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AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW,
AUTHOR OF "CASHEL BVKO.n's rKOKESSION," ETC., KTC.
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LONDON:
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY & CO.,
PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
1887.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
BOOK L
CHAPTER I.
In the dusk of an October evening, a sensible looking
woman of forty came out through an oaken door to a
broad landing on the first floor of an old English country-
house. A braid of her hair had fallen forward as if she
had been stooping over book or pen; and she stood for
a moment to smooth it, and to gaze contemplatively —
not in the least sentimentally — through the tall, narrow
window. The sun was setting, but its glories were at the
other side of the house ; for this window looked eastward,
where the landscape of sheepwalks and pasture land was
sobering at the approach of darkness.
The lady, like one to whom silence and quiet were
luxuries, lingered on the landing for some time. Then she
turned towards another door, on which was inscribed, in
white letters. Class Room No. 6. Arrested by a whisper-
ing above, she paused in the doorway, and looked up the
stairs along a broad smooth handrail that swept round in
an unbroken curve at each landing, forming an inclined
plane from the top to the bottom of the house.
A young voice, apparently mimicking someone, now
came from above, saying.
2 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"We will take the Etudes de la Ve7oa'fe next, if you please,
ladies."
Immediately a girl in a Holland dress shot down through
space ; whirled round the curve with a fearless centrifugal
toss of her ankle ; and vanished into the darkness beneath.
She was followed by a stately girl in green, intently hold-
ing her breath as she flew ; and also by a large young
woman in black, with her lower lip grasped between her
teeth, and her fine brown eyes protruding with excitement.
Her passage created a miniature tempest which disarranged
anew the hair of the lady on the landing, who waited in
breathless alarm until two light shocks and a thump
announced that the aerial voyagers had landed safely
in the hall.
" Oh law ! " exclaimed the voice that had spoken
before. "Here's Susan."
" It's a mercy your neck aint broken," replied some
palpitating female. " I'll tell of you this time, Miss
Wylie ; indeed I will. And you, too, Miss Carpenter : I
wonder at you not to have more sense at your age and
with your size ! Miss Wilson cant help hearing when you
come down with a thump like that. You shake the
whole house."
" Oh bother ! " said Miss Wylie. " The Lady Abbess
takes good care to shut out all the noise we make. Let
us "
"Girls," said the lady above, calling down quietly, but
with ominous distinctness.
Silence and utter confusion ensued. Then came a
reply, in a tone of honeyed sweetness, from Miss Wylie.
"Did you call us, dear Miss Wilson ?"
" Yes. Come up here, if you please, all three."
There was some hesitation among them, each offering
the other precedence. At last they went up slowly, in the
order, though not at all in the manner, of their flying
descent ; followed Miss Wilson into the class-room ; and
stood in a row before her, illumined through three western
windows with a glow of ruddy orange light. Miss Carpenter,
the largest of the three, was red and confused. Her arms
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 3
hung by her sides, her fingers twisting the folds of her
dress. Miss Gertrude Lindsay, in pale sea-green, had a
small head, delicate complexion, and pearly teeth. She
stood erect, with an expression of cold distaste for reproof
of any sort. The hoUand dress of the third offender had
changed from yellow to white as she passed from the grey
eastern twilight on the staifcase into the warm western
glow in the room. Her face had a bright olive tone, and
seemed to have a golden mica in its composition. Her
eyes and hair were hazel-nut colour ; and her teeth, the
upper row of which she displayed freely, were like fine
Portland stone, and sloped outward enough to have spoilt
her mouth, had they not been supported by a rich under
lip, and a finely curved, impudent chin. Her half cajoling,
half mocking air, and her ready smile, were difficult to
confront with severity ; and Miss Wilson knew it ; for she
would not look at her even when attracted by a convulsive
start and an angry side glance from Miss Lindsay, who
had just been indented between the ribs by a finger
tip.
" You are aware that you have broken the rules," said
Miss Wilson quietly.
" We didnt intend to. We really did not," said the girl
in holland, coaxingly.
*' Pray what was your intention then, Miss Wylie .?"
Miss Wylie unexpectedly treated this as a smart repartee
instead of a rebuke. She sent up a strange little scream,
which exploded in a cascade of laughter.
** Pray be silent, Agatha," said Miss Wilson severely.
Agatha looked contrite. Miss Wilson turned hastily to
the eldest of the three, and continued,
"I am especially surprised at you. Miss Carpenter.
Since you have no desire to keep faith with me by uphold-
ing the rules, of which you are quite old enough to under-
stand the necessity, I shall not trouble you with reproaches,
or appeals to which I am now convinced that you would
not respond " (here Miss Carpenter, with an inarticulate
protest, burst into tears) ; *' but you should at least think
of the danger into which your juniors are led by your
4 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALISl.
childishness. How should you feel if Agatha had broken
her neck ? "
** Oh ! " exclaimed Agatha, putting her hand quickly to
her neck.
** I didnt think there was any danger," said Miss Car-
penter, struggling with her tears. "Agatha has done it
so oft — oh dear! you have torn me." Miss Wylie had
pulled at her schoolfellow's skirt, and pulled too hard.
'* Miss Wylie," said Miss Wilson, flushing slightly : ** I
must ask you to leave the room."
**0h no," exclaimed Agatha, clasping her hands in
distress. ** Please dont, dear Miss Wilson. I am so sorry.
I beg your pardon."
** Since you will not do what I ask, I must go myself,"
said Miss Wilson sternly. " Come with me to my study,"
she added to the two other girls.^ " If you attempt to
follow. Miss Wylie, I shall regard it as an intrusion."
** But I will go away if you wish it. I didnt mean to
diso "
" I shall not trouble you now. Come, girls."
The three went out ; and Miss Wylie, left behind in
disgrace, made a surpassing grimace at Miss Lindsay, who
glanced back at her. When she was alone, her vivacity
subsided. She went slowly to the window, and gazed
disparagingly at the landscape. Once, when a sound of
voices above reached her, her eyes brightened, and her
ready lip moved ; but the next silent moment she relapsed
into moody indifference, which was not relieved until her
two companions, looking very serious, re-entered.
"Well," she said gaily : *' has moral force been applied.'*
Are you going to the Recording Angel ? "
"Hush, Agatha," said Miss Carpenter. "You ought to
be ashamed of yourself."
" No, but you ought, you goose. A nice row you have
got me into ! "
" It was your own fault. You tore my dress."
" Yes, when you were blurting out that I sometimes slide
down the bannisters."
" Oh ! " said Miss Carpenter slowly, as if this reason had
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 5
not occurred to her before. " Was that why you pulled
me ? "
** Dear me ! It has actually dawned upon you. You
are a most awfully silly girl, Jane. What did the Lady
Abbess say ?"
Miss Carpenter again gave her tears way, and could not
reply.
" She is disgusted with us, and no wonder," said Miss
Lindsay.
" She said it was all your fault," sobbed Miss Carpenter.
"Well, never mind, dear," said Agatha soothingly.
" Put it in the Recording Angel."
** I wont write a word in the Recording Angel unless
you do so first," said Miss Lindsay angrily. **You are
more in fault than we are."
" Certainly, my dear," replied Agatha. " A whole page,
if you wish."
" I b-believe you like writing in the Recording Angel,"
said Miss Carpenter spitefully.
" Yes, Jane. It is the best fun the place affords."
" It may be fun to you," said Miss Lindsay sharply ;
" but it is not very creditable to me, as Miss Wilson* said
just now, to take a prize in moral science and then have
to write down that I dont know how to behave myself.
Besides, I do not like to be told that I am ill-bred."
Agatha laughed. " What a deep old thing she is !
She knows all our weaknesses, and stabs at us through
them. Catch her telling me, or Jane there, that we are
ill-bred ! "
" I dont understand you," said Miss Lindsay, haughtily.
" Of course not. That's because you dont know as
much moral science as I, though I never took a prize in it."
** You never took a prize in anything," said Miss
Carpenter.
" And I hope I never shall," said Agatha. *' I would as
soon scramble for hot pennies in the snow, like the street
boys, as scramble to see who can answer most questions.
Dr. Watts is enough moral science for me. Now for the
Recording Angel."
6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
' She went to a shelf and took down a heavy quarto,
bound in black leather, and inscribed, in red letters. My
Faults. This she threw irreverently on a desk, and
tossed its pages over until she came to one only partly
covered with manuscript confessions.
** For a wonder," she said, " here are two entries that
are not mine. Sarah Gerram ! What has she been con-
fessing } "
"Dont read it," said Miss Lindsay quickly. "You
know that it is the most dishonourable thing any of us can
do."
" Pooh ! Our little sins are not worth making such a
fuss about. I always like to have my entries read : it
makes me feel like an author ; and so in Christian duty I
always read other people's. Listen to poor Sarah's tale
of guilt. . * ist October. I am very sorry that I slapped
Miss Chambers in the lavatory this morning, and knocked
out one of her teeth. This was very wicked ; but it was
coming out by itself; and she has forgiven me because
a new one will come in its place ; and she was only
pretending when she said she swallowed it. Sarah
Gerram.' "
** Little fool ! " said Miss Lindsay. " The idea of our
having to record in the same book with brats like that ! "
" Here is a touching revelation. ' 4th October. Helen
Plantagenet is deeply grieved to have to confess that I took
the first place in algebra yesterday unfairly. Miss Lindsay
prompted me ; and ' "
** Oh ! " exclaimed Miss Lindsay, reddening. " That is
how she thanks me for prompting her, is it ? How dare she
confess my faults in the Recording Angel } "
** Serve you right for prompting her," said Miss Carpen-
ter. ** She was always a double-faced cat ; and you ought
to have known better."
" Oh, I assure you it was not for her sake that I did it,'*
replied Miss Lindsay. **It was to prevent that Jackson
girl from getting first place. I dont like Helen Planta-
genet ; but at least she is a lady."
** Stuff", Gertrude," said Agatha, with a touch of earnest-
I
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 7
ness. "One would think, to hear you talk, that your
grandmother was a cook. Dont be such a snob."
"Miss Wylie," said Gertrude, becoming scarlet: "you
are very— Oh ! oh ! Stop Ag— oh ! I will tell Miss W —
oh ! " Agatha had inserted a steely finger between her
ribs, and was tickling her unendurably.
" Sh-sh-sh," whispered Miss Carpenter anxiously.
" The door is open."
"Am I Miss Wylie.?" demanded Agatha, relentlessly
continuing the torture. " Am I very — whatever you were
going to say } Am I } am I ? am I ?"
" No, no," gasped Gertrude, shrinking into a chair, almost
in hysterics. " You are very unkind, Agatha. You have
hurt me."
" You deserve it. If you ever get sulky with me again,
or call me Miss Wylie, I will kill you. I will tickle the
soles of your feet with a feather " (Miss Lindsay shuddered,
and hid her feet beneath the chair) " until your hair turns
white. And now, if you are truly repentant, come and
record."
" You must record first. It was all your fault."
" But I am the youngest," said Agatha.
" Well, then," said Gertrude, afraid to press the point,
but determined not to record first, "let Jane Carpenter
begin. She is the eldest."
" Oh, of course," said Jane, with whimpering irony.
" Let Jane do all the nasty things first. I think it's very
hard. You fancy that Jane is a fool ; but she isnt."
"You are certainly not such a fool as you look, Jane,"
said Agatha gravely. " But I will record first, if you
like."
" No, you shant," cried Jane, snatching the pen from
her. " I am the eldest ; and I wont be put out of my
place."
She dipped the pen in the ink resolutely, and prepared
to write. Then she paused ; considered ; looked bewil-
dered ; and at last appealed piteously to Agatha.
" What shall I write .? " she said. " You know how to
write things down ; and I dont."
8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" First put the date," said Agatha.
" To be sure," said Jane, writing it quickly. ** I forgot
that. Well.?"
" Now write, * I am very sorry that Miss Wilson saw
me when I slid down the bannisters this evening. Jane
Carpenter.' "
" Is that all .? "
"That's all : unless you wish to add something of your
own composition."
'* I hope it's all right," said Jane, looking suspiciously
at Agatha. ** However, there cant be any harm in it ; for
it's the simple truth. Anyhow, if you are playing one of
your jokes on me, you are a nasty mean thing, and I dont
care. Now, Gertrude, it's your turn. Please look at mine,
and see whether the spelling is right."
*' It is not my business to teach you to spell," said
Gertrude, taking the pen. And, whilst Jane was murmuring
at her churlishness, she wrote in a bold hand,
I have broken the rules by sliding down the bannisters to-day with
Miss Carpenter and Miss Wylie. Miss Wylie went first.
*' You wretch ! " exclaimed Agatha, reading over her
shoulder. " Kn^your father is an admiral ! "
** I think it is only fair," said Miss Lindsay, quailing,
but assuming the tone of a moralist. " It is perfectly
true."
" All my money was made in trade," said Agatha ; ** but
I should be ashamed to save myself by shifting blame to
your aristocratic shoulders. You pitiful thing ! Here :
give me the pen."
" I will strike it out if you wish ; but I think "
" No : it shall stay there to witness against you. Now
see how I confess my faults." And she wrote, in a fine,
rapid hand,
This evening Gertrude Lindsay and Jane Carpenter met me at the
top of the stairs, and said they wanted to slide down the bannisters and
would do so if I went first. I told them that it was against the rules,
but they said that did not matter ; and as they are older than I am, I
allowed myself to be persuaded, and slid.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 9
^ "What do you think of that ?" said Agatha, displaying
the page.
They read it, and protested clamorously.
" It is perfectly true," said Agatha, solemnly.
" It's beastly mean," said Jane energetically. ** The idea
of your finding fault with Gertrude, and then going and
being twice as bad yourself! I never heard of such a
thing in my life."
** * Thus bad begins ; but worse remains behind,' as the
Standard Elocutionist says," said Agatha, adding another
sentence to her confession.
But it was all my fault. Also I was rude to Miss Wilson, and
refused to leave the room when she bade me. I was not wilfully
wrong except in sliding down the bannisters. I am so fond of a slide
that I could not resist the temptation.
" Be warned by me, Agatha," said Jane impressively.
** If you write cheeky things in that book, you will be
expelled."
** Indeed ! " replied Agatha significantly. ** Wait until
Miss Wilson sees y^hdityou have written."
** Gertrude," cried Jane, with sudden misgiving : *' has
she made me write anything improper } Agatha : do tell
me if "
Here a gong sounded ; and the three girls simul-
taneously exclaimed ** Grub ! " and rushed from the room.
CHAPTER II.
One sunny afternoon, a hansom drove at great speed along
Belsize Avenue, St. John's Wood, and stopped before a
large mansion. A young lady sprang out ; ran up the
steps ; and rang the bell impatiently. She was of the
olive complexion, with a sharp profile : dark eyes with
long lashes : narrow mouth with delicately sensuous lips :
small head, feet, and hands, with long taper fingers : lithe
10- AN UNSOCIAL SOLIALIST.
and very slender figure moving with serpent-like grace.
Oriental taste was displayed in the colours of her costume,
which consisted of a white dress, close-fitting, and printed
with an elaborate china blue pattern ; a yellow straw hat
covered with artificial hawthorn and scarlet berries ; and
tan-coloured gloves reaching beyond the elbow, and
decorated with a profusion of gold bangles.
The door not being opened immediately, she rang again,
violently, and was presently admitted by a maid, who
seemed surprised to see her. Without making any inquiry,
she darted upstairs into a drawing-room, where a matron
of good presence, with features of the finest Jewish type,
sat reading. With her was a handsome boy in black
velvet, who said,
'* Mamma: here's Henrietta ! "
"Arthur," said the young lady excitedly: "leave the
room this instant ; and dont dare to come back until you
get leave."
The boy's countenance fell ; and he sulkily went out
without a word.
"Is anything wrong?" said the matron, putting away
her book with the unconcerned resignation of an experi-
enced person who foresees a storm in a teacup. " Where
is Sidney ? "
"Gone! Gone! Deserted me! I " The young
lady's utterance failed ; and she threw herself upon an
ottoman, sobbing with passionate spite.
" Nonsense ! I thought Sidney had more sense. There,
Henrietta : dont be silly. I suppose you have quarrelled."
" No ! No ! ! No ! ! ! " cried Henrietta, stamping on the
carpet. " We had not a word. I have not lost my temper
since we were married, mamma : I solemnly swear I have
not. I will kill myself: there is no other way. There's a
curse on me. I am marked out to be miserable. He "
"Tut tut ! What has happened, Henrietta ? As you
have been married now nearly six weeks, you can hardly
be surprised at a little tiff" arising. You are so excitable !
You cannot expect the sky to be always cloudless. Most
likely you are to blame ; for Sidney is far more reasonable
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. il
than you. Stop crying, and behave like a woman of sense ;
and I will go to Sidney and make everything right."
" But he's gone ; and I cant find out where. Oh, what
shall I do } "
" What has happened ? "
Henrietta writhed with impatience. Then, forcing
herself to tell her story, she answered,
** We arranged on Monday that I should spend two
days with aunt Judith instead of going with him to
Birmingham to that horrid Trade Congress. We parted
on the best of terms. He c — couldnt have been more
aifectionate. I will kill myself: I dont care about any-
thing or anybody. And when I came back on Wednesday
he was gone ; and there was this lett " She produced
a letter, and wept more bitterly than before.
** Let me see it."
Henrietta hesitated ; but her mother took the letter from
her ; sat down near the wmdow ; and composed herself to
read without the least regard to her daughter's vehement
distress. The letter ran thus : —
Monday nighty.
My Dearest : / am off— surfeited with endear jnent — to live my own
life, and do my, own work. I could only have prepared you for this by
coldness or neglect, which are wholly impossible to me when the spell of
your presence is upon me. I find that I must fly if I am to save myself
I am afraid that I cannot give you satisfactory and intelligible reasons
for this step. You are a beautiful and luxurious creature : life is to
you full and complete only when it is a carnival of love. My case is just
the reverse. Before three soft speeches have escaped me, I rebuke myself
for folly and insincerity. Before a caress has had time to cool, a
strenuous revulsion seizes me : I long to return to my old lonely ascetic
hermit life ; to my dry books ; my Socialist propagandism ; my voyage of
discovery through the wilderness of thought. I married in an insane fit
of belief that I had a share of the natural affection which carries other
men through lifetimes of matrimony. Already I am undeceived. Yoti
are to me the loveliest woman in the world. Well, for five weeks I
have walked and talked and dallied with the loveliest woman in the
world ; and the upshot is that I am fiying fvm her, and am for a
he7-mit's cave until I die. Love cannot keep possession of me : all my
strongest powers rise up against it and will not endure it. Forgive me
for writing nonsense that you wont understand; and do not think too
hardly of me. I have been as good to you as my selfish nature allowed.
12 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
Do not seek to disturb me in the obscurity which I desire and deserve.
My solicitor will call on your father to arrange business matters ; and
you shall be as happy as wealth and liberty can make you. We shall
meet again — some day.
AdieUy my last love.
Sidney Trefusis.
*'Well?" cried Mrs. Trefusis, observing through her
tears that her mother had read the letter, and was con-
templating it in a daze.
"Well, certainly ! " said Mrs. Jansenius, with emphasis.
" Do you think he is quite sane, Henrietta 7 Or have you
been plaguing him for too much attention. Men are not
willing to give up their whole existence to their wives,
even during the honeymoon."
*' He pretended that he was never happy out of my
presence," sobbed Henrietta. " There never was any-
thing so cruel. I often wanted to be by myself for a
change ; but I was afraid to hurt his feelings by saying so.
And now he has no feelings. But he must come back to
me. Musnt he, mamma ? "
** He ought to. I suppose he has not gone away with
anyone ? "
Henrietta sprang up, her cheeks vivid scarlet. " If I
thought that, I would pursue him to the end of the earth,
and murder her. But no : he is not like anybody else.
He hates me. Everybody hates me. You dont care
whether I am deserted or not, nor papa, nor anyone in
this house."
Mrs. Jansenius, still indifferent to her daughter's agita-
tion, considered a moment, and then said placidly,
** You can do nothing until we hear from the solicitor.
In the meantime you may stay with us, if you wish. I did
not expect a visit from you so soon ; but your room has
not been used since you went away."
Mrs. Trefusis ceased crying, chilled by this first intima-
tion that her father's house was no longer her home. A
more real sense of desolation came upon her. Under its
cold influence she began to collect herself, and to feel her
pride rising like a barrier between her and her mother.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 13
■ " I wont stay long," she said. ** If his solicitor will not
tell me where he is, I will hunt through England for him.
I am sorry to trouble you."
**0h, you will be no greater trouble than you have
always been," said Mrs. Jansenius calmly, not displeased
to see that her daughter had taken the hint. " You had
better go and wash your face. People may call ; and I
presume you dont wish to receive them in that plight. If
you meet Arthur on the stairs, please tell him he may come
in."
Henrietta screwed her lips into a curious pout, and
withdrew. Arthur then came in, and stood at the window
in sullen silence, brooding over his recent expulsion.
Suddenly he exclaimed, ** Here's papa; and it's not five
o'clock yet ! " whereupon his mother sent him away
again.
Mr. Jansenius was a man of imposing presence, not yet
in his fiftieth year, but not far from it. He moved with
dignity, bearing himself as if the contents of his massive
brow were precious. His handsome aquiline nose and
keen dark eyes proclaimed his Jewish origin, of which he
was ashamed. Those who did not know this, naturally
believed that he was proud of it, and were at a loss to
account for his permitting his children to be educated
as Christians. Well instructed in business, and subject
to no emotion outside the love of family, respectability,
comfort, and money, he had maintained the capital
inherited from his father, and made it breed new capital
in the usual way. He was a banker; and his object
as such was to intercept and appropriate the immense
saving which the banking system effects, and so, as far as
possible, to leave the rest of the world working just as hard
as before banking was introduced. But as the world
would not on these terms have banked at all, he had to
give them some of the saving as an inducement. So they
profited by the saving as well as he ; and he had the
satisfaction of being at once a wealthy citizen and a
public benefactor, rich in comforts and easy in con-
science.
14 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
He entered the room quickly ; and his wife saw that
something had vexed him.
** Do you know what has happened, Ruth ? " he said.
" Yes. She is upstairs."
Mr. Jansenius stared. *' Do you mean to say that she
has left already } " he said. " What business has she to
come here .? "
" It is natural enough. Where else should she have
gone 1 "
Mr. Jansenius, who mistrusted his own judgment when
it differed from that of his wife, replied slowly, " Why did
she not go to her mother ? "
Mrs. Jansenius, puzzled in her turn, looked at him with
cool wonder, and remarked, " I am her mother, am I not ? "
" I was not aware of it. I am surprised to hear it, Ruth.
Have you had a letter too } "
" I have seen the letter. But what do you mean by
telling me that you do not know I am Henrietta's mother ?
Are you trying to be funny } "
'* Henrietta ! Is she here } Is this some fresh
trouble .? "
" I dont know. What are you talking about ? "
" I am talking about Agatha Wylie."
** Oh ! I was talking about Henrietta."
** Well, what about Henrietta ? "
'* What about Agatha Wylie } "
At this Mr. Jansenius became exasperated ; and she
deemed it best to relate what Henrietta had told her.
When she gave him Trefusis's letter, he said, more calmly,
** Misfortunes never come singly. Read that," and handed
her another letter, so that they both began reading at the
same time.
Mrs. Jansenius read as follows.
To Mrs. Wylie,
Acacia Lodge, Chiswick.
Alton College, Lyvern.
Dear Madam : / write with great regret to request that you will at
once withdraw Miss Wylie from Alton College. In an establishment
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 15
like this, where restraint upon the liberty of the students is reduced to a
minimum, it is necessary that the small degree of stibordination which
is absolutely indispensable be acquiesced in by all without complaint
or delay. Miss Wylie has failed to comply with this condition. She
has declared her wish to leave ; and has assumed an attitude tozuards
myself and my colleagues which we cannot, consistently with our duty
to ourselves and her fellow students, pass over. If Miss Wylie has any
cause to co??iplain of her treatment here, or of the step zvhich she has
compelled us to take, she will doubtless make it known to yoti.
Perhaps you tuill be so good as to communicate with Miss Wylie' s
guardian, Mr. Jansenius, with whom I shall be happy to make an
equitable arrangement respecting the fees which have been paid in advance
for the current term.
I am, Dear Madam,
Yours faithfully,
Maria Wilson.
*• A nice young lady, that ! " said Mrs. Jansenius.
** I do not understand this," said Mr. Jansenius, redden-
ing as he took in the purport of his son-in-law's letter.
" I will not submit to it. What does it mean, Ruth ? "
** I dont know. Sidney is mad, I think ; and his honey-
moon has brought his madness out. But you must not let
him throw Henrietta on my hands again."
** Mad ! Does he think he can shirk his responsibility
to his wife because she is my daughter } Does he think,
because his mother's father was a baronet, that he can
put Henrietta aside the moment her society palls on
him } "
" Oh, it's nothing of that sort. He never thought of
us"
" But I will make him think of us," said Mr. Jansenius,
raising his voice in great agitation. ** He shall answer
for it."
Just then Henrietta returned, and saw her father moving
excitedly to and fro, repeating, " He shall answer to me
for this. He shall answer for it."
^ Mrs. Jansenius frowned at her daughter to remain
silent, and said soothingly, "Dont lose your temper,
John."
** But I will lose my temper. Insolent hound ! Damned
scoundrel ! "
■i6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"He is «<?/," whimpered Henrietta, sitting down and
taking out her handkerchief.
"Oh, come, come! " said Mrs. Jansenius peremptorily:
"we have had enough crying. Let us have no more of
it." . .
Henrietta sprang up in a passion, " I will say and do
as I please," she exclaimed. "I am a married woman ;
and I will receive no orders. And I will have my husband
back again, no matter what he does to hide himself.
Papa : wont you make him come back to me. I am dying.
Promise that you will make him come back."
And, throwing herself upon her father's bosom, she
postponed further discussion by going into hysterics, and
startling the household by her screams.
CHAPTER HI.
One of the professors at Alton College was a Mrs. Miller,
an old-fashioned schoolmistress who did not believe in
Miss Wilson's system of government by moral force, and
carried it out under protest. Though not ill-natured, she
was narrow-minded enough to be in some degree contemp-
tible, and was consequently prone to suspect others of
despising her. She suspected Agatha in particular, and
treated her with disdainful curtness in such intercourse as
they had — it was fortunately little. Agatha was not hurt
by this ; for Mrs. Miller was an unsympathetic woman, who
made no friends among the girls, and satisfied her affec-
tionate impulses by petting a large cat named Gracchus,
but generally called Bacchus by an endearing modification
of the harsh initial consonant.
One evening Mrs. Miller, seated with Miss Wilson in
the study, correcting examination papers, heard in the
distance a cry like that of a cat in distress. She ran to
the door and listened. Presently there arose a prolonged
wail, slurring up through two octaves, and subsiding again.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 17
It was a true feline screech, impossible to localize ; but it
was interrupted by a sob, a snarl, a fierce spitting, and a
scuffling, coming unmistakably from a room on the floor
beneath, in which, at that hour, the older girls assembled
for study.
*' My poor Gracchy ! " exclaimed Mrs. Miller, running
downstairs as fast as she could. She found the room
unusually quiet. Every girl was deep in study except Miss
Carpenter, who, pretending to pick up a fallen book, was
purple with suppressed laughter and the congestion caused
by stooping.
" Where is Miss Ward ? " demanded Mrs. Miller.
** Miss Ward has gone for some astronomical diagrams
in which we are interested," said Agatha, looking up
gravely. Just then, Miss Ward,, diagrams in hand,
entered.
" Has that cat been in here ? " she said, not seeing Mrs.
Miller, and speaking in a tone expressive of antipathy to
Gracchus.
Agatha started, and drew up her ankles as if fearful of
having them bitten. Then, looking apprehensively under
the desk, she replied, *' There is no cat here. Miss Ward."
'* There is one somewhere : I heard it," said Miss Ward
carelessly, unrolling her diagrams, which she began to
explain without further parley. Mrs, Miller, anxious for
her pet, hastened to seek it elsewhere. In the hall she
met one of the housemaids.
*' Susan," she said : " have you seen Gracchus ? "
" He's asleep on the hearthrug in your room, maam."
* But I heard him crying down here a moment ago. I
feel sure that another cat has got in, and that they are
fighting."
Susan smiled compassionately. " Lor* bless you,, maam,"
she said, " that was Miss Wylie. It's a sort of play-acting
that she goes through. There is the bee on the window-
pane, and the soldier up the chimley, and the cat under
the dresser. She does them all like life."
**The soldier in the chimney!" repeated Mrs. Miller,
shocked.
i8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"Yes, maam. Like as it were a follower that had hid
there when he heard the mistress coming."
Mrs. Miller's face set determinedly. She returned to
the study and related what had just occurred, adding some
sarcastic comments on the efficacy of moral force in main-
taining collegiate discipline. Miss Wilson looked grave ;
considered for some time ; and at last said, '* I must think
over this. Would you mind leaving it in my hands for the
present ? "
Mrs. Miller said that she did not care in whose hands
it remained provided her own were washed of it, and
resumed her work at the papers. Miss Wilson then,
wishing to be alone, went into the empty class-room at
the other side of the landing. She took the Fault Book
from its shelf, and sat down before it. Its record closed
with the announcement, in Agatha's handwriting,
Miss Wilson has called me impertinent, and has written to my uncle
that I have refused to obey the rules. I was not impertinent ; and I
never refused to obey the rules. So much for Moral Force !
Miss Wilson rose vigorously, exclaiming, "I will soon
let her know whether — ." She checked herself, and
looked round hastily, superstitiously fancying that Agatha
might have stolen into the room unobserved. Reassured
that she was alone, she examined her conscience as to
whether she had done wrong in calling Agatha impertinent,
justifying herself by the reflection that Agatha had, in fact,
been impertinent. Yet she recollected that she had
refused to admit this plea on a recent occasion when Jane
Carpenter had advanced it in extenuation of having called
a fellow- student a liar. Had she then been unjust to Jane,
or inconsiderate to Agatha .?
Her casuistry was interrupted by some one softly whist-
ling a theme from the overture to Masaniello, popular at
the college in the form of an arrangement for six piano-
fortes and twelve hands. There was only one student
unladylike and musical enough to whistle ; and Miss
Wilson was ashamed to find herself growing nervous at
the prospect of an encounter with Agatha, who entered
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 19
whistling sweetly, but with a lugubrious countenance.
When she saw in whose presence she stood, she begged
pardon politely, and was about to withdraw, when Miss
Wilson, summoning all her judgment and tact, and hoping
that they would — contrary to their custom in emergencies —
respond to the summons, said,
" Agatha : come here. I want to speak to you."
Agatha closed her lips ; drew in a long breath through
her nostrils ; and marched to within a few feet of Miss
Wilson, where she halted with her hands clasped before her.
** Sit down."
Agatha sat down with a single movement, like a doll.
*' I dont understand that, Agatha," said Miss Wilson,
pointing to the entry in the Recording Angel. "What
does it mean ? "
" I am unfairly treated," said Agatha, with signs of
agitation.
" In what way 1 "
" In every way. I am expected to be something more
than mortal. Everyone else is encouraged to complain,
and to be weak and silly. But I must have no feeling.
I must be always in the right. Everyone else may be
home-sick, or huffed, or in low spirits. I must have no
nerves, and must keep others laughing all day long.
Everyone else may sulk when a word of reproach is
addressed to them, and may make the professors afraid
to find fault with them. I have to bear with the insults
of teachers who have less self-control than I, a girl of
seventeen ! and must coax them out of the difficulties they
make for themselves by their own ill temper.^'
" But, Agatha, "
** Oh, I know I am talking nonsense, Miss Wilson ; but
can you expect me to be always sensible } — to b^ in-
fallible .? "
" Yes, Agatha : I do not think it is too much to expect
you to be always sensible ; and "
*' Then you have neither sense nor sympathy yourself,"
said Agatha.
There was an awful pause. Neither could have told
20 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
how long it lasted. Then Agatha, feeling that she must
do or say something desperate, or else fly, made a dis
tracted gesture,, and ran out of the room.
She rejoined her companions in the great hall of the
mansion, where they were assembled after study fof
** recreation," a noisy process which always set in spon-
taneously when the professors withdrew. She usually sat
with her two favourite associates on a high window seat
near the hearth. That place was now occupied by a little
girl with flaxen hair, whom Agatha, regardless of moral
force, lifted by the shoulders and deposited on the floor.
Then she sat down and said,
" Oh, such a piece of news ! "
Miss Carpenter opened her eyes eagerly. Gertrude
Lindsay aff"ected indifference.
" Someone is going to be expelled," said Agatha.
'' Expelled ! Who ? "
*' You will know soon enough, Jane," replied Agatha,
suddenly grave. " It is someone who made an impudent
entry in the Recording Angel."
Fear stole upon Jane ; and she became very red.
" Agatha," she said : "" it was you who told me what to
write. You know you did ; and you cant deny it."
" I cant deny it, cant I ? I am ready to swear that I
never dictated a word to you in my life."
" Gertrude knows you did," exclaimed Jane, appalled,
and almost in tears.
'* There," said Agatha, petting her as if she were a vast
baby. " It shall not be expelled, so it shant. Have you
seen the Recording Angel lately, either of you } "
*' Not since our last entry," said Gertrude.
*' Chips," said Agatha, calling to the flaxen haired
child : ** go upstairs to No. 6 ; and, if Miss Wilson isnt
there, fetch me the Recording Angel."
The little girl grumbled inarticulately, and did not stir.
'' Chips," resumed Agatha : " did you ever wish that
you had never been born } "
" Why dont you go yourself.? " said the child pettishly,
but evidently alarmed.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 21
" Because," continued Agatha, ignoring the question,
"you shall wish yourself dead and buried under the
blackest flag in the coal cellar if you dont bring me the
book before I can count sixteen. One — two "
" Go at once and do as you are told, you disagreeable
little thing," said Gertrude sharply. ** Hoav dare you be
so disobliging ? "
" — nine — ten — eleven — ^" pursued Agatha.
The child quailed ; went out ; and presently returned,
hugging the Recording Angel in her arms.
" You are a good little darling — when your better
qualities are brought out by a judicious application of
moral force," said Agatha, good-humouredly. ** Remind
me to save the raisins out of my pudding for you to-
morrow. Now, Jane, you shall see the entry for which
the best hearted girl in the college is to be expelled.
Voila ! "
The two girls read, and were awestruck : Jane opening
her mouth and gasping : Gertrude closing hers and look-
ing very serious.
" Do you mean to say that you had the dreadful cheek
to let the Lady Abbess see that ? " said Jane.
" Pooh ! she would have forgiven that. You should
have heard what I said to her ! She fainted three times."
" That's a story," said Gertrude, gravely.
** I beg your pardon } " said Agatha, swiftly grasping
Gertrude's knee.
"■ Nothing," cried Gertrude, flinching hysterically.
*'Dont, Agatha."
** How many times did Miss Wilson faint .?"
" Three times. I will scream, Agatha : I will indeed."
" Three times, as you say. And I wonder that a girl
brought up as you have been, by moral force, should be
capable of repeating such a falsehood. But we had an
awful row, really and truly. She lost her temper. For-
tunately, I never lose mine."
" Well, I'm blowed ! " exclaimed Jane incredulously.
" I like that."
*' (For a girl of county family, you are inexcusably
22 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
vulgar, Jane). I dont know what I said ; but she will
never forgive me for profaning her pet book. I shall be
expelled as certainly as I am sitting here."
"And do you mean to say that you are going away .? "
said Jane, faltering as she began to realize the con-
sequences.
"I do. And what is to become of you when I am not
here to get you out of your scrapes, or of Gertrude without
me to check her inveterate nobbishness, is more than I
can foresee."
" I am not nobbish," said Gertrude, " although I do
not choose to make friends with everyone. But I never
objected to you, Agatha."
" No : I should like to catch you at it. Hallo, Jane ! "
(who had suddenly burst into tears) : " what's the matter .^
I trust you are not permitting yourself to take the liberty
of crying for me."
" Indeed," sobbed Jane indignantly, " I know that I am
a f — fool for my pains. You have no heart."
" You certainly are a f — fool, as you aptly express it,"
said Agatha, passing her arm round Jane, and disregard-
ing an angry attempt to shake it off; "but if I had
any heart, it would be touched by this proof of your
attachment."
