"Not,Itrust,"Ireturned,"ofany’lie’their’soulhathspoken!’
  Butnotoneofthemlingers?"
  Heseemedtowonder。"’Lingers?’Forwhat?"
  "Oh,Idon’tknow——inthishouse!"
  Helookedatourlongvista,stilllighted——appearedtofeelwithmeourliberalease,whichimpliedthatunseenpowerswaitedonourgoodpleasureandsatupforus。Thereisnothinglikeitinfact,theliberaleaseatNewmarch。YetObertremindedme——ifIneededthereminder——thatImustn’tafterallpresumeonit。"WasoneofthemtolingerforYOU?"
  "Well,sinceyouaskme,itwaswhatIhoped。Butsinceyouanswerforitthatmyhopehasnotbeenmet,Ibowtoasuperiorpropriety。"
  "Youmeanyou’llcomeandsmokewithme?Dothencome。"
  "What,ifIdo,"Iaskedwithanidea,"willyougiveme?"
  "I’mafraidIcanpromiseyounothingmorethatidealinthanabadcigarette。"
  "Andwhatthen,"Iwenton,"willyoutakefromme?"
  Hehadmetmyeyes,andnowlookedatmealittlewithasmilethatIthoughtjustconscious。"Well,I’mafraidICAN’Ttakeanymore——"
  "Ofthesortofstuff,"Ilaughed,"you’vealreadyhad?Sorrystuff,perhaps——apoorthingbutmineown!Suchasitis,Ionlyasktokeepitformyself,andthatisn’twhatImeant。Imeantwhatflowerwillyougather,whathavocwillyouplay——?"
  "Well?"hesaidasIhesitated。
  "AmongsuperstitionsthatI,afterall,cherish。Monsiegeestfait——agreatglitteringcrystalpalace。Howmanypaneswillyourewardmeforamiablysittingupwithyoubysmashing?"
  Itmighthavebeenmymerefancy——butitWASmyfancy——thathelookedatmeatrifleharder。"HowonearthcanItellwhatyou’retalkingabout?"
  Iwaitedamoment,thenwenton:"Didyouhappentocountthem?"
  "Countwhom?"
  "Why,theladiesastheyfiledup。Wasthenumberthere?"
  Hegaveajerkofimpatience。"Goandseeforyourself!"
  OncemoreIjustwaited。"ButsupposeIshouldfindMrs。Server?"
  "Prowlingthereonthechanceofyou?Well——Ithoughtshewaswhatyouwanted。"
  "Then,"Ireturned,"youCOULDtellwhatIwastalkingabout!"Foramomentafterthiswefacedeachotherwithoutmorespeech,butIpresentlycontinued:"Youdidn’treallynoticeifanyladystayedbehind?"
  "Ithinkyouasktoomuchofme,"heatlastbroughtout。"Takecareofyourladies,mydearman,yourself!Go,"herepeated,"andsee。"
  "Certainly——it’sbetter;butI’llrejoinyouinthreeminutes。"Andwhilehewenthiswaytothesmoking—roomIproceededwithoutmoredelaytoassuremyself,performingintheoppositesensethejourneyIhadmadetenminutesbefore。ItwasextraordinarywhatthesightofLongaloneintheouterdarknesshaddoneforme:myexpressionofitwouldhavebeenthatithadputme"on"againatthemomentofmydecidedlyfeelingmyselfoff。IbelievedthatifIhadn’tseenhimIcouldnowhavegonetobedwithoutseeingMrs。Briss;butmyrenewedimpressionhadsuddenlymadethedifference。Ifthatwasthewayhestruckme,howmightnot,ifIcouldgetather,she?Andshemight,afterall,intheprivacyatlastofferedusbyemptyrooms,bewaitingforme。Iwentthroughthemall,however,onlytofindthememptyindeed。InconformitywiththelargeallowancesofeverysortthatwerethelawofNewmarch,theywerestillopenandlighted,sothatifIhadbelievedinMrs。Briss’sreappearanceImightconveniently,onthespot,havegivenherfiveminutesmore。Iamnotsure,forthatmatter,thatIdidn’t。IrememberatleastwonderingifImightn’tringsomewhereforaservantandcauseaquestiontobesentuptoher。Ididn’tring,butImusthavelingeredalittleonthechanceofthearrivalofservantstoextinguishlightsandseethehousesafe。Theyhadnotarrived,however,bythetimeIagainfeltthatImustgiveup。
