhasn’tbeenrenderedsoinanydegree。She’sthereverseofinane。She’sinfullpossession。\" \"Infullpossessionofwhat?\" \"Why,ofherself。\" \"LikeLadyJohn?\" Ihadunfortunatelytodiscriminatehere。\"No,notlikeLadyJohn。\" \"Likewhomthen?\" \"Likeanyone。Likeme;likeyou;likeBrissenden。Don’tIsatisfyyou?\" Iaskedinamoment。 Sheonlylookedatmealittle,handsomeandhard。\"Ifyouwishedtosatisfymesoeasilyyoushouldn’thavemadesuchapointofworkingmeup。IdaresayI,afterall,however,\"sheadded,\"noticemorethingsthanyou。\" \"Asforinstance?\" \"Well,MayServerlastevening。IwasnotquiteconsciousatthetimethatIdid,butwhenonehashadthe’tip’onelooksbackandseesthingsinanewlight。\" ItwasdoubtlessbecausemyfriendirritatedmemoreandmorethatI metthiswithasharpnesspossiblyexcessive。\"She’sperfectlynatural。 WhatIsawwasatest。Andsoishe。\" Butshegavemenoheed。\"Iftherehadn’tbeensomanypeopleIshouldhavenoticedofmyselfafterdinnerthattherewassomethingthematterwithher。Ishouldhaveseenwhatitwas。Shewasallovertheplace。\" Sheexpresseditasthepoorlady’sothercritichaddone,butthisdidn’tshutmymouth。\"Ah,then,inspiteofthepeople,youdidnotice。 Whatdoyoumeanby’allovertheplace’?\" \"Shecouldn’tkeepstill。Shewasdifferentfromthewomanonehadlastseen。Sheusedtobesocalm——asifshewerealwayssittingforherportrait。 Wasn’tsheinfactalwaysbeingpaintedinapinkfrockandonerowofpearls,alwaysstaringoutatyouinexhibitions,asifsheweresaying’Heretheyareagain’?Lastnightshewasontherush。\" \"Therush?Oh!\" \"Yes,positively——fromonemantoanother。Shewasonthepounce。Shetalkedtoteninsuccession,makinguptotheminthemostextraordinarywayandleavingthemstillmorecrazily。She’sasnervousasacat。Putittoanymanhere,andseeifhedoesn’ttellyou。\" \"Ishouldthinkitquiteunpleasanttoputittoanymanhere,\"Ireturned; \"andIshouldhavebeensureyouwouldhavethoughtitthesame。Ispoketoyouinthedeepestconfidence。\" Mrs。Brissenden’slookatmewasforamomentoftheleastaccommodating; thenitchangedtoanintelligentsmile。\"HowyouAREprotectingher!Butdon’tcryout,\"sheadded,\"beforeyou’rehurt。Sinceyourconfidencehasdistinguishedme——thoughIdon’tquiteseewhy——youmaybesureIhaven’tbreathed。SoIallthemoreresentyourmakingmeasceneontheextraordinarygroundthatI’veobservedaswellasyourself。Perhapswhatyoudon’tlikeisthatmyobservationmaybeturnedonyou。Iconfessitis。\" Itwasdifficulttobearbeingputinthewrongbyher,butImadeaneffortthatIbelievewasnotunsuccessfultorecovermygoodhumour。\"It’snotintheleasttoyourobservationthatIobject,it’stotheextravagantinferencesyoudrawfromit。Ofcourse,however,IadmitIalwayswanttoprotecttheinnocent。Whatdoesshegain,onyourtheory,byherrushingandpouncing?HadshepouncedonBrissendenwhenwemethimwithher?Areyousoverysurehehadn’tpouncedonHER?Theyhad,atallevents,tome,quitetheairofpeoplesettled;shewasnot,itwasclear,atthatmomentmeditatingachange。Itwaswe,ifyouremember,whohadabsolutelytopullthemapart。\" \"Isityourideatomakeout,\"Mrs。Brissendeninquiredinanswertothis,\"thatshehassuddenlyhadthehappythoughtofapassionformyhusband?\" Anewpossibility,asshespoke,cametomewithawhirrofwings,andIhalfexpressedit。\"Shemayhaveasympathy。\" Myinterlocutressgazedatspace。\"Youmeanshemaybesorryforhim? Onwhatground?\" Ihadgonetoofarindeed;butIgotoffasIcould。