Myeyeshadbeenmeetingherswithout，asitwere，hersquitemeetingmine。Butatthistherehadtobeintercourse。\"Bymyhusband。\"
ItpulledMEupatrifle。\"Brissendenknows？\"
Shehesitated；then，asifatmytone，gavealaugh。\"Don’tyousupposeI’vetoldhim？\"
Ireallycouldn’tbutadmireher。\"Ah——soyouHAVEtalked！\"
Itdidn’tconfoundher。\"One’shusbandisn’ttalk。You’recruelmoreover，\"
shecontinued，\"tomyjoke。ItwasBriss，poordear，whotalked——though，Imean，onlytome。HEknows。\"
Icastabout。\"Sincewhen？\"
Butshehaditready。\"Sincethisevening。\"
OncemoreIcouldn’tbutsmile。\"Justintimethen！AndtheWAYheknows——？\"
\"Oh，theway！\"——shehadatthisaslightdrop。Butshecameupagain。
\"Itakehisword。\"
\"Youhaven’tthenaskedhim？\"
\"Thebeautyofitwas——halfanhourago，upstairs——thatIHADN’Ttoask。Hecameoutwithithimself，andTHAT——togiveyouthewholething——was，ifyoulike，mymoment。Hedroppeditonme，\"shecontinuedtoexplain，\"withoutintheleast，sweetinnocent，knowingwhathewasdoing；more，atleast，thatis，thangiveheraway。\"
\"Which，\"Iconcurred，\"wascomparativelynothing！\"
Butshehadnoearforirony，andshemadeoutstillmoreofherstory。
\"He’ssimple——buthesees。\"
\"Andwhenhesees\"——Icompletedthepicture——\"heluckilytells。\"
Shequiteagreedwithmethatitwaslucky，butwithoutprejudicetohisacutenessandtowhathadbeeninhimmoreoveranaturalrevulsion。
\"Hehasseen，inshort；therecomessomechancewhenonedoes。His，asluckilyasyouplease，camethisevening。IfyouaskmewhatitshowedhimyouaskmorethanI’VEeithercaredorhadtimetoask。Doyouconsider，forthatmatter\"——sheputittome——\"thatonedoesask？\"Asherhighsmoothness——suchwasthewonderofthisreascendancy——almostdeprivedmeofmymeans，shewaswiseandgentlewithme。\"Letusleaveitalone。\"
Ifairly，whilemylookatherturnedrueful，scratchedmyhead。\"Don’tyouthinkitalittlelateforthat？\"
\"Lateforeverything！\"sheimpatientlysaid。\"Butthereyouare。\"
Ifixedthefloor。ThereindeedIwas。ButItriedtostaythere——justthereonly——asshortatimeaspossible。Something，moreover，afterall，caughtmeup。\"ButifBrissendenalreadyknew——？\"
\"Ifheknew？\"Shestillgaveme，withoutprejudicetoheringenuity——andindeeditwasapartofthis——alltheworkshecould。
\"Why，thatLongandLadyJohnwerethick？\"
\"Ah，then，\"shecried，\"youadmittheyARE！\"
\"AmInotadmittingeverythingyoutellme？ButthemoreIadmit，\"I
explained，\"themoreImustunderstand。It’sTOadmit，yousee，thatI
inquire。IfBrisscamedownwithLadyJohnyesterdaytoobligeMr。Long——\"
\"Hedidn’tcome，\"sheinterrupted，\"toobligeMr。Long！\"
\"Well，then，toobligeLadyJohnherself——\"
\"Hedidn’tcometoobligeLadyJohnherself！\"
\"Well，then，toobligehiscleverwife——\"
\"Hedidn’tcometoobligehiscleverwife！Hecame，\"saidMrs。Briss，\"justtoamusehimself。HeHAShisamusements，andit’sodd，\"sheremarkablylaughed，\"thatyoushouldgrudgethemtohim！\"
\"ItwouldbeoddindeedifIdid！Butputhisproceeding，\"Icontinued，\"onanygroundyoulike；youdescribedtomethepurposeofitasascreeningofthepair。\"
\"Idescribedtoyouthepurposeofitasnothingofthesort。Ididn’tdescribetoyouthepurposeofit，\"saidMrs。Briss，\"atall。Idescribedtoyou，\"shetriumphantlysetforth，\"theEFFECTofit——whichisaverydifferentthing。\"
Icouldonlymeetherwithadmiration。\"You’reofanastuteness——！\"
\"OfcourseI’mofanastuteness！ISEEeffects。AndIsawthatone。
HowmuchBrisshimselfhadseenitis，asI’vetoldyou，anothermatter；
andwhathehad，atanyrate，quitetakentheaffairforwasthesortofflirtationinwhich，ifoneisafriendtoeitherparty，andone’sownfeelingsarenotatstake，onemaynowandthengivepeoplealift。Haven’tIaskedyoubefore，\"shedemanded，\"ifyousupposehewouldhavegivenonehadhehadanideawherethesepeopleARE？\"