  Chapter11
  Igaveupbygoing,decidedly,tothesmoking—room,whereseveralmenhadgatheredandwhereObert,alittleapartfromthem,wasincharmedcommunionwiththebookshelves。Theyarewonderful,everywhere,atNewmarch,thebookshelves,butheputavolumebackashesawmecomein,andamomentlater,whenwewereseated,Isaidtohimagain,asarecallofourpreviouspassage,"ThenyouCOULDtellwhatIwastalkingabout!"AndIadded,tocompletemyreference,"SinceyouthoughtMrs。Serverwasthepersonwhom,whenIstoppedyou,IwassorrytolearnfromyouIhadmissed。"
  HismomentarysilenceappearedtoadmittheconnectionIestablished。
  "ThenyoufindyouHAVEmissedher?Shewasn’tthereforyou?"
  "There’snoone’thereforme’;sothatIfearthatifyouweren’t,asithappens,hereforme,myamusementwouldbequiteatanend。Ihad,infact,"Icontinued,"alreadygivenitupaslostwhenIcameuponyou,awhilesince,inconversationwiththeladywe’venamed。Atthat,Iconfess,myprospectsgavesomethingofaflare。IsaidtomyselfthatsinceYOUR
  interesthadn’tthenwhollydropped,why,evenattheworst,shouldmine?
  YoursWASmine,wasn’tit?foralittle,thismorning。Orwasitminethatwasyours?Weexchanged,atanyrate,somelivelyimpressions。Only,beforewehaddone,youreffortdroppedoryourdiscretionintervened:yougaveup,asnoneofyourbusiness,thequestionthathadsuddenlytemptedus。"
  "Andyougaveituptoo,"saidmyfriend。
  "Yes,anditwasontheideathatitwasmineaslittleasyoursthatweseparated。"
  "Wellthen?"Hekepthiseyes,withhisheadthrownback,onthewarmbindings,admirableforoldgiltandoldcolour,thatcoveredtheoppositewall。
  "Wellthen,ifI’vecorrectlygatheredthatyou’re,inspiteofourcommonrenunciation,stillinterested,IconfesstoyouthatIam。Itookmydetachmenttoosoonforgranted。Ihaven’tbeendetached。I’mnot,hangme!detachednow。Andit’sallbecauseyouwereoriginallysosuggestive。"
  "Originally?"
  "Why,fromthemomentwemethereyesterday——themomentofmyfirstseeingyouwithMrs。Server。Thelookyougavemethenwasreallythebeginningofeverything。Everything"——andIspokenowwithrealconviction——"wastraceablytospringfromit。"
  "Whatdoyoumean,"heasked,"byeverything?"
  "Well,thisfailureofdetachment。Whatyousaidtomeasweweregoingupyesterdayafternoontodress——whatyousaidtomethenisresponsibleforit。Andsinceitcomestothat,"Ipursued,"Imakeoutformyselfnowthatyou’renotdetachedeither——unless,thatis,simplydetachedfromME。IhadindeedasuspicionofthatasIpassedthroughtheroomthere。"
  Hesmokedthroughanotherpause。"You’veextraordinarynotionsofresponsibility。"
  Iwatchedhimamoment,butheonlystaredatthebookswithoutlookinground。Somethinginhisvoicehadmadememorecertain,andmycertaintymademelaugh。"IseeyouAREserious!"