\"Youneglecthimso!Butwhatisshe,atanyrate,\"Iwenton,\"nervous——asnervousasyoudescribeher——ABOUT?\" \"Aboutherdanger;thecontingencyofitsbeingfixeduponthem——anintimacysothoroughgoingthattheycanscarcelyaffordtoletitbeseenevenasamereacquaintance。Thinkofthecircumstances——HERpersonalones,Imean,andadmitthatitwouldn’tdo。Itwouldbetoobadacase。There’severythingtomakeitso。Theymustliveonpinsandneedles。Anythingprovedwouldgotremendouslyhardforher。\" \"Inspiteofwhichyou’resurprisedthatI’protect’her?\" Itwasaquestion,however,thatmycompanioncouldmeet。\"Frompeopleingeneral,no。Frommeinparticular,yes。\" InjusticetoMrs。BrissendenIthoughtamoment。\"Well,then,letusbefairallround。Thatyoudon’t,asyousay,breatheisadiscretionIappreciate;allthemorethatalittleinquiry,tactfullypursued,wouldenableyoutojudgewhetheranyindependentsuspiciondoesattach。AlittleloosecollateralevidenceMIGHTbepickedup;andyourscorningtohandleitisnomorethanIshould,afterall,haveexpectedofyou。\" \"Thankyoufor’afterall’!\"Mycompaniontossedherhead。\"IknowformyselfwhatIscorntohandle。Quiteapartfromthatthere’sanothermatter。 Youmusthavenoticedyourselfthatwhenpeoplearesomuchliked——\" \"There’sakindofgeneral,amiableconsensusofblindness?Yes——onecanthinkofcases。Popularitysheltersandhallows——hastheeffectofmakingagood—naturedworldagreenottosee。\" MyfriendseemedpleasedthatIsosufficientlyunderstood。\"Thisevidentlyhasbeenacasetheninwhichithasnotonlyagreednottosee,butagreednoteventolook。Ithasagreedinfacttolookstraighttheotherway。 Theysaythere’snosmokewithoutfire,butitappearstheremaybefirewithoutsmoke。I’msatisfied,atallevents,thatonewouldn’tinconnectionwiththesetwofindtheleastlittlepuff。Isn’tthatjustwhatmakesthemagnificenceoftheirsuccess——thesuccessthatreducesustoplayingoverthemwithmeremoonshine?\"Shethoughtofit;seemedfairlytoenvyit。 \"I’veneverSEENsuchluck!\" \"ArarecaseofthebeautyofimpunityASimpunity?\"Ilaughed。\"Suchacaseputsapriceonpassionsotherwisetobedeprecated?I’mgladindeedyouadmitwe’re’reduced。’WeAREreduced。ButwhatImeanttosayjustnowwasthatifyou’llcontinuetojoininthegenialconspiracywhileIdothesame——eachofusmakinganexceptiononlyfortheother——I’llpledgemyselfabsolutelytothestraightcourse。IfbeforeweseparateI’veseenreasontochangemymind,I’llloyallyletyouknow。\" \"Whatgoodwillthatdome,\"sheasked,\"ifyouDON’Tchangeyourmind? Youwon’tchangeitifyoushutyoureyestoher。\" \"Ah,IfeelIcan’tdothatnow。IAMinterested。Theproofofthatis,\"Ipursued,\"thatIappealtoyouforanotherimpressionofyourown。 Istilldon’tseethelogicofhergeneralimportunity。\" \"Thelogicissimplythatshehasaterrorofappearingtoencourageanyoneinparticular。\" \"Whythenisn’titinherowninterest,forthesakeofthescreen,justtoDOthat?TheappearanceofsomeoneinparticularwouldbeexactlytheoppositeoftheappearanceofLong。Yourownadmissionisthatthat’sHISlinewithLadyJohn。\" Mrs。Brissendentookherview。\"Oh,shedoesn’twanttodoanythingsoliketherealthing。And,asforwhathedoes,theydon’tfeelinthesameway。He’snotnervous。\" \"Thenwhydoeshegoinforascreen?\" \"Imean\"——shereadilymodifiedit——\"thathe’snotsonervousasMay。 Hehasn’tthesamereasonsforpanic。Amanneverhas。Besides,there’snotsomuchinMr。Longtoshow——\" \"What,bymynotion,hastakenplace?Whynot,ifitwaspreciselybythechangeinhimthatmynotionwasinspired?AnychangeinHERIknowcomparativelylittleabout。