" I never said you had no heart," protested Jane ; " but
I hate when you speak like a book."
"You hate when I speak like a book, do you .^ My
dear silly old Jane ! I shall miss you greatly."
"Yes, I dare say," said Jane, with tearful sarcasm. "At
least my snoring will never keep you awake again."
" You dont snore, Jane. We have been in a conspiracy
to make you believe that you do : that's all. Isnt it good
of me to tell you } "
Jane was overcome by this revelation. After a long
pause, she said with deep conviction, " I always knew that
I didnt. Oh, the way you kept it up ! I solemnly
declare that from this time forth I will believe nobody."
" Well, and what do you think of it all ? " said Agatha,
transferring her attention to Gertrude, who was very grave.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 23
" I think — I am now speaking seriously, Agatha — I think
you are in the wrong."
" Why do you think that, pray ? " demanded Agatha, a
little roused.
*' You must be, or Miss Wilson would not be angry with
you. Of course, according to your own account, you are
always in the right, and everyone else is always wrong ;
but you shouldnt have written that in the book. You
know I speak as your friend."
"And pray what does your wretched little soul know of
my motives and feelings } "
'' It is easy enough to understand you," retorted
Gertrude, nettled. ** Self-conceit is not so uncommon
that one need be at a loss to recognize it. And mind,
Agatha Wylie," she continued, as if goaded by some
unbearable reminiscence : " if you are really going, I dont
care whether we part friends or not. I have not forgotten
the day when you called me a spiteful cat."
** I have repented," said Agatha, unmoved. ** One day
I sat down and watched Bacchus seated on the hearthrug,
with his moony eyes looking into space so thoughtfully and
patiently that I apologized for comparing you to him.
If I were to call him a spiteful cat he would only not
believe me."
'* Because he is a cat," said Jane, with the giggle which
was seldom far behind her tears.
** No ; but because he is not spiteful. Gertrude keeps
a recording angel inside her little head ; and it is so full
of other people's faults, written in large hand and read
through a magnifying glass, that there is no room to enter
her own."
" You are very poetic," said Gertrude ; *' but I under-
stand what you mean, and shall not forget it."
*' You ungrateful wretch," exclaimed Agatha, turning
upon her so suddenly and imperiously that she involun-
tarily shrank aside : ''how often, when you have tried to
be insolent and false with me, have I not driven away
your bad angel — by tickling you } Had you a friend in
the college, except half-a-dozen toadies, until I came.?
24 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
And now, because I have sometimes, for your own good,
shewn you your faults, you bear malice against me, and
say that you dont care whether we part friends or not ! "
" I didnt say so."
** Oh, Gertrude : you know you did," said Jane.
" You seem to think that I have no conscience," said
Gertrude querulously.
** I wish you hadnt," said Agatha. " Look at me ! I
have no conscience ; and see how much pleasanterl am!"
" You care for no one but yourself," said Gertrude.
"You never think that other people have feelings too.
No one ever considers me."
" Oh : I like to hear you talk," cried Jane ironically.
** You are considered a great deal more than is good for
you ; and the more you are considered the more you want
to be considered."
*'As if," declaimed Agatha theatrically, "increase of
appetite did grow by what it fed on. Shakspere ! "
"Bother Shakspere," said Jane, impetuously: " — old
fool that expects credit for saying things that everybody
knows ! But if you complain of not being considered,
Gertrude, how would you like to be me, whom everybody
sets down as a fool } But I am not such a fool as "
"As you look," interposed Agatha. "I have told you
so scores of times, Jane ; and I am glad that you have
adopted my opinion at last. Which would you rather he a
greater fool than y "
"Oh, shut up," said Jane, impatiently: "you have
asked me that twice this week already."
The three were silent for some seconds after this :
Agatha meditating : Gertrude moody : Jane vacant and
restless. At last Agatha said,
" And are you two also smarting under a sense of the
inconsiderateness and selfishness of the rest of the world }
— both misunderstood } — everything expected from you,
and no allowances made for you } "
" I dont know what you mean by both of us," said
Gertrude, coldly.
"Neither do I," said Jane, angrily. "That is just the
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 25
way people treat me. You may laugh, Agatha ; and she
may turn up her nose as much as she likes : you know it's
true. But the idea of Gertrude wanting to make out that
she isnt considered, is nothing but sentimentality, and
vanity, and nonsense."
■ "You are exceedingly rude, Miss Carpenter," said
Gertrude.
" My manners are as good as yours, and perhaps better,"
retorted Jane. " My family is as good, anyhow."
** Children, children," said Agatha, admonitorily : " do
not forget that you are sworn friends."
" We didnt swear," said Jane. " We were to have been
three sworn friends ; and Gertrude and I were willing ;
but you wouldnt swear, and so the bargain was cried off."
" Just so," said Agatha ; ** and the result is that I spend
all my time in keeping peace between you. And now, to
go back to our subject, may I ask whether it has ever
occurred to you that no one ever considers vie ? "
" I suppose you think that very funny. You take good
care to make yourself considered," sneered Jane.
** You cannot say that / do not consider you," said
Gertrude reproachfully.
*• Not when I tickle you, dear."
** I consider you; and I am not ticklesome," said Jane,
tenderly.
*' Indeed ! Let me try," said Agatha, slipping her arm
about Jane's ample waist, and eliciting a piercing combina-
tion of laugh and scream from her.
**Sh — sh," whispered Gertrude, quickly. **Dont you
see the Lady Abbess ? "
Miss Wilson had just entered the room. Agatha, with-
out appearing to be aware of her presence, stealthily
withdrew her arm, and said aloud,
" How can you make such a noise, Jane ? You will
disturb the whole house."
Jane reddened with indignation, but had to remain
silent ; for the eyes of the principal were upon her. Miss
Wilson had her bonnet on. She announced that she
was going to walk to Lyvern, the nearest village. Did
26 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
any of the sixth form young ladies wish to accompany
her?
Agatha jumped from her seat at once ; and Jane
smothered a laugh.
" Miss Wilson said the sixth form, Miss Wylie," said
Miss Ward, who had entered also. ** You are not in the
sixth form."
" No," said Agatha, sweetly ; ** but I want to go, if I
may."
Miss Wilson looked round. The sixth form consisted
of four studious young ladies, whose goal in life for the
present was an examination by one of the Universities, or,
as the college phrase was, ** the Cambridge Local." None
of them responded.
" Fifth form, then," said Miss Wilson.
Jane, Gertrude, and four others, rose and stood with
Agatha.
" Very well," said Miss Wilson. " Do not be long
dressing."
They left the room quietly, and dashed at the staircase
the moment they were out of sight. Agatha, though void
of emulation for the Cambridge Local, always competed
with ardour for the honour of being first up or down stairs.
They soon returned, clad for walking, and left the
college in procession, two by two : Jane and Agatha
leading: Gertrude and Miss Wilson coming last. The
road to Lyvern lay through acres of pasture land, formerly
arable, now abandoned to cattle, which made more money
for the landlord than the men whom they had displaced.
Miss Wilson's young ladies, being instructed in economics,
knew that this proved that the land was being used to
produce what was most wanted from it; and if all the
advantage went to the landlord, that was but natural, as
he was the chief gentleman in the neighbourhood. Still,
the arrangement had its disagreeable side ; for it involved
a great many cows, which made them afraid to cross the
fields ; a great many tramps, who made them afraid to
walk the roads ; and a scarcity of gentlemen subjects for
the maiden art of fascination.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. rj
The sky was cloudy. Agatha, reckless of dusty stock-
ings, waded through the heaps of fallen leaves with
the delight of a child paddling in the sea ; Gertrude
picked her steps carefully ; and the rest tramped along
chatting subduedly, occasionally making some scientific or
philosophical remark in a louder tone in order that Miss
Wilson might overhear and give them due credit. Save
a herdsman, who seemed to have caught something of the
nature and expression of the beasts he tended, they met
no one until they approached the village, where, on the
brow of an acclivity, masculine humanity appeared in the
shape of two curates : one tall, thin, close shaven, with a
book under his arm, and his neck craned forward : the
other middle-sized, robust, upright, and aggressive, with
short black whiskers, and an air of protest against such
notions as that a clergyman may not marry, hunt, play
cricket, or share the sports of honest laymen. The shaven
one was Mr. Josephs: his companion, Mr. Fairholme.
Obvious scriptural perversions of this brace of names had
been introduced by Agatha.
** Here come Pharaoh and Joseph," she said to Jane.
"Joseph will blush when you look at him. Pharaoh
wont blush until he passes Gertrude; so we shall lose
that."
** Josephs, indeed ! " said Jane, scornfully.
" He loves you, Jane. Thin persons like a fine armful
of a woman. Pharaoh, who is a cad, likes blue blood on
the same principle of the attraction of opposites. That
is why he is captivated by Gertrude's aristocratic air."
** If he only knew how she despises him ! "
*' He is too vain to suspect it. Besides, Gertrude de-
spises everyone, even us. Or rather she doesnt despise
anyone in particular, but is contemptuous by nature, just
as you are stout."
'*Mf! I had rather be stout than stuck-up. Ought we
to bow .? "
" I will, certainly. I want to make Pharaoh blush, if I
can."
The two parsons had been simulating an interest in the
28 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
cloudy firmament as an excuse for not looking at the girls
until close at hand. Jane sent an eyeflash at Josephs with
a skill which proved her favourite assertion that she was
not so stupid as people thought. He blushed, and took
off his soft, low-crowned felt hat. Fairholme saluted very
solemnly ; for Agatha bowed to him with marked serious-
ness. But when his gravity and his stiff silk hat were at
their highest point, she darted a mocking smile at him ;
and he too blushed, all the deeper because he was enraged
with himself for doing so.
** Did you ever see such a pair of fools } " whispered
Jane, giggling.
"They cannot help their sex. They say women are
fools ; and so they are ; but thank Heaven they are not
quite so bad as men ! I should like to look back and see
Pharaoh passing Gertrude ; but if he saw me he would
think I was admiring him ; and he is conceited enough
already without that."
The two curates became redder and redder as they
passed the column' of young ladies. Miss Lindsay would
not look to their side of the road ; and Miss Wilson's nod
and smile were not quite sincere. She never spoke to
curates, and kept up no more intercourse with the vicar
than she could not avoid. He suspected her of being an
infidel, though neither he nor any other mortal in Lyvern
had ever heard a word from her on the subject of her
religious opinions. But he knew that " moral science "
was taught secularly at the college ; and he felt that where
morals were made a department of science, the demand
for religion must fall off proportionately.
** What a life to lead ! and what a place to live in ! "
exclaimed Agatha. "We meet two creatures, more like
suits of black than men ; and that is an incident — a start-
ling incident, in our existence ! "
"I think they're awful fun," said Jane; "except that
Josephs has such large ears."
The girls now came to a place where the road dipped
through a plantation of sombre sycamore and horse chest-
nut trees. As they passed down into it, a little wind
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 29
Sprang up ; the fallen leaves stirred ; and the branches
heaved a long rustling sigh.
** I hate this bit of road," said Jane, hurrying on. " It's
just the sort of place that people get robbed and murdered
in."
" It is not such a bad place to shelter in if we get
caught in the rain, as I expect we shall before we
get back," said Agatha, feeling the fitful breeze strike
ominously on her cheek. ** A nice pickle I shall be in
with these light shoes on ! I wish I had put on my
strong boots. If it rains much I will go into the old
chalet."
'* Miss Wilson wont let you. It's trespassing."
" What matter ! Nobody lives in it ; and the gate is off
its hinges. I only want to stand under the veranda — not
to break into the wretched place. Besides, the landlord
knows Miss Wilson : he wont mind. There's a drop."
Miss Carpenter looked up, and immediately received a
heavy raindrop in her eye.
''Oh!" she cried. "It's pouring! We shall be
drenched."
Agatha stopped ; and the column broke into a group
about her.
"Miss Wilson," she said: " it is going to rain in torrents;
and Jane and I have only our shoes on."
Miss Wilson paused to consider the situation. Someone
suggested that if they hurried on they might reach Lyvern
before the rain came down.
** More than a mile," said Agatha scornfully; " and the
rain coming down already 1 "
Someone else suggested returning to the college.
"More than two miles," said Agatha. " We should be
drowned."
"There is nothing for it but to wait here under the
trees," said Miss Wilson.
" The branches are very bare," said Gertrude anxiously.
" If it should come down heavily, they will drip worse than
the rain itself."
"Much worse," said Agatha. "I think we had better
30 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
get under the veranda of the old chalet. It is not half
a minute's walk from here."
"But we have no right " Here the sky darkened
threateningly. Miss Wilson checked herself, and said, ** I
suppose it is still empty."
" Of course," replied Agatha, impatient to be moving.
** It is almost a ruin."
" Then let us go there, by all means," said Miss Wilson,
not disposed to stand on trifles at the risk of a bad cold.
They hurried on, and came presently to a green hill by
the wayside. On the slope was a dilapidated Swiss cottage,
surrounded by a veranda on slender wooden pillars, about
which clung a few tendrils of withered creeper, their stray
ends still swinging from the recent wind, now momentarily
hushed as if listening for the coming of the rain. Access
from the roadway was by a rough wooden gate in the
hedge. To the surprise of Agatha, who had last seen this
gate off its hinges and only attached to the post by a rusty
chain and padlock, it was now rehung and fastened by
a new hasp. The weather admitting of no delay to con-
sider these repairs, she opened the gate and hastened up
the slope, followed by the troop of girls. Their ascent
ended with a rush ; for the rain suddenly came down in
torrents.
When they were safe under the veranda, panting,
laughing, grumbling, or congratulating themselves on
having been so close to a place of shelter, Miss Wilson
observed, with some uneasiness, a spade — new, like the
hasp of the gate — sticking upright in a patch of ground
that someone had evidently been digging lately. She was
about to comment on this sign of habitation, when the
door of the chalet was flung open ; and Jane screamed as
a man darted out to the spade, which he was about to
carry in out of the wet, when he perceived the company
under the veranda, and stood still in amazement. He
was a young labourer with a reddish brown beard of a
week's growth. He wore corduroy trousers, and a linen-
sleeved corduroy vest: both, like the hasp and spade, new.
A coarse blue shirt, with a vulgar red-and-orange necker-
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. *3I
chief, also new, completed his dress; and, to shield
himself from the rain, he held up a silk umbrella with
a silver-mounted ebony handle, which he seemed unlikely
to have come by honestly. Miss Wilson felt like a boy
caught robbing an orchard ; but she put a bold face on
the matter, and said,
"■ Will you allow us to take shelter here until the rain
is over
?"
" For certain, your ladyship," he replied, respectfully
applying the spade handle to his hair, which was combed
down to his eyebrows. *' Your ladyship does me proud
to take refuge from the onclemency of the yallowments
beneath my 'umble rooftree." His accent was barbarous ;
and he, like a low comedian, seemed to relish its vulgarity.
As he spoke, he came in among them for shelter, and
propped his spade against the wall of the chalet, kicking
the soil from his hobnailed blucher boots, which were
new.
** I come out, honoured lady," he resumed, much at
his ease, " to house my spade, whereby I earn my living.
What the pen is to the poet, such is the spade to the
working man." He took the kerchief from his npck ;
wiped his temples as if the sweat -of honest toil were there ;
and calmly tied it on again.
** If you'll 'scuse a remark from a common man," he
observed ; '* your ladyship has a fine family of daughters."
" They are not my daughters," said Miss Wilson, rather
shortly.
"Sisters, mebbe.^"
'*No."
" I thought they mout be, acause I have a sister myself.
Not that I would make bold for to dror comparisons, even
in my own mind ; for she's only a common woman — as
common a one as ever you see. But few women rise
above the common. Last Sunday, in yon village church,
I heard the minister read out that one man in a thousand
had he found ; ' but one woman in all these,' he says, * have
I not found ; ' and I thinks to myself, ' Right you are ! '
But I warrant he never met your ladyship."
32 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
A laugh, thinly disguised as a cough, escaped from Miss
Carpenter.
" Young lady a ketchin' cold, I'm afeerd," he said, with
respectful solicitude.
"Do you think the rain will last long?" said Agatha,
politely.
The man examined the sky with a weather-wise air for
some moments. Then he turned to Agatha, and replied
humbly, *' The Lord only knows, Miss. It is not for a
common man like me to say."
Silence ensued, during which Agatha, furtively scrutiniz-
ing the tenant of the chalet, noticed that his face and neck
were cleaner and less sunburnt than those of the ordinary
toilers of Lyvern. His hands were hidden by large
gardening gloves, stained with coal dust. Lyvern
labourers, as a rule, had little objection to soil their hands :
they never wore gloves. Still, she thought, there was
no reason why an eccentric workman, insufferably talka-
tive, and capable of an allusion to the pen of the poet,
should not indulge himself with cheap gloves. But then
the silk, silver-mounted umbrella
"The young lady's hi," he said suddenly, holding out
the umbrella, " is fixed on this here. I am well aware that
it is not for the lowest of the low to carry a gentleman's
brolly ; and I ask your ladyship's pardon for the liberty. I
come by it accidental-like, and should be glad of a reason-
able offer from any gentleman in want of a honest article."
As he spoke, two gentlemen, much in want of the
article, as their clinging wet coats shewed, ran through the
gateway, and made for the chalet. Fairholme arrived
first, exclaiming, " Fearful shower ! " and briskly turned
his back to the ladies in order tc stand at the edge of the
veranda, and shake the water out of his hat. Josephs
came next, shrinking from the damp contact of his own
garments. He cringed to Miss Wilson, and hoped that
she had escaped a wetting.
** So far I have," she replied. " The question is, how
are we to get home ? "
"Oh, it's only a shower," said Josephs, looking up
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 33
cheerfully at the unbroken curtain of cloud. ** It will clear
up presently."
" It aint for a common man to set up his opinion again'
a gentleman wot have profesh'nal knowledge of the
heavens, as one may say," said the man ; " but I would
'umbly offer to bet my umbrellar to his wide-awake that it
dont cease raining this side of seven o'clock."
" That man lives here," whispered Miss Wilson ; ** and
I suppose he wants to get rid of us."
*' Hm ! " said Fairholme. Then, turning to the strange
labourer with the air of a person not to be trifled with, he
raised his voice, and said, ** You live here, do you, my
man } "
"I do, sir, by your good leave, if I may make so bold."
" What's your name } "
*' Jeff Smilash, sir, at your service."
*' Where do you come from .?"
** Brixtonbury, sir."
** Brixtonbury ! Where's that .? "
** Well, sir, I dont rightly know. If a gentleman like
you, knowing jography and such, cant tell, how can I } "
*' You ought to know where you were born, man.
Havent you got common sense 1 "
"Where would such a one as me get common sense,
sir } Besides, I was only a foundling. Mebbe I warnt
born at all."
** Did I see you at church last Sunday } "
'* No, sir. I only come o' Wensday."
*' Well, let me see you there next Sunday," said Fair-
holme shortly, turning away from him.
Miss Wilson looked at the weather ; at Josephs, who was
conversing with Jane ; and finally at Smilash, who knuckled
his forehead without waiting to be addressed.
'* Have you a boy whom you can send to Lyvern to get
us a conveyance — a carriage .? I will give him a shilling
for his trouble."
"A shilling !" said Smilash, joyfully. "Your ladyship
is a noble lady. Two four-wheeled cabs. There's eight
on you."
34 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
" There is only one cab in Lyvern," said IVCiss Wilson.
" Take this card to Mr. Marsh, the jobmaster ; and tell him
the predicament we are in. He will send vehicles."
Smilash took the card, and read it at a glance. He
then went into the chalet. Reappearing presently in a
sou'wester and oilskins, he ran off through the rain and
vaulted over the gate with ridiculous elegance. No sooner
had he vanished than, as often happens to remarkable
men, he became the subject of conversation.
**A decent workman," said Josephs. *'A well mannered
man, considering his class."
**A born fool, though," said Fairholme.
** Or a rogue," said Agatha, emphasizing the suggestion
by a glitter of her eyes and teeth, whilst her schoolfellows,
rather disapproving of her freedom, stood stiffly dumb.
" He told Miss Wilson that he had a sister, and that he
had been to church last Sunday ; and he has just told you
that he is a foundling, and that he only came last
Wednesday. His accent is put on ; and he can read ;
and I dent believe he is a workman at all. Perhaps he
is a burglar, come down to steal the college plate."
** Agatha," said Miss Wilson gravely : ** you must be
very careful how you say things of that kind."
" But it is so obvious. His explanation about the
umbrella was made up to disarm suspicion. He handled
it and leaned on it in a way that showed how much more
familiar it was to him than that new spade he was so
anxious about. And all his clothes are new."
** True," said Fairholme ; ** but there is not much in all
that. Workmen nowadays ape gentlemen in everything.
However, I will keep an eye on him."
" Oh, thank you so much," said Agatha. •
Fairholme, suspecting mockery, frowned ; and Miss
Wilson looked severely at the mocker. Little more was
said, except as to the chances — manifestly small— of the
rain ceasing, until the tops of a cab, a decayed mourning
coach, and three dripping hats, were seen over the hedge.
Smilash sat on the box of the coach, beside the driver.
When it stopped, he alighted ; re-entered the chalet
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
35
without speaking ; came out with the umbrella ; spread
it above Miss Wilson's head ; and said,
" Now, if your ladyship will come with me, I will see
you dry into the shay ; and then I'll bring your honoured
nieces one by one."
•* I shall come last," said Miss Wilson, irritated by his
assumption that the party was a family one. " Gertrude :
you had better go first."
" Allow me," said Fairholme, stepping forward, and
attempting to take the umbrella.
** Thank you : I shall not trouble you," she said frostily,
and tripped away over the oozing field with Smilash, who
held the umbrella over her with ostentatious solicitude.
In the same manner he led the rest to the vehicles, in
which they packed themselves with some difficulty.
Agatha, who came last but one, gave him threepence.
*' You have a noble 'art, and an expressive hi, Miss,"
he said, apparently much moved. " Blessings on both !
Blessings on both ! "
He went back for Jane, who slipped on the wet grass
and fell. He had to put forth his strength as he helped
her to rise.
** Hope you aint sopped up much of the rainfall. Miss,"
he said. *' You are a fine young lady for your age. Nigh
on twelve stone, I should think." •
She reddened and hurried to the cab, where Agatha
was. But it was full ; and Jane, much against her will, had
to get into the coach, considerably diminishing the space
left for Miss Wilson, to whom Smilash had returned.
** Now, dear lady," he said, ** take care you dont slip.
Come along."
Miss Wilson, ignoring the invitation, took a shilling
from her purse.
*' No, lady," said Smilash, with a virtuous air. ** I am
an honest man, and have never seen the inside of a jail
except four times, and only twice for stealing. Your
youngest daughter — her with the expressive hi — have paid
me far beyond what is proper."
"■ I have told you that these young ladies are not my
-36 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
daughters," said Miss Wilson, sharply. "Why do you
not listen to what is said to you ? "
** Dont be too hard on a common man, lady," said
Smilash, submissively. " The young lady have just given
me three 'arf-crowns."
** Three half-crowns ! " exclaimed Miss Wilson, angered
at such extravagance.
" Bless her innocence, she dont know what is proper
to give to a low sort like me ! But I will not rob the
young lady. 'Arf-a-crown is no more nor is fair for the
job ; and 'arf-a-crown will I keep, if agreeable to your
noble ladyship. But I give you back the five bob in trust
for her. Have you ever noticed her expressive hi } "
** Nonsense, sir. You had better keep the money now
that you have got it."
'* Wot ! Sell for five bob the high opinion your ladyship
has of me ! No, dear lady : not likely. My father's very
last words to me was "
" You said just now that you were a foundling," said
Fairholme. *' What are we to believe ? Eh .? "
"So I were, sir; but by my mother's side alone. Her
ladyship will please to take back the money ; for keep it I
will not. I am of the lower orders, and therefore not a
man of my word ; but when I do stick to it, I stick like
wax."
" Take it," said Fairholme to Miss Wilson. " Take it,
of course. Seven and sixpence is a ridiculous sum to give
him for what he has done. It would only set him drink-
ing."
" His reverence says true, lady. The one 'arf-crown
will keep me comfortably tight until Sunday morning ;
and more I do not desire."
"Just a little less of your tongue, my man," said Fair-
holme, taking the two coins from him, and handing them
to Miss Wilson, who bade the clergymen good afternoon,
and went to the coach under the umbrella.
" If your ladyship should want a handy man to do an
odd job up at the college, I hope you will remember me,"
Smilash said, as they went down the slope.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. yj
**0h: you know who I am, do you ? " said Miss Wilson
drily.
" All the country knows you, Miss, and worships you.
I have few equals as a coiner ; and if you should require
a medal struck to give away for good behaviour or the
like, I think I could strike one to your satisfaction. And
if your ladyship should want a trifle of smuggled
lace "
" You had better be careful, or you will get into trouble,
I think," said Miss Wilson sternly. **Tell him to drive on."
The vehicles started ; and Smilash took the liberty of
waving his hat after them. Then he returned to the
chalet ; left the umbrella within ; came out again ; locked
the door ; put the key in his pocket ; and walked off
through the rain across the hill without taking the least
notice of the astonished parsons.
In the meantime, Miss Wilson, unable to contain her
annoyance at Agatha's extravagance, spoke of it to the
girls who shared the coach with her. But Jane declared
that Agatha only possessed threepence in the world, and
therefore could not possibly have given the man thirty
times that sum. When they reached the college, Agatha,
confronted with Miss Wilson, opened her eyes in wonder,
and exclaimed, laughing, " I only gave him threepence.
He has sent me a present of four and ninepence ! "
CHAPTER IV.
Saturday at Alton College, nominally a half holiday, was
really a whole cne. Classes in gymnastics, dancing,
elocution, and drawing, were held in the morning. The
afternoon was spent at lawn tennis, to which lady guests
resident in the neighbourhood were allowed to bring their
husbands, brothers and fathers : Miss Wilson being anxious
to send her pupils forth into the world free from the
uncouth stiffness of schoolgirls unaccustomed to society.
Late in October came a Saturday which proved any-
38 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
thing but a holiday for Miss Wilson. At half-past one,
luncheon being over, she went out of doors to a lawn
that lay between the southern side of the college and
a shrubbery. Here she found a group of girls watching
Agatha and Jane, who were dragging a roller over the
grass. One of them, tossing a ball about with her racket,
happened to drive it into the shrubbery, whence, to the
surprise of the company, Smilash presently emerged
carrying the ball ; blinking ; and proclaiming that, though
a common man, he had his feelings like another, and that
his eye was neither a stick nor a stone. He was dressed
as before ; but his garments, soiled with clay and lime, no
longer looked new.
'* What brings you here, pray } " demanded Miss Wilson.
** I was led into the belief that you sent forme, lady," he
replied. ** The baker's lad told me so as he passed my
'umble cot this morning. \ thought he were incapable of
deceit."
'* That is quite right : I did send for you. But why did
you not go round to the servants' hall ? "
*' I am at present in search of it, lady. I were looking
for it when this ball cotch me here " (touching his eye).
**A cruel blow on the hi nat'rally spiles its vision and
expression, and makes a honest man look like a thief."
" Agatha," said Miss Wilson : " come here."
"My dooty to you. Miss," said Smilash, pulling his
forelock.
"This is the man from whom I had the five shillings,
which he said you had just given him. Did you do so } "
*' Certainly not. I only gave him threepence."
" But I showed the money to your ladyship," said
Smilash, twisting his hat agitatedly. " I gev it you.
Where would the like of me get five shillings except by
the bounty of the rich and noble } If the young lady
thinks I hadnt ort to have kep the tother 'arf- crown, I
would not object to its bein' stopped from my wages if I
were given a job of work here. But "
** But it's nonsense," said Agatha. " I never gave you
three half-crowns."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
39
** Perhaps you mout 'a made a mistake. Pence is
summat similar to 'arf-crowns ; and the day were very
dark."
'* I couldnt have," said Agatha. ** Jane had my purse
all the earlier part of the week, Miss Wilson ; and she can
tell you that there was only threepence in it. You know
that I get my money on the first of every month. It never
lasts longer than a week. The idea of my having seven
and sixpence on the sixteenth is ridiculous."
'* But I put it to you, Miss, aint it twice as ridiculous for
me, a poor labourer, to give up money wot I never got } "
Vague alarm crept upon Agatha as the testimony of her
senses was contradicted. *' AH I know is," she protested,
"that I did not give it to you; so my pennies must have
turned into half-crowns in your pocket."
" Mebbe so," said Smilash gravely. ** I've heard, and I
know it for a fact, that money grows in the pockets of the
rich. Why not in the pockets of the poor as well ? Why
should you be su'prised at wot 'appens every day ? "
" Had you any money of your own about you at the
time?"
" Where could the like of me get money ? — asking
pardon for making so bold as to catechise your ladyship."
" I dont know where you could get it," said Miss
Wilson testily : " I ask you, had you any ? "
" Well, lady, I disremember. I will not impose upon
you. I disremember."
*' Then you have made a mistake," said Miss Wilson,
handing him back his money. ** Here. If it is not yours,
it is not ours ; so you had better keep it."
" Keep it ! Oh, lady, but this is the heighth of nobility !
And what shall I do to earn your bounty, lady ? "
** It is not my bounty : I give it to you because it does
not belong to me, and, I suppose, must belong to you.
You seem to be a very simple man."
" I thank your ladyship : I hope I am. Respecting the
day's work, now, lady : was you thinking of employing a
poor man at all ? "
'* No, thank you : I have no occasion foi your services.
40 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
I have also to give you the shilling I promised you for
getting the cabs. Here it is."
" Another shillin' ! " cried Smilash, stupified.
" Yes," said Miss Wilson, beginning to feel very angry.
" Let me hear no more about it, please. Dont you under-
stand that you have earned it 1 "
" I am a common man, and understand next to nothing,"
he replied reverently. " But if your ladyship would give
me a day's work to keep me goin', I could put up all this
money in a little wooden savings bank I have at home,
and keep it to spend when sickness or old age shall, in a
manner of speaking, lay their 'ands upon me. I could
smooth that grass beautiful : them young ladies'll strain
themselves with that heavy roller. If tennis is the word,
I can put up nets fit to catch birds of paradise in. If the
courts is to be chalked out in white, I can draw a line so
straight that you could hardly keep yourself from erectin'
an equilateral triangle on it. I am honest when well
watched ; and I can wait at table equal to the Lord Mayor
o' London's butler."
" I cannot employ you without a character," said Miss
Wilson, amused by his scrap of Euclid, and wondering
where he had picked it up.
"I bear the best of characters, lady. The reverend
rector has known me from a boy."
" I was speaking to him about you yesterday," said Miss
Wilson, looking hard at him; "and he says you are a
perfect stranger to him."
" Gentlemen is so forgetful," said Smilash sadly. " But
I alluded to my native rector — meaning the rector of my
native village. Auburn. * Sweet Auburn, loveliest village
of the plain,' as the gentleman called it."
** That was not the name you mentioned to Mr. Fair-
holme. I do not recollect what name you gave ; but it
was not Auburn, nor have I ever heard of any such place."
" Never read of sweet Auburn ! "
" Not in any geography or gazetteer. Do you recollect
telling me that you have been in prison ? "
** Only six times," pleaded Smilash, his features working
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 41
convulsively. " Dont bear too hard on a common man.
Only six times, and all through drink. But I have took
the pledge, and kep' it faithful for eighteen months
past."
Miss Wilson now set down the man as one of those
keen half-witted country fellows, contemptuously styled
originals, who unintentionally make themselves popular by
flattering the sense of sanity in those whose faculties are
better adapted to circumstances.
"You have a bad memory, Mr. Smilash," she said good-
humouredly. " You never give the same account of your-
self twice."
" I am well aware that I do not express myself with
exactability. Ladies and gentlemen have that power over
words that they can always say what they mean ; but a
common man like me cant. Words dont come natural
to him. He has more thoughts than words ; and what
words he has dont fit his thoughts. Might I take a turn
with the roller, and make myself useful about the place
until nightfall, for ninepence } "
Miss Wilson, who was expecting more than her usual
Saturday visitors, considered the proposition, and assented.
" And remember," she said, " that as you are a stranger
here, your character in Lyvern depends upon the use you
make of this opportunity."
" I am grateful to your" noble ladyship. May your lady-
ship's goodness sew up the hole which is in the pocket
where I carry my character, and which has caused me to
lose it so frequent. It's a bad place for men to keep their
characters in ; but such is the fashion. And so hurray for
the glorious nineteenth century ! "
He took off his coat ; seized the roller ; and began to
pull it with an energy foreign to the measured mill-horse
manner of the accustomed labourer. Miss Wilson looked
doubtfully at him, but, being in haste, went indoors with-
out further comment. The girls, mistrusting his eccentri-
city, kept aloof. Agatha determined to have another and
better look at him. Racket in hand, she walked slowly
across the grass, and came close to him just as he, unaware
42 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
of her approach, uttered a groan of exhaustion, and sat
down to rest.
** Tired already, Mr. Smilash } " she said mockingly.
He looked up deliberately ; took off one of his wash-
leather gloves ; fanned himself with it, displaying a white
and fine hand ; and at last replied, in the tone and with
the accent of a gentleman,
"Very."
Agatha recoiled. He fanned himself without the least
concern.
*' You — you are not a labourer," she said at last.
" Obviously not."
" I thought not."
He nodded.
*' Suppose I tell on you," she said, growing bolder as
she recollected that she was not alone with him.
** If you do, I shall get out of it just as I got out of the
half-crowns ; and Miss Wilson will begin to think that you
are mad."
" Then I nsally did not give you the seven and six-
pence," she said, relieved.
" What is your own opinion } " he answered, taking
three pennies from his pocket, jingling them in his
palm. " What is your name } "
" I shall not tell you," said Agatha with dignity.
He shrugged his shoulders. *■' Perhaps you are right,"
he said. " I would not tell you mine if you asked me."
" I have not the slightest intention of asking you."
" No ? Then Smilash shall do for you ; and Agatha
will do for me."
" You had better take care."
'* Of what?"
"Of what you say, and — Are you not afraid of being
found out } "
" I am found out already — by you ; and I am none the
worse."
" Suppose the police find you out ! "
" Not they. Besides, I am not hiding from the police.
I have a right to wear corduroy if I prefer it to broadcloth.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 43
Consider the advantages of it ! It has procured me
admission to Alton College, and the pleasure of your
acquaintance. Will you excuse me if I go on with my
rolling, just to keep up appearances. I can talk as I
roll."
"You may, if you are fond of soliloquizing," she said,
turning away as he rose.
" Seriously, Agatha, you must not tell the others about
me."
** Do not call me Agatha," she said impetuously.
" What shall I call you, then } "
** You need not address me at all."
" I need, and will. Dont be ill natured."
"But I dont know you. I wonder at your " She
hesitated at the word which occurred to her, but, being
unable to think of a better one, used it. " at your
cheek."
He laughed ; and she watched him take a couple of turns
with the roller. Presently, refreshing himself by a look
at her, he caught her looking at him, and smiled. His
smile was commonplace in comparison with the one she
gave him in return, in which her eyes, her teeth, and the
golden grain in her complexion seemed to flash simultane-
ously. He stopped rolling immediately, and rested his
chin on the handle of the roller.
"If you neglect your work," said she maliciously, "you
wont have the grass ready when the people come."
" What people } " he said, taken aback.
" Oh, lots of people. Most likely some who know you.
There are visitors coming from London : my guardian, my
guardianess, their daughter, my mother, and about a
hundred more."
" Four in all. What are they coming for } To see
you } "
"To take me away," she replied, watching for signs of
disappointment on his part.
They were at once forthcoming. " What the deuce are
they going to take you away for } " he said. " Is your
education finished } "
44 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
" No. I have behaved badly ; and I am going to be
expelled."
He laughed again. " Come!" he said : " you are begin-
ning to invent in the Smilash manner. What have you
done } "
'* I dont see why I should tell you. What have you
done ? "
" I ! Oh : I have done nothing. I am only an unromantic
gentleman, hiding from a romantic lady who is in love with
me."
" Poor thing ! " said Agatha sarcastically. " Of course,
she has proposed to you ; and you have refused."
" On the contrary : I proposed ; and she accepted. That
is why I have to hide."
" You tell stories charmingly," said Agatha. ** Good-bye.
Here is Miss Carpenter coming to hear what we are talk-
ing about."