  Buthewentonquietlyenough。"You’veextraordinarynotionsofresponsibility。
  Idenyaltogethermine。"
  "YouAREserious——youARE!"IrepeatedwithagaietythatImeantasinoffensiveandthatIbelieveremainedso。"Butnomatter。You’renoworsethanI。"
  "I’mclearly,byyourownstory,nothalfsobad。But,asyousay,nomatter。Idon’tcare。"
  Iventuredtokeepitup。"Oh,don’tyou?"
  Hisgoodnaturewasproof。"Idon’tcare。"
  "Thenwhydidn’tyousomuchaslookatmeawhileago?"
  "Didn’tIlookatyou?"
  "Youknowperfectlyyoudidn’t。Mrs。Serverdid——withherunutterableintensity;makingmefeelafresh,bytheway,thatI’veneverseenawomancompromiseherselfsolittlebyproceedingssocompromising。Butthoughyousawherintensity,itneverdivertedyouforaninstantfromyourown。"
  Helightedbeforeheansweredthisafreshcigarette。"Amanengagedintalkwithacharmingwomanscarcelyselectsthatoccasionforwinkingatsomebodyelse。"
  "YoumeanhecontentshimselfwithwinkingatHER?Mydearfellow,thatwasn’tenoughforyouyesterday,anditwouldn’thavebeenenoughforyouthismorning,amongtheimpressionsthatledtoourlasttalk。Itwasjustthefactthatyoudidwink,thatyouHADwinked,atmethatwoundmeup。"
  "AndwhataboutthefactthatyouhadwinkedatME?YOURwinks——come"——Obertlaughed——"areportentous!"
  "Oh,ifwerecriminate,"Icheerfullysaidafteramoment,"weagree。"
  "I’mnotsosure,"hereturned,"thatweagree。"
  "Ah,then,ifwedifferit’sstillmoreinteresting。Because,youknow,wedidn’tdiffereitheryesterdayorthismorning。"
  Withouthurryorflurry,butwithadecentconfusion,histhoughtswentback。"Ithoughtyousaidjustnowwedid——recognising,asyouought,thatyouwerekeenaboutachaseofwhichIwashedmyhands。"
  "No——Iwasn’tkeen。You’vejustmentionedthatyouremembermygivingup。Iwashedmyhandstoo。"
  Itseemedtoleavehimwiththemoralofthis。"Then,ifourhandsareclean,whatarewetalkingabout?"
  Iturned,onit,alittlemoretohim,andlookedathimsolongthathehadatlasttolookatme;withwhich,afterholdinghiseyesanothermoment,Imademypoint。"Ourhandsarenotclean。"
  "Ah,speakforyourown!"——andashemovedbackImightreallyhavethoughthimuneasy。Therewasahintofthesamenoteinthewayhewenton:"IassureyouIdeclineallresponsibility。Iseetheresponsibilityasquitebeautifullyyours。"
  "Well,"Isaid,"Ionlywanttobefair。Youwerethefirsttobringitoutthatshewaschanged。"
  "Well,sheisn’tchanged!"saidmyfriendwithanalmoststartlingeffect,forme,ofsuddenness。"Orrather,"heimmediatelyandincongruouslyadded,"sheIS。She’schangedback。"
  "’Back’?"Itmademestare。
  "Back,"herepeatedwithacertainsharpnessandasiftohavedoneatlast,forhimself,withthemuddleofit。
  Buttherewasthatinmethatcouldlethimseehehadfarfromdone;
  andsomething,aboveall,toldmenowthatheabsolutelymustn’thavebeforeIhad。IquicklymoreoversawthatImust,withanart,makehimwantnotto。"Backtowhatshewaswhenyoupaintedher?"
  Hehadtothinkaninstantforthis。"No——notquitetothat。"
  "Towhatthen?"