\"Iscarceknowwhatyouhaveaskedmebefore！\"Isighed；\"and’wheretheyare’isjustwhatyouhaven’ttoldme。\"
\"It’swheremyhusbandwassoannoyedunmistakablytodiscoverthem。\"
Andasifshehadquitefixedthepointshepassedtoanother。\"He’speculiar，dearoldBriss，butinawaybywhich，ifoneuseshim——bywhich，Imean，ifonedependsonhim——atall，onegains，Ithink，morethanoneloses。
Uptoacertainpoint，inanycasethat’stheleastacaseforsubtlety，heseesnothingatall；butbeyondit——whenoncehedoeswakeup——he’llgothroughahouse。Nothingthenescapeshim，andwhathedragstolightissometimesappalling。\"
\"Rather，\"Ithoughtfullyresponded——\"sincewitnessthisoccasion！\"
\"Butisn’ttheinterestofthisoccasion，asI’vealreadysuggested，\"
shepropounded，\"simplythatitmakesanend，burstsabubble，ridsusofanincubusandpermitsustogotobedinpeace？IthankGod，\"shemoralised，\"fordearoldBrissto—night。\"
\"SodoI，\"Iafteramomentreturned；\"butIshalldosowithstillgreaterfervourifyou’llhaveforthespaceofanotherquestionastillgreaterpatience。\"Withwhich，asafinalmovementfromherseemedtosayhowmuchthiswastoask，IhadonmyownsideacertainexasperationofsorenessforallIhadtoacknowledge——evenwereitmereacknowledgment——thatshehadbroughtrattlingdown。\"Remember，\"Ipleaded，\"thatyou’recostingmeaperfectpalaceofthought！\"
Icouldseetoothat，heldunexpectedlybysomethinginmytone，shereallytookitin。Couldn’tIevenalmostseethat，foranoddinstant，sheregrettedtheblightedpleasureofthepursuitoftruthwithme？I
needed，atallevents，nobetterproofeitherofthesweetorofthebitterinhercomprehensionthantheaccentwithwhichshereplied：\"Oh，thosewholiveinglasshouses——\"
\"Shouldn’t——no，Iknowtheyshouldn’t——throwstones；andthat’spreciselywhyIdon’t。\"Ihadtakenherimmediatelyup，andIheldherbyitandbysomethingbetterstill。\"You，fromyourfortressofgranite，canchuckthemaboutasyouwill！Allthemorereason，however，\"Iquicklyadded，\"that，beforemyfrail，but，asImaintain，quitesublimestructure，youhonourme，forafewseconds，withanintelligentlookatit。Iseemmyselftoseeitagain，perfectineverypart，\"Ipursued，\"evenwhileIthusspeaktoyou，andtofeelafreshthat，weren’tthewretchedaccidentofitsweakfoundation，itwouldn’thavetheshadowofaflaw。I’vespokenofitinmyconceivableregret，\"Iconceded，\"asalreadyamereheapofdisfiguredfragments；butthatwastheextravaganceofmyvexation，mydespair。It’sinpointoffactsobeautifullyfittedthatitcomesapartpiecebypiece——which，sofarasthatgoes，you’veseenitdointhelastquarterofanhouratyourowntouch，quitehandingmethepieces，onebyone，yourselfandwatchingmestackthemalongtheground。They’renoteveninthisstate——see！\"Iwoundup——\"apileofruins！\"Iwoundup，asIsay，butonlyforlongenoughtohave，withthevibration，theexaltation，ofmyeloquence，mysmalltriumphasagainsthergreatone。\"Ishouldalmostlike，piecebypiece，tohandthembacktoyou。\"AndthistimeIcompletedmyfigure。\"Ibelievethat，fortheverycharmofit，you’dfindyourselfplacingthembyyourownsenseintheirorderandrearingoncemorethesplendidpile。WillyoutakejustONEofthemfrommeagain，\"Iinsisted，\"andletmeseeifonlytohaveitinyourhandsdoesn’tpositivelystartyouoff？That’swhatImeantjustnowbyaskingyouforanotheranswer。\"
Shehadremainedsilent，asifreallyinthepresenceoftherisingmagnificenceofmymetaphor，anditwasnottoolatefortheonechanceleftme。\"Therewasnothing，youknow，IhadsofittedasyouraccountofpoorMrs。Serverwhen，onourseeingthem，fromtheterrace，togetherbelow，youstruckoffyourexplanationthatoldBrisswasHERscreenforLong。\"