" Good-bye. That story of your being expelled beats
Might a common man make so bold as to inquire
where the whitening machine is, Miss } "
This was addressed to Jane, who had come up with some
of the others. Agatha expected to see Smilash presently
discovered ; for his disguise now seemed transparent : she
wondered how the rest could be imposed on by it. Two
o'clock, striking just then, reminded her of the impending
interview with her guardian. A tremor shook her ; and
she felt a craving for some solitary hiding-place in which
to await the summons. But it was a point of honour with
her to appear perfectly indifferent to her trouble ; so
she stayed with the girls, laughing and chatting as
they watched Smilash intently marking out the courts
and setting up the nets. She made the others laugh too ;
for her hidden excitement, sharpened by irrepressible
shootings of dread, stimulated her ; and the romance of
Smilash's disguise gave her a sensation of dreaming. Her
imagination was already busy upon a drama, of which she
was the heroine and Smilash the hero ; though, with the
real man before her, she could not indulge herself by
attributing to him quite as much gloomy grandeur of
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 45
character as to a wholly ideal personage. The plot was
simple, and an old favourite with her. One of them was
to love the other, and to die broken-hearted because the
loved one would not requite the passion. For Agatha,
prompt to ridicule sentimentality in her companions, and
gifted with an infectious spirit of farce, secretly turned for
imaginative luxury to visions of despair and death ; and
often endured the mortification of the successful clown who
believes, whilst the public roar with laughter at him, that
he was born a tragedian. There was much in her nature,
she felt, that did not find expression in her popular repre-
sentation of the soldier in the chimney.
By three o'clock, the local visitors had arrived ; and
tennis was proceeding in four courts, rolled and prepared
by Smilash. The two curates were there, with a few lay
gentlemen. Mrs. Miller, the vicar, and some mothers and
other chaperons looked on and consumed light refresh-
ments, which were brought out upon trays by Smilash, who
had borrowed and put on a large white apron, and was
making himself officiously busy.
At a quarter past the hour, a message came from Miss
Wilson, requesting Miss Wylie's attendance. The visitors
were at a loss to account for the sudden distraction of the
young ladies' attention which ensued. Jane almost burst
into tears, and answered Josephs rudely when he in-
nocently asked what the matter was. Agatha went away
apparently unconcerned, though her hand shook as she
put aside her racket.
In a spacious drawing-room at the north side of the
college, she found her mother, a slight woman in widow's
weeds, with faded brown hair, and tearful eyes. With her
were Mrs. Jansenius and her daughter. The two elder
ladies kept severely silent whilst Agatha kissed them ;
and Mrs. Wylie sniifed. Henrietta embraced Agatha
eff"usively.
"Where's Uncle John.?" said Agatha. " Hasnt he
come .?"
** He is in the next room with Miss Wilson," said Mrs.
Jansenius coldly. " They want you in there."
46 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
"I thought somebody was dead," said Agatha: "you
all look so funereal. Now, mamma, put your handkerchief
back again. If you cry, I will give Miss Wilson a piece
of my mind for worrying you."
** No, no," said Mrs. Wylie, alarmed. " She has been
so nice ! "
" So good ! " said Henrietta.
** She has been perfectly reasonable and kind," said
Mrs. Jansenius.
"She always is," said Agatha complacently. "You
didnt expect to find her in hysterics, did you ? "
"Agatha," pleaded Mrs. Wylie: "dont be headstrong
and foolish."
" Oh, she wont : I know she wont," said Henrietta
coaxingly. " Will you, dear Agatha } "
" You may do as you like, as far as I am concerned,"
said Mrs. Jansenius. " But I hope you have more sense
than to throw away your education for nothing."
"Your aunt is quite right," said Mrs. Wylie. "And
your Uncle John is very angry with you. He will never
speak to you again if you quarrel with Miss Wilson."
" He is not angry," said Henrietta ; " but he is so
anxious that you should get on well."
" He will naturally be disappointed if you persist in
making a fool of yourself," said Mrs. Jansenius.
" All Miss Wilson wants is an apology for the dreadful
things you wrote in her book," said Mrs. W^ylie. " You'll
apologize, dear, wont you } "
" Of course she will," said Henrietta.
" I think you had better," said Mrs. Jansenius.
" Perhaps I will," said Agatha.
"That's my own darling," said Mrs. Wylie, catching
her hand.
" And perhaps, again, I wont."
" You will, dear," urged Mrs. Wylie, trying to draw
Agatha, who passively resisted, closer to her. " For my
sake. To oblige your mother, Agatha. You wont refuse
me, dearest ? "
Agatha laughed indulgently at her parent, who had long
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 47
ago worn out this form of appeal. Then she turned to
Henrietta, and said, '* How is your caro sposo ? I think it
was hard that I was not a bridesmaid."
The red in Henrietta's cheeks brightened. Mrs.
Jansenius hastened to interpose a dry reminder that Miss
Wilson was waiting.
"Oh, she does not mind waiting," said Agatha, ** because
she thinks you are all at work getting me into a proper
frame of mind. That was the arrangement she made with
you before she left the room. Mamma knows that I have
a little bird that tells me these things. I must say that
you have not made me feel any goody-goodier so far.
However, as poor Uncle John must be dreadfully frightened
and uncomfortable, it is only kind to put an end to his
suspense. Good-bye." And she went out leisurely. But
she looked in again to say in a low voice, ** Prepare for
something thrilling. I feel just in the humour to say the
most awful things." She vanished ; and immediately they
heard her tapping at the door of the next room.
Mr. Jansenius was indeed awaiting her with misgiving.
Having discovered early in his career that his dignified
person and fine voice caused people to stand in some awe
of him, and to move him into the chair at public meetings,
he had grown so accustomed to deference that any ap-
proach to familiarity or irreverence disconcerted him
exceedingly. Agatha, on the other hand, having from her
childhood heard Uncle John quoted as wisdom and
authority incarnate, had begun in her tender years to scoff
at him as a pompous and purseproud city merchant, whose
sordid mind was unable to cope with her transcendental
affairs. She had habitually terrified her mother by
ridiculing him with an absolute contempt of which only
childhood and extreme ignorance are capable. She had
felt humiliated by his kindness to her (he was a generous
giver of presents) ; and, with the instinct of an anarchist,
had taken disparagement of his advice and defiance of his
authority as the signs wherefrom she might infer surely
that her face was turned to the light. The result was that
he was a little afraid of her without being quite conscious
48 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
of it ; and she not at all afraid of him, and a little too
conscious of it.
When she entered with her brightest smile in full play,
Miss Wilson and Mr. Jansenius, seated at the table, looked
somewhat like two culprits about to be indicted. Miss
Wilson waited for him lo speak, deferring to his imposing
presence. But he was not ready ; so she invited Agatha
to sit down.
" Thank you," said Agatha sweetly. ** Well, Uncle
John : dont you know me ? "
" I have heard with regret from Miss Wilson that you
have been very troublesome here," he said, ignoring her
remark, though secretly put out by it.
" Yes," said Agatha contritely. ** I am so very sorry."
Mr. Jansenius, who had been led by Miss Wilson to
expect the utmost contumacy, looked to her in surprise.
** You seem to think," said Miss Wilson, conscious of
Mr. Jansenius's movement, and annoyed by it, ** that you
may transgress over and over again, and then set yourself
right with us" (Miss Wilson never spoke of offences as
against her individual authority, but as against the school
community) " by saying that you are sorry. You spoke in
a very different tone at our last meeting."
" I was angry then. Miss Wilson. And I thought I had
a grievance — everybody thinks they have the same one.
Besides, we were quarrelling — at least I was ; and I always
behave badly when I quarrel. I am so very sorry."
** The book was a serious matter," said Miss Wilson
gravely. "You do not seem to think so."
" I understand Agatha to say that she is now sensible of
the folly of her conduct with regard to the book ; and that
she is sorry for it," said Mr. Jansenius, instinctively inclin-
ing to Agatha's party as the stronger one, and the least
dependent on him in a pecuniary sense.
" Have you seen the book ? " said Agatha eagerly.
" No. Miss Wilson has described what has occurred."
" Oh, do let me get it," she cried, rising. " It will
make Uncle John scream with laughing. May I, Miss
Wilson?"
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 49
" There ! " said Miss Wilson, indignantly. " It is this
incorrigible flippancy of which I have to complain. Miss
Wylie only varies it by downright insubordination."
Mr. Jansenius too was scandalized. His fine colour
mounted at the idea of his screaming. ** Tut, tut ! " he
said: "you must be serious, and more respectful to Miss
Wilson. You are old enough to know better now, Agatha
— quite old enough."
Agatha's mirth vanished. ** What have I said ? What
have I done ? " she asked, a faint purple spot appearing
in her cheeks.
** You have spoken triflingly of — of the volume by which
Miss Wilson sets great store, and properly so."
** If properly so, then why do you find fault with me } "
*' Come, come," roared Mr. Jansenius, deliberately losing
his temper as a last expedient to subdue her: *' dont be
impertinent. Miss."
Agatha's eyes dilated : evanescent flushes played upon
her cheeks and neck : she stamped with her heel. *' Uncle
John," she cried : " if you dare to address me like that, I
will never look at you, never speak to you, nor ever enter
your house again. What do you know about good
manners, that you should call me impertinent? I will
not submit to intentional rudeness : that was the begin-
ning of my quarrel with Miss Wilson. She told me I
was impertinent ; and I went away and told her that she
was wrong by writing it in the fault book. She has been
wrong all through ; and I would have said so before, but
that I wanted to be reconciled to her, and to let bygones
be bygones. But if she insists on quarrelling, I cannot
help it."
" I have already explained to you, Mr. Jansenius," said
Miss Wilson, concentrating her resentment by an effort to
suppress it, " that Miss Wylie has ignored all the oppor-
tunities that have been made for her to reinstate herself
here. Mrs. Miller and I have waived merely personal
considerations ; and I have only required a simple
acknowledgment of this offence against the college and
its rules."
50 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
" I do not care that for Mrs. Miller," said Agatha, snap-
ping her fingers. '* And you are not half so good as I
thought."
** Agatha," said Mr. Jansenius : "I desire you to hold
your tongue."
Agatha drew a deep breath ; sat down resignedly ; and
said, "There! I have done. I have lost my temper; so
now we have all lost our tempers."
" You have no right to lose your temper, Miss," said
Mr. Jansenius, following up a fancied advantage.
" I am the youngest, and the least to blame," she replied.
*' There is nothing further to be said, Mr. Jansenius,"
said Miss Wilson, determinedly. *' I am sorry that Miss
Wylie has chosen to break with us."
*' But I have not chosen to break with you ; and I think
it very hard that I am to be sent away. Nobody here has
the least quarrel with me except you and Mrs. Miller.
Mrs. Miller is annoyed because she mistook me for her
cat, as if that was my fault ! And really. Miss Wilson, I
dont know why you are so angry. All the girls will think
I have done something infamous if I am expelled. I
ought to be let stay until the end of the term ; and as
to the Rec — the fault book, you told me most particularly
when I first came that I might write in it or not just as
I pleased, and that you never dictated or interfered with
what was written. And yet the very first time I write a
word you disapprove of, you expel me. Nobody will ever
believe now that the entries are voluntary."
Miss Wilson's conscience, already smitten by the coarse-
ness and absence of moral force in the echo of her own
** You are impertinent," from the mouth of Mr. Jansenius,
took fresh alarm. " The fault book," she said, ** is for
the purpose of recording self-reproach alone, and is not
a vehicle for accusations against others."
*' I am quite sure that neither Jane nor Gertrude nor I
reproached ourselves in the least for going downstairs as
we did ; and yet you did not blame us for entering that.
Besides, the book represented moral force — at least you
always said so ; and when you gave up moral force, I
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 51
thought an entry should be made of that. Of course I
was in a rage at the time ; but when I came to myself I
thought I had done right ; and I think so still, though it
would perhaps have been better to have passed it over."
"Why do you say that I gave up moral force ?"
*' Telling people to leave the room is not moral force.
Calling them impertinent is not moral force."
".You think then that I am bound to listen patiently to
whatever you choose to say to me, however unbecoming
it may be from one in your position to one in mine ? "
" But I said nothing unbecoming," said Agatha. Then,
breaking off restlessly, and smiling again, she said, " Oh,
dont let us argue. I am very sorry, and very troublesome,
and very fond of you and of the college ; and I wont
come back next term unless you like."
"Agatha," said Miss Wilson, shaken: "these expres-
sions of regard cost you so little, and, when they have
effected their purpose, are so soon forgotten hy you, that
they have ceased to satisfy me. I am very reluctant to
insist on your leaving us at once. But as your uncle has
told you, you are old and sensible enough to know the
difference between order and disorder. Hitherto you
have been on the side of disorder, an element which was
hardly known here until you came, as Mrs. Trefusis can
tell you. Nevertheless, if you will promise to be more
careful in future, I will waive all past cause of complaint ;
and at the end of the term I shall be able to judge as to
your continuing among us."
Agatha rose, beaming. "Dear Miss Wilson," she said,
" you are so good ! I promise, of course. I will go and
tell mamma."
Before they could add a word, she had turned with a
pirouette to the door, and fled, presenting herself a
moment later in the drawing-room to the three ladies,
whom she surveyed with a whimsical smile in silence.
" Well ? " said Mrs. Jansenius peremptorily.
" Well, dear ? " said Mrs. Trefusis, caressingly.
Mrs. Wylie stifled a sob and looked imploringly at her
daughter.
52 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" I had no end of trouble in bringing them to reason,"
said Agatha, after a provoking pause. " They behaved like
children ; and I was like an angel. I am to stay, of
course."
*' Blessings on you, my darling," faltered Mrs. Wylie,
attempting a kiss, which Agatha dexterously evaded.
'* I have promised to be very good, and studious, and
quiet, and decorous, in future. Do you remember my Cas-
tanet song, Hetty ?
Tra ! lalala, la ! la ! la !
Tra ! lalala, la ! la ! la !
Tra ! lalalalalalalalalalala !"
And she danced about the room, snapping her fingers
instead of castanets.
" Dont be so reckless and wicked, my love," said Mrs.
Wylie. "You will break your poor mother's heart."
Miss Wilson and Mr. Jansenius entered just then ; and
Agatha became motionless and gazed abstractedly at a
vase of flowers. Miss Wilson invited her visitors to join
the tennis players. Mr. Jansenius looked sternly and
disappointedly at Agatha, who elevated her left eyebrow
and depressed her right simultaneously; but he, shaking
his head to signify that he was not to be conciliated by
facial feats, however difficult or contrary to nature, went
out with Miss Wilson, followed by Mrs. Jansenius and
Mrs. Wylie.
"■ How is your Hubby ? " said Agatha then, brusquely
to Henrietta.
Mrs. Trefusis's eyes filled with tears so quickly that,
as she bent her head to hide them, they fell, sprinkling
Agatha's hand,
" This is such a dear old place," she began. ** The
associations of my girlhood "
" What is the matter between you and Hubby ? " de-
manded Agatha, interrupting her. "You had better tell
me, or I will ask him when 1 meet him."
" I was about to tell you, only you did not give me
time."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 53
" That is a most awful cram," said Agatha. " But no
matter. Go on."
Henrietta hesitated. Her dignity as a married woman,
and the reality of her grief, revolted against the shallow
acuteness of the schoolgirl. But she found herself no
better able to resist Agatha's domineering than she had
been in her childhood, and much more desirous of obtain-
ing her sympathy. Besides, she had already learnt
to tell the story herself rather than leave its narration
to others, whose accounts did not, she felt, put her case
in the proper light. So she told Agatha of her marriage ;
her wild love for her husband ; his wild love for her ; and
his mysterious disappearance without leaving word or sign
behind him. She did not mention the letter.
** Have you had him searched for ? " said Agatha, re-
pressing an inclination to laugh.
** But where } Had I the remotest clue, I would follow
him barefoot to the end of the world."
*' I think you ought to search all the rivers : you would
have to do that barefoot. He must have fallen in some-
where, or fallen down some place."
" No, no. Do you think I should be here if I thought
his life in danger ? I have reasons — I know that he is
only gone away."
*' Oh, indeed ! He took his portmanteau with him, did
he ? Perhaps he has gone to Paris to buy you something
nice, and give you a pleasant surprise."
" No," said Henrietta dejectedly. " He knew that I
wanted nothing."
'* Then I suppose he got tired of you and ran away."
Henrietta's peculiar scarlet blush flowed rapidly over her
cheeks as she flung Agatha's arm away, exclaiming, '* How
dare you say so ? You have no heart. He adored me."
" Bosh ! " said Agatha. ** People always grow tired of
one another. I grow tired of myself whenever I am left
alone for ten minutes ; and I am certain that I am fonder
of myself than anyone can be of another person."
" I know you are," said Henrietta, pained and spiteful.
*' You have always been particularly fond of yourself."
54 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Very likely he resembles me in that respect. In that
case he will grow tired of himself and come back ; and
you will both coo like turtle doves until he runs away
again. Ugh ! Serve you right for getting married. I
wonder how people can be so mad as to do it, with the
example of their married acquaintances all warning them
against it."
**You dont know what it is to love," said Henrietta,
plaintively, and yet patronizingly. " Besides, we were
not like other couples."
" So it seems. But never mind : take my word for it,
he will return to you as soon as he has had enough of his
own company. Dont worry thinking about him; but come
and have a game at lawn tennis."
During this conversation they had left the drawing-
room, and made a detour through the grounds. They
were now approaching the tennis courts by a path which
wound between two laurel hedges through the shrubbery.
Meanwhile, Smilash, waiting on the guests in his white
apron and gloves (which he had positively refused to take
off, alleging that he was a common man, with common
hands such as born ladies and gentlemen could not be
expected to take meat and drink from) had behaved
himself irreproachably until the arrival of Miss Wilson
and her visitors, which occurred as he was returning to
the table with an empty tray, moving so swiftly that he
nearly came into collision with Mrs. Jansenius. Instead
of apologizing, he changed countenance, hastily held up
the tray like a shield before his face, and began to walk
backward from her, stumbling presently against Miss
Lindsay, who was running to return a ball. Without
heeding her angry look and curt rebuke, he half turned,
and sidled away into the shrubbery, whence the tray
presently rose into the air ; flew across the laurel hedge ;
and descended with a peal of stage thunder on the stooped
shoulders of Josephs. Miss Wilson, after asking the
housekeeper, with some asperity, why she had allowed
that man to interfere in the attendance, explained to the
guests that he was the idiot of the countryside. Mr.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 55
Jansenius laughed, and said that he had not seen the
man's face, but that his figure reminded him forcibly of
some one : he could not just then recollect exactly whom.
Smilash, making off through the shrubbery, found the
end of his path blocked by Agatha and a young lady
whose appearance alarmed him more than had that of
Mrs. Jansenius. He attempted to force his way through
the hedge, but in vain : the laurel was impenetrable ; and
the noise he made attracted the attention of the approach-
ing couple. He made no further effort to escape, but
threw his borrowed apron over his head, and stood bolt
upright with his back against the bushes.
" What is that man doing there 1 " said Henrietta,
stopping mistrustfully.
Agatha laughed, and said loudly, so that he might hear,
*' It is only a harmless madman that Miss Wilson employs.
He is fond of disguising himself in some silly way, and
trying to frighten us. Dont be afraid. Come on."
Henrietta hung back ; but her arm was linked in
Agatha's, and she was drawn along in spite of herself.
Smilash did not move. Agatha strolled on coolly, and
as she passed him, adroitly caught the apron between her
finger and thumb, and twitched it from his face. Instantly
Henrietta uttered a piercing scream, and Smilash caught
her in his arms.
** Quick," he said to Agatha : " she is fainting. Run
for some water. Run ! " And he bent over Henrietta,
who clung to him frantically. Agatha, bewildered by the
effect of her practical joke, hesitated a moment, and then
ran to the lawn.
" What is the matter ? " said Fairholme.
" Nothing. I want some water — quick, please. Henri-
etta has fainted in the shrubbery : that is all."
" Please do not stir," said Miss Wilson authoritatively :
" you will crowd the path, and delay useful assistance.
Miss Ward : kindly get some water and bring it to us.
Agatha : come with me and point out where Mrs.
Trefusis is. You may come, too. Miss Carpenter : you are
so strong. The rest will please remain where they are."
56 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Followed by the two girls, she hurried into the shrub-
bery, where Mr. Jansenius was already looking anxiously
for his daughter. He was the only person they found
there. Smilash and Henrietta were gone.
At first the seekers, merely puzzled, did nothing but
question Agatha incredulously as to the exact spot on
which Henrietta had fallen. But Mr. Jansenius soon made
them understand that the position of a lady in the hands
of a half-witted labourer was one of danger. His agitation
infected them ; and when Agatha endeavoured to reassure
him by declaring that Smilash was a disguised gentleman.
Miss Wilson, supposing this to be a mere repetition of her
former idle conjecture, told her sharply to hold her tongue,
as the time was not one for talking nonsense. The news
now spread through the whole company ; and the excite-
ment became intense. Fairholme shouted for volunteers
to make up a searching party. All the men present
responded ; and they were about to rush to the college
gates in a body when it occurred to the cooler among them
that they had better divide into several parties, in order
that search might be made at once in different quarters.
Ten minutes of confusion followed. Mr. Jansenius started
several times in quest of Henrietta, and, when he had
gone a few steps, returned and begged that no more time
should be wasted. Josephs, whose faith was simple,
retired to pray, and did good, as far as it went, by with-
drawing one voice from the din of plans, objections and
suggestions which the rest were making: each person
trying to be heard above the others.
At last Miss Wilson quelled the prevailing anarchy.
Servants were sent to alarm the neighbours and call in the
village police. Detachments were sent in various direc-
tions under the command of Fairholme and other energetic
spirits. The girls formed parties among themselves, which
were reinforced by male deserters from the previous levies.
Miss Wilson then went indoors, and conducted a search
through the interior of the college. Only two persons
were left on the tennis ground : Agatha and Mrs.
Jansenius, who had been surprisingly calm throughout.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 57
" You need not be anxious," said Agatha, who had been
standing aloof since her rebuff by Miss Wilson. ** I am
sure there is no danger. It is most extraordinary that they
have gone away ; but the man is no more mad than I am ;
and I know he is a gentleman. He told me so."
** Let us hope for the best," said Mrs. Jansenius,
smoothly. ** I think I will sit down — I feel so tired.
Thanks." (Agatha had handed her a chair.) ** What did
you say he told you } — this man."
Agatha related the circumstances of her acquaintance
with Smilash, adding at Mrs. Jansenius's request, a
minute description of his personal appearance. Mrs.
Jansenius remarked that it was very singular, and that she
was sure Henrietta was quite safe. She then partook of
claret-cup and sandwiches. Agatha, though glad to find
someone disposed to listen to her, was puzzled by her
aunt's coolness, and was even goaded into pointing out
that though Smilash was not a labourer, it did not follow
that he was an honest man. But Mrs. Jansenius only said,
*' Oh : she is safe — quite safe. At least, of course I can
only hope so. We shall have news presently," and took
another sandwich.
The searchers soon began to return, baffled. A few
shepherds, the only persons in the vicinity, had been
asked whether they had seen a young lady and a labourer.
Some of them had seen a young woman with a basket of
clothes, if that mout be her. Some thought that Phil
Martin the carrier would see her if anybody would. None
of them had any positive information to give.
As the afternoon wore on, and party after party returned
tired and unsuccessful, depression replaced excitement ;
conversation, no longer tumultuous, was carried on in
whispers ; and some of the local visitors slipped away to
their homes with a growing conviction that something
unpleasant had happened, and that it would be as well not
to be mixed up in it. Mr. Jansenius, though a few words
from his wife had surprised and somewhat calmed him,
was still pitiably restless and uneasy.
At last the police arrived. At sight of their uniforms,
58 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
*
excitement revived : there was a general conviction
that something effectual would be done now. But the
constables were only mortal ; and in a few moments a
whisper spread that they were fools. They doubted every-
thing told them, and expressed their contempt for amateur
searching by entering on a fresh investigation, prying with
the greatest care into the least probable places. Two of
them went oif to the chalet to look for Smilash. Then
Fairholme, sunburnt, perspiring, and dusty, but still
energetic, brought back the exhausted remnant of his
party, with a sullen boy, who scowled defiantly at the
police, evidently believing that he was about to be
delivered into their custody.
Fairholme had been everywhere, and, having seen
nothing of the missing pair, had come to the conclusion
that they were nowhere. He had asked everybody for
information, and had let them know that he meant to have
it too, if it was to be had. But it was not to be had. The
sole result of his labour was the evidence of the boy
whom he didnt believe.
" Hm ! " said the inspector, not quite pleased by Fair-
holme's zeal, and yet overborne by it. '* You're Wickens's
boy, aint you ? "
" Yes I am Wickens's boy," said the witness, partly
fierce, partly lachrymose ; " and I say I seen him ; and if
anyone sez I didnt see him, he's a lie."
" Come," said the inspector sharply : " give us none of
your cheek ; but tell us what you saw, or you'll have to
deal with me afterwards."
"I dont care who I deal with," said the boy, at bay.
** I cant be took for seein' him, because there's no lor agin
it. I was in the gravel pit in the canal meadow "
" What business had you there ? " said the inspector,
interrupting.
" I got leave to be there," said the boy insolently, but
reddening.
" Who gave you leave ? " said the inspector, collaring
him. '* Ah," he added, as the captive burst mto tears : " I
told you you'd have to deal with me. Now hold your
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 59
noise, and remember where you are and who you're speakin*
to ; and perhaps I maynt lock you up this time. Tell me
what you saw when you were trespassin' in the meadow."
**I sor a young 'oman, and a man. And I see her
kissin' him ; and the gentleman wont believe me."
** You mean you saw him kissing her, more likely."
" No I dont. I know wot it is to have a girl kiss you
when you dont want. And I gev a screech to friken 'em.
And he called me and gev me tuppence, and sez, ' You go
to the devil,' he sez ; * and dont tell no one you seen me
here, or else,' he sez, * I might be tempted to drownd you,'
he sez, * and wot a shock that would be to your parents ! '
* Oh yes, very likely,' I sez, jes' like that. Then I went
away, because he knows Mr. Wickens ; and I was afeerd of
his telling on me."
The boy being now subdued, questions were put to him
from all sides. But his powers of observation and descrip-
tion went no further. As he was anxious to propitiate his
captors, he answered as often as possible in the affirma-
tive. Mr. Jansenius asked him whether the young woman
he had seen was a lady ; and he said yes. Was the man
a labourer ? Yes — after a moment's hesitation. How was
she dressed ? He hadnt taken notice. Had she red
flowers in her hat 1 Yes. Had she a green dress 1 Yes.
Were the flowers in her hat yellow ? (Agatha's question.)
Yes. Was her dress pink } Yes. Sure it w^asnt black ?
No answer.
" I told you he was a liar," said Fairholme contemp-
tuously.
" Well : I expect he's seen something," said the
inspector ; ** but what it was, or who it was, is more than
I can get out of him."
There was a pause ; and they looked askance upon
Wickens's boy. His account of the kissing made it almost
an insult to the Janseniuses to identify with Henrietta the
person he had seen. Jane suggested dragging the canal,
but was silenced by an indignant " sh-sh-sh," accompanied
by apprehensive and sympathetic glances at the bereaved
parents. She was displaced from the focus of attention
6o AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
by the appearance of the two policemen who had been
sent to the chalet. Smilash was between them, apparently
a prisoner. At a distance, he seemed to have suffered
some frightful injury to his head ; but when he was
brought into the midst of the company, it appeared that
he had twisted a red handkerchief about his face as if
to soothe a toothache. He had a particularly hangdog
expression as he stood before the inspector with his head
bowed and his countenance averted from Mr. Jansenius,
who, attempting to scrutinize his features, could see
nothing but a patch of red handkerchief.
One of the policemen described how they had found
Smilash in the act of entering his dwelling ; how he had
refused to give any information or to go to the college, and
had defied them to take him there against his will ; and
how, on their at last proposing to send for the inspector
and Mr. Jansenius, he had called them asses, and con-
sented to accompany them. The policeman concluded
by declaring that the man was either drunk or designing,
as he could not or would not speak sensibly.
** Look here, governor," began Smilash to the inspector :
" I am a common man — no commoner goin', as you may
See for "
" That's 'im," cried Wickens's boy, suddenly struck with
a sense of his own importance as a witness. " That's 'im
that the lady kissed, and that gev me tuppence and
threatened to drownd me."
** And with a 'umble and contrite 'art do I regret that I
did not drownd you, you young rascal," said Smilash. *' It
aint manners to interrupt a man who, though common,
might be your father for years and wisdom."
" Hold your tongue," said the inspector to. the boy.
" Now, Smilash : do you wish to make any statement .? Be
careful ; for whatever you say may be used against you
hereafter."
** If you was to lead me straight away to the scaffold,
colonel, I could tell you no more than the truth. If any
man can say that he has heard Jeff Smilash tell a lie, let
him stand forth."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 6i
** We dont want to hear about that," said the inspector.
** As you are a stranger in these parts, nobody here knows
any bad of you. No more do they know any good of you
neither."
*' Colonel," said Smilash, deeply impressed : ** you have
a penetrating mind ; and you know a bad character at
sight. Not to deceive you, I am that given to lying, and
laziness, and self-indulgence of all sorts, that the only
excuse I can find for myself is that it is the nature of the
race so to be ; for most men is just as bad as me, and some
of 'em worser. I do not speak pers'nal to you, governor,
nor to the honourable gentlemen here assembled. But
then you, colonel, are a hinspector of police, which I take
to be more than merely human ; and as to the gentlemen
here, a gentleman aint a man — leastways not a common
man : the common man bein' but the slave wot feeds and
clothes the gentleman beyond the common."
*' Come," said the inspector, unable to follow these ob-
servations : "you are a clever dodger ; but you cant dodge
me. Have you any statement to make with reference to
the lady that was last seen in your company ? "
** Make a statement about a lady ! " said Smilash indig-
nantly. *' Far be the thought from my mind ! "
"What have you done with her.?" said Agatha, im-
petuously. *' Dont be silly."
" You're not bound to answer that, you know," said the
inspector, a little put out by Agatha's taking advantage of
her irresponsible unofficial position to come so directly to
the point. " You may if you like, though. If you've done
any harm, you'd better hold your tongue. If not, you'd
better say so."
** I will set the young lady's mind at rest respecting her
honourable sister," said Smilash. " When the young lady
caught sight of me, she fainted. Bein' but a young man,
and not used to ladies, I will not deny but that I were a
bit scared, and that my mind were not open to the sen-
siblest considerations. When she unveils her orbs, so to
speak, she ketches me round the neck, not knowin' me
from Adam the father of us all, and sez, ' Bring me some
62 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
water ; and dont let the girls see me.' Through not 'avin'
the intelligence to think for myself, I done just what she
told me. I ups with her in my arms — she bein' a light
weight and a slender figure — and makes for the canal as
fast as I could. When I got there, I lays her on the bank,
and goes for the water. But what with factories, and
pollutions, and high civilizations of one sort and another,
English canal water aint fit to sprinkle on a lady, much less
for her to drink. Just then, as luck would have it, a barge
came along, and took her aboard ; and "
" No such a thing," said Wickens's boy stubbornly, em-
boldened by witnessing the effrontery of one apparently of
his own class. ** I sor you two standin' together, and her
a kissin' of you. There wornt no barge."
*' Is the maiden modesty of a born lady to be disbelieved
on the word of a common boy that only walks the earth
by the sufferance of the landlords and moneylords he helps
to feed ? " cried Smilash indignantly. ** Why, you young
infidel, a lady aint made of common brick like you. She
dont know what a kiss means ; and if she did is it likely
that she'd kiss me when a fine man like the inspector here
would be only too happy to oblige her. Fie, for shame !
The barge were red and yellow, with a green dragon for a
figurehead, and a white horse to win' of it. Perhaps you're
colour-blind, and cant distinguish red and yellow. The
bargee was moved to compassion by the sight of the poor
faintin' lady and the offer of 'arf-a-crown ; and he had a
mother that acted as a mother should. There was a cabin
in that barge about as big as the locker where your ladyship
keeps your jam and pickles ; and in that locker the bargee
lives, quite domestic, with his wife and mother and five
children. Them canal boats is what you may call the
wooden walls of England."
*' Come : get on with your story," said the inspector.
"We know what barges is as well as you."
" I wish more knew of 'em," retorted Smilash : " perhaps
it 'ud lighten your work a bit. However, as I was sayin',
we went right down the canal to Lyvern, where we got off;
and the lady she took the railway omnibus, and went away
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 63
in it. With the noble openhandedness of her class, she
gave me sixpence : here it is, in proof that my words is
true. And Iwish her safe home ; and if I was on the rack
I could tell no more, except that when I got back I were
laid hands on by these here bobbies, contrary to the British
constitooshun ; and if your ladyship will kindly go to where
that constitooshun is wrote down, and find out wot it sez
about my rights and liberties — for I have been told that
the working-man has his liberties, and have myself seen
plenty took with him — you will oblige a common chap
more than his education will enable him to express."
** Sir," cried Mr. Jansenius suddenly : ** will you hold up
your head, and look me in the face ?"
Smilash did so, and immediately started theatrically,
exclaiming, " Whom do I see ? "
*' You would hardly believe it," he continued, addressing
the company at large ; " but I am well beknown to this
honourable gentleman. I see it upon your lips, governor,
to ask after my missus ; and I thank you for your condes-
cending interest. She is well, sir ; and my residence here
is fully agreed upon between us. What little cloud may
have rose upon our domestic horizon has past away ; and,
governor," — here Smilash's voice fell with graver emphasis
— " them as interferes betwixt man and wife now will incur
a nevvy responsibility. Here I am, such as you see me ;
and here I mean to stay, likewise such as you see me.
That is, if what you may call destiny permits. For destiny
is a rum thing, governor. I came here thinking it was the
last place in the world I should ever set eyes on you in ;
and blow me if you aint a'most the first person I pops on."
" I do not choose to be a party to this mummery
of "
" Asking your leave to take the word out of your mouth,
governor : I make you a party to nothink. Respecting my
past conduct, you may out with it or you may keep it to
yourself. All I say is that if you out with some of it I will
out with the rest. All or none. You are free to tell the
inspector here that I am a bad un. His penetrating mind
have discovered that already. But if you go into names
64 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
and particulars, you will not only be acting against the
wishes of my missus, but you will lead to my tellin' the
whole story right out afore everyone here, and then goin'
away where no one wont never find me."
*' I think the less said the better," said Mrs. Jansenius,
uneasily observant of the curiosity and surprise this dia-
logue was causing. " But understand this, Mr. "
** Smilash, dear lady : Jeff Smilash."
" — Mr. Smilash. Whatever arrangement you may have
made with your wife, it has nothing to do with me. You
have behaved infamously ; and I desire to have as little as
possible to say to you in future."
" I desire to have nothing to say to you — nothing!''^ said
Mr. Jansenius. ** I look on your conduct as an insult to
me, personally. You may live in any fashion you please,
and where you please. All England is open to you except
one place — my house. Come, Ruth." He offered his
arm to his wife ; she took it ; and they turned away, look-"
ing about for Agatha, who, disgusted at the gaping
curiosity of the rest, had pointedly withdrawn beyond ear-
shot of the conversation.
Miss Wilson looked from Smilash — who had watched
Mr. Jansenius's explosion of wrath with friendly interest,
as if it concerned him as a curious spectator only — to her
two visitors as they retreated. ** Pray do you consider this
man's statement satisfactory } " she said to them. ** / do
not."
" I am far too common a man to be able to make any
statement that could satisfy a mind cultivated as yours has
been," said Smilash ; ** but I would 'umbly pint out to you
that there is a boy yonder with a telegram trying to shove
hisself through the 'iborn throng."
" Miss Wilson ! " cried the boy shrilly.
She took the telegram ; read it ; and frowned. " We
have had all our trouble for nothing, ladies and gentle-
men," she said, with suppressed vexation. ** Mrs. Trefusis
says here that she has gone back to London. She has
not considered it necessary to add any explanation."
There was a general murmur of disappointment.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 65
" Dont lose heart, ladies," said Smilash. ** She may be
drowned or murdered for all we know. Anyone may send
a telegram in a false name. Perhaps it's a plant. Let's
hope for your sakes that some little accident — on the
railway, for instance — may happen yet."