  Hetriedinamannertoobligeme。"Tosomethingelse。"
  Itseemedso,formythought,thegleamofsomethingthatfitted,thatIwasalmostafraidofquenchingthegleambypressure。ImustthengeteverythingIcouldfromhimwithoutaskingtoomuch。"Youdon’tquiteknowtoWHATelse?"
  "No——Idon’tquiteknow。"Buttherewasasoundinit,thistime,thatItookasthehintofawishtoknow——almostarecognitionthatImighthelphim。
  IhelpedhimaccordinglyasIcouldand,Imayadd,asfarasthepositiveflutterhehadstirredinmesuffered。Itfitted——itfitted!"Ifherchangeistosomethingother,Isupposethenachangebackisnotquitetheexactnameforit。"
  "Perhapsnot。"Ifairlythrilledathistakingthesuggestionasifitwereanassistance。"Sheisn’tatanyratewhatIthoughtheryesterday。"
  Itwasamazingintowhatdepthsthisdroppedformeandwithwhatpossibilitiesitmingled。"Irememberwhatyousaidofheryesterday。"
  IdrewhimonsothatIbroughtbackforhimtheverywordshehadused。
  "Shewassobeastlyunhappy。"Andheusedthemnowvisiblynotasaremembranceofwhathehadsaid,butforthecontrastofthefactwithwhatheatpresentperceived;sothatthevaluethisgaveformetowhatheatpresentperceivedwasimmense。
  "Anddoyoumeanthatthat’sgone?"
  Hehungfire,however,alittleastosayingsomuchwhathemeant,andwhilehewaitedheagainlookedatme。"WhatdoYOUmean?Don’tyouthinksoyourself?"
  Ilaidmyhandonhisarmandheldhimamomentwithagripthatbetrayed,Idaresay,theeffortinmetokeepmythoughtstogetherandlosenotathread。Itbetrayedatonce,doubtless,thedangerofthatfailureandthesharpforetasteofsuccess。Irememberthatwithit,absolutely,I
  struckmyselfasknowingagainthejoyoftheintellectualmasteryofthingsunamenable,thatjoyofdetermining,almostofcreatingresults,whichIhavealreadymentionedasanexhilarationattachedtosomeofmyplungesofinsight。"ItwouldtakelongtotellyouwhatImean。"
  ThetoneofitmadehimfairlywatchmeasIhadbeenwatchinghim。
  "Well,haven’twegotthewholenight?"
  "Oh,itwouldtakemorethanthewholenight——evenifwehadit!"
  "Bywhichyousuggestthatwehaven’tit?"
  "No——wehaven’tit。Iwanttogetaway。"
  "Togotobed?Ithoughtyouweresokeen。"
  "IAMkeen。Keenisnowordforit。Idon’twanttogotobed。Iwanttogetaway。"
  "Toleavethehouse——inthemiddleofthenight?"
  "Yes——absurdasitmayseem。Youexcitemetoomuch。Youdon’tknowwhatyoudotome。"
  Hecontinuedtolookatme;thenhegavealaughwhichwasnotthecontradiction,butquitetheattestation,oftheeffectproducedonhimbymygrip。IfIhadwantedtoholdhimIheldhim。ItonlycametomeeventhatIheldhimtoomuch。Ifeltthisinfactwiththenextthinghesaid。"Ifyou’retooexcited,then,tobecoherentnow,willyoutellmeto—morrow?"
  Itooktimemyselfnowtorelight。Ridiculousasitmaysound,Ihadmynervestosteady;whichisaproof,surely,thatforrealexcitementtherearenosuchadventuresasintellectualones。"Oh,tomorrowIshallbeoffinspace!"
  "Certainlyweshallneitherofusbehere。Butcan’twearrange,say,tomeetintown,oreventogouptogetherinsuchconditionsaswillenableustotalk?"