\"Fitted？\"——andtherewassincerityinhersurprise。\"Ithoughtmystupidideatheoneforwhichyouhadexactlynouse！\"
\"Ihadnouse，\"Iinstantlyconcurred，\"foryourstupididea，butI
hadgreatuseforyourstupidly，alas！havingit。THATfittedbeautifully，\"
Ismiled，\"tillthepiececameout。Andevennow，\"Iadded，\"Idon’tfeelitquiteaccountedfor。\"
\"Theirbeingtheretogether？\"
\"No。Yournotlikingitthattheywere。\"
Shestared。\"Notlikingit？\"
Icouldseehowlittleindeedshemindednow，butIalsokeptthethreadofmyownintellectualhistory。\"Yes。YournotlikingitiswhatIspeakofasthepiece。Iholdit，yousee，upbeforeyou。What，artistically，wouldyoudowithit？\"
Butonemighttakeahorsetowater——！Ihelditupbeforeher，butIcouldn’tmakeherlookatit。\"HowdoyouknowwhatImayn’t，ormay，haveliked？\"
Itdidbringmeto。\"Becauseyouwereconsciousofnottellingme？Well，evenifyoudidn’t——！\"
\"Thatmadenodifference，\"sheinquiredwithagenerousderision，\"becauseyoucouldalwaysimagine？Ofcourseyoucouldalwaysimagine——whichispreciselywhatisthematterwithyou！ButI’msurprisedatyourcomingtomewithitoncemoreasevidenceofanything。\"
Istoodrebuked，andevenmoresothanIshowedher，forsheneed，obviously，onlydeclinetotakeoneofmycounterstodepriveitofallvalueascoin。
WhenshepusheditacrossIhadbuttopocketitagain。\"ItIStheweaknessofmycase，\"IfeeblyandIdaresayawkwardlymusedather，\"thatanyparticularthingyoudon’tgrantmebecomesstraightwaythestrengthofyours。Ofcourse，however\"——andIgavemyselfashake——\"I’mabsolutelyrejoicing（amInot？）inthestrengthofyours。Theweaknessofmyowniswhat，underyourinstruction，I’mnowgoinginto；butdon’tyouseehowmuchweakeritwillshowifIdrawfromyouthefullexpressionofyourindifference？
HowCOULDyouinfactcarewhenwhatyouwereattheverymomenturgingonmesohardwastheextravaganceofMrs。Server’sconduct？Thatextravagancethenprovedher，toyoureyes，thewomanwhohadaconnectionwithLongtokeeptheworldoffthescentof——thoughyoumaintainedthatinspiteofthedustshekickedupbyitshewas，atapinch，nowandthentobecaughtwithhim。ThatinsteadofbeingcaughtwithhimshewascaughtonlywithBrissendenannoyedyounaturallyforthemoment；butwhatwasthatannoyancecomparedtoyourappreciationofhershowing——byundertakingyourhusband，ofallpeople！——justthemoremarkedlyASextravagant？\"
Shehadbeensufficientlyinterestedthistimetofollowme。\"Whatwasitindeed？\"
Igreetedheracquiescence，butIinsisted。\"Andyetifsheisextravagant——whatdoyoudowithit？\"
\"Ithoughtyouwouldn’thearofit！\"sheexclaimed。
Isoughttocombinefirmnesswithmymildness。\"Whatdoyoudowithit？\"
Butshecouldmatchmeatthis。\"Ithoughtyouwouldn’thearofit！\"
\"It’snotaquestionofmydispositions。It’saquestionofherhavingbeen，ornotbeen，foryou’allovertheplace，’andofeveryone’salsobeing，foryou，onthechatteraboutit。YougobythatinrespecttoLong——byyourholding，thatis，thatnothinghasbeennoticed；thereforemustn’tyougobyitinrespecttoHER——sinceIunderstandfromyouthateverythinghas？\"
\"Everythingalwaysis，\"Mrs。Brissagreeablyreplied，\"inaplaceandapartylikethis；butsolittle——anythinginparticular——that，withpeoplemoving’everywhich’way，itcomestothesameasifnothingwas。Thingsarenot，also，gougedouttoYOURtune，anditdepends，stillfurther，onwhatyoumeanby’extravagant。\"’
\"Imeanwhateveryouyourselfmeant。\"
\"Well，Imyselfmeannolonger，youknow，whatIdidmean。\"
\"Sheisn’tthen——？\"
Butsuddenlyshewasalmostsharpwithme。\"Isn’twhat？\"
\"Whatthewomanwesoearnestlylookedforwouldhavetobe。\"
\"Allgone？\"Shehadhesitated，butshewentonwithdecision。\"No，sheisn’tallgone，sincetherewasenoughofherlefttomakeuptopoorBriss。\"