Miss Wilson turned upon him, glad to find someone
with whom she might justly be angry. ''You had better
go about your business," she said. " And dont let me see
you here again."
*' This is 'ard," said Smilash plaintively. " My inten-
tions was nothing but good. But I know wot it is. It's
that young varmint a-saying that the young lady kissed
me."
** Inspector," said Miss Wilson : " will you oblige me
by seeing that he leaves the college as soon as possible."
*' Where's my wages ? " he retorted reproachfully.
** Where's my lawful wages ? I am su'prised at a lady like
you, chock full o' moral science and political economy,
wanting to put a poor man off. Where's your wages fund.^
Where's your remuneratory capital .? "
*' Dont you give him anything, maam," said the inspector.
" The money he's had from the lady will pay him very
well. Move on here, or we'll precious soon hurry you."
" Very well," grumbled Smilash. " I bargained for
ninepence ; and what with the roller, and opening the
soda water, and shoving them heavy tables about, there
was a decomposition of tissue in me to the tune of two
shillings. But all I ask is the ninepence, and let the lady
keep the one and threppence as the reward of abstinence.
Exploitation of labour at the rate of a hundred and twenty-
five per cent., that is. Come : give us ninepence ; and I'll
go straight off."
** Here is a shilling," said Miss Wilson. " Now go."
"Threppence change ! " cried Smilash. " Honesty has
ever been "
'* You may keep the change."
" You have a noble 'art, lady ; but you're flying in the
face of the law of supply and demand. If you keep payin'
at this rate, there'll be a rush of labourers to the college ;
66 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
and competition '11 soon bring you down from a shilling
to sixpence, let alone ninepence. That's the way wages
goes down and deathrates goes up, worse luck for the likes
of hus, as has to sell ourselves like pigs in the market."
He was about to continue, when the policeman took
him by the arm ; turned him towards the gate ; and pointed
expressively in that direction. Smilash looked vacantly at
him for a moment. Then with a wink at Fairholme, he
walked gravely away, amid general staring and silence.
CHAPTER V.
What had passed between Smilash and Henrietta remained
unknown except to themselves. Agatha had seen Henri-
etta clasping his neck in her arms, but had not waited to
hear the exclamation of" Sidney, Sidney," which followed,
nor to see him press her face to his breast in his anxiety
to stifle her voice as he said, "My darling love, dont
screech, I implore you. Confound it, we shall have the
whole pack here in a moment. Hush ! "
*' Dont leave me again, Sidney," she entreated, clinging
faster to him as his perplexed gaze, wandering towards the
entrance to the shrubbery, seemed to forsake her. A din
of voices in that direction precipitated his irresolution.
** We must run away, Hetty," he said. " Hold fast
about my neck ; and dont strangle me. Now then." He
lifted her upon his shoulder, and ran swiftly through the
grounds. When they were stopped by the wall, he placed
her atop of it ; scrambled over ; and made her jump into
his arms. Then he staggered away with her across the
fields, gasping out, in reply to the inarticulate remon-
strances which burst from her as he stumbled and reeled at
every hillock, '* Your weight is increasing at the rate of a
stone a second, my love. If you stoop you will break my
back. Oh Lord, here's a ditch ! "
** Let me down," screamed Henrietta in an ecstasy of
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 67
delight and apprehension. ** You will hurt yourself; and —
Oh do take "
He struggled through a dry ditch as she spoke, and came
out upon a grassy place that bordered the tow-path of the
canal. Here, on the bank of a hollow where the moss was
dry and soft, he seated her ; threw himself prone on his
elbows before her ; and said, panting,
" Nessus carrying off Dejanira was nothing to this !
Whew ! Well, my darling : are you glad to see me } "
"But "
" But me no buts, unless you wish me to vanish again
and for ever. Wretch that I am, I have longed for you
unspeakably more than once since I ran away from you.
You didnt care, of course."
** I did. I did indeed. Why did you leave me,
Sidney .? "
*' Lest a worse thing might befall. Come, dont let us
waste in explanations the few minutes we have left. Give
me a kiss."
"Then you are going to leave me again. Oh, Sid-
ney "
" Never mind to-morrow, Hetty. Be like the sun and
the meadow, which are not in the least concerned about
the coming winter. Why do you stare at that cursed
canal, blindly dragging its load of filth from place to place
until it pitches it into the sea — ^just as a crowded street
pitches its load into the cemetery .? Stare at me ; and give
me a kiss."
She gave him several, and said coaxingly, with her arm
still upon his shoulder, "You only talk that way to frighten
me, Sidney : I know you do."
" You are the bright sun of my senses," he said, embrac-
ing her. *' I feel my heart and brain wither in your smile ;
and I fling them to you for your prey with exultation.
How happy I am to have a wife who does not despise me
for doing so — who rather loves me the more ! "
" Dont be silly," said Henrietta, smiling vacantly. Then,
stung by a half intuition of his meaning, she repulsed him
and said angrily, " You despise me'^
68 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** Not more than I despise myself. Indeed, not so much ;
for many emotions that seem base from within, seem lov-
able from without."
** You intend to leave me again. I feel it. I know it."
** You think you know it because you feel it. Not a bad
reason, either ! "
'* Then you are going to leave me ? "
" Do you not feel it and know it } Yes, my cherished
Hetty : I assuredly am."
She broke into wild exclamations of grief; and he drew
her head down, and kissed her with a tender action which
she could not resist, and a wry face which she did not see.
" My poor Hetty, you dont understand me."
*' I only understand that you hate me, and want to go
away from me."
" That would be easy to understand. But the strange-
ness is that I love you and want to go away from you. Not
for ever. Only for a time."
" But I dont want you to go away. I wont let you go
away," she said, a trace of fierceness mingling with her
entreaty. ** Why do you want to leave me if you love
me ? "
" How do I know .? I can no more tell you the whys
and wherefores of myself than I can lift myself up by the
waistband and carry myself into the next county, as some
one challenged a speculator in perpetual motion to do. I
am too much a pessimist to respect my own aifections.
Do you know what a pessimist is } "
"A man who thinks everybody as nasty as himself, and
hates them for it."
" So, or thereabout. Modern English polite society,
my native sphere, seems to me as corrupt as conscious-
ness of culture and absence of honesty can make it. A
canting, lie-loving, fact-hating, scribbling, chattering,
wealth-hunting, pleasure-hunting, celebrity-hunting mob,
that, having lost the fear of hell, and not replaced it by
the love of justice, cares for nothing but the lion's share
of the wealth wrung by threat of starvation from the hands
of the classes that create it. — If you interrupt me with
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 69
a silly speech, Hetty, I will pitch you into the canal, and
die of sorrow for my lost love afterwards. — You know
what I am, according to the conventional description : a
gentleman with lots of money. Do you know the wicked
origin of that money and gentility ? "
" Oh, Sidney : have you been doing anything ? "
** No, my best beloved : I am a gentleman, and have
been doing nothing. That a man can do so and not
starve is now-a-dajs not even a paradox. Every halfpenny
I possess is stolen money ; but it has been stolen legally ;
and, what is of some practical importance to you, I have
no means of restoring it to the rightful owners even if I
felt inclined to. Do you know what my father was } "
" What difference can that make now ? Dont be dis-
agreeable and full of ridiculous fads, Sidney dear. I
didnt marry your father."
*' No ; but you married — only incidentally, of course —
my father's fortune. That necklace of yours was pur-
chased with his money ; and I can almost fancy stains of
blood "
"■ Stop, Sidney. I dont like this sort of romancing.
It's all nonsense. Do be nice to me."
" There are stains of sweat on it, I know."
** You nasty wretch ! "
** I am thinking, not of you, my dainty one, but of the
unfortunate people who slave that we may live idly. Let
me explain to you why we are so rich. My father was a
shrewd, energetic and ambitious Manchester man, who
understood an exchange of any sort as a transaction by
which one man should lose and the other gain. He made it
his object to make as many exchanges as possible, and to
be always the gaining party in them. I do not know
exactly what he was ; for he was ashamed both of his
antecedents and of his relatives ; from which I can only
infer that they were honest and therefore unsuccessful
people. However, he acquired some knowledge of the
cotton trade ; saved some money ; borrowed some more
on the security of his reputation for getting the
better of other people in business ; and, as he accurately
"70 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
told me afterwards, started for himself. He bought a
factory and some raw cotton. Now you must know that a
man, by labouring some time on a piece of raw cotton, can
turn it into a piece of manufactured cotton fit for making
into sheets and shifts and the like. The manufactured
cotton is more valuable than the raw cotton, because the
manufacture costs wear and tear of machinery, wear and
tear of the factory, rent of the ground upon which the factory
is built, and human labour, or wear and tear of live men,
which has to be made good by food, shelter, and rest.
Do you understand that } "
" We used to learn all about it at college. I dont see
what it has to do with us, since you are not in the cotton
trade."
** You learned as much as it was thought safe to teach
you, no doubt ; but not quite all, I should think. When
my father started for himself, there were many men in
Manchester who were willing to labour in this way ; but
they had no factory to work in, no machinery to work
with, and no raw cotton to work on, simply because all
this indispensable plant, and the materials for producing
a fresh supply of it, had been appropriated by earlier
comers. So they found themselves with gaping stomachs,
shivering limbs, and hungry wives and children, in a
place called their own country, in which nevertheless
every scrap of ground and possible source of subsistence
was tightly locked up in the hands of others and guarded
by armed soldiers and policemen. In this helpless con-
dition, the poor devils were ready to beg for access to a
factory and to raw cotton on any conditions compatible
with life. My father oflfered them the use of his factory,
his machines, and his raw cotton, on the following con-
ditions. They were to work long and hard, early and late,
to add fresh value to his raw cotton by manufacturing it.
Out of the value thus created by them, they were to re-
coup him for what he supplied them with : rent, shelter,
gas, water, machinery, raw cotton — everything ; and to
pay him for his own services as superintendent, manager,
and salesman. So far he asked nothing but just remunera-
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 71
tion. But after this had been paid, a balance due solely
to their own labour remained. ' Out of this,' said my
father, * you shall keep just enough to save you from starv-
ing ; and of the rest you shall make me a present to
reward me for my virtue in saving money. Such is the
bargain I propose. It is, in my opinion, fair and cal-
culated to encourage thrifty habits. If it does not strike
you in that light, you can get a factory and raw cotton for
yourselves : you shall not use mine.' In other words, they
might go to the devil and starve — Hobson's choice! — for all
the other factories were owned by men who offered no better
terms. The Manchesterians could not bear to starve or to
see their children starve ; and so they accepted his terms
and went into the factory. The terms, you see, did not
admit of their beginning to save for themselves as he had
done. Well, they created great wealth by their labour, and
lived on very little ; so that the balance they gave for nothing
to my father was large. He bought more cotton, and more
machinery, and more factories with it ; employed more
men to make wealth for him ; and saw his fortune increase
like a rolling snowball. He prospered enormously ; but
the workmen were no better off than at first ; and they
dared not rebel and demand more of the money they had
made ; for there were always plenty of starving wretches
outside willing to take their places on the old terms.
Sometimes he met with a check : as, for instance, when, in
his eagerness to increase his store, he made the men manu-
facture more cotton than the public needed ; or when he
could not get enough of raw cotton, as happened during
the civil war in America. Then he adapted himself to cir-
cumstances by turning away as many workmen as he could
not find customers or cotton for; and they, of course,
starved or subsisted on charity. During the war-time a
big subscription was got up for these poor wretches ; and
my father subscribed one hundred pounds, in spite, he
said, of his own great losses. Then he bought new
machines ; and, as women and children could work these
as well as men, and were cheaper and more docile, he
turned away about seventy out of every hundred of his
72 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
hands (so he called the men), and replaced them by their
wives and children, who made money for him faster than
ever. By this time he had long ago given up managing the
factories, and paid clever fellows who had no money of
their own a few hundreds a year to do it for him. He also
purchased shares in other concerns conducted on the
same principle ; pocketed dividends made in countries
which he had never visited by men whom he had never
seen ; bought a seat in Parliament from a poor and cor-
rupt constituency ; and helped to preserve the laws by
which he had thriven. Afterwards, when his wealth grew
famous, he had less need to bribe ; for modern men wor-
ship the rich as gods, and will elect a man as one of their
rulers for no other reason than that he is a millionaire.
He aped gentility ; lived in a palace at Kensington ; and
bought a part of Scotland to make a deer forest of. It is
easy enough to make a deer forest, as trees are not neces-
sary there. You simply drive oif the peasants ; destroy
their houses ; and make a desert of the land. However,
my father did not shoot much himself: he generally let
the forest out by the season to those who did. He pur-
chased a wife of gentle blood too, with the unsatisfactory
result now before you. That is how Jesse Trefusis, a poor
Manchester bagman, contrived to become a plutocrat and
gentleman of landed estate. And also how I, who never
did a stroke of work in my life, am overburdened with
wealth ; whilst the children of the men who made that
wealth are slaving as their fathers slaved, or starving, or
in the workhouse, or on the streets, or the deuce knows
where. What do you think of that, my love } "
" What is the use of worrying about it, Sidney? It can-
not be helped now. Besides, if your father saved money,
and the others were improvident, he deserved to make a
fortune."
** Granted ; but he didnt make a fortune : he took a
fortune that others had made. At Cambridge they taught
me that his profits were the reward of abstinence — the
abstinence which enabled him to save. That quieted my
conscience until I began to wonder why one man should
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 73
make another pay him for exercising one of the virtues.
Then came the question : what did my father abstain from ?
The workmen abstained from meat, drink, fresh air, good
clothes, decent lodging, holidays, money, the society of
their families, and pretty nearly everything that makes life
worth living, which was perhaps the reason why they
usually died twenty years or so sooner than people in our
circumstances. Yet no one rewarded them for their
abstinence. The reward came to my father, who abstained
from none of these things, but indulged in them all to his
heart's content. Besides, if the money was the reward of
abstinence, it seemed logical to infer that he must abstain
ten times as much when he had fifty thousand a- year as
when he had only five thousand. Here was a problem for
my young mind. Required, something from which my
father abstained and in which his workmen exceeded, and
which he abstained from more and more as he grew richer
and richer. The only thing that answered this descrip-
tion was hard work ; and as I never met a sane man will-
ing to pay another for idling, I began to see that these
prodigious payments to my father were extorted by force.
To do him justice, he never boasted of abstinence. He
considered himself a hard-worked man ; and claimed his
fortune as the reward of his risks, his calculations, his
anxieties, and the journeys he had to make at all seasons
and at all hours. This comforted me somewhat until it
occurred to me that if he had lived a century earlier ; in-
vested his money in a horse and a pair of pistols ; and
taken to the road : his object — that of wresting from others
the fruits of their labour without rendering them an equiva-
lent — would have been exactly the same, and his risk far
greater ; for it would have included risk of the gallows.
Constant travelling with the constable at his heels, and
calculations of the chances of robbing the Dover mail,
would have given him his fill of activity and anxiety. On
the whole, if Jesse Trefusis, M.P., who died a millionaire
in his palace at Kensington, had been a highwayman, I
could not more heartily loathe the social arrangements
that rendered such a career as his not only possible, but
74 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
eminently creditable to himself in the eyes of his* fellows.
Most men make it their business to imitate him, hoping
to become rich and idle on the same terms. Therefore I
turn my back on them. I cannot sit at their feasts know-
ing how much they cost in human misery, and seeing how
little they produce of human happiness. What is your
opinion, my treasure ? "
Henrietta seemed a little troubled. She smiled faintly,
and said caressingly, "It was not your fault, Sidney. /
dont blame you."
" Immortal powers ! " he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright,
and appealing to the skies : ** here is a woman who believes
that the only concern all this causes me is whether she
thinks any the worse of me personally on account of it ! "
" No, no, Sidney. It is not I alone. Nobody thinks
the worse of you for it."
" Quite so," he returned, in a polite frenzy. " Nobody
sees any harm in it. That is precisely the mischief of it."
"Besides," she urged, "your mother belonged to one
of the oldest families in England."
"And what more can man desire than wealth with
descent from a county family ! Could a man be happier
than I ought to be, sprung as I am from monopolists of
all the sources and instruments of production — of land on
the one side, and of machinery on the other ? This very
ground on which we are resting was the property of my
mother's father. At least the law allowed him to use it
as such. When he was a boy, there was a fairly prosperous
race of peasants settled here, tilling the soil ; paying him
rent for permission to do so ; and making enough out of
it to satisfy his large wants and their own narrow needs
without working themselves to death. But my grandfather
was a shrewd man. He perceived that cows and sheep
produced more money by their meat and wool than
peasants by their husbandry. So he cleared the estate.
That is, he drove the peasants from their homes, as my
father did afterwards in his Scotch deer forest. Or, as his
tombstone has it, he developed the resources of his
country. I dont know what became of the peasants : he
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 75
didnt know, and, I presume, didnt care. I suppose the
old ones went into the workhouse, and the young ones
crowded the towns, and worked for men like my
father in factories. Their places were taken by cattle,
which paid for their food so well, that my grandfather,
getting my father to take shares in the enterprise, hired
labourers on the Manchester terms to cut that canal for him.
When it was made, he took toll upon it ; and his heirs
still take toll ; and the sons of the navvies who dug it and
of the engineer who designed it pay the toll when they
have occasion to travel by it, or to purchase goods which
have been conveyed along it. I remember my grandfather
well. He was a well-bred man, and a perfect gentleman
in his manners ; but, on the whole, I think he was
wickeder than my father, who, after all, was caught
in the wheels of a vicious system, and had either to. spoil
others or be spoiled by them. But my grandfather — the
old rascal ! — was in no such dilemma. Master as he was
of his bit of merry England, no man could have enslaved
him ; and he might at least have lived and let live. My
father followed his example in the matter of the deer
forest ; but that was the climax of his wickedness, whereas
it was only the beginning of my grandfather's. Howbeit,
whichever bears the palm, there they were, the types after
which we all strive."
"Not all, Sidney. Not we two. I hate tradespeople
and country squires. We belong to the artistic and
cultured classes ; and we can keep aloof from shop-
keepers."
" Living, meanwhile, at the rate of several thousand a
year on rent and interest. No, my dear : this is the way
of those people who insist that when they are in heaven
they shall be spared the recollection of such a place as
hell, but are quite content that it shall exist outside
their consciousness. I respect my father more — I mean I
despise him less — for doing his own sweating and filch-
ing than I do the sensitive sluggards and cowards who
lent him their money to sweat and filch with, and asked
no questions provided the interest was paid punctually.
76 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
And as to your friends the artists, they are the worst of
all."
** Oh, Sidney : you are determined not to be pleased.
Artists dont keep factories."
*' No ; but the factory is only a part of the machinery
of the system. Its basis is the tyranny of brain force,
which, among civilized men, is allowed to do what
muscular force does among schoolboys and savages. The
schoolboy proposition is, * I am stronger than you : there-
fore you shall fag for me.' Its grown-up form is, *I
am cleverer than you : therefore you shall fag for me.'
The state of things we produce by submitting to this, bad
enough even at first, becomes intolerable when the
mediocre or foolish descendants of the clever fellows claim
to have inherited their privileges. Now, no men are
greater sticklers for the arbitrary dominion of genius and
talent than your artists. The great painter is not satisfied
with being sought after and admired because his hands
can do more than ordinary hands, which they truly can ;
but he wants to be fed as if his stomach needed more food
than ordinary stomachs, which it does not. A day's work
is a day's work, neither more nor less ; and the man who
does it needs a day's sustenance, a night's repose, and due
leisure, whether he be painter or ploughman. But the
rascal of a painter, poet, novelist, or other voluptuary in
labour, is not content with his advantage in popular esteem
over the ploughman : he also wants an advantage in money,
as if there were more hours in a day spent in the studio
or library than in the field ; or as if he needed more food
to enable him to do his work than the ploughman to enable
him to do his. He talks of the higher quality of his work,
as if the higher quality of it were of his own making! —
as if it gave him a right to work less for his neighbour
than his neighbour works for him ! — as if the ploughman
could not do better without him than he without the
ploughman ! — as if the value of the most celebrated
pictures has not been questioned more than that of any
straight furrow in the arable world ! — as if it did not take
an apprenticeship of as many years to train the hand and
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 77
eye of a mason or blacksmith as of an artist ! — as if, in
short, the fellow were a god, as canting brain worshippers
have for years past been assuring him he is. Artists are
the high priests of the modern Moloch. Nine out of ten
of them are diseased creatures, just sane enough to trade
on their own neuroses. The only quality of theirs which
extorts my respect is a certain sublime selfishness which
makes them willing to starve and to let their families
starve sooner than do any work they dont like."
'' Indeed yon are quite wrong, Sidney. There was a
girl at the Slade school who supported her mother and
two sisters by her drawing. Besides, what can you do ?
People were made so."
** Yes : I was made a landlord and capitalist by the folly
of the people ; but they can unmake me if they will.
Meanwhile I have absolutely no means of escape from my
position except by giving away my slaves to fellows who
will use them no better than I, and becoming a slave
myself; which, if you please, you shall not catch me doing
in a hurry. No, my beloved : I must keep my foot on
their necks for your sake as well as for my own. — But you
do not care about all this prosy stuff. I am consumed
with remorse for having bored my darling. You want
to know why I am living here like a hermit in a vulgar
two-roomed hovel instead of tasting the delights of
London society with my beautiful and devoted young
wife."
" But you dont intend to stay here, Sidney."
" Yes, I do ; and I will tell you why. I am helping to
liberate those Manchester labourers who were my father's
slaves. To bring that about, their fellow slaves all over
the world must unite in a vast international association
of men pledged to share the world's work justly ; to share
the produce of the work justly ; to yield not a farthing —
charity apart — to any full-grown and ablebodied idler or
malingerer ; and to treat as vermin in the commonwealth
persons attempting to get more than their share of wealth
or give less than their share of work. This is a very
difficult thing to accomplish ; because working men, like
78 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
the people called their betters, do not always understand
their own interests, and will often actually help their
oppressors to exterminate their saviours to the tune of
* Rule Britannia,' or some such lying doggrel. We must
educate them out of that, and, meanwhile, push forward
the international association of labourers diligently. I am
at present occupied in propagating its principles. Capital-
ism, organized for repressive purposes under pretext of
governing the nation, would very soon stop the associa-
tion if it understood our aim ; but it thinks that we are
engaged in gunpowder plots and conspiracies to assas-
sinate crowned heads ; and so, whilst the police are
blundering in search of evidence of these, our real work
goes on unmolested. Whether I am really advancing the
cause is more than I can say. I use heaps of postage
stamps ; pay the expenses of many indifferent lecturers ;
defray the cost of printing reams of pamphlets and hand-
bills which hail the labourer flatteringly as the salt of the
earth ; write and edit a little socialist journal ; and do
what lies in my power generally. I had rather spend my
ill-gotten wealth in this way than upon an expensive house
and a retinue of servants. And I prefer my corduroys and
my two-roomed chalet here to our pretty little house, and
your pretty little ways, and my pretty little neglect of the
work that my heart is set upon. Some day, perhaps, I
will take a holiday ; and then we shall have a new honey-
moon,"
For a moment Henrietta seemed about to cry. Sud-
denly she exclaimed with enthusiasm, ** I will stay with
you, Sidney. I will share your work, whatever it may be.
I will dress as a dairymaid, and have a little pail to carry
milk in. The world is nothing to me except when you
are with me ; and I should love to live here and sketch
from nature."
He blenched, and partially rose, unable to conceal his
dismay. She, resolved not to be cast off, seized him and
clung to him. This was the movement that excited the
derision of Wickens's boy in the adjacent gravel pit.
Trefusis was glad of the interruption ; and, when he gave
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 79
the boy twopence and bade him begone, half hoped
that he would insist on remaining. But though an
obdurate boy on most occasions, he proved complaisant
on this, and withdrew to the highroad, where he made
over one of his pennies to a phantom gambler, and tossed
with him until recalled from his dual state by the appear-
ance of Fairholme's party.
In the meantime, Henrietta urgently returned to her
proposition.
"We should be so happy," she said. "I would house-
keep for you ; and you could work as much as you pleased.
Our life would be a long idyll."
" My love," he said, shaking his head as she looked
beseechingly at him : " I have too much Manchester
cotton in my constitution for long idylls. And the truth
is, that the first condition of work with me is your absence.
When you are with me, I can do nothing but make love
to you. You bewitch me. When I escape from you for
a moment, it is only to groan remorsefully over the hours
you have tempted me to waste, and the energy you have
futilized."
" If you wont live with me, you had no right to marry
me."
** True. But that is neither your fault nor mine. We
have found that we love each other too much — that our
intercourse hinders our usefulness ; and so we must part.
Not for ever, my dear: only until you have cares and
business of your own to fill up your life and prevent you
from wasting mine."
" I believe you are mad," she said petulantly.
** The world is mad now-a-days, and is galloping to the
deuce as fast as greed can goad it. I merely stand out
of the rush, not liking its destination. Here comes a
barge, the commander of which is devoted to me because
he believes that I am organizing a revolution for the
abolition of lock dues and tolls. We will go aboard and
float down to Lyvern, whence you can return to London.
You had better telegraph from the junction to the college :
there must be a hue and cry out after us by this time.
8o AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
You shall have my address; and we can write to one
another or see one another whenever we please. Or you
can divorce me for deserting you."
" You would like me to, I know/' said Henrietta,
sobbing.
*' I should die of despair, my darling," he said com-
placently. *' Ship aho-o-o-y ! Stop crying, Hetty, for
God's sake. You lacerate my very soul."
*'Ah-o-o-o-o-o-o-oy, master! " roared the bargee.
** Good-arternoon, sir," said a man who, with a short
whip in his hand, trudged beside the white horse that
towed the barge. *' Come up ! " he added malevolently
to the horse.
** I want to get on board, and go up to Lyvern with
you," said Trefusis. " He seems a well fed brute, that."
** Better fed nor me," said the man. ** You cant get the
work out of a hunderfed 'orse that you can out of a hunder-
fed man or woman. I've bin in parts of England where
women pulled the barges. They come cheaper nor
'orses because it didnt cost nothing to get new ones
when the old ones was wore out."
**Then why not employ them?" said Trefusis, with
ironical gravity. ** The principle of buying labour-force in
the cheapest market and selling its product in the dearest
has done much to make Englishmen — what they are."
** The railway comp'nies keeps 'orspittles for the like of
'm," said the man, with a cunning laugh, indicating the
horse by smacking him on the belly with the butt of the
whip. " If ever you try bein' a labourer in earnest, governor,
try it on four legs. You'll find it far preferable to trying
on two."
*' This man is one of my converts," said Trefusis apart
to Henrietta. " He told me the other day that since I set
him thinking he never sees a gentleman without feeling
inclined to heave a brick at him. I find that Socialism is
often misunderstood by its least intelligent supporters and
opponents to mean simply unrestrained indulgence of our
natural propensity to heave bricks at respectable persons.
Now I am going to carry you along this plank. If you
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 8l
keep quiet, we may reach the barge. If not, we shall
reach the bottom of the canal."
He carried her safely over, and exchanged some
friendly words v/ith the bargee. Then he took Hen-
rietta forward, and stood watching the water as they were
borne along noiselessly between the hilly pastures of the
country.
"This would be a fairy journey," he said, **if one could
forget the woman down below, cooking her husband's
dinner in a stifling hole about as big as your wardrobe,
and "
"Oh, dont talk any more of these things," she said
crossly : " I cannot help them. I have my own troubles
to think of. Her husband lives with her."
" She will change places with you, my dear, if you make
her the offer."
She had no answer ready. After a pause he began to
speak poetically of the scenery, and to offer her loverlike
speeches and compliments. But she felt that he intended
to get rid of her ; and he knew that it was useless to try
to hide that design from her. She turned away and sat
down on a pile of bricks, only writhing angrily when he
pressed her for a word. As they neared the end of her
voyage, and her intense protest against desertion remained,
as she thought, only half expressed, her sense of injury
grew almost unbearable.
They landed on a wharf, and went through an unswept,
deeply rutted lane up to the main street of Lyvern. Here
he became Smilash again, walking deferentially a little
before her, as if she had hired him to point out the way.
She then saw that her last opportunity of appealing to
him had gone by ; and she nearly burst into tears at the
thought. It occurred to her that she might prevail upon
him by making a scene in public. But the street was a
busy one ; and she was a little afraid of him. Neither
consideration would have checked her in one of her
ungovernable moods ; but now she was in an abject one.
Her moods seemed to come only when they were harmful
to her. She suffered herself to be put into the railway
6
82 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
omnibus, which was on the point of starting from the
innyard when they arrived there ; and though he touched
his hat ; asked whether she had any message to give him ;
and in a tender whisper wished her a safe journey, she
would not look at nor speak to him. So they parted ; and
he returned alone to the chalet, where he was received by
the two policemen who subsequently brought him to the
college.
CHAPTER VI.
The year wore on ; and the long winter evenings set in.
The studious young ladies at Alton College, elbows on
desk and hands over ears, shuddered chillily in fur tippets
whilst they loaded their memories with the statements of
writers on moral science, or, like men who swim upon
corks, reasoned out mathematical problems upon postu-
lates. Whence it sometimes happened that the more
reasonable a student was in mathematics, the more un-
reasonable she was in the affairs of real life, concerning
which few trustworthy postulates have yet been ascer-
tained.
Agatha, not studious, and apt to shiver in winter,
began to break Rule No. 17 with increasing frequency.
Rule No. 17 forbade the students to enter the kitchen,
or in any way to disturb the servants in the discharge
of their duties. Agatha broke it because she was fond
of making toifee, of eating it, of a good fire, of doing
any forbidden thing, and of the admiration with which
the servants listened to her ventriloquial and musical
feats. Gertrude accompanied her because she too liked
toffee, and because she plumed herself on her condescen-
sion to her inferiors. Jane went because her two friends
went ; and the spirit of adventure, the force of example,
and the love of toffee, often brought more volunteers
to these expeditions than Agatha thought it safe to
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 83
enlist. One evening, Miss Wilson, going downstairs
alone to her private wine cellar, was arrested near the
kitchen by sounds of revelry, and, stopping to listen, over-
heard the Castanet dance (which reminded her of the
emphasis with which Agatha had snapped her fingers at
Mrs. Miller") ; the bee on the window pane ; " Robin Adair"
(encored by the servants) ; and an imitation of herself in
the act of appealing to Jane Carpenter's better nature to
induce her to study for the Cambridge Local. She waited
until the cold and her fear of being discovered spying
forced her to creep upstairs, ashamed of having enjoyed
a silly entertainment, and of conniving at a breach of the
rules rather than face a fresh quarrel with Agatha.
There was one particular in which matters between
Agatha and the college discipline did not go on exactly
as before. Although she had formerly supplied a dis-
proportionately large number of the confessions in the
fault book, the entry which had nearly led to her expulsion
was the last she ever made in it. Not that her conduct
was better : it was rather the reverse. Miss Wilson never
mentioned the matter, the fault book being sacred from
all allusion on her part. But she saw that though Agatha
would not confess her own sins, she still assisted others
to unburden their consciences. The witticisms with
which Jane unsuspectingly enlivened the pages of the
Recording Angel were conclusive on this point.
Smilash had now adopted a profession. In the last
days of autumn he had whitewashed the chalet; painted
the doors, windows, and veranda ; repaired the roof and
interior ; and improved the place so much that the land-
lord had warned him that the rent would be raised at the
expiration of his twelvemonth's tenancy, remarking that
a tenant could not reasonably expect to have a pretty,
raintight dwelling-house for the same money as a hardly
habitable ruin. Smilash had immediately promised to
dilapidate it to its formei state at the end of the year.
He had put up a board at the gate with an inscription
copied from some printed cards which he presented to
persons who happened to converse with him.
84 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
JEFFERSON SMILASH
Painter, Decorator, Glazier, Plumber & Gardener.
Pianofortes tuned. Domestic Engineering in all its
Branches. Families waited upon
at table or otherwise.
Chamounix Villa,
(N,B.— Advice Gratis. LyVERN.
No reasonable offer refused.)
The business thus announced, comprehensive as it was,
did not flourish. When asked by the curious for testimony
to his competence and respectability, he recklessly referred
them to Fairholme, to Josephs, and in particular to Miss
Wilson, who, he said, had known him from his earliest
childhood. Fairholme, glad of an opportunity to show
that he was no mealy-mouthed parson, declared, when
applied to, that Smilash was the greatest rogue in the
country. Josephs, partly from benevolence, and partly
from a vague fear that Smilash might at any moment take
an action against him for defamation of character, said
he had no doubt that he was a very cheap workman, and
that it would be a charity to give him some little job
to encourage him. Miss Wilson confirmed Fairholme's
account ; and the church organist, who liad tuned all the
pianofortes in the neighbourhood once a year for nearly
a quarter of a century, denounced the new-comer as Jack
of all trades and master of none. Hereupon the radicals
of Lyvern, a small and disreputable party, began to assert
that there was no harm in the man, and that the parsons
and Miss Wilson, who lived in a fine house and did
nothing but take in the daughters of rich swells as
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 85
boarders, might employ their leisure better than in taking
the bread out of a poor workman's mouth. But as none
of this faction needed the services of a domestic engineer,
he was none the richer for their support ; and the only
patron he obtained was a housemaid who was leaving her
situation at a country house in the vicinity, and wanted
her box repaired, the lid having fallen off. Smilash
demanded half-a-crown for the job ; but on her demurring,
immediately apologized and came down to a shilling.
For this sum he repainted the box ; traced her initials on
it ; and affixed new hinges, a Bramah lock, and brass
handles, at a cost to himself of ten shillings and several
hours' labour. The housemaid found fault with the colour
of the paint ; made him take off the handles, which, she
said, reminded her of a coffin ; complained that a lock
with such a small key couldnt be strong enough for a
large box ; but admitted that it was all her own fault for
not employing a proper man. It got about that he had
made a poor job of the box ; and as he, when taxed with
this, emphatically confirmed it, he got no other commis-
sion ; and his signboard served thenceforth only for the
amusement of pedestrian tourists, and of shepherd boys
with a taste for stone throwing.
One night a great storm blew over Lyvern ; and those
young ladies at Alton College who were afraid of light-
ning, said their prayers with some earnestness. At half-
past twelve, the rain, wind, and thunder made such
a din, that Agatha and Gertrude wrapped themselves in
shawls ; stole downstairs to the window on the landing
outside Miss Wilson's study; and stood watching the
flashes give vivid glimpses of the landscape, and discuss-
ing in whispers whether it was dangerous to stand near
a window, and whether brass stair-rods could attract
lightning. Agatha, as serious and friendly with a single
companion as she was mischievous and satirical before a
larger audience, enjoyed the scene quietly. The lightning
did not terrify her ; for she knew little of the value of life,
and fancied much concerning the heroism of being in-
different to it. The tremors which the more startling
86 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
flashes caused her, only made her more conscious of her
own courage and its contrast with the uneasiness of
Gertrude, who at last, shrinking from a forked zigzag of
blue flame, said,
'* Let us go back to bed, Agatha. I feel sure that we
are not safe here."
** Quite as safe as in bed, where we cannot see anything.
How the house shakes ! I believe the rain will batter in
the windows before "
*^ Hush," whispered Gertrude, catching her arm in
terror. " What was that .? "
"What.?"
** I am sure I heard the bell — the gate bell. Oh, do let
us go back to bed."
" Nonsense ! Who would be out on such a night as
this } Perhaps the wind rang it."
They waited for a few moments : Gertrude trembling ;
and Agatha feeling, as she listened in the darkness, a
sensation familiar to persons who are afraid of ghosts.
Presently a veiled clangour mingled with the wind. A few
sharp and urgent snatches of it came unmistakably from
the bell at the gate of the college grounds. It was a loud
bell, used to summon a servant from the college to open
the gates ; for though there was a porter's lodge, it was
uninhabited.
*' Who on earth can it be .?" said Agatha. "Cant they
find the wicket, the idiots ! "
** Oh, I hope not ! Do come upstairs, Agatha."
" No, I wont. Go you, if you like." But Gertrude was
afraid to go alone. ** I think I had better waken Miss
Wilson, and tell her," continued Agatha. " It seems
awful to shut anybody out on such a night as this."
" But we dont know who it is."
"Well, I suppose you are not afraid of them, in any
case," said Agatha, knowing the contrary, but recognizing
the convenience of shaming Gertrude into silence.