  Ipattedhisarmagain。"Thankyouforyourpatience。It’sreallygoodofyou。WhoknowsifIshallbealiveto—morrow?WeAREmeeting。Wedotalk。"
  ButwithallIhadtothinkofImusthavefallen,onthis,intothedeepestofsilences,forthenextthingIrememberishisreturning:"Wedon’t!"Irepeatedmygestureofreassurance,IconveyedthatIshouldbewithhimagaininaminute,andpresently,whilehegavemetime,hecamebacktosomethingofhisown。"Mywink,atallevents,wouldhavebeennothingforanyquestionbetweenus,asI’vejustsaid,withoutyours。
  That’swhatIcallyourresponsibility。Itwas,asweputthematter,thetorchofyouranalogy——"
  "Oh,thetorchofmyanalogy!"
  Ihadsogroanedit——asifforveryecstasy——thatitpulledhimup,andIcouldseehiscuriosityasindeedreaffected。Buthewentonwithacoherencythatsomewhatadmonishedme:"Itwasyourmakingme,asItoldyouthismorning,thinkoverwhatyouhadsaidaboutBrissendenandhiswife:itwasTHAT——"
  "Thatmadeyouthinkover"——Itookhimstraightup——"whatyouyourselfhadsaidaboutourtroubledlady?Yes,precisely。ThatWASthetorchofmyanalogy。WhatIshowedyouintheonecaseseemedtotellyouwhattolookforintheother。Youthoughtitover。IaccuseyouofnothingworsethanofHAVINGthoughtitover。Butyouseewhatthinkingitoverdoesforit。"
  ThewayIsaidthisappearedtoamusehim。"IseewhatitdoesforYOU!"
  "No,youdon’t!Notatallyet。That’sjusttheembarrassment。"
  "Justwhose?"IfIhadthankedhimforhispatienceheshowedthathedeservedit。"Justyours?"
  "Well,saymine。Butwhenyoudo——!"AndIpausedasfortherichpromiseofit。
  "WhenIdoseewhereyouare,youmean?"
  "TheonlydifficultyiswhetheryouCANsee。Butwemusttry。You’vesetmewhirlinground,butwemustgostepbystep。Oh,butit’sallinyourgerm!"——Ikeptthatup。"Ifsheisn’tnowbeastlyunhappy"
  "She’sbeastlyhappy?"hebrokein,gettingfirmerhold,ifnotoftherealimpressionhehadjustbeengatheringundermyeyes,thenatleastofsomethinghehadbeguntomakeoutthatmyargumentrequired。"Well,thatISthewayIseeherdifference。Herdifference,Imean,"headded,inhisevidentwishtoworkwithme,"herdifferencefromherotherdifference!
  There!"Helaughedasif,also,hehadfoundhimselffairlyfantastic。
  "Isn’tTHATclearforyou?"
  "CrystallineforME。Butthat’sbecauseIknowwhy。"
  Icanseeagainnowthelonglookthat,onthis,hegaveme。Imadeoutalreadymuchofwhatwasinit。"SothendoI!"
  "Buthowintheworld?Iknow,formyself,HOWIknow。"
  "SothendoI,"heafteramomentrepeated。
  "Andcanyoutellme?"
  "Certainly。ButwhatI’vealreadynamedtoyou——thetorchofyouranalogy。"
  Iturnedthisover。"You’vemadeevidentlyanadmirableuseofit。Butthewonderfulthingisthatyouseemtohavedonesowithouthavingalltheelements。"
  Heonhissideconsidered。"Whatdoyoucallalltheelements?"
  "Oh,itwouldtakemelongtotellyou!"Icouldn’thelplaughingatthecomparativesimplicitywithwhichheaskedit。"That’sthesortofthingwejustnowspokeoftakingadayfor。Atanyrate,suchastheyare,theseelements,"Iwenton,"Ibelievemyselfpracticallyinpossessionofthem。ButwhatIdon’tquiteseeishowyoucanbe。"
  Well,hewasabletotellme。"Whyintheworldshouldn’tyouranalogyhaveputme?"Hespokewithgaiety,butwithlucidity。"I’mnotanidioteither。"
  "Isee。"Buttherewassomuch!
