"Buthehasn't。Richardhasn'ttoldmeanything。"
　　"Ethel！Thenwhatisthematter？"
　　"Itoldhimsomething。ItoldhimthatifitwasgoingtobeanystoryaboutaboutsomethingIshouldn'tlike，Ishouldsimplyfollowitwithastoryabouthimthathewouldn'tlike。"
　　"Ethel！Youdarling！"
　　"Oh，yes，andIsaidIwassureyouwouldalllisten，eventhoughIwasnotanauthormyself。AndIhaveitready，youknow，andit'sawfullylikeRichard，onlyadifferentsideofhimfromtheburglarone。"
　　"But，mydear，whatdidhedowhenyou"
　　Thisenquirywas，however，cutshortbytheentranceofthemen。AndfromtheglancethatcamefromRichard'seyesastheyimmediatelysoughtouthiswife，Mrs。DavenportknewthathecouldnothavedoneanythingveryseveretoEthelwhenshemadethatthreattohimduringtheirdrive。
　　Richardatoncemadehiswaytotheeasy-chairarrangedeachnightinagoodpositionforthenarratoroftheevening，andbaptised"TheSingstool"byMr。Graves。Mr。GraveswasanardentWagnerian，andespeciallydevotedtoTheMastersingersofNuremberg。
　　"Shallwehave，"hewhisperedtoMr。Hillard，"aBeckmesserfiascoto-night，orwillitbeaWaltersuccess？"
　　ButMr。Hillard，besidesbeinganauthorandacritic，caredlittleforthetooliteraryclevernessofMr。Graves。Hethereforeheavilycrushedthatgentleman'sallusiontoWagner'sopera。"Iremember，"hesaid，"thesingingcontestbetweenBeckmesserandWalter，andIdoubtifwearetobeafflictedwithanythingsodullinthishouse。"
　　Richardhadsettledhimselfintheeasy-chair，andwaslookingthoughtfullyatvariousobjectsintheroom，whilethesmall-talkwassubsidingaroundhim。
　　"Why，Mr。Field，"saidMrs。Davenport，"youlookasifyoucouldfindnothingtosuggestyourstorytoyou。"
　　"Onthecontrary，"saidRichard，"itisthenumberofthingsthatsuggestit。Thisnewspaperhere，thathasarrivedsinceIwaslastintheroom，hasacolumnwhichremindsmeveryforciblyoftheexperiencethatIhaveselectedtotellyou。ButIthinkthemostappropriateofallisthatpicture。"Hepointedtothelargestpictureonthewall。"'BreakingHomeTies'isitstitle，Irememberverywell。ItisareplicaoftheoriginalthatdrewsuchcrowdsintheArtBuildingattheWorld'sFair。"
　　WhileRichardwassayingthis，hiswifehadpossessedherselfofthenewspaper，andhenowobservedhoweagerlyshewasscanningitspages。
　　"Itisthefinancialcolumn，Ethel，thatrecallsmystory。"
　　Ethel，afterahopelessglanceatthis，resumedherseatnearthesofabyMrs。Davenport。
　　"Thereweremanypaintings，"continuedRichard，"inthatArtBuilding，ofmeritincomparablygreaterthan'BreakingHomeTies'；andyetthecrowdneverlookedatthose，becauseitdidnotunderstandthem。Butatanyhouroftheday，ifyouhappenedtopassthispicture，ittookyousometimetodoso。YoucouldpassanyofJohnSargeant'spictures，forinstance，ataspeedlimitedonlybyyourownpowersofrunning；butyoucouldneverrunpast'BreakingHomeTies。'Youhadtoworkyourwaythroughthecrowdinfrontofthatjustasyouhavetodoatafire，oranewsofficeduringafootballgame。TheAmericanpeoplecouldnevergetenoughofthatmotherkissingherboygoodbye，whilethewagonwaitsattheopendoortotakehimawayfromheruponhisfirstjourneyintotheworld。Theideaheldadailypathosforthem。Manyhadthemselvesbeenthroughsuchleavetakings；andnowordsostirsthegeneralheartastheword'mother'。Songwritersknowthis；andtheartistknewitwhenhedecidedtopaint'BreakingHomeTies。'And'Mother'isthetitleofmystoryto-night。"
　　"Mother！"ThiswasEthel'sbewilderedecho，"WhoseMother？"shesoftlymurmuredtoherself。
　　Richardcontinued。"ItconcernsthecircumstancesunderwhichIbecameengagedtomywife。"
　　TherewasamovementfromEthelasshesatbythesofa。
　　"Notallthecircumstances，ofcourse，"thenarratorcontinued，withacertainguardedcandourinhistone。"Therearecertaincircumstanceswhichnaturallyattendeveryengagementbetweenhappyandanddevoted
　　youngpeoplethattheykeeptothemselvesquitecarefully，inspiteofthefactthatanyonewhohasbeenthroughtheexperienceofbeingengagedtwoorthreetimes"
　　TherewasanothermovementfromEthelbythesofa。
　　"orevenonlyonce，asismycase，"thenarratorwenton，"anybody，I
　　say，whohasbeenthroughtheexperienceofbeingengagedonlyonce，canformaverycorrectideaofthecircumstancesthatattendthehappyengagementsofallyoungpeople。Iimaginetheyprevailinallcountries，justasthefeelingabout'mother'prevails。Yes，'Mother'istherighttitleformystory，asyoushallsee。Isitnotstrangethatifyouadd'in-law'totheword'mother，'howimmediatelythesentimentofthetermisaltered？asstronglyindeedaswhenyouprefixtheword'step'toit。
　　Butitiswithneitherofthesecompositeformsofmotherthatanystorydeals。
　　"EthelhasalwaysmaintainedthatifIhadreallyunderstoodher，itneverwouldhavehappened。Shesays"
　　"Richard，I"
　　"Mydear，youshalltellyourstoryafterwards，andIpromisetolistenwithoutaworduntilyouarefinished。Mrs。FieldsaysthatifIhadunderstoodhernatureasamanoughttounderstandthegirlhehasbeenthinkingaboutforseveralyears，Ishouldhaveknownshecarednothingaboutmyincome。"
　　"Ididn'tcare！I'dhave"butMr。Fieldcheckedheroutburst。
　　"Shewasgoingtosay，"saidMr。Field，"thathadIaskedhertomarrymewhenIbecamesurethatIwishedtomarryher，shewouldhavebeenwillingtoleaveNewYorkandgotothewastelandinMichiganthatwasherinheritancefromagrandfather，andtherebuildacabinandliveinitwithme；andthatwhileIshotprairiechickensfordinnershewouldhavemilkedthecowwhichsomememberofthefamilywouldhavebeenwillingtogiveusasaweddingpresentinsteadofastatueoftheWingedVictory，orsilverspoonsandforks，hadwesodesired。"
　　Richardmadeapausehere，andlookedathiswifeasifheexpectedhertocorrecthim。ButEthelwasplainlysatisfiedwithhisstatement，andhethereforecontinued。
　　"Ithinkitisidealwhenagirlisreadytodosomuchasthatforaman。ButIshouldnotthinkitidealinamantoallowthegirlhelovedtodoitforhim。NordidIthenknowanythingaboutthelandsinMichiganthoughthiswouldhavemadenodifference。Ethelhadbeenaccustomedtoahouseseveralstorieshigh，withhotandcoldwaterinmostofthem，andsomebodytoanswerthedoor-bell。"
　　"Thedoor-bell！"exclaimedEthel。"Icouldhavegonewithouthearingthat。"
　　"Yes，Ethel，onlytohearthewelkinringwouldhavebeenenoughforyou。