They listened again. The storm was now very bois-
terous ; and they could not hear the bell. Suddenly there
was a loud knocking at the house door. Gertrude
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 87
screamed ; and her cry was echoed from the rooms above,
where several girls had heard the knocking also, and had
been driven by it into the state of mind which accompanies
the climax of a nightmare. Then a candle flickered on
the stairs ; and Miss Wilson's voice, reassuringly firm, was
heard.
*' Who is that.?"
'*It is I, Miss Wilson, and Gertrude. We have been
watching the storm ; and there is some one knocking at
the " A tremendous battery with the knocker, followed
by a sound, confused by the gale, as of a man shouting,
interrupted her.
"They had better not open the door," said Miss Wilson,
in some alarm. "You are very imprudent, Agatha, to
stand here. You will catch your death of Dear me 1
What can be the matter } "
She hurried down, followed by Agatha, Gertrude, and
some of the braver students, to the hall, where they found
a few shivering servants watching the housekeeper, who
was at the keyhole of the house door, querulously asking
who was there. She was evidently not heard by those
without ; for the knocking recommenced whilst she was
speaking ; and she recoiled as if she had received a blow
on the mouth. Miss Wilson then rattled the chain to
attract attention ; and demanded again who was there.
** Let us in," was returned in a hollow shout through the
keyhole. "There is a dying woman and three children
here. Open the door."
Miss Wilson lost her presence of mind. To gain time,
she replied, " I — I cant hear you. What do you say .?"
"Damnation!" said the voice, speaking this time to
someone outside. " They cant hear." And the knocking
recommenced with increased urgency. Agatha, excited,
caught Miss Wilson's dressing gown, and repeated to her
what the voice had said. Miss Wilson had heard distinctly
enough ; and she felt, without knowing clearly why, that
the door must be opened ; but she was almost over-
mastered by a vague dread of what was to follow. She
began to undo the chain; and Agatha helped with the
88 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
bolts. Two of the servants exclaimed that they were all
about to be murdered in their beds, and ran away. A few
of the students seemed inclined to follow their example.
At last the door, loosed, was blown wide open, flinging
Miss Wilson and Agatha back, and admitting a whirl-
wind that tore round the hall ; snatched at the women's
draperies ; and blew out the lights. Agatha, by a flash of
lightning, saw for an instant two men straining at the door
like sailors at a capstan. Then she knew by the cessation
of the whirlwind that they had shut it. Matches were
struck, the candles relighted, and the new comers clearly
perceived.
Smilash, bareheaded, without a coat, his corduroy vest
and trousers heavy with rain. A rough looking middle-
aged man, poorly dressed like a shepherd, wet as Smilash,
with the expression, piteous, patient, and desperate, of one
hard driven by ill-fortune, and at the end of his resources.
Two little children, a boy and a girl, almost naked, cower-
ing under an old sack that had served them as an
umbrella. And, lying on the settee where the two men
had laid it, a heap of wretched wearing apparel, sacking,
and rotten matting, with Smilash's coat and sou'wester :
the whole covering a bundle which presently proved to
be an exhausted woman with a tiny infant at her breast.
Smilash's expression, as he looked at her, was ferocious.
" Sorry fur to trouble you, lady," said the man, after
glancing anxiously at Smilash as if he had expected him
to act as spokesman ; " but my roof and the side of my
house has gone in the storm ; and my missus has been
having another little one ; and I am sorry to ill-conveni-
ence you. Miss ; but — but "
"Inconvenience!" exclaimed Smilash. **It is the
lady's privilege to relieve you — her highest privilege ! "
The little boy here began to cry from mere misery ; and
the woman roused herself to say, " For shame, Tom !
before the lady," and then collapsed, too weak to care for
what might happen next in the world. Smilash looked
impatiently at Miss Wilson, who hesitated, and said to
him,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 89
" What do you expect me to do ? "
" To help us," he replied. Then, with an explosion of
nervous energy, he added, ** Do what your heart tells you
to do. Give your bed and your clothes to the woman ;
and let your girls pitch their books to the devil for a few
days, and make something for these poor little creatures
to wear. The poor have worked hard enough to clothe
them. Let them take their turn now and clothe the poor."
** No, no. Steady, master," said the man, stepping
forward to propitiate Miss Wilson, and evidently much
oppressed by a sense of unwelcomeness. " It aint any
fault of the lady's. Might I make so bold as to ask you to
put this woman of mine anywhere that may be convenient
until morning. Any sort of a place will do : she's accus-
tomed to rough it. Just to have a roof over her until I
find a room in the village where we can shake down."
Here, led by his own words to contemplate the future, he
looked desolately round the cornice of the hall, as if it
were a shelf on which somebody might have left a suitable
lodging for him.
Miss Wilson turned her back decisively and contemp-
tuously on Smilash. She had recovered herself. ** I will
keep your wife here," she said to the man. ** Every care
shall be taken of her. The children can stay too."
*' Three cheers for moral science ! " cried Smilash, ecsta-
tically breaking into the outrageous dialect he had forgotten
in his wrath. "Wot was my words to you, neighbour,
when I said we should bring your missus to the college ;
and you said, ironical-like, * Aye, and bloomin' glad they'll
be to see us there.' Did I not say to you that the lady had
a noble 'art, and would shew it when put to the test by
sech a calamity as this } "
"Why should you bring my hasty words up again' me
now, master, when the lady has been so kind ? " said the
man with emotion. " I am humbly grateful to you. Miss ;
and so is Bess. We are sensible of the ill-convenience
we "
Miss Wilson, who had been conferring with the house-
keeper, cut his speech short by ordering him to carry his
90 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
wife to bed, which he did with the assistance of Smilash,
now jubilant. Whilst they were away, one of the servants,
bidden to bring some blankets to the woman's room, re-
fused, saying that she was not going to wait on that sort
of people. Miss Wilson gave her warning almost fiercely
to quit the college next day. This excepted, no ill will
was shown to the refugees. The young ladies were then
requested to return to bed.
Meanwhile, the man, having laid his wife in a chamber
palatial in comparison with that which the storm had blown
about her ears, was congratulating her on her luck, and
threatening the children with the most violent chastisement
if they failed to behave themselves with strict propriety
whilst they remained in that house. Before leaving them,
he kissed his wife ; and she, reviving, asked him to look at
the baby. He did so, and pensively apostrophized it with
a shocking epithet in anticipation of the time when its
appetite must be satisfied from the provision shop instead
of from its mother's breast. She laughed and cried shame
on him ; and so they parted cheerfully. When he returned
to the hall with Smilash, they found two mugs of beer
waiting for them. The girls had retired ; and only Miss
Wilson and the housekeeper remained.
" Here's your health, mum," said the man, before drink-
ing ; "and may you find such another as yourself to help
you when you're in trouble, which Lord send may never
come ! "
'* Is your house quite destroyed } " said Miss Wilson.
** Where will you spend the night } "
** Dont you think of me, mum. Master Smilash here
will kindly put me up 'til morning."
" His health ! " said Smilash, touching the mug with his
lips.
" The roof and south wall is blowed right away," con-
tinued the man, after pausing for a moment to puzzle over
Smilash's meaning. "I doubt if there's a stone of it
standing by this."
** But Sir John will build it for you again. You are one
of his herds : are you not } "
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 91
*• I am, Miss. But not he : he'll be glad it's down. He
dont like people livin' on the land. I have told him time
and again that the place was ready to fall ; but he said I
couldnt expect him to lay out money on a house that he
got no rent for. You see, Miss, I didnt pay any rent : I
took low wages ; and the bit of a hut was a sort of set-off
again' what I was paid short of the other men. I couldnt
afford to have it repaired, though I did what I could to
patch and prop it. And now most like I shall be blamed
for letting it be blew down, and shall have to live in half
a room in the town and pay two or three shillin's a week,
besides walkin' three miles to and from my work every day.
A gentleman like Sir John dont hardly know what the
value of a penny is to us labourin' folk, nor how cruel hard
his estate rules and the like comes on us."
" Sir John's health ! " said Smilash, touching the mug
as before. The man drank a mouthful humbly ; and Smi-
lash continued, " Here's to the glorious landed gentry of
old England : bless 'em ! "
" Master Smilash is only jokin'/' said the man apologeti-
cally. " It's his way."
"You should not bring a family into the world if you are
so poor," said Miss Wilson severely. ** Can you not see
that you impoverish yourself by doing so — to put the matter
on no higher grounds."
" Reverend Mr. Malthus's health ! " remarked Smilash,
repeating his pantomime.
** Some say it's the children ; and some say it's the drink.
Miss," said the man submissively. " But from what I see,
family or no family, drunk or sober, the poor gets poorer
and the rich richer every day."
" Aint it disgustin' to hear a man so ignorant of the im-
provement in the condition of his class } " said Smilash,
appealing to Miss Wilson.
" If you intend to take this man home with you," she said,
turning sharply on him, "you had better do it at once."
" I take it kind on your part that you ask me to do any-
think, after your up and telling Mr. Wickens that I am the
last person in Lyvern you would trust with a job."
^2 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** So you are — the verv last. Why dont you drink your
beer?"
*' Not in scorn of your brewing, lady ; but because, bein'
a common man, water is good enough for me."
" I wish you good-night, Miss," said the man ; ** and
thank you kindly for Bess and the children."
"■ Good-night," she replied, stepping aside to avoid any
salutation from Smilash. But he went up to her and said
in a low voice, and with the Trefusis manner and accent,
** Good-night, Miss Wilson. If you should ever be in want
of the services of a dog, a man, or a domestic engineer,
remind Smilash of Bess and the children, and he will act
for you in any of those capacities."
They opened the door cautiously, and found that the
wind, conquered by the rain, had abated. Miss Wilson's
candle, though it flickered in the draught, was not extin-
guished this time ; and she was presently left with the
housekeeper, bolting and chaining the door, and listening
to the crunching of feet on the gravel outside dying away
through the steady pattering of the rain.
CHAPTER VII.
Agatha was at this time in her seventeenth year. She
had a lively perception of the foibles of others, and no
reverence for her seniors, whom she thought dull, cau-
tious, and ridiculously amenable by commonplaces. But
she was subject to the illusion which disables youth in
spite of its superiority to age. She thought herself an ex-
ception. Crediting Mr. Jansenius and the general mob
of mankind with nothing but a grovelling consciousness
of some few material facts, she felt in herself an exquisite
sense and all-embracing conception of nature, shared only
by her favourite poets and heroes of romance and history.
Hence she was in the common youthful case of being a
much better judge of other people's affairs than of her own.
AN LNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 93
At the fellowstudent who adored some Henry or Augustus,
not from the drivelling sentimentality which the world
calls love, but because this particular Henry or Augustus
was a phoenix to whom the laws that govern the rela-
tions of ordinary lads and lasses did not apply, Agatha
laughed in her sleeve. The more she saw of this weak-
ness in her fellows, the more satisfied she was that, being
forewarned, she was also forearmed against an attack of it
on herself. Much as if a doctor were to conclude that he
could not catch small pox because he had seen many cases
of it ; or as if a master mariner, knowing that many ships
are wrecked in the British channel, should venture there
without a pilot, thinking that he knew its perils too well
to run any risk by them. Yet, as the doctor might hold
such an opinion if he believed himself to be constituted
differently from ordinary men ; or the shipmaster adopt such
a course under the impression that his vessel was a star,
Agatha found false security in the subjective difference
between her fellows seen from without and herself known
from within. When, for instance, she fell in love with
Mr. Jefferson Smilash (a step upon which she resolved the
day after the storm), her imagination invested the pleasing
emotion with a sacredness which, to her, set it far apart
and distinct from the frivolous fancies of which Henry
and Augustus had been the subject, and she the con-
fidant.
" I can look at him quite coolly and dispassionately,"
she said to herself. "Though his face has a strange
influence that must, I know, correspond to some un-
explained power within me, yet it is not a perfect face. I
have seen many men who are, strictly speaking, far hand-
somer. If the light that never was on sea or land is in his
eyes, yet they are not pretty eyes — not half so clear as
mine. Though he wears his common clothes with a
nameless grace that betrays his true breeding at every
step, yet he is not tall, dark, and melancholy, as my ideal
hero would be if I were as great a fool as girls of my age
usually are. If I am in love, I have sense enough not to
let my love blind my judgment."
94 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
She did not tell anyone of her new interest in life.
Strongest in that student community, she had used her
power with goodnature enough to win the popularity of
a school leader, and occasionally with unscrupulousness
enough to secure the privileges of a school bully. Popu-
larity and privilege, however, only satisfied her when she
was in the mood for them. Girls, like men, want to be
petted, pitied, and made much of, when they are diffident,
in low spirits, or in unrequited love. These are services
which the weak cannot render to the strong, and which
the strong will not render to the weak, except when there
is also a difference of sex. Agatha knew by experience
that though a weak woman cannot understand why her
stronger sister should wish to lean upon her, she may
triumph in the fact without understanding it, and give
chaff instead of consolation. Agatha wanted to be under-
stood and not to be chaffed. Finding herself unable to
satisfy both these conditions, she resolved to do without
sympathy and to hold her tongue. She had often had to
do so before ; and she was helped on this occasion by a
sense of the ridiculous appearance her passion might wear
in the vulgar eye.
Her secret kept itself, as she was supposed in the col-
lege to be insensible to the softer emotions. Love wrought
no external change upon her. It made her believe that
she had left her girlhood behind her, and was now a
woman with a newly developed heart capacity at which
she would childishly have scoffed a little while before.
She felt ashamed of the bee on the window-pane, although
it somehow buzzed as frequently as before in spite of her.
Her calendar, formerly a monotonous cycle of class times,
meal times, play times, and bed time, was now irregularly
divided by walks past the chalet and accidental glimpses
of its tenant.
Early in December came a black frost ; and navigation
on the canal was suspended. Wickens's boy was sent to
the college with news that Wickens's pond would bear, and
that the young ladies should be welcome at any time.
The pond was only four feet deep ; and as Miss Wilson set
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 95
much store by the physical education of her pupils, leave
was given for skating. Agatha, who was expert on the
ice, immediately proposed that a select party should go
out before breakfast next morning. Actions not in them-
selves virtuous often appear so when performed at hours
that compel early rising ; and some of the candidates for
the Cambridge Local, who would not have sacrificed the
afternoon to amusement, at once fell in with her sugges-
tion. But for them, it might never have been carried out ;
for when they summoned Agatha, at half-past six next
morning, to leave her warm bed and brave the biting air,
she would have refused without hesitation had 'she not
been shamed into compliance by these laborious ones
who stood by her bedside, bluenosed and hungry, but
ready for the ice. When she had dressed herself with
much shuddering and chattering, they allayed their inter-
nal discomfort by a slender meal of biscuits ; got their
skates ; and went out across the rimy meadows, past
patient cows breathing clouds of steam, to Wickens's pond.
Here, to their surprise, was Smilash, on electro-plated
acme skates, practising complicated figures with intense
diligence. It soon appeared that his skill came short of
his ambition ; for, after several narrow escapes, and some
frantic staggering, his calves, elbows, and occiput smote
the ice almost simultaneously. On rising ruefully to a
sitting posture, he became aw^re that eight young ladies
were watching his proceedings with interest.
** This comes of a common man putting himself above
his station by getting into gentlemen's skates," he said.
" Had I been content with a humble slide, as my fathers
was, I should ha' been a happier man at the present
moment." He sighed ; rose ; touched his hat to Miss
Ward ; and took off his skates, adding, " Good-morning,
Miss. Miss Wilson sent me word to be here sharp at six
to put on the young ladies' skates ; and I took the liberty
of trying a figure or two to keep out the cold."
" Miss Wilson did not tell me that she ordered you to
come," said Miss Ward.
"Just like her to be thoughtful and yet not let on to be !
96 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
She is a kind lady, and a learned — like yourself, Miss.
Sit yourself down on the camp-stool ; and give me your
heel : if I may be so bold as to stick a gimlet into it."
His assistance was welcome ; and Miss Ward allowed
him to put on her skates. She was a Canadian, and could
skate well. Jane, the first to follow her, was anxious as to
the strength of the ice ; but when reassured, she acquitted
herself admirably ; for she was proficient in out-door
exercises, and had the satisfaction of laughing in the field
at those who laughed at her in the study. Agatha, con-
trary to her custom, gave way to her companions ; and her
boots were the last upon which Smilash operated.
" How d'you do, Miss Wylie ? " he said, dropping the
Smilash manner now that the rest were out of earshot.
" I am very well, thank you," said Agatha, shy and con-
strained. This phase of her being new to him, he paused
with her heel in his hand, and looked up at her curiously.
She collected herself; returned his gaze steadily; and said,
" How did Miss Wilson send you word to come } She
only knew of our party at half-past nine last night."
" Miss Wilson did not send for me."
*' But you have just told Miss Ward that she did "
** Yes. I find it necessary to tell almost as many lies
now that I am a simple labourer as I did when I was a
gentleman. More, in fact."
** I shall know how much to believe of what you say in
future."
" The truth is this. I am perhaps the worst skater in
the world ; and therefore, according to a natural law, I
covet the faintest distinction on the ice more than immortal
fame for the things in which nature has given me aptitude
to excel. I envy that large friend of yours — Jane is her
name, I think — more than I envy Plato. I came down
here this morning, thinking that the skating world was all
a-bed, to practise in secret."
"I am glad we caught you at it," said Agatha, mali-
ciously ; for he was disappointing her. She wanted him
to be heroic in his conversation ; and he would not.
" I suppose so," he replied. *' I have observed that
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 97
Woman's dearest delight is to wound Man's self-conceit,
though Man's dearest delight is to gratify hers. There is
at least one creature lower than Man. Now, off with you.
Shall I hold you until your ankles get firm ? "
** Thank you," she said, disgusted : **/ can skate pretty
well ; and I dont think you could give me any useful
assistance." And she went off cautiously, feeling that
a mishap would be very disgraceful after such a speech.
He stood on the shore, listening to the grinding, sway-
ing sound of the skates, and watching the growing com-
plexity of the curves they were engraving on the ice. As
the girls grew warm and accustomed to the exercise, they
laughed ; jested ; screamed recklessly when they came into
collision ; and sailed before the wind down the whole
length of the pond at perilous speed. The more animated
they became, the gloomier looked Smilash.
" Not two-penn'orth of choice between them and a parcel
of puppies," he said ; " except that some of them are con-
scious that there is a man looking at them, although he is
only a blackguard labourer. They remind me of Henri-
etta in a hundred ways. Would I laugh, now, if the whole
sheet of ice were to burst into little bits under them .?"
Just then the ice cracked with a startling report ; and
the skaters, except Jane, skimmed away in all directions.
" You are breaking the ice to pieces, Jane," said Agatha,
calling from a safe distance. " How can you expect it to
bear your weight ? "
" Pack of fools ! " retorted Jane indignantly. " The
noise only shows how strong it is."
The shock which the report had given Smilash answered
him his question. '* Make a note that wishes for the de-
struction of the human race, however rational and sincere,
are contrary to nature," he said, recovering his spirits.
" Besides, what a precious fool I should be if I were work-
ing at an international association of creatures only fit for
destruction ! Hi, lady ! One word. Miss." This was to
Miss Ward, who had skated into his neighbourhood. " It
bein' a cold morning, and me havin' a poor and common
circulation; would it be looked on as a ^liberty if I was
98 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
to cut a slide here, or take a turn in the corner all to
myself?"
" You may skate over there if you wish/' she said, after
a pause for consideration, pointing to a deserted spot at
the leeward end of the pond, where the ice was too rough
for comfortable skating.
" Nobly spoke ! " he cried, with a grin, hurrying to the
place indicated, where, skating being out of the question,
he made a pair of slides, and gravely exercised himself
upon them until his face glowed and his fingers tingled
in the frosty air. The time passed quickly: when Miss
Ward sent for him to take off her skates, there was a
general groan and declaration that it could not possibly
be half-past eight o'clock yet. Smilash knelt before
the camp-stool, and was presently busy unbuckling and
unscrewing. When Jane's turn came, the camp-stool
creaked beneath her weight. Agatha again remonstrated
with her, but immediately reproached herself with flippancy
before Smilash, to whom she wished to convey an impres-
sion of deep seriousness of character.
** Smallest foot of the lot," he said critically, holding
Jane's boot between his finger and thumb as if it were an
art treasure which he had been invited to examine. '* And
belonging to the finest built lady."
Jane snatched away her foot ; blushed ; and said,
" Indeed ! What next, I wonder } "
''T'other un next," he said, setting to work on the
remaining skate. When it was off, he looked up at her ;
and she darted a glance at him as she rose which showed
that his compliment (her feet were in fact small and pretty)
was appreciated.
** Allow me, Miss," he said to Gertrude, who was
standing on one leg, leaning on Agatha, and taking off
her own skates.
** No, thank you," she said coldly. " I dont need your
assistance."
" I am well aware that the offer was overbold," he
replied, with a self-complacency that made his profes-
sion or humility exasperating. " If all the skates is off, I
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 99
will, by Miss Wilson's order, carry them and the camp-
stool back to the college."
Miss Ward handed him her skates and turned away.
Gertrude placed hers on the stool and went with Miss Ward.
The rest followed, leaving him to stare at the heap of skates,
and consider how he should carry them. He could think
of no better plan than to interlace the straps, and hang
them in a chain over his shoulder. By the time he had
done this, the young ladies were out of sight ; and his
intention of enjoying their society during the return to the
college was defeated. They had entered the building long
before he came in sight of it.
Somewhat out of conceit with his folly, he went to the
servants' entrance, and rang the bell there. When the
door was opened, he saw Miss Ward standing behind the
maid who admitted him.
" Oh," she said, looking at the string of skates as if she
had hardly expected to see them again. *' So you have
brought our things back."
** Such were my instructions," he said, taken aback by
her manner.
** You had no instructions. What do you mean by getting
our skates into your charge under false pretences ? I was
about to send the police to take them from you. How dare
you tell me that you were sent to wait on me, when you
know very well that you were nothing of the sort } "
" I couldnt help it. Miss," he replied submissively. " I
am a natural born liar — always was. I know that it must
appear dreadful to you that never told a lie, and dont hardly
know what a lie is, belonging as you do to a class where
none is ever told. But common people like me tells lies
just as a duck swims. I ask your pardon. Miss, most
humble ; and I hope the young ladies '11 be able to tell one
set of skates from t'other ; for I'm blest if I can."
" Put them down. Miss Wilson wishes to speak to you
before you go. Susan : show him the way."
** Hope you aint been and got a poor cove into trouble,
Miss."
** Miss Wilson knows how you have behaved."
100 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
He smiled at her benevolently, and followed Susan up-
stairs. On their way they met Jane, who stole a glance at
him, and was about to pass by, when he said,
*' Wont you say a word to Miss Wilson for a poor
common fellow, honoured young lady ? I have got into
dreadful trouble for having made bold to assist you this
morning."
" You neednt give yourself the pains to talk like that,"
replied Jane, in an impetuous whisper. " We all know that
you are only pretending."
** Well : you can guess my motive," he whispered, looking
tenderly at her.
"■ Such stuff and nonsense ! I never heard of such a
thing in my life," said Jane, and ran away, plainly under-
standing that he had disguised himself in order to obtain
admission to the college, and enjoy the happiness of looking
at her.
*' Cursed fool that I am ! " he said to himself: " I cannot
act like a rational creature for five consecutive minutes."
The servant led him to the study, and announced, " The
man, if you please, maam."
" Jeff Smilash," he added, in explanation.
" Come in," said Miss Wilson sternly.
He went in, and met the determined frown which she
cast on him from her seat behind the writing table, by
saying courteously,
" Good-morning, Miss Wilson."
She bent forward involuntarily, as if to receive a gentle-
man. Then she checked herself and looked implacable.
** I have to apologize," he said, " for making use of your
name unwarrantably this morning — telling a lie, in fact. I
happened to be skating when the young ladies came down ;
and as they needed some assistance which they would
hardly have accepted from a common man — excuse my
borrowing that tiresome expression from our acquaintance
Smilash — I set their minds at ease by saying that you had
sent for me. Otherwise, as you have given me a bad
character — though not worse than I deserve — they would
probably have refused to employ me ; or at least I should
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. loi
have been compelled to accept payment, which I of course
do not need."
Miss Wilson affected surprise. **I do not understand
you," she said.
"Not altogether," he said, smiling. ** But you understand
that I am what is called a gentleman."
** No. The gentlemen with whom I am conversant do
not dress as you dress, nor speak as you speak, nor act as
you act."
He looked at her ; and her countenance confirmed the
hostility of her tone. He instantly relapsed into an aggra-
vated phase of Smilash.
** I will no longer attempt to set myself up as a gentle-
man," he sajd. ** I am a common man ; and your ladyship's
hi recognizes me as such and is not to be deceived. But
dont go for to say that I am not candid when I am as
candid as ever you will let me be. What fault, if any, do
you find with my putting the skates on the young ladies,
and carryin' the camp-stool for them .? "
"If you are a gentleman," said Miss Wilson, reddening,
" your conduct in persisting in these antics in my presence
is insulting to me. Extremely so ! "
" Miss Wilson," he replied, unruffled : " if you insist on
Smilash, you shall have Smilash : I take an insane pleasure
in personating him. If you want Sidney — my real Christian
name — you can command him. But allow me to say that
you must have either one or the other. If you become
frank with me, I will understand that you are addressing
Sidney. If distant and severe, Smilash."
*' No matter what your name may be," said Miss Wilson,
much annoyed, ** I forbid you to come here or to hold any
communication whatever with the young ladies in my
charge."
-Why?"
" Because I choose."
*' There is much force in that reason. Miss Wilson ; but
it is not moral force in the sense conveyed by your college
prospectus, which I have read with great interest."
Miss Wilson, since her quarrel with Agatha, had been
102 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
sore on the subject of moral force. " No one is admitted
here," she said, '* without a trustworthy introduction or
recommendation. A disguise is not a satisfactory substitute
for either."
" Disguises are generally assumed for the purpose of
concealing crime," he remarked sententiously.
" Precisely so," she said, emphatically.
"Therefore, I bear, to say the least, a doubtful character.
Nevertheless, I have formed with some of the students here
a slight acquaintance, of which, it seems, you disapprove.
You have given me no good reason why I should discon-
tinue that acquaintance ; and you cannot control me except
by your wish : a sort of influence not usually effective with
doubtful characters. Suppose I disregard your wish ; and
that one or two of your pupils come to you and say, ' Miss
Wilson : in our opinion Smilash is an excellent fellow: we
find his conversation most improving. As it is your prin-
ciple to allow us to exercise our own judgment, we intend
to cultivate the acquaintance of Smilash.' How will you
act in that case ? "
** Send them home to their parents at once."
*' I see that your principles are those of the Church of
England. You allow the students the right of private
judgment on condition that they arrive at the same con-
clusions as you. Excuse my saying that the principles of
the Church of England, however excellent, are not those
your prospectus led me to hope for. Your plan is coercion,
stark and simple."
" I do not admit it," said Miss Wilson, ready to argue,
even with Smilash, in defence of her system. '* The girls
are quite at liberty to act as they please ; but I reserve
my equal liberty to exclude them from my college if I do
not approve of their behaviour."
'* Just so. In most schools children are perfectly at
liberty to learn their lessons or not, just as they please ;
but the principal reserves an equal liberty to whip them
if they cannot repeat their tasks."
*' I do not whip my pupils," said Miss Wilson indig-
nantly. *' The comparison is an outrage."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 103
" But you expel them ; and, as they are devoted to
you and to the place, expulsion is a dreaded punishment.
Yours is the old system of making laws and enforcing
them by penalties ; and the superiority of Alton College
to other colleges is due, not to any difference of system,
but to the comparative reasonableness of its laws, and the
mildness and judgment with which they are enforced."
** My system is radically different from the old one.
However, I will not discuss the matter with you. A mind
occupied with the prejudices of the old coercive despotism
can naturally only see in the new a modification of the
old, instead of, as my system is, an entire reversal or
abandonment of it."
He shook his head sadly, and said, "You seek to
impose your ideas on others, ostracising those who reject
them. Believe me, mankind has been doing nothing else
ever since it began to pay some attention to ideas. It has
been said that a benevolent despotism is the best possible
form of Government. I do not believe that saying,
because I believe another one to the effect that hell is
paved with benevolence, which most people, the proverb
being too deep for them, misinterpret as unfulfilled inten-
tions. As if a benevolent despot might not by an error
of judgment destroy his kingdom, and then say, like
Romeo when he got his friend killed, * I thought all for
the best ! ' Excuse my rambling : I meant to say, in
short, that though you are benevolent and judicious, you
are none the less a despot."
Miss Wilson, at a loss for a reply, regretted that she
had not, before letting him gain so far on her, dismissed
him summarily instead of tolerating a discussion which she
did not now know how to end with dignity. He relieved
her by adding unexpectedly,
*' Your system was the cause of my absurd marriage.
My wife acquired a degree of culture and reasonableness
from her training here which made her seem a superior
being among the chatterers who form the female season-
ing in ordinary society. I admired her dark eyes, and
was only too glad to seize the excuse her education offered
ro4 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
me for believing her a match for me in mind as well as
in body/'
Miss Wilson, astonished, determined to tell him coldly
that her time was valuable. But curiosity took possession
of her in the act of utterance ; and the words that came
were, ** Who was she ? "
" Henrietta Jansenius. She is Henrietta Trefusis ; and
I am Sidney Trefusis, at your mercy. I see I have roused
your compassion at last."
"Nonsense!" said Miss Wilson hastily ; for her surprise
was indeed tinged by a feeling that he was thrown away
on Henrietta.
" I ran away from her and adopted this retreat and
this disguise in order to avoid her. The usual rebuke to
human forethought followed. 1 ran straight into her
arms — or rather she ran into mine. You remember the
scene, and were probably puzzled by it."
" You seem to think your marriage contract a very light
matter, Mr. Trefusis. May I ask whose fault was the
separation } Hers, of course."
"■ I have nothing to reproach her with. I expected to
find her temper hasty ; but it was not so : her behaviour
was unexceptionable. So was mine. Our bliss was per-
fect ; but unfortunately I was not made for domestic bliss :
at all events, I could not endure it ; so I fled ; and when
she caught me again I could give no excuse for my flight,
though I made it clear to her that I would not resume our
connubial relations just yet. We parted on bad terms. I
fully intended to write her a sweet letter to make her
forgive me in spite of herself; but somehow the weeks
have slipt away and I am still fully intending. She has
never written ; and I have never written. This is a pretty
state of things, isnt it, Miss Wilson, after all her advan-
tages under the influence of moral force and the move-
ment for the higher education of women } "
" By your own admission, the fault seems to lie upon
your moral training, and not upon hers."
"The fault was in the conditions of our association.
Why they should have attracted me so strongly at first.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 105
and repelled me so horribly afterwards, is one of those
devil's riddles which will not be answered until we shall
have traced all the yet unsuspected reactions of our
inveterate dishonesty. But I am wasting your time, I
fear. You sent for Smilash ; and I have responded by
practically annihilating him. In public, however, you
must still bear with his antics. One moment more. I
had forgotten to ask you whether you are interested in
the shepherd whose wife you sheltered on the night of the
storm } "
" He assured me, before he took his wife away, that he
was comfortably settled in a lodging in Lyvern."
*' Yes. Very comfortably settled indeed. For half-a-
crown a week he obtained permission to share a spacious
drawing-room with two other families in a ten-roomed
house in not much better repair than his blown-down
hovel. This house yields to its landlord over two hundred
a year, or rather more than the rent of a commodious
mansion in South Kensington. It is a troublesome rent to
collect; but on the other hand there is no expenditure
for repairs or sanitation, which are not considered neces-
sary in tenement houses. Our friend has to walk three
miles to his work, and three miles back. Exercise is a
capital thing for a student or a city clerk ; but to a shep-
herd who has been in the fields all day, a long walk at
the end of his work is somewhat too much of a good
thing. He begged for an increase of wages to compensate
him for the loss of the hut ; but Sir John pointed out to
him that if he was not satisfied, his place could be easily
filled by less exorbitant shepherds. Sir John even con-
descended to explain that the laws of political economy
bind employers to buy labour in the cheapest market ; and
our poor friend, just as ignorant of economics as Sir John,
of course did not know that this was untrue. However,
as labour is actually so purchased everywhere except in
Downing Street and a few other privileged spots, I
suggested that our friend should go to some place where
his market price would be higher than in merry England.
He was willing enough to do so, but unable from want
lo6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
of means. So I lent him a trifle ; and now he is on his
way to Australia. Workmen are the geese that lay the
golden eggs; but they fly away sometimes. I hear a
gong sounding, to remind me of the flight of time and
the value of your share of it. Good-morning."
Miss Wilson was suddenly moved not to let him go
without an appeal to his better nature. " Mr. Trefusis,"
she said : ** excuse me ; but are you not, in your generosity
to others, a little forgetful of your duty to yourself;
and "'
** The first and hardest of all duties ! " he exclaimed.
" — I beg your pardon for interrupting you. It was only
to plead guilty."
** I cannot admit that it is the first of all duties ; but it
is sometimes perhaps the hardest, as you say. Still, you
could surely do yourself more justice without any great
eff"ort. If you wish to live humbly, you can do so without
pretending to be an uneducated man, and without taking
an irritating and absurd name. Why on earth do you call
yourself Smilash } "
" I confess that the name has been a failure. I took
great pains, in constructing it, to secure a pleasant impres-
sion. It is not a mere invention, but a compound of the
words smile and eyelash. A smile suggests good humour:
eyelashes soften the expression and are the only features
that never blemish a face. Hence Smilash is a sound
that should cheer and propitiate. Yet it exasperates. It
is really very odd that it should have that eff'ect, unless it
is that it raises expectations which I am unable to satisfy."
Miss Wilson looked at him doubtfully. He remained
perfectly grave. There was a pause. Then, as if she
had made up her mind to be off"ended, she said, " Good-
morning," shortly.
" Good-morning, Miss Wilson. The son of a millionaire,
like the son of a king, is seldom free from mental disease.
I am just mad enough to be a mountebank. If I were
a little madder, I should perhaps really believe myself
Smilash instead of merely acting him. Whether you ask
me to forget myself for a moment, or to remember myself
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 107
for a moment, I reply that I am the son of my father, and
cannot. With my egotism, my charlatanry, my tongue,
and my habit of having my own way, I am fit for no calling
but that of saviour of mankind — ^just of the sort they
like." After an impressive pause, he turned slowly and
left the room.
*• I wonder," he said, as he crossed the landing,
"whether, by judiciously losing my way, I can catch a
glimpse of that girl who is like a golden idol."
Downstairs, on his way to the door, he saw Agatha
coming towards him, occupied with a book which she
was tossing up to the ceiling and catching. Her melan-
choly expression, habitual in her lonely moments, shewed
that she was not amusing herself, but giving vent to her
restlessness. As her gaze travelled upward, following the
flight of the volume, it was arrested by Smilash. The
book fell to the floor. He picked it up and handed it to
her, saying,
** And, in good time, here is the golden idol ! "
" What } " said Agatha, confused.
** I call you the golden idol," he said. "When we are
apart, I always imagine your face as a face of gold, with
eyes and teeth of bdellium, or chalcedony, or agate, or
any wonderful unknown stones of appropriate colours."
Agatha, witless and dumb, could only look down de-
precatingly.
** You think you ought to be angry with me ; and you
do not know exactly how to make me feel that you are so.
Is that it.?"
" No. Quite the contrary. At least — I mean that you
are wrong. I am the most commonplace person you can
imagine — if you only knew. No matter what I may look,
I mean."
*' How do you know that you are commonplace } "
*' Of course I know," said Agatha, her eyes wandering
uneasily.
" Of course you do not know : you cannot see yourself
as others see you. For instance, you have never thought
of yourself as a golden idol."
io8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"But that is absurd. You are quite mistaken about
me."
** Perhaps so. I know, however, that your face is not
really made of gold, and that it has not the same charm
for you that it has for others — for me."
" I must go," said Agatha, suddenly in haste.
" When shall we meet again ? "
" I dont know," she said,- with a growing sense of alarm.
" I really must go."
" Believe me, your hurry is only imaginary. Do you
fancy that you are behaving in a manner quite unworthy
of yourself, and that a net is closing round you ? "
" No. Nothing of the sort ! "
*' Then why are you so anxious to get away ? "
" I dont know," said Agatha, affecting to laugh as he
looked sceptically at her from beneath his lowered eyelids.