\" WehoveredsonearthecaseofMr。andMrs。Brissendenthatitpositivelyexcitedme,andallthemoreforhersustainedunconsciousness。\"Oh,theman’snotawareofhisownchange。Hedoesn’tseeitaswedo。It’salltohisadvantage。\" \"Butweseeittohisadvantage。Howshouldthatprevent?\" \"Weseeittotheadvantageofhismindandhistalk,butnottothatof——\" \"Well,what?\"Ipressedasshepulledup。 Shewasthinkinghowtonamesuchmysteries。\"Hisdelicacy。Hisconsideration。 HisthoughtFORher。Hewouldthinkforherifheweren’tselfish。ButheISselfish——toomuchsotospareher,tobegenerous,torealise。It’sonly,afterall,\"shesagelywenton,feedingmeagain,asIwincedtofeel,withprofundityofmyownsort,\"it’sonlyanexcessivecase,acasethatinhimhappenstoshowaswhatthedoctorscall’fine,’ofwhatgoesonwhenevertwopersonsaresomuchmixedup。Oneofthemalwaysgetsmoreoutofitthantheother。Oneofthem——youknowthesaying——givesthelips,theothergivesthecheek。\" \"It’sthedeepestofalltruths。Yetthecheekprofitstoo,\"Imoreprudentlyargued。 \"Itprofitsmost。Ittakesandkeepsandusesallthelipsgive。Thecheek,accordingly,\"shecontinuedtopointout,\"isMr。Long’s。Thelipsarewhatwebeganbylookingfor。We’vefoundthem。They’redrained——they’redry,thelips。Mr。Longfindshisimprovementnaturalandbeautiful。Herevelsinit。Hetakesitforgranted。He’ssublime。\" Itkeptmeforaminutestaringather。\"So——doyouknow?——areYOU!\" Shereceivedthiswhollyasatributetoheracuteness,andwasthereforeproportionatelygracious。\"That’sonlybecauseit’scatching。You’veMADE mesublime。Youfoundmedense。You’veaffectedmequiteasMrs。ServerhasaffectedMr。Long。Idon’tpretendIshowit,\"sheadded,\"quiteasmuchashedoes。\" \"BecausethatwouldentailMYshowingitasmuchas,byyourcontention,SHEdoes?Well,Iconfess,\"Ideclared,\"Idofeelremarkablylikethatpairoflips。Ifeeldrained——Ifeeldry!\"Heranswertothis,withanothertossofherhead,wasextravagantenoughtomeanforgiveness——wasthatIwasimpertinent,andheractioninsupportofherchargewastomoveawayfromme,takinghercourseagaintotheterrace,easilyaccessiblefromtheroominwhichwehadbeentalking。Shepassedoutofthewindowthatopenedtotheground,andIwatchedherwhile,inthebrighterlight,sheputupherpinkparasol。Shewalkedafewpaces,asiftolookaboutherforachangeofcompany,andbythistimehadreachedaflightofstepsthatdescendedtoalowerlevel。Onobservingthathere,intheacttogodown,shesuddenlypaused,Iknewshehadbeencheckedbysomethingseenbelowandthatthiswaswhatmadeherturnthenextmomenttogivemealook。Itookitasaninvitationtorejoinher,andIperceivedwhenIhaddonesowhathadledhertoappealtome。Wecommandedfromthepointinquestiononeoftheshadyslopesoftheparkandinparticularaspreadingbeech,thetrunkofwhichhadbeeninclosedwitharusticcircularbench,aconveniencethatappearedtohaveoffered,forthemoment,asenseofleafyluxurytoaladyinpaleblue。Sheleanedback,herfigurepresentedinprofileandherheadalittleavertedasiffortalkwithsomeoneontheothersideofher,someonesoplacedastobelosttoourview。 \"There!\"triumphedMrs。Brissendenagain——fortheladywasunmistakablyMrs。Server。Amusementwasinevitable——thefactshowedherassocorrectlydescribedbythewordstowhichIhadtwicehadtolisten。Sheseemedreallyallovertheplace。\"Ithoughtyousaid,\"mycompanionremarked,\"thatyouhadlefthertuckedawaysomewherewithM。deDreuil。\"