Tellmewhy？“
　　“She’sso——so——well，solikeatightplait，“Rachelfloundered。
　　“Ah——Iseewhatyoumean。ButIdon’tagree。Andyouwon’twhenyou’reolder。AtyourageIonlylikedShelley。Icanremembersobbingoverhiminthegarden。
　　Hehasoutsoaredtheshadowofournight，Envyandcalumnyandhateandpain——youremember？
　　CantouchhimnotandtorturenotagainFromthecontagionoftheworld’sslowstain。
　　Howdivine！——andyetwhatnonsense！“Shelookedlightlyroundtheroom。
　　“Ialwaysthinkit’s_living_，notdying，thatcounts。Ireallyrespectsomesnuffyoldstockbrokerwho’sgoneonaddingupcolumnaftercolumnallhisdays，andtrottingbacktohisvillaatBrixtonwithsomeoldpugdogheworships，andadrearylittlewifesittingattheendofthetable，andgoingofftoMargateforafortnight——
　　IassureyouIknowheapslikethat——well，theyseemtome_really_
　　noblerthanpoetswhomeveryoneworships，justbecausethey’regeniusesanddieyoung。ButIdon’texpect_you_toagreewithme！“
　　ShepressedRachel’sshoulder。
　　“Um-m-m——“shewentonquoting——
　　Unrestwhichmenmiscalldelight——
　　“whenyou’remyageyou’llseethattheworldis_crammed_withdelightfulthings。Ithinkyoungpeoplemakesuchamistakeaboutthat——
　　notlettingthemselvesbehappy。Isometimesthinkthathappinessistheonlythingthatcounts。Idon’tknowyouwellenoughtosay，butIshouldguessyoumightbealittleinclinedto——whenone’syoungandattractive——I’mgoingtosayit！——_every_thing’satone’sfeet。“
　　Sheglancedroundasmuchastosay，“notonlyafewstuffybooksandBach。“
　　“Ilongtoaskquestions，“shecontinued。“Youinterestmesomuch。
　　IfI’mimpertinent，youmustjustboxmyears。“
　　“AndI——Iwanttoaskquestions，“saidRachelwithsuchearnestnessthatMrs。Dallowayhadtocheckhersmile。
　　“D’youmindifwewalk？“shesaid。“Theair’ssodelicious。“
　　Shesnuffeditlikearacehorseastheyshutthedoorandstoodondeck。
　　“Isn’titgoodtobealive？“sheexclaimed，anddrewRachel’sarmwithinhers。
　　“Look，look！Howexquisite！“
　　TheshoresofPortugalwerebeginningtolosetheirsubstance；
　　butthelandwasstilltheland，thoughatagreatdistance。
　　Theycoulddistinguishthelittletownsthatweresprinkledinthefoldsofthehills，andthesmokerisingfaintly。Thetownsappearedtobeverysmallincomparisonwiththegreatpurplemountainsbehindthem。
　　“Honestly，though，“saidClarissa，havinglooked，“Idon’tlikeviews。
　　They’retooinhuman。“Theywalkedon。
　　“Howodditis！“shecontinuedimpulsively。“Thistimeyesterdaywe’dnevermet。Iwaspackinginastuffylittleroominthehotel。
　　Weknowabsolutelynothingabouteachother——andyet——IfeelasifI
　　_did_knowyou！“
　　“Youhavechildren——yourhusbandwasinParliament？“
　　“You’veneverbeentoschool，andyoulive——？“
　　“WithmyauntsatRichmond。“
　　“Richmond？“
　　“Yousee，myauntslikethePark。Theylikethequiet。“
　　“Andyoudon’t！Iunderstand！“Clarissalaughed。
　　“IlikewalkingintheParkalone；butnot——withthedogs，“
　　shefinished。
　　“No；andsomepeople_are_dogs；aren’tthey？“saidClarissa，asifshehadguessedasecret。“Butnoteveryone——ohno，noteveryone。“
　　“Noteveryone，“saidRachel，andstopped。
　　“Icanquiteimagineyouwalkingalone，“saidClarissa:“andthinking——
　　inalittleworldofyourown。Buthowyouwillenjoyit——
　　someday！“
　　“Ishallenjoywalkingwithaman——isthatwhatyoumean？“saidRachel，regardingMrs。Dallowaywithherlargeenquiringeyes。
　　“Iwasn’tthinkingofamanparticularly，“saidClarissa。
　　“Butyouwill。“
　　“No。Ishallnevermarry，“Racheldetermined。
　　“Ishouldn’tbesosureofthat，“saidClarissa。HersidelongglancetoldRachelthatshefoundherattractivealthoughshewasinexplicablyamused。
　　“Whydopeoplemarry？“Rachelasked。