*' Perhaps I do feel a little like that ; but not so much as
you say."
"I will explain the emotion to you," he said, with a
subdued ardour that affected Agatha strangely. " But
first tell me whether it is new to you or not."
" It is not an emotion at all. I did not say that it was."
" Do not be afraid of it. It is only being alone with
a man whom you have bewitched. You would be mistress
of the situation if you only knew how to manage a lover.
It is far easier than managing a horse, or skating, or
playing the piano, or half a dozen other feats of which
you think nothing."
Agatha coloured, and raised her head.
" Forgive me," he said, interrupting the action. " I
am trying to offend you in order to save myself from
falling in love with you ; and I have not the heart to let
myself succeed. On your life, do not listen to me or
believe me : I have no right to say these things to you.
Some fiend enters into me when I am at your side. You
should wear a veil, Agatha."
She blushed, and stood burning and tingling, her
presence of mind gone, and her chief sensation one of
relief to hear — for she did not dare to see — that he was
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 109
departing. Her consciousness was in a delicious con-
fusion, with the one definite thought in it that she had
won her lover at last. The tone of Trefusis's voice, rich
with truth and earnestness ; his quick insight ; and his
passionate warning to her not to heed him, convinced
her that she had entered into a relation destined to
influence her whole life.
"And yet," she said remorsefully, ** I cannot love him
as he loves me. I am selfish, cold, calculating, worldly,
and have doubted until now whether such a thing as love
really existed. If I could only love him recklessly and
wholly, as he loves me ! "
Smilash was also soliloquizing as he went on his way.
*' Now I have made the poor child — who was so anxious
that I should not mistake her for a supernaturally gifted
and lovely woman — as happy as an angel ; and so is that
fine girl whom they call Jane Carpenter. I hope they
wont exchange confidences on the subject."
CHAPTER VIII.
Mrs. Trefusis found her parents so unsympathetic on
the subject of her marriage, that she left their house
shortly after her visit to Lyvern, and went to reside with
a hospitable friend. Unable to remain silent upon the.
matter constantly in her thoughts, she discussed her
husband's flight with this friend, and elicited an opinion
that the behaviour of Trefusis was scandalous and wicked.
Henrietta could not bear this, and sought shelter with a
relative. The same discussion arising, the relative said,
*' Well, Hetty, if I am to speak candidly, I must say
that I have known Sidney Trefusis for a long time ; and
he is the easiest person to get on with I ever met. And
you know, dear, that you are very trying sometimes."
"And so," cried Henrietta, bursting into tears, "after
the infamous way he has treated me, I am to be told that
it is all my own fault."
no AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
^ She left the house next day, having obtained another
invitation from a discreet lady who would not discuss
the subject at all. This proved quite intolerable ; and
Henrietta went to stay with her uncle Daniel Jansenius,
a jolly and indulgent man. He opined that things would
come right as soon as both parties grew more sensible ;
and, as to which of them was in fault, his verdict was,
six of one and half a dozen of the other. Whenever he
saw his niece pensive or tearful, he laughed at her, and
called her a grass widow. Henrietta found that she could
endure anything rather than this. Declaring that the
world was hateful to her, she hired a furnished villa in
St. John's Wood, whither she moved in December. But,
suffering much there from loneliness, she soon wrote a
pathetic letter to Agatha, entreating her to spend the
approaching Christmas vacation with her, and promis-
ing her every luxury and amusement that boundless
affection could suggest and boundless means procure.
Agatha's reply contained some unlooked-for information.
Alton College. Lyvern.
14//^ December.
Dearest Hetty : / dont think I can do exactly what you want, as
I must spend Xmas zoith mamma at Chiswick ; but I need not get there
until Xmas Eve, and 7ve break up here on yesterday tveek, the 2.0th. So
I will go straight to you and bring you with me to mamma's, where
you will spend Xmas much better than moping in a strange house. It
is not quite settled yet about my leaving the college after this term. You
must promise not to tell anyone ; but I have a new friend here — a lover.
Not that I am in love with hiffi, though I think very highly of him —
you know I am not a romantic fool — ; but he is very much in love with
me ; and I wish I could return it as he deserves. The French say that
one person turns the cheek and the other kisses it. It has not got qtiite
so far as that with us : indeed, since he declared what he felt, he has
only been able to snatch a few words with me when 1 have been skati?ig
or walking. But there has always been at least one word or look that
meant a great deal.
And now, who do you think he is ? He says he knows you. Can
you guess ? He says you know all his secrets. He says he knows your
husband well ; that he treated yoti very badly ; and that you are greatly
to be pitied. Can you guess now ? He says he has kissed you— for
shame, Hetty ! Have you guessed yet ? He was going to tell me some
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. in
thinf^ more when we were interrupted ; and I have not seen him since
except at a distance. He is the man with whom you eloped that day
when you gave us all such a fright, — Mr. Sidney. I was the first to
penetrate his disguise ; and that very morning I had taxed him with
it, and he had confessed it. He said then that he was hiding ^ from a
woman who was in love with him ; and I should not be surprised if it
turned out to be true ; for he is wonderfully original — in fact what
makes me like him is that he is by far the cleverest man I have ever
7net ; and yet he thinks nothing of himself I cannot imagine what he
sees in me to care for. though he is evidently ensnared by my charms.
I hope he wont find out how silly I am. He calls me his golden idol
Henrietta, with a scream of rage, tore the letter across,
and stamped upon it. When the paroxysm subsided, she
picked up the pieces; held them together as accurately
as her trembling hands could ; and read on.
— but he is not all honey, and will say the most severe things some-
times if he thinks he ought to. He has made me so ashamed of my
ignorance that I am resolved to stay here for another term at least, and
study as hard as I can. I have not begun yet, as it is not worth while
at the eleventh hour of this term ; but when I return in January I will
set to work in earnest. So you may see that his infizunce over me is an
entirely good one. I will tell you all about him when we meet ; for I
have no time to say anything now, as the girls are bothering me to go
skating with them. lie pretends to be a xvorkman, and puts on our
skates for us ; and Jane Carpenter believes that he is in love with her.
Jane is exceedingly kindhearted ; but she has a talent for making herself
ridiculous that nothing can suppress. The ice is lovely, and the weather
jolly : we do not mind the cold in the least. They are threatening to
go without me — good-bye !
Ever your affectionate
Agatha.
Henrietta looked round for something sharp. She
grasped a pair of scissors greedily, and stabbed the air
with them. Then she became conscious of her murderous
impulse, and shuddered at it ; but in a moment more her
jealousy swept back upon her. She cried, as if suifocating,
** I dont care : I should like to kill her ! " But she did
not take up the scissors again.
At last she rang the bell violently, and asked for a rail-
way guide. On being told that there was not one in the
house, she scolded her maid so unreasonably that the girl
112 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
said pertly that if she were to be spoken to like that, she
should wish to leave when her month was up. This check
brought Henrietta to her senses. She went upstairs, and
put on the first cloak at hand, which was fortunately a
heavy fur one. Then she took her bonnet and purse ; left
the house ; hailed a passing hansom ; and bade the cab-
man drive her to St. Pancras.
When the night came, the air at Lyvern was like iron
in the intense cold. The trees and the wind seemed ice-
bound, as the water was; and silence, stillness, and starlight,
frozen hard, brooded over the country. At the chalet,
Smilash, indiflferent to the price of coals, kept up a roaring
fire that glowed through the uncurtained windows, and
tantalized the chilled wayfarer who did not happen to
know, as the herdsmen of the neighbourhood did, that he
was welcome to enter and warm himself without risk of
rebuff" from the tenant. Smilash was in high spirits. He
had become a proficient skater; and frosty weather was
now a luxury to him. It braced him, and drove away his
gloomy fits ; whilst his sympathies were kept awake, and
his indignation maintained at an exhilarating pitch, by
the suff"erings of the poor, who, unable to aff"ord fires or
skating, warmed themselves in such sweltering heat as
overcrowding produces in all seasons.
It was Smilash' s custom to make a hot drink of oatmeal
and water for himself at half-past nine o'clock each
evening, and to go to bed at ten. He opened the door
to throw out some water that remained in the saucepan
from its last cleansing. It froze as it fell upon the soil.
He looked at the night, and shook himself to throw off" an
oppressive sensation of being clasped in the icy ribs of the
air ; for the mercury had descended below the familiar
region of crisp and crackly cold, and marked a temperature
at which the numb atmosphere seemed on the point of
congealing into black solidity. Nothing was stirring.
" By George ! " he said : " this is one of those nights on
which a rich man darent think ! "
He shut the door ; hastened back to his fire ; and set to
work at his caudle, which he watched and stirred with a
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 113
solicitude that would have amused a professed cook.
When it was done, he poured it into a large mug, where
it steamed invitingly. He took up some in a spoon, and
blew upon it to cool it. Tap, tap, tap, tap! hurriedly
at the door.
"Nice night for a walk," he said, putting down the
spoon. Then, shouting, '* Come in."
The latch rose unsteadily ; and Henrietta, with frozen
tears on her cheeks, and an unintelligible expression of
wretchedness and rage, appeared. After an instant of
amazement, he sprang to her and clasped her in his arms ;
and she, against her will, and protesting voicelessly,
stumbled into his embrace.
*' You are frozen to death," he exclaimed, carrying her
to the fire. *' This seal jacket is like a sheet of ice. So
is your face" (kissing it). "What is the matter.? Why
do you struggle so } "
" Let me go," she gasped, in a vehement whisper. " I
h — hate you."
*' My poor love, you are too cold to hate anyone — even
your husband. You must let me take oif these atrocious
French boots. Your feet must be perfectly dead."
By this time her voice and tears were thawing in the
warmth of the chalet and of his caresses.. " You shall not
take them oif," she said, crying with cold and sorrow.
** Let me alone. Dont touch me. I am going away —
straight back. I will not speak to you, nor take off my'
things here, nor touch anything in the house."
" No, my darling," he said, putting her into a capacious
wooden armchair, and busily unbuttoning her boots : "you
shall do nothing that you dont wish to do. Your feet are
like stones. Yes, yes, my dear : I am a wretch unworthy
to live. I know it."
" Let me alone," she said piteously. " I dont want your
attentions. I have done with you for ever."
" Come : you must drink some of this nasty stuff. You
will need strength to tell your husband all the un-
pleasant things your soul is charged with. Take just a
little."
8
114 A^ UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
She turned her face away, and would not answer. He
brought another chair, and sat down beside her. " My
lost, forlorn, betrayed one "
" I am," she sobbed. ** You dont mean it; but I am."
*' You are also my dearest and best of wives. If you
ever loved me, Hetty, do, for my once dear sake, drink
this before it gets cold."
She pouted ; sobbed ; and yielded to some gentle force
which he used, as a child allows itself to be half persuaded,
half compelled, to take physic.
** Do you feel better and more comfortable now } " he
said.
" No," she replied, angry with herself for feeling
both.
*' Then," he said cheerfully, as if she had uttered a
hearty affirmative, " I will put some more coals on the fire ;
and we shall be as snug as possible. It makes me wildly
happy to see you at my fireside, and to know that you are
my own wife."
" I wonder how you can look me in the face and say
so," she cried.
" I should wonder at myself if I could look at your face
and say anything else. Oatmeal is a capital restorative :
all your energy is coming back. There : that will make
a magnificent blaze presently."
*' I never thought you deceitful, Sidney, whatever other
faults you might have had."
" Precisely, my love. I understand your feelings.
Murder, burglary, intemperance, or the minor vices you
could have borne ; but deceit you cannot abide."
** I will go away," she said despairingly, with a fresh
burst of tears. *' I will not be laughed at and betrayed.
I will go barefooted." She rose, and attempted to reach
the door ; but he intercepted her, and said,
**My love: there is something serious the matter. What
is it ? Dont be angry with me."
He brought her back to the chair. She took Agatha's
letter from the pocket of her fur cloak, and handed it to
him with a faint attempt to be tragic.^
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 115
** Read that," she said. "And never speak to me again.
All is over between us."
He took it curiously, and turned it to look at the
signature. " Aha ! " he said : " my golden idol has been
making mischief, has she ? "
** There ! " exclaimed Henrietta. "You have said it to
my face ! You have convicted yourself out of your own
mouth ! "
** Wait a moment, my dear. I have not read the letter
yet."
He rose and walked to and fro through the room, read-
ing. She watched him, angrily confident that she should
presently see him change countenance. Suddenly he
drooped as if his spine had partly given way ; and in
this ungraceful attitude he read the remainder of the
letter. When he had finished, he threw it on the table ;
thrust his hands deep into his pockets ; and roared
with laughter, huddling himself together as if he could
concentrate the joke by collecting himself into the smallest
possible compass. Henrietta, speechless with indignation,
could only look her feelings. At last he came and sat
down beside her.
"And so," he said, "on receiving this, you rushed out
in the cold, and came all the way to Lyvern. Now, it
seems to me that you must either love me very much "
" I dont. I hate you."
" or else love yourself very much."
" Oh ! " And she wept afresh. " You are a selfish
brute ; and you do just as you like without considering
anyone else. No one ever thinks of me. And now you
wont even take the trouble to deny that shameful letter."
" Why should I deny it } It is true. Do you not see
the irony of all this ? I amuse myself by paying a few
compliments to a schoolgirl for whom I do not care two
straws more than for any agreeable and passably clever
woman I meet. Nevertheless, I occasionally feel a pang
of remorse because I think that she may love me seriously,
although I am only playing with her. I pity the poor
heart I have wantonly ensnared. And, all the time, she
ii6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
is pitying me for exactly the same reason ! She is con-
science-stricken because she is only indulging in the
luxury of being adored by * by far the cleverest man she
has ever met/ and is as heart-whole as I am ! Ha, ha !
That is the basis of the religion of love of which poets are
the high-priests. Each worshipper knows that his own
love is either a transient passion or a sham copied from
his favourite poem ; but he believes honestly in the love
of others for him. Ho, ho ! Is it not a silly world, my
dear ? "
** You had no right to make love to Agatha. You have
no right to make love to anyone but me ; and I wont bear
it."
"You are angry because Agatha has infringed your
monopoly. Always monopoly ! Why, you silly girl, do
you suppose that I belong to you, body and soul }■ — that I
may not be moved except by your affection, or think
except of your beauty ? "
'* You may call me as many names as you please ; but
you have no right to make love to Agatha."
" My dearest : 1 do not recollect calling you any names.
I think. you said something about a selfish brute."
** I did not. You called me a silly girl."
** But, my love, so you are."
"And 's.oyou are. You are thoroughly selfish."
" I dont deny it. But let us return to our subject.
What did we begin to quarrel about ? "
*' I am not quarrelling, Sidney. It is you."
"Well, what did I begin to quarrel about .?"
" About Agatha Wylie."
" Oh pardon me, Hetty : I certainly did not begin to
quarrel about her. I am very fond of her — more so, it
appears, than she is of me. — One moment, Hetty, before
you recommence your reproaches. Why do you dislike
my saying pretty things to Agatha } "
Henrietta hesitated, and said, " Because you have no
right to. It shows how little you care for me."
" It has nothing to do with you. It only shows how
much I care for her."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 117
*' I will not stay here to be insulted," said Hetty, her
distress returning. ** I will go home."
" Not to-night : there is no train."
'* I will walk."
" It is too far."
" I dont care. I will not stay here, though I die of
cold by the roadside."
** My cherished one : I have been annoying you pur-
posely because you show by your anger that you have not
ceased to care for me. I am in the wrong, as I usually
am ; and it is all my fault. Agatha knows nothing about
our marriage."
** I do not blame you so much," said Henrietta, suffer-
ing him to place her head on his shoulder ; *' but I will
never speak to Agatha again. She has behaved shame-
fully to me ; and I will tell her so."
" No doubt she will opine that it is all your fault,
dearest ; and that I have behaved admirably. Between
you I shall stand exonerated. And now, since it is too
cold for walking ; since it is late ; since it is far to Lyvern
and farther to London, I must improvise some accommoda-
tion for you here."
'' But "
" But there is no help for it. You must stay."
CHAPTER IX.
Next day, Smilash obtained from his wife a promise that
she would behave towards Agatha as if the letter had
given no offence. Henrietta pleaded as movingly as she
could for an immediate return to their domestic state ; but
he put her off with endearing speeches ; promised nothing
but eternal affection ; and sent her back to London by the
twelve o'clock express. Then his countenance changed :
he walked back to Lyvern, and thence to the chalet, like a
Il8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
man pursued by disgust and remorse. Later in the after-
noon, to raise his spirits, he took his skates and went to
Wickens's pond, where, it being Saturday, he found the
ice crowded with the Alton students and their half-holiday
visitors. Fairholme, describing circles with his habitual
air of compressed hardihood, stopped and stared with
indignant surprise as Smilash lurched past him.
" Is that man here by your permission ? " he said to
Farmer Wickens, who was walking about as if superintend-
ing a harvest.
** He is here because he likes, I take it," said Wickens
stubbornly. " He is a neighbour of mine, and a friend of
mine. Is there any objections to my having a friend on
my own pond, seein' that there is nigh on two or three
ton of other people's friends on it without as much as a
with-your-leave or a by-your-leave ? "
" Oh no," said Fairholme, somewhat dashed. " If you
are satisfied, there can be no objection."
** I'm glad on it. I thought there mout be."
*' Let me tell you," said Fairholme, nettled, ** that your
landlord would not be pleased to see him here. He sent
one of Sir John's best shepherds out of the country, after
filling his head with ideas above his station. I heard
Sir John speak very warmly about it last Sunday."
" Mayhap you did, Muster Fairholme. I have a lease
of this land — and gravelly, poor stuff it is — ; and I am no
ways beholden to Sir John's likings and dislikings. A
very good thing too for Sir John that I have a lease ; for
there aint a man in the country 'ud tak' a present o' the
farm if it was free to-morrow. And what's a' more, though
that young man do talk foolish about the rights of farm
labourers and such-like nonsense ; if Sir John was to hear
him layin' it down concernin' rent and improvements, and
the way we tenant farmers is put upon, p'raps he'd speak
warmer than ever next Sunday."
And Wickens, with a smile expressive of his sense of
having retorted effectively upon the parson, nodded and
walked away.
Just then Agatha, skating hand in hand with Jane
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 119
Carpenter, heard these words in her ear. " I have some-
thing very funny to tell you. Dont look round."
She recognized the voice of Smilash, and obeyed.
" I am not quite sure that you will enjoy it as it deserves,"
he added, and darted off again, after casting an eloquent
glance at Miss Carpenter.
Agatha disengaged herself from her companion ; made
a circuit ; and passed near Smilash, saying, " What is
it.?"
Smilash flitted away like a swallow; traced several
circles around Fairholme ; and then returned to Agatha
and proceeded side by side with her.
**I have read the letter you wrote to Hetty," he
said.
Agatha's face began to glow. She forgot to maintain
her balance, and almost fell.
** Take care. And so you are not fond of me — in the
romantic sense } "
No answer. Agatha dumb, and afraid to lift her eye-
lids.
" That is fortunate," he continued ; ** because — good
evening. Miss Ward : I have done nothing but admire
your skating for the last hour — because men were
deceivers ever ; and I am no exception, as you will presently
admit."
Agatha murmured something ; but it was unintelligible
amid the din of skating.
*' You think not ? Well, perhaps you are right : I have
said nothing to you that is not in a measure true : you
have always had a peculiar charm for me. But I did not
mean you to tell Hetty. Can you guess why ? "
Agatha shook her head.
** Because she is my wife."
Agatha's ankles became limp. With an effort she kept
upright until she reached Jane, to whom she clung for
support.
" Dont," screamed Jane. ** You'll upset me."
" I must sit down," said Agatha. " I am tired. Let
me lean on you until we get to the chairs."
120 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** Bosh ! I can skate for an hour without sitting down,"
said Jane. However, she helped Agatha to a chair, and
left her. Then Smilash, as if desiring a rest also, sat
down close by on the margin of the pond.
*' Well," he said, without troubling himself as to whether
their conversation attracted attention or not : " what do
you think of me now } ''
"■ Why did you not tell me before, Mr. Trefusis ? "
" That is the cream of the joke," he replied, poising his
heels on the ice so that his skates stood vertically at legs
length from him, and looking at them with a cynical air.
*' I thought you were in love with me, and that the truth
would be too severe a blow to you. Ha ! ha ! And, for
the same reason, you generously forbore to tell me that you
were no more in love with me than with the man in the
moon. Each played a farce, and palmed it off on the
other as a tragedy."
*' There are some things so unmanly, so unkind, and so
cruel," said Agatha, " that I cannot understand any gentle-
man saying them to a girl. Please do not speak to me
again. Miss Ward ! Come to me for a moment. I — I
am not well."
Miss Ward hurried to her side. Smilash, after staring
at her for a moment in astonishment, and in some concern,
skimmed away into the crowd. When he reached the
opposite bank, he took off his skates, and asked Jane, who
strayed intentionally in his direction, to tell Miss Wylie
that he was gone, and would skate no more there.
Without adding a word of explanation, he left her, and
made for his dwelling. As he went down into the hollow
where the road passed through the plantation on the
college side of the chalet, he descried a boy, in the
uniform of the post office, sliding along the frozen ditch.
A presentiment of evil tidings came upon him like a
darkening of the sky. He quickened his pace.
"Anything for me } " he said.
The boy, who knew him, fumbled in a letter case,
and produced a buff envelope. It contained a tele-
gram.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
From Jansenius, London.
To J- Smilash, Chamounix Villa, Lyvern.
Henrietta
dangerously
HI
after
Journey
wants
to
see
you
doctors
say
must
come
at
once
There was a pause. Then he folded the paper methodi-
cally, and put it in his pocket, as if quite done with it.
"And so," he said, "perhaps the tragedy is to follow
the farce, after all."
He looked at the boy, who retreated, not liking his
expression.
" Did you slide all the way from Lyvern ? "
" Only to come quicker," said the messenger, faltering.
** I came as quick as I could."
" You carried news heavy enough to break the thickest
ice ever frozen. I have a mind to throw you over the top
of that tree instead of giving you this half-crown."
" You let me alone," whimpered the boy, retreating
another pace.
" Get back to Lyvern as fast as you can run or slide, and
tell Mr. Marsh to send me the fastest trap he has, to drive
me to the railway station. Here is your half-crown. Off
with you ; and if I do not find the trap ready when I want
it, woe betide you."
The boy came for the money mistrustfully, and ran off
with it as fast as he could. Smilash went into the chalet,
and never reappeared. Instead, Trefusis, a gentleman in
an ulster, carrying a rug, came out ; locked the door ; and
hurried along the road to Lyvern, where he was picked up
by the trap, and carried swiftly to the railway station, just
in time to catch the London train.
" Evening paper, sir ? " said a voice at the window, as
he settled himself in the corner of a first-class carriage.
122 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" No, thank you."
" Footwarmer, sir?" said a porter, appearing in the
newsvendor's place.
*'Ah: that's a good idea. Yes: let me have a foot-
warmer."
The footwarmer was brought ; and Trefusis composed
himself comfortably for his journey. It seemed very short
to him : he could hardly believe, when the train arrived
in London, that he had been nearly three hours on the
way.
There was a sense of Christmas about the travellers and
the people who were at the terminus to meet them. The
porter who came to the carriage door reminded Trefusis
by his manner and voice that the season was one at
which it becomes a gentleman to be festive and liberal.
*' Wot luggage, sir ? Ensom or fourweoll, sir ? "
For a moment Trefusis felt a vagabond impulse to
resume the language of Smilash, and fable to the man of
hampers of turkey and plum-pudding in the van. But he
repressed it ; got into a hansomx ; and was driven to his
father-in-law's house in Belsize Avenue, studying in a
gloomily critical mood the anxiety that surged upon him
and made his heart beat like a boy's as he drew near his
destination. There were two carriages at the door when
he alighted. The reticent expression of the coachmen
sent a tremor through him.
The door opened before he rang. " If you please, sir,"
said the maid in a low voice, ** will you step into the
library ; and the doctor will see you immediately."
On the first landing of the staircase, two gentlemen
were speaking to Mr. Jansenius, who hastily moved out of
sight, not before a glimpse of his air of grief and discom-
fiture had given Trefusis a strange twinge, succeeded by
a sensation of having been twenty years a widower. He
smiled unconcernedly as he followed the girl into the
library, and asked her how she did. She murmured some
reply, and hurried away, thinking that the poor young man
would alter his tone presently.
He was joined at once by a grey whiskered gentleman.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 123
scrupulously dressed and mannered. Trefusis introduced
himself; and the physician looked at him with some
interest. Then he said,
*' You have arrived too late, Mr. Trefusis. All is over, I
am sorry to say."
"Was the long railway journey she took in this cold
weather the cause of her death } "
Some bitter words that the physician had heard upstairs
made him aware that this was a delicate question. But he
said quietly, *' The proximate cause, doubtless. The proxi-
mate cause."
** She received some unwelcome and quite unlooked-for
intelligence before she started. Had that anything to do
with her death, do you think } "
" It may have produced an unfavourable effect," said the
physician, growing restive, and taking up his gloves. " The
habit of referring such events to such causes is carried too
far, as a rule."
" No doubt. I am curious because the event is novel in
my experience. I suppose it is a commonplace in yours."
** Pardon me. The loss of a lady so young and so
favourably circumstanced, is not a commonplace either in
my experience or in my opinion." The physician held up
his head as he spoke, in protest against any assumption that
his sympathies had been blunted by his profession.
'' Did she suffer .? "
" For some hours, yes. We were able to do a little to
alleviate her pain — poor thing ! " He almost forgot Tre-
fusis as he added the apostrophe.
'* Hours of pain ! Can you conceive any good purpose
that those hours may have served } "
The physician shook his head, leaving it doubtful whether
he meant to reply in the negative, or to deplore considera-
tions of that nature. He also made a movement to depart,
being uneasy in conversation with Trefusis, who would, he
felt sure, presently ask questions or make remarks with
which he could hardly deal without committing himself in
some direction. His conscience was not quite at rest.
Henrietta's pain had not, he thought, served any good pur-
124 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
pose ; but he did not want to say so, lest he should acquire a
reputation for impiety and lose his practice. He believed
that the general practitioner who attended the family, and
had called him in when the case grew serious, had treated
Henrietta unskilfully ; but professional etiquette bound him
so strongly that, sooner than betray his colleague's ineffi-
ciency, he would have allowed him to decimate London.
" One word more," said Trefusis. " Did she know that
she was dying ? "
** No. I considered it best that she should not be in-
formed of her danger. She passed away without any
apprehension."
*' Then one can think of it with equanimity. She dreaded
death, poor child 1 The wonder is that there was not
enough folly in the household to prevail against your good
sense."
The physician bowed, and took his leave, esteeming him-
self somewhat fortunate in escaping without being re-
proached for his humanity in having allowed Henrietta to
die unawares.
A moment later the general practitioner entered. Tre-
fusis, having accompanied the consulting physician to the
door, detected the family doctor in the act of pulling a long
face just outside it. Restraining a desire to seize him by
the throat, he seated himself on the edge of the table, and
said cheerfully,
" Well, doctor : how has the world used you since we
last met ? "
The doctor was taken aback ; but the solemn disposition
of his features did not relax as he almost intoned, " Has
Sir Francis told you the sad news, Mr. Trefusis ? "
" Yes. Frightful, isnt it } Lord bless me, we're here
to-day and gone to-morrow."
" True, very true ! "
*' Sir Francis has a high opinion of you."
The doctor looked a little foolish. "Everything was
done that could be done, Mr. Trefusis ; but Mrs. Jansenius
was very anxious that no stone should be left unturned.
She was good enough to say that her sole reason for
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 125
wishing me to call in Sir Francis was that you should have
no cause to complain."
" Indeed ! "
" An excellent mother ! A sad event for her ! Ah
yes, yes ! Dear me ! A very sad event ! "
" Most disagreeable. Such a cold day too. Pleasanter
to be in heaven than here in such weather, possibly."
'' Ah ! " said the doctor, as if much sound comfort lay
in that. " I hope so : I hope so : I do not doubt it. Sir
Francis did not permit us to tell her ; and I, of course,
deferred to him. Perhaps it was for the best."
** You would have told her, then, if Sir Francis had not
objected .? "
" Well, there are, you see, considerations which we
must not ignore in our profession. Death is a serious
thing, as I am sure I need not remind you, Mr. Trefusis.
We have sometimes higher duties than indulgence to the
natural feelings of our patients."
" Quite so. The possibility of eternal bliss and the
probability of eternal torment are consolations not to be
lightly withheld from a dying girl, eh .? However, what's
past cannot be mended. I have much to be thankful for,
after all. I am a young man, and shall not cut a bad
figure as a widower. And now tell me, doctor : am I not
in very bad repute upstairs } "
** Mr. Trefusis ! Sir ! I cannot meddle in family matters.
I understand my duties, and never overstep them." The
doctor, shocked at last, spoke as loftily as he could.
" Then I will go and see Mr. Jansenius," said Trefusis,
getting off the table.
** Stay, sir ! One moment. I have not finished. Mrs.
Jansenius has asked me to ask — I was about to say that I
am not speaking now as the medical adviser of this family;
but although an old friend — and — ahem ! Mrs. Jansenius
has asked me to ask — to request you to excuse Mr. Jansenius,
as he is prostrated by grief, and is, as I can — as a medical
man — assure you, unable to see anyone. She will speak
to you herself as soon as she feels able to do so — at some
time this evening. Meanwhile, of course, any orders you
126 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
may give — you must be fatigued by your journey, and I
always recommend people not to fast too long : it produces
an acute form of indigestion — any orders you may wish to
give will, of course, be attended to at once."
•'* I think,'' said Trefusis, after a moment's reflection, ** I
will order a hansom."
"There is no ill-feeling," said the doctor, who, as a
slow man, was usually alarmed by prompt decisions, even
when they seemed wise to him, as this one did. "■ I hope
you have not gathered from anything I have said "
" Not at all : you have displayed the utmost tact. But
I think I had better go. Jansenius can bear death and
misery with perfect fortitude when it is on a large scale,
and hidden in a back slum. But when it breaks into his
own house, and attacks his property — his daughter was his
property until very recently — he is just the man to lose his
head and quarrel with me for keeping mine."
The doctor was unable to cope with this speech, which
conveyed vaguely monstrous ideas to him. Seeing Trefusis
about to leave, he said in a low voice, "Will you go
upstairs ? "
"Upstairs! Why.?"
" I — I thought you might wish to see " He did not
finish the sentence ; but Trefusis flinched : the blank had
expressed what was meant.
" To see something that was Henrietta, and that is a
thing we must cast out and hide, with a little superstitious
mumming to save appearances. Why did you remind me
of it .? "
" But, sir, whatever your views may be, will you not
as a matter of form, in deference to the feelings of the
family- } "
" Let them spare their feeling.s for the living, on whose
behalf I have often appealed to them in vain," cried
Trefusis, losing patience. " Damu their feelings ! " And,
turning to the door, he found it open, and Mrs. Jansenius
there listening.
Trefusis was confounded. He knew what the eff"ect of
his speech must be, and felt that it would be folly to attempt
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 127
excuse or explanation. He put his hands into his pockets;
leaned against the table ; and looked at her, mutely
wondering what would follow on her part.
The doctor broke the silence by saying, tremulously,
** I have communicated the melancholy intelligence to Mr.
Trefusis."
** I hope you told him also," she said sternly, " that,
however deficient we may be in feeling, we did everything
that lay in our power for our child."
** I am quite satisfied," said Trefusis.
*' No doubt you are— with the result," said Mrs. Jan-
senius, hardly. " I wish to know whether you have
anything to complain of."
** Nothing."
" Please do not imply that anything has happened,
through our neglect."
'* What have I to complain of ? She had a warm room
and a luxurious bed to die in, with the best medical advice
in the world. Plenty of people are starving and freezing
to-day that we may have the means to die fashionably : ask
them if they have any cause for complaint. Do you think
I will wrangle over her body about the amount of money
spent on her illness } What measure is that of the cause
she had for complaint ? I never grudged money to her —
how could I ? seeing that more than I can waste is given
to me for nothing. Or how could you ? Yet she had
great reason to complain of me. You will allow that to
be so."
" It is perfectly true."
** Well, when I am in the humour for it, I will reproach
myself and not you." He paused, and then turned forcibly
on her, saying, *' Why do you select this time, of all others,
to speak so bitterly to me ? "
** I am not aware that I have said anything to call for
such a remark. T)\dyou " (appealing to the doctor) " hear
me say anything ? "
*' Mr. Trefusis does not mean to say that you did, I am
sure. Oh no. Mr. Trefusis's feelings are naturally — are
harrowed. That is all."
128 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" My feelings ! " cried Trefusis impatiently. " Do you
suppose my feelings are a trumpery set of social obser-
vances, to be harrowed to order and exhibited at funerals ?
She has gone a^ we three shall go soon enough. If we
were immortal, we might reasonably pity the dead. As
we are not, we had better save our energies to minimize
the harm we are likely to do before we follow her."
The doctor was deeply offended by this speech ; for the
statement that he should one day die seemed to him a
reflection upon his professional mastery over death. Mrs.
Jansenius was glad to see Trefusis confirming her bad
opinion and report of him by his conduct and language in
the doctor's presence. There was a brief pause ; and then
Trefusis, too far out of sympathy with them to be able to
lead the conversation into a kinder vein, left the room. In
the act of putting on his overcoat in the hall, he hesitated,
and hung it up again irresolutely. Suddenly he ran upstairs.
At the sound of his steps, a woman came from one of the
rooms, and looked inquiringly at him.
"Is it here ,?" he said.
" Yes, sir," she whispered.
A painful sense of constriction came in his chest ; and
he turned pale and stopped with his hand on the lock.
*' Dont be afraid, sir," said the woman, with an en-
couraging smile. '* She looks beautiful."
He looked at her with a strange grin, as if she had
uttered a ghastly but irresistible joke. Then he went in,
and, when he reached the bed, wished he had stayed
without. He was not one of those who, seeing little in
the faces of the living, miss little in the faces of the dead.
The arrangement of the black hair on the pillow, the soft
drapery, and the flowers placed there by the nurse to
complete the artistic eff'ect to which she had so confi-
dently referred, were lost on him : he saw only a lifeless
mask that had been his wife's face ; and at sight of
it his knees failed, and he had to lean for support on the
rail at the foot of the bed.
When he looked again, the face seemed to have changed.
It was no longer a waxlike mask, but Henrietta, girlish
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 129
and pathetically at rest. Death seemed to have cancelled
her marriage and womanhood : he had never seen her
look so young. A minute passed ; and then a tear dropped
on the coverlet. He started ; shook another tear on his
hand ; and stared at it incredulously.
** This is a fraud of which I have never even dreamed,"
he said. '* Tears and no sorrow ! Here am I crying !
growing maudlin ! whilst I am glad that she is gone and
I free. I have the mechanism of grief in me somewhere :
it begins to turn at sight of her though I have no
sorrow ; just as she used to start the mechanism of passion
when I had no love. And that made no difference to her :
whilst the wheels went round she was satisfied. I hope the
mechanism of grief will flag and stop in its spinning as
soon as the other used to. It is stopping already, I think.
What a mockery ! Whilst it lasts I suppose I am really
sorry. And yet, would I restore her to life if I could }
Perhaps so : I am therefore thankful that I cannot." He
folded his arms on the rail, and gravely addressed the dead
figure, which still afl"ected him so strongly that he had to
exert his will to face it with composure. *' If you really
loved me, it is well for you that you are dead — idiot that I
was to believe that the passion you could inspire, you poor
child, would last. We are both lucky : I have escaped
from you ; and you have escaped from yourself."
Presently he breathed more freely, and looked round the
room to help himself into a matter-of-fact vein by a little
unembarrassed action, and the commonplace aspect of the
bedroom furniture. He went to the pillow, and bent over
it, examining the face closely.
** Poor child ! " he said again, tenderly. Then, with
sudden reaction, apostrophizing himself instead of his wife,
" Poor ass ! Poor idiot ! Poor jackanapes ! Here is the
body of a woman who was nearly as old as myself, and
perhaps wiser ; and here am I moralizing over it as if I
were God Almighty and she a baby! The more you
remind a man of what he is, the more conceited he
becomes. Monstrous ! I shall feel immortal presently."
