Themorningwashot，andtheexerciseofreadinglefthermindcontractingandexpandinglikethemain-springofaclock，andthesmallnoisesofmidday，whichonecanascribetonodefinitecause，inaregularrhythm。Itwasallveryreal，verybig，veryimpersonal，andafteramomentortwoshebegantoraiseherfirstfingerandtoletitfallonthearmofherchairsoastobringbacktoherselfsomeconsciousnessofherownexistence。
　　Shewasnextovercomebytheunspeakablequeernessofthefactthatsheshouldbesittinginanarm-chair，inthemorning，inthemiddleoftheworld。Whowerethepeoplemovinginthehouse——
　　movingthingsfromoneplacetoanother？Andlife，whatwasthat？
　　Itwasonlyalightpassingoverthesurfaceandvanishing，asintimeshewouldvanish，thoughthefurnitureintheroomwouldremain。Herdissolutionbecamesocompletethatshecouldnotraiseherfingeranymore，andsatperfectlystill，listeningandlookingalwaysatthesamespot。Itbecamestrangerandstranger。Shewasovercomewithawethatthingsshouldexistatall……Sheforgotthatshehadanyfingerstoraise……Thethingsthatexistedweresoimmenseandsodesolate……Shecontinuedtobeconsciousofthesevastmassesofsubstanceforalongstretchoftime，theclockstilltickinginthemidstoftheuniversalsilence。
　　“Comein，“shesaidmechanically，forastringinherbrainseemedtobepulledbyapersistentknockingatthedoor。Withgreatslownessthedooropenedandatallhumanbeingcametowardsher，holdingoutherarmandsaying:
　　“WhatamItosaytothis？“
　　TheutterabsurdityofawomancomingintoaroomwithapieceofpaperinherhandamazedRachel。
　　“Idon’tknowwhattoanswer，orwhoTerenceHewetis，“Helencontinued，inthetonelessvoiceofaghost。SheputapaperbeforeRachelonwhichwerewrittentheincrediblewords:
　　DEARMRS。AMBROSE——IamgettingupapicnicfornextFriday，whenweproposetostartateleven-thirtyiftheweatherisfine，andtomaketheascentofMonteRosa。Itwilltakesometime，buttheviewshouldbemagnificent。ItwouldgivemegreatpleasureifyouandMissVinracewouldconsenttobeoftheparty——
　　Yourssincerely，TERENCEHEWET
　　Rachelreadthewordsaloudtomakeherselfbelieveinthem。
　　ForthesamereasonsheputherhandonHelen’sshoulder。
　　“Books——books——books，“saidHelen，inherabsent-mindedway。
　　“Morenewbooks——Iwonderwhatyoufindinthem……“
　　ForthesecondtimeRachelreadtheletter，buttoherself。
　　Thistime，insteadofseemingvagueasghosts，eachwordwasastonishinglyprominent；theycameoutasthetopsofmountainscomethroughamist。_Friday_——_eleven-thirty_——_Miss__Vinrace_。
　　Thebloodbegantoruninherveins；shefelthereyesbrighten。
　　“Wemustgo，“shesaid，rathersurprisingHelenbyherdecision。
　　“Wemustcertainlygo“——suchwasthereliefoffindingthatthingsstillhappened，andindeedtheyappearedthebrighterforthemistsurroundingthem。
　　“MonteRosa——that’sthemountainoverthere，isn’tit？“saidHelen；
　　“butHewet——who’she？OneoftheyoungmenRidleymet，Isuppose。
　　ShallIsayyes，then？Itmaybedreadfullydull。“
　　Shetooktheletterbackandwent，forthemessengerwaswaitingforheranswer。
　　ThepartywhichhadbeensuggestedafewnightsagoinMr。Hirst’sbedroomhadtakenshapeandwasthesourceofgreatsatisfactiontoMr。Hewet，whohadseldomusedhispracticalabilities，andwaspleasedtofindthemequaltothestrain。Hisinvitationshadbeenuniversallyaccepted，whichwasthemoreencouragingastheyhadbeenissuedagainstHirst’sadvicetopeoplewhowereverydull，notatallsuitedtoeachother，andsurenottocome。
　　“Undoubtedly，“hesaid，ashetwirledanduntwirledanotesignedHelenAmbrose，“thegiftsneededtomakeagreatcommanderhavebeenabsurdlyoverrated。Abouthalftheintellectualeffortwhichisneededtoreviewabookofmodernpoetryhasenabledmetogettogethersevenoreightpeople，ofoppositesexes，atthesamespotatthesamehouronthesameday。Whatelseisgeneralship，Hirst？WhatmoredidWellingtondoonthefieldofWaterloo？It’slikecountingthenumberofpebblesofapath，tediousbutnotdifficult。“