　　“That’swhatyou’regoingtofindout，“Clarissalaughed。
　　Rachelfollowedhereyesandfoundthattheyrestedforasecond，ontherobustfigureofRichardDalloway，whowasengagedinstrikingamatchonthesoleofhisboot；whileWilloughbyexpoundedsomething，whichseemedtobeofgreatinteresttothemboth。
　　“There’snothinglikeit，“sheconcluded。“DotellmeabouttheAmbroses。OramIaskingtoomanyquestions？“
　　“Ifindyoueasytotalkto，“saidRachel。
　　TheshortsketchoftheAmbroseswas，however，somewhatperfunctory，andcontainedlittlebutthefactthatMr。Ambrosewasheruncle。
　　“Yourmother’sbrother？“
　　Whenanamehasdroppedoutofuse，thelightesttouchuponittells。
　　Mrs。Dallowaywenton:
　　“Areyoulikeyourmother？“
　　“No；shewasdifferent，“saidRachel。
　　ShewasovercomebyanintensedesiretotellMrs。Dallowaythingsshehadnevertoldanyone——thingsshehadnotrealisedherselfuntilthismoment。
　　“Iamlonely，“shebegan。“Iwant——“Shedidnotknowwhatshewanted，sothatshecouldnotfinishthesentence；butherlipquivered。
　　ButitseemedthatMrs。Dallowaywasabletounderstandwithoutwords。
　　“Iknow，“shesaid，actuallyputtingonearmroundRachel’sshoulder。
　　“WhenIwasyourageIwantedtoo。NooneunderstooduntilI
　　metRichard。HegavemeallIwanted。He’smanandwomanaswell。“
　　HereyesresteduponMr。Dalloway，leaningupontherail，stilltalking。“Don’tthinkIsaythatbecauseI’mhiswife——
　　IseehisfaultsmoreclearlythanIseeanyoneelse’s。Whatonewantsinthepersononeliveswithisthattheyshouldkeeponeatone’sbest。IoftenwonderwhatI’vedonetobesohappy！“
　　sheexclaimed，andatearsliddownhercheek。Shewipeditaway，squeezedRachel’shand，andexclaimed:
　　“Howgoodlifeis！“Atthatmoment，standingoutinthefreshbreeze，withthesunuponthewaves，andMrs。Dalloway’shanduponherarm，itseemedindeedasiflifewhichhadbeenunnamedbeforewasinfinitelywonderful，andtoogoodtobetrue。
　　HereHelenpassedthem，andseeingRachelarm-in-armwithacomparativestranger，lookingexcited，wasamused，butatthesametimeslightlyirritated。ButtheywereimmediatelyjoinedbyRichard，whohadenjoyedaveryinterestingtalkwithWilloughbyandwasinasociablemood。
　　“ObservemyPanama，“hesaid，touchingthebrimofhishat。
　　“Areyouaware，MissVinrace，howmuchcanbedonetoinducefineweatherbyappropriateheaddress？Ihavedeterminedthatitisahotsummerday；Iwarnyouthatnothingyoucansaywillshakeme。
　　ThereforeIamgoingtositdown。Iadviseyoutofollowmyexample。“
　　Threechairsinarowinvitedthemtobeseated。
　　Leaningback，Richardsurveyedthewaves。
　　“That’saveryprettyblue，“hesaid。“Butthere’salittletoomuchofit。Varietyisessentialtoaview。Thus，ifyouhavehillsyououghttohaveariver；ifariver，hills。ThebestviewintheworldinmyopinionisthatfromBoarsHillonafineday——
　　itmustbeafineday，markyou——Arug？——Oh，thankyou，mydear……inthatcaseyouhavealsotheadvantageofassociations——
　　thePast。“
　　“D’youwanttotalk，Dick，orshallIreadaloud？“
　　Clarissahadfetchedabookwiththerugs。
　　“_Persuasion_，“announcedRichard，examiningthevolume。
　　“That’sforMissVinrace，“saidClarissa。“Shecan’tbearourbelovedJane。“
　　“That——ifImaysayso——isbecauseyouhavenotreadher，“saidRichard。
　　“Sheisincomparablythegreatestfemalewriterwepossess。“
　　“Sheisthegreatest，“hecontinued，“andforthisreason:
　　shedoesnotattempttowritelikeaman。Everyotherwomandoes；
　　onthataccount，Idon’tread’em。“
　　“Produceyourinstances，MissVinrace，“hewenton，joininghisfinger-tips。“I’mreadytobeconverted。“
　　Hewaited，whileRachelvainlytriedtovindicatehersexfromtheslightheputuponit。
　　“I’mafraidhe’sright，“saidClarissa。“Hegenerallyis——