He touched the cheek with a faint attempt at roughness,
9
130 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
to feel how cold it was. Then he touched his own, and
remarked,
" This is what I am hastening toward at the express
speed of sixty minutes an hour ! " He stood looking down
at the face and tasting this sombre reflection for a long
time. When it palled on him, he roused himself, and
exclaimed more cheerfully,
** After all, she is not dead. Every word she uttered —
every idea she formed and expressed, was an inexhaustible
and indestructible impulse." He paused ; considered a
little further ; and relapsed into gloom, adding, ** And the
dozen others whose names will be with hers in the Times
to-morrow ? Their words too are still in the air, to endure
there to all eternity. Hm ! How the air must be crammed
with nonsense ! Two sounds sometimes produce a silence :
perhaps ideas neutralize one another in some analogous
way. No, my dear : you are dead and gone and done with ;
and I shall be dead and gone and done with too soon to
leave me leisure to fool myself with hopes of immortality.
Poor Hetty ! Well : good-bye, my darling. Let us pretend
for a moment that you can hear that : I know it will please
you."
All this was in a half articulate whisper. When he ceased,
he still bent over the body, gazing intently at it. Even
when he had exhausted the subject, and turned to go, he
changed his mind, and looked again for a while. Then he
stood erect, apparently nerved and refreshed, and left the
room with a firm step. The woman was waiting outside.
Seeing that he was less distressed than when he entered,
she said,
'* I hope you are satisfied, sir ! "
'* Delighted ! Charmed ! The arrangements are ex-
tremely pretty and tasteful. Most consolatory." And he
gave her half-a-sovereign.
*' I thank you, sir," she said, dropping a curtsey. " The
poor young lady ! She was anxious to see you, sir. To
hear her say that you we're the only one that cared for her !
And so fretful with her mother, too. * Let him be told
that I am dangerously ill,' says she, ' and he'll come.' She
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 131
didnt know how true her word was, poor thing ; and she
went off without being aware of it."
** Flattering herself, and flattering me. Happy girl ! "
" Bless you, I know what her feelings were, sir : I have
had experience." Here she approached him confidentially,
and whispered, " The family were again' you, sir ; and she
knew it. But she wouldnt listen to them. She thought of
nothing, when she was easy enough to think at all, but of
your coming. And — hush ! Here's the old gentleman."
Trefusis looked round, and saw Mr. Jansenius, whose
handsome face was white and seamed with grief and annoy-
ance. He drew back from the proffered hand of his son-
in-law, like an overworried child from an ill-timed attempt
to pet it. Trefusis pitied him. The nurse coughed, and
retired.
** Have you been speaking to Mrs. Jansenius.^" said
Trefusis.
*' Yes," said Jansenius offensively.
** So have I, unfortunately. Pray make my apologies to
her. I was rude. The circumstances upset me."
" You are not upset, sir," said Jansenius, loudly. " You
do not care a damn."
Trefusius recoiled.
" You damned my feelings ; and I will damn yours," con-
tinued Jansenius, in the same tone. Trefusis involun-
tarily looked at the door through which he had lately
passed. Then, recovering himself, he said quietly,
*' It does not matter. She cant hear us."
Before Jansenius could reply, his wife hurried upstairs ;
caught him by the arm ; and said, *' Dont speak to him,
John. And you," she added, to Trefusis : " will you be-
gone."
**What! " he said, looking cynically at her. "Withou
my dead ! Without my property ! Well : be it so."
"What do you know of the feelings of a respectable
man ? " persisted Jansenius, breaking out again in spite of
his wife. *' Nothing is sacred to you. This shows what
Socialists are ! "
" And what fathers are, and what mothers are," retorted
132 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Trefusis, giving way to his temper. ** I thought you loved
Hetty ; but I see that you only love your feelings and your
respectability. The devil take both ! She was right : my
love for her, incomplete as it was, was greater than yours."
And he left the house in dudgeon.
But he stood awhile in the avenue to laugh at himself
and his father-in-law. Then he took a hansom, and was
driven to the house of his solicitor, whom he wished to
consult on the settlement of his late wife's affairs.
CHAPTER X.
The remains of Henrietta Trefusis were interred in High-
gate Cemetery the day before Christmas Eve. Three noble-
men sent their carriages to the funeral ; and the friends and
clients of Mr. Jansenius, to a large number, attended in
person. The bier was covered with a profusion of costly
flowers. The undertaker, instructed to spare no expense,
provided long-tailed black horses, with black palls on their
backs, and black plumes upon their foreheads ; coachmen
decorated with scarves and jack-boots ; black hammer-
cloths, cloaks, and gloves ; with many hired mourners,
who, however, would have been instantly discharged had
they presumed to betray emotion, or in any way overstep
their function of walking beside the hearse with brass-
tipped batons in their hands.
Among the genuine mourners were Mr. Jansenius, who
burst into tears at the ceremony of casting earth on the
coffin ; the boy Arthur, who, pre-occupied by the novelty
of appearing in a long cloak at the head of a public pro-
cession, felt that he was not so sorry as he ought to be
when he saw his papa cry ; and a cousin who had once
asked Henrietta to marry him, and who now, full of tragic
reflections, was enjoying his despair intensely.
The rest whispered, whenever they could decently do
so, about a strange omission in the arrangements. The
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 133
husband of the deceased was absent. Members of the
family and intimate friends were told by Daniel Jan-
senius that the widower had acted in a blackguard way,
and that the Janseniuses did not care two-pence whether
he came or stayed at home ; that, but for the indecency of
the thing, they were just as glad that he was keeping
away. Others, who had no claim to be privately informed,
made inquiries of the undertaker's foreman, who said he
understood the gentleman objected to large funerals.
Asked why, he said he supposed it was on the ground of
expense. This being met by a remark that Mr. Trefusis
was very wealthy, he added that he had been told so, but
believed the money had not come from the lady ; that
people seldom cared to go to a great expense for a funeral
unless they came into something good by the death ; and
that some parties, the more they had, the more they
grudged. Before the funeral guests dispersed, the report
spread by Mr. Jansenius's brother had got mixed with the
views of the foreman, and had given rise to a story of
Trefusis expressing joy at his wife's death with frightful
oaths in her father's house whilst she lay dead there, and
refusing to pay a farthing of her debts or funeral expenses.
Some days later, when gossip on the subject was sub-
siding, a fresh scandal revived it. A literary friend of Mr.
Jansenius's helped him to compose an epitaph, and added
to it a couple of pretty and touching stanzas, setting forth
that Henrietta's character had been one of rare sweetness
and virtue, and that her friends would never cease to
sorrow for her loss. A tradesman who described himself
as a " monumental mason " furnished a book of tomb
designs ; and Mr. Jansenius selected a highly ornamental
one, and proposed to defray half the cost of its erection.
Trefusis objected that the epitaph was untrue; and said
that he did not see why tombstones should be privileged
to publish false statements. It was reported that he had
followed up his former misconduct by calling his father-
in-law a liar, and that he had ordered a common tomb-
stone from some cheap-jack at the East-end. He had, in
fact, spoken contemptuously of the monumental tradesman
134 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
as an "exploiter" of labour, and had asked a young
working mason, a member of the International Associa-
tion, to design a monument for the gratification of
Jansenius.
The mason, with much pains and misgiving, produced
an original design. Trefusis approved of it, and resolved
to have it executed by the hands of the designer. He
hired a sculptor's studio ; purchased blocks of marble of
the dimensions and quality described to him by the mason ;
and invited him to set to work forthwith.
Trefusis now encountered a difficulty. He wished to
pay the mason the just value of his work, no more and no
less. But this he could not ascertain. The only available
standard was the market price, and this he rejected as
being fixed by competition among capitalists who could
only secure profit by obtaining from their workmen more
products than they paid them for, and could only tempt
customers by offering a share of the unpaid-for part of the
products as a reduction in price. Thus he found that the
system of withholding the indispensable materials for
production and subsistence from the labourers, except on
condition of their supporting an idle class whilst accepting
a lower standard of comfort for themselves than for that
idle class, rendered the determination of just ratios of
exchange, and consequently the practice of honest dealing,
impossible. He had at last to ask the mason what he
would consider fair payment for the execution of the
design, though he knew that the man could no more solve
the problem than he, and that, though he would certainly
ask as much as he thought he could get, his demand must
be limited by his poverty and by the competition of the
monumental tradesman. Trefusis settled the matter by
giving double what was asked, only imposing such condi-
tions as were necessary to compel the mason to execute
the work himself, and not make a profit by hiring other
men at the market rate of wages to do it.
But the design was, to its author's astonishment, to be
paid for separately. The mason, after hesitating a long
time between two-pounds-ten and five pounds, was em-
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 13$
boldened by a fellow-workman, who treated him to some
hot whiskey and water, to name the larger sum. Trefusis
paid the money at once, and then set himself to find out
how much a similar design would have cost from the hands
of an eminent Royal Academician. Happening to know
a gentleman in this position, he consulted him, and was
informed that the probable cost would be from five
hundred to one thousand pounds. Trefusis expressed his
opinion that the mason's charge was the more reasonable,
somewhat to the indignation of his artist friend, who
reminded him of the years which a Royal Academician
has to spend in acquiring his skill. Trefusis mentioned
that the apprenticeship of a mason was quite as long,
twice as laborious, and not half so pleasant. The artist
now began to find Trefusis's Socialistic views, with which
he had previously fancied himself in sympathy, both odious
and dangerous. He demanded whether nothing was to be
allowed for genius. Trefusis warmly replied that genius
cost its possessor nothing ; that it was the inheritance of
the whole race incidentally vested in a single individual ;
and that if that individual employed his monopoly of it to
extort money from others, he deserved nothing better than
hanging. The artist lost his temper, and suggested that
if Trefusis could not feel that the prerogative of art was
divine, perhaps he could understand that a painter was not
such a fool as to design a tomb for five pounds when he
might be painting a portrait for a thousand. Trefusis
retorted that the fact of a man paying a thousand pounds
for a portrait proved that he had not earned the money,
and was therefore either a thief or a beggar. The common
workman who sacrificed sixpence from his week's wages
for a cheap photograph to present to his sweetheart, or a
shilling for a pair of chromolithographic pictures or delft
figures to place on his mantelboard, suffered greater priva-
tion for the sake of possessing a work of art than the
great landlord or shareholder who paid a thousand
pounds, which he was too rich to miss, for a portrait that,
like Hogarth's Jack Sheppard, was only interesting to
students of criminal physiognomy. A lively quarrel
136 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
ensued : Trefusis denouncing the folly of artists in fancy-
ing themselves a priestly caste when they were obviously
only the parasites and favoured slaves of the moneyed
classes ; and his friend (temporarily his enemy) sneering
bitterly at levellers who were for levelling down instead of
levelling up. Finally, tired of disputing, and remorseful
for their acrimony, they dined amicably together.
The monument was placed in Highgate Cemetery by a
small band of workmen, whom Trefusis found out of
employment. It bore the following inscription.
THIS IS THE MONUMENT OF
HENRIETTA JANSENIUS
WHO WAS BORN ON THE 26tH JULY, 1856,
MARRIED TO SIDNEY TrEFUSIS ON THE 23RD AUGUST, 1875,
AND WHO DIED ON THE 2IST DECEMBER IN THE SAME YEAR.
Mr. Jansenius took this as an insult to his daughter's
memory, and, as the tomb was much smaller than many
which had been erected, in the cemetery by families to
whom the Janseniuses claimed superiority, cited it as an
example of the widower's meanness. But by other
persons it was so much admired that Trefusis hoped it
would ensure the prosperity of its designer. The contrary
happened. When the mason attempted to return to his
ordinary work, he was informed that he had contravened
trade usage, and that his former employers would have
nothing more to say to him. On applying for advice and
assistance to the trades-union of which he was a member,
he received the same reply, and was further reproached for
treachery to his fellow-workmen. He returned to Trefusis
to say that the tombstone job had ruined him. Trefusis,
enraged, wrote an argumentative letter to the Times, which
was not inserted ; a sarcastic one to the trades-union,
which did no good ; and a fierce one to the employers,
who threatened to take an action for libel. He had to
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 137
content himself with setting the man to work again on
mantelpieces and other decorative stone-work for use in
house property on the Trefusis estate. In a year or
two his liberal payments enabled the mason to save
sufficient to start as an employer, in which capacity he
soon began to grow rich, as he knew by experience
exactly how much his workmen could be forced to do, and
how little they could be forced to take. Shortly after this
change in his circumstances, he became an advocate of
thrift, temperance, and steady industry ; and quitted the
International Association, of which he had been an enthu-
siastic supporter when dependent on his own skill and taste
as a working mason.
During these occurrences, Agatha's school-life ended.
Her resolution to study hard during another term at the
college had been formed, not for the sake of becoming
learned, but that she might become more worthy of
Smilash ; and when she learned the truth about him from
his own lips, the idea of returning to the scene of that
humiliation became intolerable to her. She left under the
impression that her heart was broken ; for her smarting
vanity, by the law of its own existence, would not perceive
that it was the seat of the injury. So she bade Miss
Wilson adieu ; and the bee on the window-pane was heard
no more at Alton College.
The intelligence of Henrietta's death shocked her the
more because she could not help being glad that the only
other person who knew of her folly with regard to Smilash
(himself excepted) was now silenced for ever. This seemed
to her a terrible discovery of her own depravity. Under
its influence she became almost religious, and caused
some anxiety about her health to her mother, who was
puzzled by her unwonted seriousness, and, in particular,
by her determination not to speak of the misconduct of
Trefusis, which was now the prevailing topic of conversa-
tion in the family. She listened in silence to gossiping
discussions of his desertion of his wife ; his heartless in-
difference to her decease ; his violence and bad language by
her deathbed ; his parsimony ; his malicious opposition to
138 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
the wishes of the Janseniuses ; his cheap tombstone with
the insulting epitaph ; his association with common work-
men and low demagogues ; his suspected connection with
a secret society for the assassination of the royal family
and blowing up of the army; his atheistic denial, in a
pamphlet addressed to the clergy, of a statement by the
Archbishop of Canterbury that spiritual aid alone could
improve the condition of the poor in the East-end of
London ; and the crowning disgrace of his trial for sedi-
tious libel at the Old Bailey, where he was condemned to
six months' imprisonment : a penalty from which he was
rescued by the ingenuity of his counsel, who discovered
a flaw in the indictment, and succeeded, at great cost to
Trefusis, in getting the sentence quashed. Agatha at last
got tired of hearing of his misdeeds. She believed him
to be heartless, selfish, and misguided ; but she knew that
he was not the loud, coarse, sensual and ignorant brawler
most of her mother's gossips supposed him to be. She
even felt, in spite of herself, an emotion of gratitude to the
few who ventured to defend him.
Preparation for her first season helped her to forget her
misadventure. She *' came out" in due time; and an ex-
tremely dull season she found it. So much so, that she
sometimes asked herself whether she should ever be
happy again. At the college there had been goodfellow-
ship, fun, rules and duties which were a source of strength
when observed and a source of delicious excitement when
violated, freedom from ceremony, toffee making, flights on
the bannisters, and appreciative audiences for the soldier
in the chimney. In society there were silly conversations
lasting half-a-minute, cool acquaintanceships founded on
such half-minutes, general reciprocity of suspicion, over-
crowding, insufficient ventilation, bad music badly executed,
late hours, unwholesome food, intoxicating liquors, jealous
competition in useless expenditure, husband-hunting, flirt-
ing, dancing, theatres, and concerts. The last three,
which Agatha liked, helped to make the contrast between
Alton and London tolerable to her ; but they had their
drawbacks ; for good partners at the dances, and good
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 139
performances at the spiritless opera and concerts, were
disappointingly scarce. Flirting she could not endure :
she drove men away when they became tender, seeing in
them the falsehood of Smilash without his wit. She was
considered rude by the younger gentlemen of her circle.
They discussed her bad manners among themselves, and
agreed to punish her by not asking her to dance. She thus
got rid, without knowing why, of the attentions she cared
for least (she retained a schoolgirl's cruel contempt for
"boys"), and enjoyed herself as best she could with such
of the older or more sensible men as were not intolerant
of girls.
At best, the year was the least happy she had ever spent.
She repeatedly alarmed her mother by broaching projects
of becoming a hospital nurse, a public singer, or an actress.
These projects led to some desultory studies. In order to
qualify herself as a nurse, she read a handbook of physi-
ology, which Mrs. Wylie thought so improper a subject for
a young lady, that she went in tears to beg Mrs. Jansenius
to remonstrate with her unruly girl. Mrs. Jansenius, better
advised, was of opinion that the more a woman knew, the
more wisely she was likely to act ; and that Agatha would
soon drop the physiology of her own accord. This proved
true. Agatha, having finished her book by dint of exten-
sive skipping, proceeded to study pathology from a volume
of clinical lectures. Finding her own sensations exactly
like those described in the book as symptoms of the direst
diseases, she put it by in alarm, and took up a novel, which
was free from the fault she had found in the lectures,
inasmuch as none of the emotions it described in the least
resembled any she had ever experienced.
After a brief interval, she consulted a fashionable teacher
of singing as to whether her voice was strong enough for
the operatic stage. He recommended her to study with
him for six years, assuring her that at the end of that
period — if she followed his directions — she should be the
greatest singer in the world. To this there was, in her
mind, the conclusive objection that in six years she should
be an old woman. So she resolved to try privately whether
140 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
she could not get on more quickly by herself. Meanwhile,
with a view to the drama in case her operatic scheme
should fail, she took lessons in elocution and gymnastics.
Practice in these improved her health and spirits so much
that her previous aspirations seemed too limited. She
tried her hand at all the arts in succession, but was too
discouraged by the weakness of her first attempts to perse-
vere. She knew that as a general rule there are feeble and
ridiculous beginnings to all excellence ; but she never
applied general rules to her own case, still thinking of
herself as an exception to them, just as she had done when
she romanced about Smilash. The illusions of adolescence
were thick upon her.
Meanwhile her progress was creating anxieties in which
she had no share. Her paroxysms of exhilaration, followed
by a gnawing sense of failure and uselessness, were known
to her mother only as " wildness" and " low spirits" ; to
be combated by needlework as a sedative, or beef tea as a
stimulant. Mrs. Wylie had learnt by rote that the whole
duty of a lady is to be graceful, charitable, helpful, modest
and disinterested whilst awaiting passively whatever lot these
virtues may induce. But she had learnt by experience that
a lady's business in society is to get married ; and that
virtues and accomplishments alike are important only as
attractions to eligible bachelors. As this truth is shameful,
young ladies are left for a year to two to find it out for
themselves : it is seldom explicitly conveyed to them at
their entry into society. Hence they often throw away
capital bargains in their first season, and are compelled to
offer themselves at greatly reduced prices subsequently,
when their attractions begin to stale. This was the fate
which Mrs. Wylie, warned by Mrs. Jansenius, feared for
Agatha, who, time after time when a callow gentleman of
wealth and position was introduced to her, drove him
brusquely away as soon as he ventured to hint that his
affections were concerned in their acquaintanceship. The
anxious mother had to console herself with the fact that
her daughter drove away the ineligible as ruthlessly as the
eligible ; formed no unworldly attachments ; was still very
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 141.
young ; and would grow less coy as she advanced in years
and in what Mrs. Jansenius called sense.
But as the seasons went by, it remained questionable
whether Agatha was the more to be congratulated on having
begun life after leaving school, or Henrietta on having
finished it.
END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
BOOK 11.
CHAPTER XL
Brandon Beeches, in the Thames valley, was the seat of
Sir Charles Brandon, seventh baronet of that name. He
had lost his father before attaining his majority, and had
married shortly afterwards; so that in his twenty-fifth
year he was father to three children. He was a little
worn, in spite of his youth ; but he was tall and agreeable,
had a winning way of taking a kind and soothing view of
the misfortunes of others, could tell a story well, liked
music and could play and sing a little, loved the arts of
design and could sketch a little in water colours, read every
magazine from London or Paris that criticized pictures,
had travelled a little, fished a little, shot a little, botanized
a little, wandered restlessly in the footsteps of women, and
dissipated his energies through all the small channels that
his wealth opened and his talents made easy to him. He
had no large knowledge of any subject, though he had
looked into many just far enough to replace absolute
unconsciousness of them with measurable ignorance.
Never having enjoyed the sense of achievement, he was
troubled with unsatisfied aspirations that filled him with
melancholy and convinced him that he was a born artist.
His wife found him selfish, peevish, hankering after
change, and prone to believe that he was attacked by
dangerous diseases when he was only catching cold.
144 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Lady Brandon, who believed that he understood all the
subjects he talked about because she did not understand
them herself, was one of his disappointments. In person
she resembled none of the types of beauty striven after by
the painters of her time; but she had charms to which
few men are insensible. She was tall, soft and stout ;
with ample and shapely arms, shoulders and hips. With
her small head, little ears, pretty lips and roguish eye,
she, being a very large creature, presented an immensity
of half womanly, half infantine loveliness which smote
even grave men with a desire to clasp her in their arms
and kiss her. This desire had scattered the desultory
intellectual culture of Sir Charles at first sight. His
imagination invested her with the taste for the fine arts
which he required from a wife ; and he married her in her
first season, only to discover that the amativeness in her
temperament was so little and languid that she made
all his attempts at fondness ridiculous, and robbed the
caresses for which he had longed of all their anticipated
ecstasy. Intellectually she fell still further short of his
hopes. She looked upon his favourite art of painting as a
pastime for amateur, and a branch of the house furnishing
trade for professional artists. When he was discussing it
among his friends, she would offer her opinion with a
presumption which was the more trying as she frequently
blundered upon a sound conclusion whilst he was reason-
ing his way to a hollow one with his utmost subtlety and
seriousness. On such occasions his disgust did not trouble
her in the least : she triumphed in it. She had concluded
that marriage was a greater folly, and men greater fools,
than she had supposed ; but such beliefs rather lightened
her sense of responsibility than disappointed her ; and, as
she had plenty of money, plenty of servants, plenty of
visitors, and plenty of exercise on horseback, of which she
was immoderately fond, her time passed pleasantly enough.
Comfort seemed to her the natural order of life : trouble
always surprised her. Her husband's friends, who mis-
trusted every future hour, and found matter for bitter
reflection in many past ones, were to her only examples
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 145
of the power of sedentary habits and excessive reading to
make men hipped and dull.
One fine May morning, as she cantered along the
avenue at Brandon Beeches on a powerful bay horse, the
gates at the end opened, and a young man sped through
them on a bicycle. He was of slight frame, with fine dark
eyes and delicate nostrils. When he recognized Lady
Brandon he waved his cap ; and when they met he sprang
from his inanimate steed, at which the bay horse shied.
" Dont, you silly beast ! " she cried, whacking the
animal with the butt of her whip. *' Though it's natural
enough, goodness knows ! How d'ye do ? The idea of
any one rich enough to afford a horse, riding on a wheel
like that ! "
** But I am not rich enough to afford a horse," he said,
approaching her to pat the bay, having placed the bicycle
against a tree. '* Besides, I am afraid of horses, not being
accustomed to them ; and I know nothing about feeding
them. My steed needs no food. He doesnt bite, nor
kick. He never goes lame, nor sickens, nor dies, nor
needs a groom, nor "
" That's all bosh," said Lady Brandon impetuously.
** It stumbles, and gives you the most awful tosses ; and
it goes lame by its treadles and thingamejigs coming off;
and it wears out, and is twice as much trouble to keep
clean and scrape the mud off as a horse ; and all sorts o<f
things. I think the most ridiculous sight in the world is
a man on a velocipede, working away with his feet as hard
as he possibly can, and believing that his horse is carrying
him instead of, as anyone can see, he carrying the horse.
You neednt tell me that it isnt easier to walk in the
ordinary way than to drag a great dead iron thing along
with you. It's not good sense."
'* Nevertheless I can carry it a hundred miles further in
a day than I can carry myself alone. Such are the marvels
of machinery. But I know that we cut a very poor figure
beside you and that magnificent creature — not that anyone
will look at me whilst you are by to occupy their attention
so much more worthily."
10
146 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
She darted a glance at him which clouded his vision
and made his heart beat more strongly. This was an old
habit of hers. She kept it up from love of fun, having no
idea of the effect it produced on more ardent tempera-
ments than her own. He continued hastily,
" Is Sir Charles within doors .?"
" Oh, it's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of in
my life," she exclaimed. " A man that lives by himself in
a place down by the Riverside Road like a toy savings
bank — dont you know the things I mean } — called Sallust's
House, says there is a right of way through our new
pleasure ground. As if anyone could have any right there
after all the money we have spent fencing it on three sides,
and building up the wall by the road, and levelling, and
planting, and draining, and goodness knows what else !
And now the man says that all the common people and
tramps in the neighbourhood have a right to walk across
it because they are too lazy to go round by the road. Sir
Charles has gone to see the man about it. Of course he
wouldnt do as I wanted him."
" What was that } "
** Write to tell the man to mind his own business, and
to say that the first person we found attempting to trespass
on our property should be given to the police."
" Then I shall find no one at home. I beg your pardon
for calling it so ; but it is the only place like home to me."
** Yes : it is so comfortable since we built the billiard
room, and took away those nasty hangings in the hall. I
was ever so long trying to pers "
She was interrupted by an old labourer, who hobbled
up as fast as his rheumatism would allow him, and began
to speak without further ceremony than snatching off his
cap.
" Th'ave coom to the noo grouns, my lady : crowds of
'em. An' a parson with 'em, an' a flag ! Sur Chorles he
dont know what to say ; an' sooch doins never was."
Lady Brandon turned pale, and pulled at her horse as
if to back him out of some danger. Her visitor, puzzled,
asked the old man what he meant.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 147
** There's goin' to be a proceyshon through the noo
grouns," he replied ; ** an' the master cant stop 'em.
Th'ave throon down the wall : three yards of it is lyin'
on Riverside Road. An' there's a parson with 'em, and
a flag. An' him that lives in Sallust's Hoos, he's there,
hoddin' 'em on."
" Thrown down the wall ! " exclaimed Lady Brandon,
scarlet with indignation and pale with apprehension by
turns. ** What a disgraceful thing ! Where are the police ?
Chester: will you come with me and see what they are
doing : Sir Charles is no use. Do you think there is any
danger 1 "
"There's two police," said the old man; "an' him that
lives at Sallust's dar'd them stop him. They're lookin' on.
An' there's a parson among 'em. I see him puUin' away
at the wall with his own ban's."
" I will go and see the fun," said Chester.
Lady Brandon hesitated. But her anger and curiosity
vanquished her fears. She overtook the bicycle ; and
they went together through the gates and by the high-
road to the scene the old man had described. A heap
of bricks and mortar lay in the roadway on each side of a
breach in the newly built wall, over which Lady Brandon,
from her eminence on horseback, could see, coming
towards her across the pleasure ground, a column of about
thirty persons. They marched three abreast in good
order and in silence : the expression of all except a few
mirthful faces being that of devotees fulfilling a rite. The
gravity of the procession was deepened by the appearance
of a clergyman in its ranks, which were composed of men
of the middle class, and a few workmen carrying a banner
inscribed The Soil of England the Birthright of
ALL HER People. There were also four women, upon
whom Lady Brandon looked with intense indignation and
contempt. None' of the men of the neighbourhood had
dared to join : they stood in the road whispering, and
occasionally venturing to laugh at the jests of a couple of
tramps who had stopped to see the fun, and who cared
nothing for Sir Charles.
148 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
He, standing a little way within the field, was remon-
strating angrily with a man of his own class, who stood
with his back to the breach and his hands in the pockets
of his snufF-coloured clothes, contemplating the procession
with elate satisfaction. Lady Brandon, at once suspect-
ing that this was the man from Sallust's House, and
encouraged by the loyalty of the crowd, most of whom
made way for her and touched their hats, hit the bay
horse smartly with her whip, and rode him, with a clatter
of hoofs and scattering of clods, right at the snuff-coloured
enemy, who had to spring hastily aside to avoid her.
There was a roar of laughter from the roadway ; and the
man turned sharply on her. But he suddenly smiled
affably; replaced his hands in his pockets after raising
his hat ; and said,
** How do you do. Miss Carpenter } I thought you
were a charge of cavalry."
" I am not Miss Carpenter : I am Lady Brandon ; and
you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Smilash, if it
is you that have brought these disgraceful people here."
His eyes as he replied were eloquent with reproach to
her for being no longer Miss Carpenter. " I am not
Smilash," he said : *' I am Sidney Trefusis. I have just
had the pleasure of meeting Sir Charles for the first time ;
and we shall be the best friends possible when I have
convinced him that it is hardly fair to seize on a path
belonging to the people, and compel them to walk a mile
and a half round his estate instead of four hundred yards
between two portions of it."
" I have already told you, sir," said Sir Charles, " that I
intend to open a still shorter path, and to allow all the
well-conducted work-people to pass through twice a day.
This will enable them to go to their work and return from
it ; and I will be at the cost of keeping the path in
repair."
*' Thank you," said Trefusis drily ; ** but why should we
trouble you when we have a path of our own to use fifty
times a day if we choose, without any man barring our
way until our conduct happens to please him. Besides,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 149
your next heir would probably shut the path up the
moment he came into possession."
" Offering them a path is just what makes them im-
pudent," said Lady Brandon to her husband. " Why did
you promise them anything } They would not think it
a hardship to walk a mile and a half, or twenty miles, to
a public-house ; but when they go to their work they
think it dreadful to have to walk a yard. Perhaps they
would like us to lend them the waggonette to drive in."
" I have no doubt they would," said Trefusis, beaming
at her.
" Pray leave me to manage here, Jane : this is no place
for you. Bring Erskine to the house. He must be "
" Why dont the police make them go away } " said
Lady Brandon, too excited to listen to her husband.
" Hush, Jane, pray. What can three men do against
thirty or forty ? "
" They ought to take up somebody, as an example to
the rest."
** They have offered, in the handsomest manner, to
arrest me if Sir Charles will give me in charge," said
Trefusis.
*' There ! " said Lady Jane, turning to her husband.
" Why dont you give him — or someone — in charge } "
'* You know nothing about it," said Sir Charles, vexed
by a sense that she was publicly making him ridiculous.
** If you dont, I will," she persisted. "The idea of
having our ground broken into, and our new wall knocked
down ! A nice state of things it would be if people were
allowed to do as they liked with other peoples' property.
I will give every one of them in charge."
" Would you consign me to a dungeon ? " said Trefusis,
in melancholy tones.
" I dont mean you exactly," she said, relenting. ** But
I will give that clergyman into charge, because he ought
to know better. He is the ringleader of the whole thing."
** He will be delighted. Lady Brandon : he pines for
martyrdom. But will you really give him into custody } "
*' I will" she said vehemently, emphasizing the assur-
ISO AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
ance by a plunge in the saddle that made the bay
stagger.
*' On what charge ? " he said, patting the horse, and
looking up at her.
" I dont care what charge," she replied, conscious that
she was being admired, and not displeased. *' Let them
take him up : that's all,"
Human beings on horseback are so far centaurs that
liberties taken with their horses are almost as personal as
liberties taken with themselves. When Sir Charles saw
Trefusis patting the bay, he felt as much outraged as if
Lady Brandon herself were being patted ; and he felt
bitterly towards her for permitting the familiarity. He
was relieved by the arrival of the procession. It halted
as the leaders came up to Trefusis, who said gravely,
" Gentlemen : I congratulate you on the firmness with
which you have this day asserted the rights of the people
of this place to the use of one of the few scraps of mother
earth of which they have not been despoiled."
*• Gentlemen," shouted an excited member of the pro-
cession : ** three cheers for the resumption of the land of
England by the people of England ! Hip, hip, hurrah ! "
The cheers were given with much spirit. Sir Charles's
cheeks becoming redder at each repetition. He looked
angrily at the clergyman, now distracted by the charms
of Lady Brandon, whose scorn, as she surveyed the crowd,
expressed itself by a pout which became her pretty lips
extremely.
Then a middle-aged labourer stepped from the road into
the field, hat in hand ; ducked respectfully ; and said,
" Look 'e here. Sir Charles. Dont 'e mind them fellers.
There aint a man belonging to this neighbourhood among
'em : not one in your employ or on your land. Our dooty
to you and your ladyship ; and we will trust to you to do
what is fair by us. We want no interlopers from Lunnon
to get us into trouble with your honour ; and "
" You unmitigated cur," exclaimed Trefusis fiercely :
"what right have you to give away to his unborn children
the liberty of your own ? "
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 151
" They're not unborn," said Lady Brandon indignantly.
" That just shows how little you know about it."
" No, nor mine either," said the man, emboldened by
her ladyship's support. "And who are you that call me a
cur.?"
" Who am I ! I am a rich man — one of your masters,
and privileged to call you what I please. You are a
grovelling famine-broken slave. Now go and seek redress
against me from the law. I can buy law enough to ruin
you for less money than it would cost me to shoot deer in
Scotland or vermin here. How do you like that state of
things? Eh.?"
The man was taken aback. " Sir Charles will stand by
me," he said, after a pause, with assumed confidence, but
with an anxious glance at the baronet.
" If he does, after witnessing the return you have made
me for standing by you, he is a greater fool than I take
him to be."
" Gently, gently," said the clergyman. " There is much
excuse to be made for the poor fellow."
** As gently as you please with any man that is a free
man at heart," said Trefusis ; *' but slaves must be driven ;
and this fellow is a slave to the marrow."
** Still, we must be patient. He does not know "
" He knows a great deal better than you do," said Lady
Brandon, interrupting. ** And the more shame for you,
because you ought to know best : I suppose you were
educated somewhere. You will not be so satisfied with
yourself when your bishop hears of this. Yes," she
added, turning to Trefusis with an infantile air of wanting
to cry and being forced to laugh against her will : *' you
may laugh as much as you please — dont trouble to pretend
it's only coughing — ; but we will write to his bishop, as he
shall find to his cost."
" Hold your tongue, Jane, for God's sake," said Sir
Charles, taking her horse by the bridle, and backing him
from Trefusis.
" I will not. If you choose to stand here and allow them
to walk away with the walls in their pockets, I dont and
152 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
wont. Why cannot you make the police do some-
thing?"
*' They can do nothing," said Sir Charles, almost beside
himself with humiliation. " I cannot do anything until I
see my solicitor. How can you bear to stay here wrang-
ling with these fellows } It is so undignified ! "
" It's all very well to talk of dignity ; but I dont see
the dignity of letting people trample on our grounds
without leave. Mr. Smilash : will you make them all go
away, and tell them that they shall all be prosecuted and
put in prison."
*' They are going to the cross roads, to hold a public
meeting and — of course — make speeches. I am desired to
say that they deeply regret that their demonstration should
have disturbed you personally, Lady Brandon."
" So they ought," she replied. ** They dont look very
sorry. They are getting frightened at what they have done ;
and they would be glad to escape the consequences by
apologizing, most likely. But they shant. I am not such
a fool as they think."
"They dont think so. You have proved the con-
trary."
** Jane," said Sir Charles pettishly : " do you know this
gentleman .? "
" I should think I do," said Lady Brandon emphati-
cally.
Trefusis bowed as if he had just been formally intro-
duced to the baronet, who, against his will, returned the
salutation stiffly, unable to ignore an older, firmer and
quicker man under the circumstances.
" This seems an unneighbourly business. Sir Charles,"
said Trefusis, quite at his ease ; " but as it is a public
question, it need not prejudice our private relations. At
least I hope not."
Sir Charles bowed again, more stiffly than before.
" I am, like you, a capitalist and landlord "
" — which it seems to me you have no right to be, if you
are in earnest," struck in Chester, who had been watching
the scene in silence by Sir Charles's side.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 153
** Which, as you say, I have undoubtedly no right to be,"
said Trefusis, surveying him with interest ; " but which I
nevertheless cannot help being. Have 1 the pleasure of
speaking to Mr. Chichester Erskine, author of a tragedy
entitled * The Patriot Martyrs,' dedicated with enthusiastic
devotion to the Spirit of Liberty and half a dozen famous
upholders of that principle, and denouncing in forcible
language the tyranny of the late Tsar of Russia, Bomba
of Naples, and Napoleon the Third ? '*
** Yes, sir," said Erskine, reddening; for he felt that this
description might make his drama seem ridiculous to those
present who had not read it.