　　Hewassittinginhisbedroom，onelegoverthearmofthechair，andHirstwaswritingaletteropposite。Hirstwasquicktopointoutthatallthedifficultiesremained。
　　“Forinstance，herearetwowomenyou’veneverseen。Supposeoneofthemsuffersfrommountain-sickness，asmysisterdoes，andtheother——“
　　“Oh，thewomenareforyou，“Hewetinterrupted。“Iaskedthemsolelyforyourbenefit。Whatyouwant，Hirst，youknow，isthesocietyofyoungwomenofyourownage。Youdon’tknowhowtogetonwithwomen，whichisagreatdefect，consideringthathalftheworldconsistsofwomen。“
　　Hirstgroanedthathewasquiteawareofthat。
　　ButHewet’scomplacencywasalittlechilledashewalkedwithHirsttotheplacewhereageneralmeetinghadbeenappointed。
　　Hewonderedwhyonearthhehadaskedthesepeople，andwhatonereallyexpectedtogetfrombunchinghumanbeingsuptogether。
　　“Cows，“hereflected，“drawtogetherinafield；shipsinacalm；
　　andwe’rejustthesamewhenwe’venothingelsetodo。Butwhydowedoit？——isittopreventourselvesfromseeingtothebottomofthings“
　　hestoppedbyastreamandbeganstirringitwithhiswalking-stickandcloudingthewaterwithmud，“makingcitiesandmountainsandwholeuniversesoutofnothing，ordowereallyloveeachother，ordowe，ontheotherhand，liveinastateofperpetualuncertainty，knowingnothing，leapingfrommomenttomomentasfromworldtoworld？——
　　whichis，onthewhole，theview_I_inclineto。“
　　Hejumpedoverthestream；Hirstwentroundandjoinedhim，remarkingthathehadlongceasedtolookforthereasonofanyhumanaction。
　　Halfamilefurther，theycametoagroupofplanetreesandthesalmon-pinkfarmhousestandingbythestreamwhichhadbeenchosenasmeeting-place。Itwasashadyspot，lyingconvenientlyjustwherethehillsprungoutfromtheflat。Betweenthethinstemsoftheplanetreestheyoungmencouldseelittleknotsofdonkeyspasturing，andatallwomanrubbingthenoseofoneofthem，whileanotherwomanwaskneelingbythestreamlappingwateroutofherpalms。
　　Astheyenteredtheshadyplace，Helenlookedupandthenheldoutherhand。
　　“Imustintroducemyself，“shesaid。“IamMrs。Ambrose。“
　　Havingshakenhands，shesaid，“That’smyniece。“
　　Rachelapproachedawkwardly。Sheheldoutherhand，butwithdrewit。
　　“It’sallwet，“shesaid。
　　Scarcelyhadtheyspoken，whenthefirstcarriagedrewup。
　　Thedonkeyswerequicklyjerkedintoattention，andthesecondcarriagearrived。Bydegreesthegrovefilledwithpeople——
　　theElliots，theThornburys，Mr。VenningandSusan，MissAllan，EvelynMurgatroyd，andMr。Perrott。Mr。Hirstactedthepartofhoarseenergeticsheep-dog。BymeansofafewwordsofcausticLatinhehadtheanimalsmarshalled，andbyincliningasharpshoulderheliftedtheladies。“WhatHewetfailstounderstand，“heremarked，“isthatwemustbreakthebackoftheascentbeforemidday。“
　　Hewasassistingayounglady，bynameEvelynMurgatroyd，ashespoke。
　　Sheroselightasabubbletoherseat。Withafeatherdroopingfromabroad-brimmedhat，inwhitefromtoptotoe，shelookedlikeagallantladyofthetimeofCharlestheFirstleadingroyalisttroopsintoaction。
　　“Ridewithme，“shecommanded；and，assoonasHirsthadswunghimselfacrossamule，thetwostarted，leadingthecavalcade。
　　“You’renottocallmeMissMurgatroyd。Ihateit，“shesaid。
　　“Myname’sEvelyn。What’syours？“
　　“St。John，“hesaid。
　　“Ilikethat，“saidEvelyn。“Andwhat’syourfriend’sname？“
　　“HisinitialsbeingR。S。T。，wecallhimMonk，“saidHirst。
　　“Oh，you’realltooclever，“shesaid。“Whichway？“Pickmeabranch。
　　Let’scanter。“
　　Shegaveherdonkeyasharpcutwithaswitchandstartedforward。
　　ThefullandromanticcareerofEvelynMurgatroydisbesthitoffbyherownwords，“CallmeEvelynandI’llcallyouSt。John。“
　　Shesaidthatonveryslightprovocation——hersurnamewasenough——