  "DidyouthinkIWAS?"heamiablyasked。
  "No。Isee,"Irepeated。YetIdidn’t,really,fully;whichhepresentlyperceived。
  "YoumademethinkofyourviewoftheBrissendenpairtillIcouldthinkofnothingelse。"
  "Yes——yes,"Isaid。"Goon。"
  "Well,asyouhadplantedthetheoryinme,itbegantobearfruit。
  Ibegantowatchthem。Icontinuedtowatchthem。Ididnothingbutwatchthem。"
  Thesuddenloweringofhisvoiceinthisconfession——asifithadrepresentedasortofdarkeningofhisconsciousness——againamusedme。"Youtoo?Howthenwe’vebeenoccupied!ForI,yousee,havewatched——orhad,untilI
  foundyoujustnowwithMrs。Servereveryone,everythingBUTyou。"
  "Oh,I’vewatchedYOU,"saidFordObertasifhehadthenperhapsafteralltheadvantageofme。"IadmitthatImadeyououtformyselftobebackonthescent;forIthoughtImadeyououtbaffled。"
  TolearnwhetherIreallyhadbeenwas,Isaw,whathewouldmosthaveliked;butIalsosawthathehad,astothis,ascrupleaboutaskingme。
  WhatImostsaw,however,wasthattotellhimIshouldhavetounderstand。
  "Whatscentdoyoualludeto?"
  HesmiledasifImighthavefanciedIcouldfence。"Why,thepursuitoftheidentificationthat’snoneofourbusiness——theidentificationofherlover。"
  "Ah,it’sastothat,"Iinstantlyreplied,"you’vejudgedmebaffled?
  I’mafraid,"Ialmostasquicklyadded,"thatImustadmitIHAVEbeen。
  Luckily,atallevents,itISnoneofourbusiness。"
  "Yes,"saidmyfriend,amusedonhisside,"nothing’sourbusinessthatwecan’tfindout。Isawyouhadn’tfoundhim。Andwhat,"Obertcontinued,"doeshematternow?"
  Ittookbutamomenttoplacemeforseeingthatmycompanion’sconvictiononthispointwasaconvictiondecidedlytorespect;andeventhatamountofhesitationwasbuttheresultofmywonderinghowhehadreachedit。
  "What,indeed?"Ipromptlyreplied。"ButhowdidyouseeIhadfailed?"
  "ByseeingthatImyselfhad。ForI’vebeenlookingtoo。Heisn’there,"
  saidFordObert。
  DelightedasIwasthatheshouldbelieveit,Iwasyetstruckbythecomplacencyofhisconfidence,whichconnecteditselfagainwithmyobservationoftheirsorecentcolloquy。"Oh,foryoutobesosure,hasMrs。Serversquaredyou?"
  "IShehere?"heforallanswertothisinsistentlyasked。
  Ifalteredbutaninstant。"No;heisn’there。It’snothankstoone’sscruples,butperhapsit’sluckyforone’smanners。Ispeakatleastformine。Ifyou’vewatched,"Ipursued,"you’vedoubtlesssufficientlyseenwhathasalreadybecomeofmine。Heisn’there,atallevents,"Irepeated,"andwemustdowithouthisidentity。What,infact,areweshowingeachother,"Iasked,"butthatweHAVEdonewithoutit?"