　　thewretch！“
　　“Ibrought_Persuasion_，“shewenton，“becauseIthoughtitwasalittlelessthreadbarethantheothers——though，Dick，it’snogood_your_pretendingtoknowJanebyheart，consideringthatshealwayssendsyoutosleep！“
　　“Afterthelaboursoflegislation，Ideservesleep，“saidRichard。
　　“You’renottothinkaboutthoseguns，“saidClarissa，seeingthathiseye，passingoverthewaves，stillsoughtthelandmeditatively，“oraboutnavies，orempires，oranything。“Sosayingsheopenedthebookandbegantoread:
　　“’SirWalterElliott，ofKellynchHall，inSomersetshire，wasamanwho，forhisownamusement，nevertookupanybookbutthe_Baronetage_’——
　　don’tyouknowSirWalter？——’Therehefoundoccupationforanidlehour，andconsolationinadistressedone。’Shedoeswritewell，doesn’tshe？’There——’“Shereadoninalighthumorousvoice。
　　ShewasdeterminedthatSirWaltershouldtakeherhusband’smindoffthegunsofBritain，anddiverthiminanexquisite，quaint，sprightly，andslightlyridiculousworld。Afteratimeitappearedthatthesunwassinkinginthatworld，andthepointsbecomingsofter。Rachellookeduptoseewhatcausedthechange。
　　Richard’seyelidswereclosingandopening；openingandclosing。
　　Aloudnasalbreathannouncedthathenolongerconsideredappearances，thathewassoundasleep。
　　“Triumph！“Clarissawhisperedattheendofasentence。Suddenlysheraisedherhandinprotest。Asailorhesitated；shegavethebooktoRachel，andsteppedlightlytotakethemessage——“Mr。Gricewishedtoknowifitwasconvenient，“etc。Shefollowedhim。
　　Ridley，whohadprowledunheeded，startedforward，stopped，and，withagestureofdisgust，strodeofftohisstudy。ThesleepingpoliticianwasleftinRachel’scharge。Shereadasentence，andtookalookathim。Insleephelookedlikeacoathangingattheendofabed；therewereallthewrinkles，andthesleevesandtrouserskepttheirshapethoughnolongerfilledoutbylegsandarms。Youcanthenbestjudgetheageandstateofthecoat。
　　Shelookedhimalloveruntilitseemedtoherthathemustprotest。
　　Hewasamanoffortyperhaps；andheretherewerelinesroundhiseyes，andtherecuriouscleftsinhischeeks。Slightlybatteredheappeared，butdoggedandintheprimeoflife。
　　“Sistersandadormouseandsomecanaries，“Rachelmurmured，nevertakinghereyesoffhim。“Iwonder，Iwonder“sheceased，herchinuponherhand，stilllookingathim。Abellchimedbehindthem，andRichardraisedhishead。Thenheopenedhiseyeswhichworeforasecondthequeerlookofashortsightedperson’swhosespectaclesarelost。Ittookhimamomenttorecoverfromtheimproprietyofhavingsnored，andpossiblygrunted，beforeayounglady。Towakeandfindoneselfleftalonewithonewasalsoslightlydisconcerting。
　　“IsupposeI’vebeendozing，“hesaid。“What’shappenedtoeveryone？Clarissa？“
　　“Mrs。DallowayhasgonetolookatMr。Grice’sfish，“Rachelreplied。
　　“Imighthaveguessed，“saidRichard。“It’sacommonoccurrence。
　　Andhowhaveyouimprovedtheshininghour？Haveyoubecomeaconvert？“
　　“Idon’tthinkI’vereadaline，“saidRachel。
　　“That’swhatIalwaysfind。Therearetoomanythingstolookat。
　　Ifindnatureverystimulatingmyself。Mybestideashavecometomeoutofdoors。“
　　“Whenyouwerewalking？“
　　“Walking——riding——yachting——IsupposethemostmomentousconversationsofmylifetookplacewhileperambulatingthegreatcourtatTrinity。
　　Iwasatbothuniversities。Itwasafadofmyfather’s。Hethoughtitbroadeningtothemind。IthinkIagreewithhim。Icanremember——
　　whatanageagoitseems！——settlingthebasisofafuturestatewiththepresentSecretaryforIndia。Wethoughtourselvesverywise。
　　I’mnotsureweweren’t。Wewerehappy，MissVinrace，andwewereyoung——
　　giftswhichmakeforwisdom。“