　　butalthoughagreatmanyyoungmenhadansweredheralreadywithconsiderablespiritshewentonsayingitandmakingchoiceofnone。Butherdonkeystumbledtoajog-trot，andshehadtorideinadvancealone，forthepathwhenitbegantoascendoneofthespinesofthehillbecamenarrowandscatteredwithstones。
　　Thecavalcadewoundonlikeajointedcaterpillar，tuftedwiththewhiteparasolsoftheladies，andthepanamahatsofthegentlemen。
　　Atonepointwherethegroundrosesharply，EvelynM。jumpedoff，threwherreinstothenativeboy，andadjuredSt。JohnHirsttodismounttoo。Theirexamplewasfollowedbythosewhofelttheneedofstretching。
　　“Idon’tseeanyneedtogetoff，“saidMissAllantoMrs。Elliotjustbehindher，“consideringthedifficultyIhadgettingon。“
　　“Theselittledonkeysstandanything，_n’est-ce__pas_？“
　　Mrs。Elliotaddressedtheguide，whoobliginglybowedhishead。
　　“Flowers，“saidHelen，stoopingtopickthelovelylittlebrightflowerswhichgrewseparatelyhereandthere。“Youpinchtheirleavesandthentheysmell，“shesaid，layingoneonMissAllan’sknee。
　　“Haven’twemetbefore？“askedMissAllan，lookingather。
　　“Iwastakingitforgranted，“Helenlaughed，forintheconfusionofmeetingtheyhadnotbeenintroduced。
　　“Howsensible！“chirpedMrs。Elliot。“That’sjustwhatonewouldalwayslike——onlyunfortunatelyit’snotpossible。““Notpossible？“
　　saidHelen。“Everything’spossible。Whoknowswhatmayn’thappenbeforenight-fall？“shecontinued，mockingthepoorlady’stimidity，whodependedimplicitlyupononethingfollowinganotherthatthemereglimpseofaworldwheredinnercouldbedisregarded，orthetablemovedoneinchfromitsaccustomedplace，filledherwithfearsforherownstability。
　　Higherandhighertheywent，becomingseparatedfromtheworld。
　　Theworld，whentheyturnedtolookback，flatteneditselfout，andwasmarkedwithsquaresofthingreenandgrey。
　　“Townsareverysmall，“Rachelremarked，obscuringthewholeofSantaMarinaanditssuburbswithonehand。Theseafilledinalltheanglesofthecoastsmoothly，breakinginawhitefrill，andhereandthereshipsweresetfirmlyintheblue。Theseawasstainedwithpurpleandgreenblots，andtherewasaglitteringlineupontherimwhereitmetthesky。Theairwasveryclearandsilentsaveforthesharpnoiseofgrasshoppersandthehumofbees，whichsoundedloudintheearastheyshotpastandvanished。
　　Thepartyhaltedandsatforatimeinaquarryonthehillside。
　　“Amazinglyclear，“exclaimedSt。John，identifyingonecleftinthelandafteranother。
　　EvelynM。satbesidehim，proppingherchinonherhand。
　　Shesurveyedtheviewwithacertainlookoftriumph。
　　“D’youthinkGaribaldiwaseveruphere？“sheaskedMr。Hirst。
　　Oh，ifshehadbeenhisbride！If，insteadofapicnicparty，thiswasapartyofpatriots，andshe，red-shirtedliketherest，hadlainamonggrimmen，flatontheturf，aiminghergunatthewhiteturretsbeneaththem，screeninghereyestopiercethroughthesmoke！
　　Sothinking，herfootstirredrestlessly，andsheexclaimed:
　　“Idon’tcallthis_life_，doyou？“
　　“Whatdoyoucalllife？“saidSt。John。
　　“Fighting——revolution，“shesaid，stillgazingatthedoomedcity。
　　“Youonlycareforbooks，Iknow。“
　　“You’requitewrong，“saidSt。John。
　　“Explain，“sheurged，fortherewerenogunstobeaimedatbodies，andsheturnedtoanotherkindofwarfare。
　　“WhatdoIcarefor？People，“hesaid。
　　“Well，I_am_surprised！“sheexclaimed。“Youlooksoawfullyserious。
　　Dolet’sbefriendsandtelleachotherwhatwe’relike。Ihatebeingcautious，don’tyou？“
　　ButSt。Johnwasdecidedlycautious，asshecouldseebythesuddenconstrictionofhislips，andhadnointentionofrevealinghissoultoayounglady。“Theassiseatingmyhat，“heremarked，andstretchedoutforitinsteadofansweringher。EvelynblushedveryslightlyandthenturnedwithsomeimpetuosityuponMr。Perrott，andwhentheymountedagainitwasMr。Perrottwholiftedhertoherseat。
　　“Whenonehaslaidtheeggsoneeatstheomelette，“saidHughlingElliot，exquisitelyinFrench，ahinttotherestofthemthatitwastimetorideonagain。