\"Precisely——andit’sjustwhatwesaw，andjustwhat，withherotherdashesofthesamesort，ledustohavetofacethequestionofherbeing——well，whatIsay。Orrather，\"Iadded，\"whatYOUsay。Thatis，\"Iamended，tokeepperfectlystraight，\"whatyousayyouDON’Tsay。\"
Itookindeedtoomanyprecautionsformyfriendnottohavetolookatthem。\"Extravagant？\"Theirritationofthewordhadgrownforher，yetIriskedrepeatingit，andwiththeeffectofitsgivingheranotherpause。
\"ItellyousheISN’Tthat！\"
\"Exactly；andit’sonlytoaskyouwhatintheworldthensheIS。\"
\"She’shorrid！\"saidMrs。Briss。
\"’Horrid’？\"Igloomilyechoed。
\"Horrid。Itwasn’t，\"shethendevelopedwithdecision，\"a’dash，’asyousay，’ofthesamesort’——thoughgoodnessknowsofwhatsortyoumean：
itwasn’t，tobeplain，a’dash’atall。\"MycompanionWASplain。\"Shesettled。Shestuck。\"Andfinally，asIcouldbutechoheragain：\"Shemadelovetohim。\"
\"But——a——really？\"
\"Really。That’showIknew。\"
Iwasatsea。\"’Knew’？Butyousaw。\"
\"Iknew——thatisIlearnt——morethanIsaw。Iknewshecouldn’tbegone。\"
Itinfactbroughtlight。\"KnewitbyHIM？\"
\"Hetoldme，\"saidMrs。Briss。
Itbroughtlight，butitbroughtalso，Ifear，forme，anotherqueergrimace。\"Doeshethenregularlytell？\"
\"Regularly。Butwhathetells，\"shedidherselfthejusticetodeclare，\"isnotalwayssomuchtothepointasthetwothingsI’verepeatedtoyou。\"
TheirweightthensuggestedthatIshouldhavethemoveragain。\"Hisrevelation，inthefirstplace，ofLongandLadyJohn？\"
\"Andhisrevelationinthesecond\"——shespokeofitasabroadjoke——\"ofMayServerandhimself。\"
Therewassomethinginherjokethatwasachilltomymind；butIneverthelessplayedup。\"Andwhatdoeshesaythat’sfurtherinterestingaboutTHAT？\"
\"Why，thatshe’sawfullysharp。\"
Igasped——sheturneditoutso。\"SHE——Mrs。Server？\"
Itmadeher，however，equallystare。\"Why，isn’tittheverythingyoumaintained？\"
Ifeltherdreadfullogic，butIcouldn’t——withmyexquisiteimageallcontrasted，asinaflashfromflint，withthismonstrosity——somuchasentertainherquestion。Icouldonlystupidlyagainsoundit。\"Awfullysharp？\"
\"Youafterallthennowdon’t？\"Itwassheherselfwhomthewordsatpresentdescribed！\"ThenwhatonearthDOyouthink？\"Thestrangemixtureinmyfacenaturallymadeheraskit，buteverything，withinaminute，hadsomehowsogivenwayunderthetouchofhersupremeassurance，thepresentationofherownnowfinishedsystem，thatIdaresayIcouldn’tatthemomenthaveintheleasttrustedmyselftotellher。Sheleftme，however，infact，smalltime——sheonlytookenough，withhernegationsarrayedandherinsolencerecaptured，tojudgemeafresh，whichshedidasshegatheredherselfupintothestrengthoftwenty—five。Ididn’tafterall——itappearedpartofmysmash——knowtheweightofherhusband’syears，butIknewtheweightofmyown。Theymighthavebeenathousand，andnothingbutthesenseofthemwouldinamoment，Isaw，beleftme。\"Mypoordear，youAREcrazy，andIbidyougood—night！\"
Nothingbutthesenseofthem——onmytakingitfromherwithoutasoundandwatchingher，throughthelightedrooms，retreatanddisappear——WAS
atfirstleftme；butafteraminutesomethingelsecame，andIgrewconsciousthatherverdictlingered。Shehadsohadthelastwordthat，togetoutofitsplantedpresence，Ishookmyself，asIhaddonebefore，frommythought。WhenonceIhadstartedtomyroomindeed——andtopreparationforalivelierstartassoonasthehouseshouldstiragain——Ialmostbreathlesslyhurried。Suchalastword——thewordthatputmealtogethernowhere——wastoounacceptablenottoprescribeafreshthatprompttestofescapetootherairforwhichIhadearlierintheeveningseensomuchreason。I
SHOULDcertainlyneveragain，onthespot，quitehangtogether，eventhoughitwasn’treallythatIhadn’tthreetimeshermethod。WhatItoofatallylackedwashertone。
