“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。