  "ihave!"myfrienddeclaredwithsupremefranknessandwithsomethingofthenote,asIwasobligedtorecognise,ofmyownconstructivejoy。
  "I’vedoneperfectlywithoutit。"
  Isawinfactthathehad,anditstruckmereallyaswonderful。ButIcontrolledtheexpressionofmywonder。"Sothatifyouspokethereforejustnowofwatchingthem——"
  "Imeantofcourse"——hetookitstraightup——"watchingtheBrissendens。
  Andnaturally,aboveall,"heasquicklysubjoined,"thewife。"
  Iwasnowfullofconcurrence。"Ah,naturally,aboveall,thewife。"
  Sofaraswasrequireditencouragedhim。"Awoman’sloverdoesn’tmatter——doesn’tmatteratleasttoanyonebuthimself,doesn’tmattertoyouortomeortoher——whenonceshehasgivenhimup。"
  Itmademe,thistestimonyofhisobservation,show,inspiteofmyhavingbythistimesocountedonit,somethingofthevivacityofmyemotion。
  "SheHASgivenhimup?"
  Butthesurprisewithwhichhelookedroundputmebackonmyguard。
  "Ofwhatelsethenarewetalking?"
  "Ofnothingelse,ofcourse,"Istammered。"Butthewayyousee——!"
  Ifoundmyrefugeinthegaspofmyadmiration。
  "Idosee。But"——heWOULDcomebacktothat——"onlythroughyourhavingseenfirst。Yougavemethepieces。I’vebutputthemtogether。YougavemetheBrissendens——boundhandandfoot;andI’vebutmadethem,inthatsorrystate,pullmethrough。I’veblownonmytorch,inotherwords,till,flaringandsmoking,ithasguidedme,throughamagnificentchiaroscuroofcolourandshadow,outintothelightofday。"
  Iwasreallydazzledbyhisimage,foritrepresentedhispersonalwork。
  "You’vedonemorethanI,itstrikesme——andwithlesstodoitwith。IfIgaveyoutheBrissendensIgaveyouallIhad。"
  "Butallyouhadwasimmense,mydearman。TheBrissendensareimmense。"
  "OfcoursetheBrissendensareimmense!Iftheyhadn’tbeenimmensetheywouldn’thavebeen——NOTHINGwouldhavebeen——anything。"Thenafterapause,"Yourimageissplendid,"Iwenton——"yourbeingoutofthecave。
  Butwhatisitexactly,"Iinsidiouslythrewout,"thatyouCALLthe’lightofday’?"
  Iremainedamoment,however,notsurewhetherIhadbeentoosubtleortoosimple。Hehadanotherofhiscautions。"WhatdoYOU——?"
  ButIwasdeterminedtomakehimgiveitmeallhimself,foritwasfrommynotpromptinghimthatitsvaluewouldcome。"Youtellme,"Iaccordinglyrathercrudelypleaded,"first。"
  ItgaveusamomentduringwhichhesolookedasifIaskedtoomuch,thatIhadafearoflosingall。Heevenspokewithsomeimpatience。"Ifyoureallyhaven’tfounditforyourself,youknow,IscarceseewhatyouCANhavefound。"
  ThenIhadmyinspiration。Iriskedanapproachtoroughness,andallthemoreeasilythatmywordswerestricttruth。"Oh,don’tbeafraid——greaterthingsthanyours!"
  Itsucceeded,foritplayeduponhiscuriosity,andhevisiblyimaginedthat,withimpatiencecontrolled,heshouldlearnwhatthesethingswere。
  Herelaxed,heresponded,andthenextmomentIwasinallbutfullenjoymentofthepiecewantedtomakeallmyotherpiecesright——rightbecauseofthatspecialbeautyinmyschemethroughwhichthewholedependedsooneachpartandeachpartsoguaranteedthewhole。"WhatIcallthelightofdayisthesenseI’vearrivedatofhervision。"
  "Hervision?"——Ijustbalancedintheair。
  "Ofwhattheyhaveincommon。HIS——poorchap’sextraordinarysituationtoo。"
  "Bravo!Andyouseeinthat——?"
  "What,allthesehours,hastouched,fascinated,drawnher。Ithasbeenaninstinctwithher。"
  "Bravissimo!"
  Itsawhim,myapproval,safelyintoport。"Theinstinctofsympathy,pity——theresponsetofellowshipinmisery;thesightofanotherfateasstrange,asmonstrousasherown。"