" Then," said Trefusis, extending his hand — Erskine at
first thought for a hearty shake — " give me half-a-crown
towards the cost of our expedition here to-day to assert the
right of the people to tread the soil we are standing upon."
*'You shall do nothing of the sort, Chester," cried Lady
Brandon. *' I never heard of such a thing in my life !
Do you pay us for the wall and fence your people have
broken, Mr. Smilash : that would be more to the purpose."
** If I could find a thousand men as practical as you,
Lady Brandon, I might accomplish the next great revolu-
tion before the end of this season." He looked at her
for a moment curiously, as if trying to remember; and
then added inconsequently, ** How are your friends 7
There was a Miss — Miss — I am afraid I have forgotten all
the names except your own."
" Gertrude Lindsay is staying with us. Do you remem-
ber her } "
" I think — no, I am afraid I do not. Let me see. Was
she a haughty young lady ? "
** Yes," said Lady Brandon eagerly, forgetting the wall
and fence. " But who do you think is coming next Thurs-
day 7 — I met her accidentally the last time I was in town.
She's not a bit changed. You cant forget her ; so dont
pretend to be puzzled."
" You have not told me who she is yet. And I shall
probably not remember her. You must not expect me to
recognize everyone instantaneously, as I recognized you."
154 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
'* What stuff! You will know Agatha fast enough."
" Agatha Wylie ! " he said, with sudden gravity.
**Yes. She is coming on Thursday. Are you glad ?"
" I fear I shall have no opportunity of seeing her."
" Oh, of course you must see her. It will be so jolly for
us all to meet again just as we used. Why cant you come
to luncheon on Thursday ? "
" I shall be delighted, if you will really allow me to
come after my conduct here."
" The lawyers will settle that. Now that you have found
out who we are, you will stop pulling down our walls, of
course."
" Of course," said Trefusis, smiling, as he took out a
pocket diary and entered the engagement. " I must hurry
away to the cross roads. They have probably voted me
into the chair by this time, and are waiting for me to
open their meeting. Good-bye. You have made this
place, which I was growing tired of, unexpectedly interest-
ing to me."
They exchanged glances of the old college pattern.
Then he nodded to Sir Charles; waved his hand familiarly
to Erskine ; and followed the procession, which was by
this time out of sight.
Sir Charles, who, waiting to speak, had been repeatedly
baffled by the hasty speeches of his wife and the unhesitat-
ing replies of Trefusis, now turned angrily upon her, saying,
" What do you mean by inviting that fellow to my
house ? "
" Your house, indeed ! I will invite whom I please.
You are getting into one of your tempers."
Sir Charles looked about him. Erskine had discreetly
slipped away, and was in the road, tightening a screw in
his velocipede. The few persons who remained were out
of earshot.
" Who and what the devil is he ; and how do you come
to know him.?" he demanded. He never swore in the
presence of any lady except his wife, and then only when
they were alone.
" He is a gentleman, which is more than you are," she
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 155
retorted, and, with a cut of her whip that narrowly missed
her husband's shoulder, sent the bay plunging through
the gap.
** Come along," she said to Erskine. *' We shall be late
for luncheon."
** Had we not better wait for Sir Charles .? " he asked,
injudiciously.
** Never mind Sir Charles : he is in the sulks," she said,
without abating her voice. " Come along." And she
went off at a canter: Erskine following her with a mis-
giving that his visit was unfortunately timed.
CHAPTER Xn.
On the following Thursday, Gertrude, Agatha and Jane
met for the first time since they had parted at Alton Col-
lege. Agatha was the shyest of the three, and externally
the least changed. She fancied herself very different from
the Agatha of Alton ; but it was her opinion of herself
that had altered, not her person. Expecting to find a
corresponding alteration in her friends, she had looked
forward to the meeting with much doubt, and little hope
of its proving pleasant.
She was more anxious about Gertrude than about Jane,
concerning whom, at a brief interview in London, she had
already discovered that Lady Brandon's manner, mind and
speech were just what Miss Carpenter's had been. But,
even from Agatha, Jane commanded more respect than
before, having changed from an overgrown girl into a fine
woman, and made a brilliant match in her first season,
whilst many of her pretty, proud and clever contem-
poraries, whom she had envied at school, were still
unmarried, and were having their homes made uncom-
fortable by parents anxious to get rid of the burthen of
supporting them, and to profit in purse or position by
their marriages.
156 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
This was Gertrude's case. Like Agatha, she had thrown
away her matrimonial opportunities. Proud of her rank
and exclusiveness, she had resolved to have as little as
possible to do with persons who did not share both with
her. She began by repulsing the proffered acquaintance
of many families of great wealth and fashion, who either
did not know their grandparents or were ashamed of them.
Having shut herself out of their circle, she was presented
at court, and thenceforth accepted the invitations of those
only who had, in her opinion, a right to the same
honour. And she was far stricter on that point than the
Lord Chamberlain, who had, she held, betrayed his trust
by practically turning Leveller. She was well educated ;
refined in her manners and habits ; skilled in etiquette to
an extent irritating to the ignorant ; and gifted with a
delicate complexion, pearly teeth, and a face that would
have been Grecian but for a slight upward tilt of the nose,
and traces of a square, heavy type in the jaw. Her father
was a retired admiral, with sufficient influence to have had
a sinecure made by a Conservative government expressly
for the maintenance of his son pending alliance with
some heiress. Yet Gertrude remained single ; and the
admiral, who had formerly spent more money than he
could comfortably afford on her education, and was still
doing so upon her state and personal adornment, was
complaining so unpleasantly of her failure to get taken
off his hands, that she could hardly bear to live at home,
and was ready to marry any thoroughbred gentleman,
however unsuitable his age or character, who would
relieve her from her humiliating dependence. She
was prepared to sacrifice her natural desire for youth,
beauty and virtue in a husband if she could escape from
her parents on no easier terms ; but she was resolved to
die an old maid sooner than marry an upstart.
The difficulty in her way was pecuniary. The admiral
was poor. He had not quite six thousand a year ; and
though he practised the utmost economy in order to keep
up the most expensive habits, he could not afford to give
his daughter a dowry. Now the well born bachelors of
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 157
her set, having more blue blood, but much less wealth,
than they needed, admired her ; paid her compliments ;
danced with her; but could not afford to marry her.
Some of them even told her so ; married rich daughters
of tea merchants, ironfounders, or successful stockbrokers ;
and then tried to make matches between her and their
lowly born brothers-in-law.
So, when Gertrude met Lady Brandon, her lot was
secretly wretched ; and she was glad to accept an invita-
tion to Brandon Beeches in order to escape for a while
from the admiral's daily sarcasms on the marriage list in
the Times. The invitation was the more acceptable
because Sir Charles was no mushroom noble ; and, in
the schooldays which Gertrude now remembered as the
happiest of her life, she had acknowledged that Jane's
family and connexions were more aristocratic than those
of any other student then at Alton, herself excepted. To
Agatha, whose grandfather had amassed wealth as a
proprietor of gasworks (novelties in his time), she had
never offered her intimacy. Agatha had taken it by force,
partly moral, partly physical. But the gasworks were
never forgotten ; and when Lady Brandon mentioned, as a
piece of delightful news, that she had found out their old
school companion, and had asked her to join them, Ger-
trude was not quite pleased. Yet, when they met, her
eyes were the only wet ones there ; for she was the least
happy of the three ; and, though she did not know it, her
spirit was somewhat broken. Agatha, she thought, had
lost the bloom of girlhood, but was bolder, stronger and
cleverer than before. Agatha had, in fact, summoned all
her self-possession to hide her shyness. She detected the
emotion of Gertrude, who at the last moment did not try
to conceal it. It would have been poured out freely in
words, had Gertrude's social training taught her to express
her feelings as well as it had accustomed her to dissemble
them.
** Do you remember Miss Wilson ? " said Jane, as the
three drove from the railway station to Brandon Beeches.
** Do you remember Mrs. Miller, and her cat } Do you
158 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
remember the Recording Angel ? Do you remember how
I fell into the canal ? "
These reminiscences lasted until they reached the house
and went together to Agatha's room. Here Jane, having
some orders to give in the household, had to leave them
— reluctantly; for she was jealous lest Gertrude should
get the start of her in the renewal of Agatha's affection.
She even tried to take her rival away with her; but in
vain : Gertrude would not budge.
" What a beautiful house and splendid place ! " said
Agatha, when Jane was gone. ** And what a nice fellow
Sir Charles is 1 We used to laugh at Jane ; but she can
afford to laugh at the luckiest of us now. I always said
she would blunder into the best of everything. Is it true
that she married in her first season ? "
" Yes. And Sir Charles is a man of great culture. I
cannot understand it. Her size is really beyond every-
thing ; and her manners are bad."
*' Hm ! " said Agatha, with a wise air. ** There was
always something about Jane that attracted men. And
she is more knave than fool. But she is certainly a great
ass."
Gertrude looked serious, to imply that she had grown
out of the habit of using or listening to such language.
Agatha, stimulated by this, continued,
" Here are you and I, who consider ourselves twice
as presentable and conversable as she, two old maids."
Gertrude winced ; and Agatha hastened to add, " Why,
as for you, you are perfectly lovely ! And she has asked
us down expressly to marry us."
*' She would not presume "
** Nonsense, my dear Gertrude. She thinks that we are
a couple of fools who have mismanaged our own business ;
and that she, having managed so well for herself, can
settle us in a jiffy. Come : did she not say to you, before
I came, that it was time for me to be getting married } "
'' Well, she did. But "
" She said exactly the same thing to me about you when
she invited me."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 159
** I would leave her house this moment," said Gertrude,
*' if I thought she dared meddle in my affairs. What is it
to her whether I am married or not ? "
" Where have you been living all these years, if you do
not know that the very first thing a woman wants to do
when she has made a good match, is to make ones for all
her spinster friends. Jane does not mean any harm. She
does it out of pure benevolence."
" I do not need Jane's benevolence."
" Neither do I ; but it doesnt do any harm ; and she
is welcome to amuse herself by trotting out her male
acquaintances for my approval. Hush! Here she comes."
Gertrude subsided. She could not quarrel with Lady
Brandon without leaving the house ; and she could not leave
the house without returning to her home. But she privately
resolved to discourge the attentions of Erskine, suspect-
ing that instead of being in love with her as he pretended,
he had merely been recommended by Jane to marry her.
Chichester Erskine had made sketches in Palestine with
Sir Charles, and had tramped with him through many
European picture galleries. He was a young man of
gentle birth, and had inherited fifteen hundred a year
from his mother : the bulk of the family property being
his elder brother's. Having no profession, and being
fond of books and pictures, he had devoted himself to
fine art, a pursuit which offered him on the cheapest
terms a high opinion of the beauty and capacity of his
own nature. He had published a tragedy entitled, "The
Patriot Martyrs," with an etched frontispiece by Sir
Charles ; and an edition of it had been speedily disposed
of in presentations to the friends of the artist and poet,
and to the reviews and newspapers. Sir Charles had
asked an eminent tragedian of his acquaintance to place
the work on the stage and to enact one of the patriot
martyrs. But the tragedian had objected that the other
patriot martyrs had parts of equal importance to that
proposed for him. Erskine had indignantly refused to
cut these parts down or out ; and so the project had fallen
through.
l6o AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Since then, Erskine had been bent on writing another
drama, without regard to the exigencies of the stage ; but
he had not yet begun it, in consequence of his inspiration
coming upon him at inconvenient hours, chiefly late at
night, when he had been drinking, and had leisure for
sonnets only. The morning air and bicycle riding were
fatal to the vein in which his poetry struck him as being
worth writing. In spite of the bicycle, however, the
drama, which was to be entitled " Hypatia," was now in
a fair way to be written ; for the poet had met and fallen
in love with Gertrude Lindsay, whose almost Grecian
features, and some knowledge of the differential calculus
which she had acquired at Alton, helped him to believe
that she was a fit model for his heroine.
When the ladies came downstairs, they found their host
and Erskine in the picture gallery, famous in the neigh-
bourhood for the sum it had cost Sir Charles. There was
a new etching to be admired ; and they were called on to
observe what the baronet called its tones, and what
Agatha would have called its degrees of smudginess. Sir
Charles's attention often wandered from this work of art.
He looked at his watch twice, and said to his wife,
**I have ordered them to be punctual with the luncheon."
•' Oh yes : it's all right," said Lady Brandon, who had
given orders that luncheon was not to be served until the
arrival of another gentleman. *' Show Agatha the picture
of the man in the "
" Mr. Trefusis," said a servant.
Mr. Trefusis, still in snuff" colour, entered : coat un-
buttoned and attention unconstrained : exasperatingly
unconscious of any occasion for ceremony.
** Here you are at last," said Lady Brandon. " You
know everybody, dont you ? "
** How do you do ? " said Sir Charles, off"ering his hand
as a severe expression of his duty to his wife's guest, who
took it cordially ; nodded to Erskine ; looked without
recognition at Gertrude, whose frosty stillness repudiated
Lady Brandon's implication that the stranger was ac-
quainted with her ; and turned to Agatha, to whom he
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. i6l
bowed. She made no sign: she was paralyzed. Lady-
Brandon reddened with anger. Sir Charles noted his
guest's reception with secret satisfaction, but shared the
embarrassment which oppressed all present except Trefusis,
who seemed quite indifferent and assured, and uncon-
sciously produced an impression that the others had not
been equal to the occasion, as indeed they had not.
"We were looking at some etchings when you came
in," said Sir Charles, hastening to break the silence. **Do
you care for such things } " And he handed him a proof.
Trefusis looked at it as if he had never seen such a
thing before, and did not quite know what to make of it.
** All these scratches seem to me to have no meaning," he
said dubiously.
Sir Charles stole a contemptuous smile and significant
glance at Erskine. He, seized already with an instinctive
antipathy to Trefusis, said emphatically,
"There is not one of those scratches that has not a
meaning."
** That one, for instance, like the limb of a daddy-long-
legs : what does that mean ? "
Erskine hesitated a moment; recovered himself; and
said, " Obviously enough — to me at least — it indicates the
marking of the roadway."
"Not a bit of it," said Trefusis. "There never was
such a mark as that on a road. It may be a very bad
attempt at a briar ; but briars dont straggle into the
middle of roads frequented as that one seems to be —
judging by those overdone ruts." He put the etching
away, showing no disposition to look further into the
portfolio ; and remarked, " The only art that interests me
is photography."
Erskine and Sir Charles again exchanged glances ; and
the former said,
"Photography is not an art in the sense in which I
understand the term. It is a process."
" And a much less troublesome and more perfect process
than that," said Trefusis, pointing to the etching. " The
artists are sticking to the old barbarous, difficult, and im-
:I62 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
perfect processes of etching and portrait painting merely
to keep up the value of their monopoly of the required
skill. They have left the new, more complexly organized,
and more perfect, yet simple and beautiful method of
photography in the hands of tradesmen, sneering at it
publicly, and resorting to its aid surreptitiously. The
result is that the tradesmen are becoming better artists
than they, and naturally so ; for where, as in photography,
the drawing counts for nothing, the thought and judg-
ment count for everything ; whereas in the etching and
daubing processes, where great manual skill is needed to
produce anything that the eye can endure, the execution
counts for more than the thought ; and if a fellow only fit
to carry bricks up a ladder or the like has ambition and
perseverance enough to train his hand and push into the
van, you cannot afford to put him back into his proper
place, because thoroughly trained hands are so scarce.
Consider the proof of this that you have in literature. Our
books are manually the work of printers and papermakers :
you may cut an author's hand off, and he is as good an
author as before. What is the result ? There is more
imagination in any number of a penny journal that in half-
a-dozen of the Royal Academy rooms in the season. No
author can live by his work and be as empty-headed as
an average successful painter. Again, consider our imple-
ments of music — our pianofortes, for example. Nobody
but an acrobat will voluntarily spend years at such a diffi-
cult mechanical puzzle as the keyboard ; and so we have
to take our impressions of Beethoven's sonatas from acro-
bats who vie with each other in the rapidity of their
prestos, or the staying power of their left wrists. Thought-
ful men will not spend their lives acquiring sleight-of-hand.
Invent a piano which will respond as delicately to the
turning of a handle as ^our present ones do to the pres-
sure of the fingers, and the acrobats will be driven back to
their carpets and trapezes, because the sole faculty neces-
sary to the executant musician will be the musical faculty,
and no other will enable him to obtain a hearing."
The company were somewhat overcome by this unex-
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 163
pected lecture. Sir Charles, feeling that such views bore
adversely on him, and were somehow iconoclastic and low-
lived, was about to make a peevish retort, when Erskine
forestalled him by asking Trefusis what idea he had
formed of the future of the arts. He replied promptly,
" Photography perfected in its recently discovered
power of reproducing colour as well as form ! Historical
pictures replaced by photographs oi tableaux vivants formed
and arranged by trained actors and artists, and used
chiefly for the instruction of children. Nine-tenths of
painting as we understand it at present extinguished by the
competition of these photographs ; and the remaining
tenth only holding its own against them by dint of extra-
ordinary excellence ! Our mistuned and unplayable organs
and pianofortes replaced by harmonious instruments, as
manageable as barrel organs ! Works of fiction super-
seded by interesting company and conversation, and made
obsolete by the human mind outgrowing the childish-
ness that delights in the tales told by grown-up children
such as novelists and their like ! An end to the silly
confusion, under the one name of Art, of the tom-
foolery and make-believe of our playhours with the higher
methods of teaching men to know themselves ! Every
artist an amateur ; and a consequent return to the healthy
old disposition to look on every man who makes art a
means of money-getting as a vagabond not to be enter-
tained as an equal by honest men ! "
" In which case artists will starve ! and there will be no
more art."
** Sir," said Trefusis, excited by the word, " I, as a
Socialist, can tell you that starvation is now impossible,
except where, as in England, masterless men are forcibly
prevented from producing the food they need. And you,
as an artist, can tell me that at present great artists invari-
ably do starve, except when they are kept alive by charity,
private fortune, or some drudgery which hinders them in
the pursuit of their vocation."
** Oh ! " said Erskine. ** Then Socialists have some
little sympathy with artists after all."
l64 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" I fear," said Trefusis, repressing himself and speaking
quietly again, *' that when a Socialist hears of a hundred
pounds paid for a drawing which Andrea del Sarto was
glad to sell for tenpence, his heart is not wrung with pity
for the artist's imaginary loss, as that of a modern capital-
ist is. Yet that is the only way nowadays of enlisting
sympathy for the old masters. Frightful disability, to be
out of reach of the dearest market when you want to sell
your drawings ! But," he added, giving himself a shake,
and turning round gaily, " I did not come here to talk
shop. So — pending the deluge — let us enjoy ourselves
after our manner."
" No," said Jane. " Please go on about Art. It's such
a relief to hear any one talking sensibly about it. I hate
etching. It makes your eyes sore — at least the acid gets
into Sir Charles's ; and the difference between the first and
second states is nothing but imagination, except that the
last state is worse than the — here's luncheon ! "
They went downstairs then. Trefusis sat between
Agatha and Lady Brandon, to whom he addressed all his
conversation. They chatted without much interruption
from the business of the table ; for Jane, despite her
amplitude, had a small appetite, and was fearful of growing
fat ; whilst Trefusis was systematically abstemious. Sir
Charles was unusually silent. He was afraid to talk about
art, lest he should be contradicted by Trefusis, who, he
already felt, cared less and perhaps knew more about it
than he. Having previously commented to Agatha on the
beauty of the ripening spring, and inquired whether her
journey had fatigued her, he had said as much as he could
think of at a first meeting. For her part, she was intent
on Trefusis, who, though he must know, she thought, that
they were all hostile to him except Jane, seemed as con-
fident now as when he had befooled her long ago. That
thought set her teeth on edge. She did not doubt the
sincerity of her antipathy to him even when she detected
herself in the act of protesting inwardly that she was not
glad to meet him again, and that she would not speak to
him. Gertrude, meanwhile, was giving short answers to
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 165
Erskine, and listening to Trefusis. She had gathered from
the domestic squabbles of the last few days that Lady
Brandon, against her husband's will, had invited a noto-
rious demagogue, the rich son of a successful cotton-
spinner, to visit the Beeches. She had made up her mind
to snub any such man. But on recognizing the long-
forgotten Smilash, she had been astonished, and had
not known what to do. So, to avoid doing anything im-
proper, she had stood stiffly silent and done nothing, as
the custom of English ladies in such cases is. Subse-
quently, his unconscious self-assertion had wrought with her
as with the others ; and her intention of snubbing him had
faded into the limbo of projects abandoned without trial.
Erskine alone was free from the influence of the intruder.
He wished him elsewhere ; but beside Gertrude the
presence or absence of any other person troubled him very
little.
** How are the Janseniuses .? " said Trefusis, suddenly
turning to Agatha.
*' They are quite well, thank you," she said in measured
tones.
" I met John Jansenius in the city lately. You know
Jansenius ? " he added parenthetically to Sir Charles. "Cot-
man's bank — the last Cotman died out of the firm before
we were born. The Chairman of the Transcanadian
Railway Company."
** I know the name. I am seldom in the city."
** Naturally," assented Trefusis ; ** for who would sadden
himself by pushing his way through a crowd of such slaves,
if he could help it } I mean slaves of Mammon, of course.
To run the gauntlet of their faces in Cornhill is enough to
discourage a thoughtful man for hours. Well, Jansenius,
being high in the court of Mammon, is looking out for a
good post in the household for his son. Jansenius, by-
the-bye, is Miss Wylie's guardian, and the father of my
late wife."
Agatha felt inclined to deny this ; but, as it was true,
she had to forbear. Resolved to show that the relations
between her family and Trefusis were not cordial ones,
166 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
she asked, deliberately, ** Did Mr. Jansenius speak to
you ? "
Gertrude looked up, as if she thought this scarcely
ladylike.
" Yes," said Trefusis. " We are the best friends in the
world — as good as possible, at any rate. He wanted me
to subscribe to a fund for relieving the poor at the east
end of London by assisting them to emigrate."
" I presume you subscribed liberally," said Erskine. " It
was an opportunity of doing some practical good."
" I did not," said Trefusis, grinning at the sarcasm.
"This Transcanadian Railway Company, having got a
great deal of spare land from the Canadian government
for nothing, thought it would be a good idea to settle
British workmen on it and screw rent out of them.
Plenty of British workmen, supplanted in their employment
by machinery, or cheap foreign labour, or one thing or
another, were quite willing to go ; but as they couldnt
afford to pay their passages to Canada, the Company
appealed to the benevolent to pay for them by subscription,
as the change would improve their miserable condition.
I did not see why I should pay to provide a rich company
with tenant farmers ; and I told Jansenius so. He re-
marked that when money and not talk was required, the
workmen of England soon found out who were their real
friends."
"I know nothing about these questions," said Sir Charles,
with an air of conclusiveness ; ** but I see no objection to
emigration."
" The fact is," said Trefusis, ** the idea of emigration is
a dangerous one for us. Familiarize the workman with it,
and some day he may come to see what a capital thing
it would be to pack off me, and you, with the peerage, and
the whole tribe of unprofitable proprietors such as we are,
to St. Helena : making us a handsome present of the island
by way of indemnity ! We are such a restless, unhappy
lot, that I doubt whether it would not prove a good thing
for us too. The workmen would lose nothing but the
contemplation of our elegant persons, exquisite manners,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 167
and refined tastes. They might provide against that loss
by picking out a few of us to keep for ornament's sake.
No nation with a sense of beauty would banish Lady
Brandon, or Miss Lindsay, or Miss Wylie."
** Such nonsense ! " said Jane.
" You would hardly believe how much I have spent in
sending workmen out of the country against my own view
of the country's interest," continued Trefusis, addressing
Erskine. "When I make a convert among the working
classes, the first thing he does is to make a speech some-
where declaring " his new convictions. His employer
immediately discharges him — * gives him the sack ' is the
technical phrase. The sack is the sword of the capitalist ;
and hunger keeps it sharp for him. His shield is the law,
made for the purpose by his own class. Thus equipped,
he gives the worst of it to my poor convert, who comes
ruined to me for assistance. As I cannot afford to
pension him for life, I get rid of him by assisting him
to emigrate. Sometimes he prospers and repays me :
sometimes I hear no more of him : sometimes he comes
back with his habits unsettled. One man whom I sent to
America made his fortune ; but he was not a social
democrat : he was a clerk who had embezzled, and who
applied to me for assistance under the impression that I
considered it rather meritorious to rob the till of a
capitalist."
" He was a practical Socialist, in fact," said Erskine.
**0n the contrary, he was a somewhat too grasping
Individualist. Howbeit, I enabled him to make good his
defalcation — in the city they consider a defalcation made
good when the money is replaced — and to go to New York.
I recommended him not to go there ; but he knew better
than I ; for he made a fortune by speculating with money
that existed only in the imagination of those with whom he
dealt. He never repaid me : he is probably far too good
a man of business to pay money that cannot be extracted
from him by an appeal to the law or to his commercial
credit. Mr. Erskine," added Trefusis, lowering his voice,
and turning to the poet : "you are wrong to take part with
l68 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
hucksters and money-hunters against your own nature,
even though the attack upon them is led by a man who
prefers photography to etching."
** But I assure you — You quite mistake me," said
Erskine, taken aback. '* I " He stopped ; looked to
Sir Charles for support ; and then said airily, *' I dont
doubt that you are quite right. I hate business and men
of business ; and as to social questions, I have only one
article of belief, which is, that the sole refiner of human
nature is fine art."
" Whereas I believe that the sole refiner of art is human
nature. Art rises when men rise, and grovels when men
grovel. What is your opinion } "
** I agree with you in many ways," replied Sir Charles
nervously; for a lack of interest in his fellow-creatures,
and an excess of interest in himself, had prevented him
from obtaining that power of dealing with social questions
which, he felt, a baronet ought to possess ; and he was
consequently afraid to differ from any one who alluded to
them with confidence. ** If you take an interest in art, I
believe I can show you a few things worth seeing."
" Thank you. In return I will some day shew you a
remarkable collection of photographs I possess : many of
them taken by me. I venture to think they will teach you
something."
** No doubt," said Sir Charles. " Shall we return to
the gallery } I have a few treasures there that photography
is not likely to surpass for some time yet."
** Let's go through the conservatory," said Jane. ** Dont
you like flowers, Mr. Smi I never can remember your
proper name."
" Extremely," said Trefusis.
They rose, and went out into a long hothouse. Here
Lady Brandon, finding Erskine at her side, and Sir Charles
before her with Gertrude, looked round for Trefusis, with
whom she intended to enjoy a trifling flirtation under
cover of showing him the flowers. He was out of sight ;
but she heard his footsteps in the passage on the opposite
side of the greenhouse. Agatha was also invisible. Jane,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 169
not daring to rearrange their procession lest her design
should become obvious, had to walk on with Erskine.
Agatha had turned unintentionally into the opposite
alley to that which the others had chosen. When she saw
what she had done, and found herself virtually alone with
Trefusis, who had followed her, she blamed him for it, and
was about to retrace her steps when he said coolly,
"Were you shocked when you heard of Henrietta's
sudden death ? "
Agatha struggled with herself for a moment, and then
said in a suppressed voice, ** How dare you speak to me?"
** Why not ? " said he, astonished.
" I am not going to enter into a discussion with you.
You know what I mean very well."
*' You mean that you are oifended with me: that is plain
enough. But when I part from a young lady on good
terms ; and after a lapse of years, daring which we neither
meet nor correspond, she asks me how I dare speak to
her, I am naturally startled."
*' We did not part on good terms."
Trefusis stretched his eyebrows, as if to stretch his
memory. " If not," he said, " I have forgotten it, on my
honour. When did we part, and what happened } It cannot
have been anything very serious, or I should remember it."
His forgetfulness wounded Agatha. ** No doubt you
are well accustomed to " She checked herself, and
made a successful snatch at her normal manner with
gentlemen. " I scarcely remember what it was, now that
I begin to think. Some trifle, I suppose. Do you like
orchids } "
" They have nothing to do with our affairs at present.
You are not in earnest about the orchids ; and you are
trying to run away from a mistake instead of clearing it up.
That is a short-sighted policy, always."
Agatha grew alarmed ; for she felt his old influence over
her returning. ** I do not wish to speak of it," she said
firmly.
Her firmness was lost on him. ** I do not even know
what // means yet," he said ; ** and I want to know ; for I
17Q AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
believe there is some misunderstanding between us ; and
it is the trick of your sex to perpetuate misunderstandings
by forbidding all allusions to them. Perhaps, leaving
Lyvern so hastily, I forgot to fulfil some promise, or to say
farewell, or something of that sort. But do you know how
suddenly I was called away ? I got a telegram to say that
Henrietta was dying; and I had only time to change my
clothes — you remember my disguise — and catch the
express. And, after all, she was dead when I arrived."
*' I know that," said Agatha uneasily. *' Please say no
more about it."
" Not if it distresses you. Just let me hope that you did
not suppose I blamed you for your share in the matter,
or that I told the Janseniuses of it. I did not. Yes:
I like orchids. A plant that can subsist on a scrap of
board is an instance of natural econ "
''You blame me!^' cried Agatha. **/ never told the
Janseniuses. What would they have thought of you if I
had ? "
" Far worse of you than of me, however unjustly. You
were the immediate cause of the tragedy ; I only the
remote one. Jansenius is not far-seeing when his feelings
are touched. Few men are."
** I dont understand you in the least. What tragedy do
you mean .? "
*' Henrietta's death. I call it a tragedy conventionally.
Seriously, of course, it was commonplace enough."
Agatha stopped and faced him. ** What do you mean
by what you said just now ? You said that I was the
immediate cause of the tragedy; and you say that you
were talking of Henrietta's — of Henrietta. I had nothing
to do with her illness."
Trefusis looked at her as if considering whether he
would go any further. Then, watching her with the
curiosity of a vivisector, he said, *' Strange to say, Agatha"
(she shrank proudly at the word), '* Henrietta might have
been alive now, but for you. I am very glad she is not ;
so you need not reproach yourself on my account. She
died of a journey she made to Lyvern in great excitement
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 171
and distress, and in intensely cold weather. You caused
her to make that journey by writing her a letter which
made her jealous."
*' Do you mean to accuse me "
" No : stop ! " he said hastily, the vivisecting spirit in
him exorcised by her shaking voice : *' I accuse you of
nothing. Why do you not speak honestly to me when you
are at your ease ? If you confess your real thoughts only
under torture, who can resist the temptation to torture you }
One must charge you with homicide to make you speak of
anything but orchids/'
But Agatha had drawn the new inference from the old
facts, and would not be talked out of repudiating it. ** It
was not my fault," she said. *' It was yours — altogether
yours."
" Altogether," he assented, relieved to find her indignant
instead of remorseful.
She was not to be soothed by a verbal acquiescence.
"Your behaviour was most unmanly ; and I told you so ;
and you could not deny it. You pretended that you
You pretended to have feelings You tried to make
me believe that Oh, I am a fool to talk to you : you
know perfectly well what I mean."
" Perfectly. I tried to make you believe that I was in
love with you. How do you know I was not } "
She disdained to answer ; but as he waited calmly she
said, " You had no right to be."
** That does not prove that I was not. Come, Agatha :
you pretended to like me when you did not care two
straws about me. You confessed as much in that fatal
letter, which I have somewhere at home. It has a great
rent right across it ; and the mark of her heel : she must
have stamped on it in her rage, poor girl ! So that I can
shew your own hand for the very deception you accused
me — without proof — of having practised on you."
" You are clever, and can twist things. What pleasure
does it give you to make me miserable ? "
" Ha ! " he exclaimed, in an abrupt, sardonic laugh.
" I dont know : you bewitch me, I think."
I7i AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Agatha made no reply, but walked on quickly to the end
of the conservatory, where the others were waiting for
them.
** Where have you been ; and what have you been doing
all this time ? " said Jane, as Trefusis came up, hurrying
after Agatha. " I dont know what you call it ; but I call
it perfectly disgraceful ! "
Sir Charles reddened at his wife's bad taste ; and Trefusis
replied gravely, " We have been admiring the orchids, and
talking about them. Miss Wylie takes an interest in
them."
CHAPTER XIII.
One morning Gertrude got a letter from her father.
My dear Gerty : I have Just received a bill for £i\o from Madame
Smith for your dresses. May I ask you how long this sort of thing is to go
on ? 1 need not tell you that I have not the means to support you in such ex-
travagance. I am, as you know, always anxious that you should go about
in a style worthy of your position) but unless you can manage without
calling on me to pay away hundreds of pounds every season to Madame
Smith, you had better give up society and slay at home. I positively cannot
afford it. As far as I can see, going into society has not done you much
good. I had to raise £^oo last month on Franklands ; and it is too bad
if I must raise more to pay your dressmaker. You might at least employ
some civil person, or one whose charges are moderate. Madame Smith
tells me that she will not wait any longer, and charges £60 for a single
dress. I hope you fully understand that there must be an end to this.
I hear from your mother that young Erskine is with you at
Brandon's. I do not think much of him-. He is not well off, nor likely
to get on, as he has taken to poetry and so forth. I am told also that a
man named Trefusis visits at the Beeches a good deal fiow. He must be
a fool ; for he contested the last Birmingham election, and came out at
the foot of the poll with thij'ty-iwo votes through calling himself a Social
Democrat or some such foreign rubbish, instead of saying out like a man
that he was a Radical. I suppose the name stuck in his throat ; for his
mother was one of the Howards of Breconcastle ; so he has good blood in
him, though his father was nobody. I wish he had your bills to pay :
he could buy and sell me ten times over, after all my twenty-five years
service.
As I am thinking of getting something done to the house, I had rather
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 173
you did not come back this month, if you can possibly hold on at Brandon^ s.
Remember me to him, and give our kind regards to his wife. I should
be obliged if you would gather some hemlock leaves and send them to me.
I want them for my ointment : the stuff the chemists sell is no good. Your
mother's eyes are bad again ; and your brother Berkeley has been gamblings
and seems to think I ought to pay his debts for him. lam greatly worried
over it all ; and I hope that, until you have settled yourself you will be
more reasonable, and not run these everlasting bills upon me. You ai'e
enjoying yourself out of reach of all the unpleasantness ; but it bears
hardly upon
your affectionate father,
C. B. Lindsay.
A faint sketch of the lines Time intended to engrave on
Gertrude's brow appeared there as she read the letter; but
she hastened to give the admiral's kind regards to her host
and hostess, and discussed her mother's health feelingly
with them. After breakfast she went to the library, and
wrote her reply.
Brandon Beeches.
Tuesday.
Dear Papa : Considering that it is more than three years since you paid
Madame Smith last, and that then her bill, which included 7ny court
dress, was only £\%o, 1 cannot see how I could possibly have been more
economical, unless you expect me to go in 7-ags. I am sorry that Mada?7ze
Smith has asked for the money at stich an inconvenient time ; but when
I begged you to pay her something in March last year you told vie to keep
her quiet by giving her a good order. I am not surprised at her not being
very civil, as she has plenty of tradesmen'' s daughters among her customers
who pay her more than ;^300 a year for their dresses. I am wearing a
skirt at present which I got two years ago.
Sir Charles is going to town on Thursday : he will bring you the
hemlock. Tell jnamma that there is an old woman here who knows some
wonderful cure for sore eyes. She will not tell what the ingredients are ;
but it cures everyone ; and there is no use ingivitig an oculist two guineas
for telling us that reading in bed is bad for the eyes, when we know
perfectly well that mamma will not give up doing it. If you pay Berkeley's
debts, do not forget that he ozoes me £2,.
Another schoolfellow of mine is staying here now ; and I think that
Mr. Trefusis will have the pleasure of paying her bills so?ne day. He is
a great pet of Lady Brandon's. Sir Charles was angry at first because
she invited him here ; and we were all surprised at it. The man has a
bad reputation, and headed a mob that threw down the walls of the park ;
and we hardly thought he would be cool enough to come after that. But
174 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
he does not seem to care whether we want him or not ; and he comes when
he likes. As he talks cleverly^ we find hitn a godsend in this dull place.
It it really not such a paradise as you seem to think; but you need not be
afraid of my returning any sooner than I can help.
Your affectionate daughter,
Gertrude Lindsay.
When Gertrude had closed this letter, and torn up her
father's, she thought little more about either. They might
have made her unhappy had they found her happy ; but as
hopeless discontent was her normal state, and enjoyment
but a rare accident, recriminatory passages with her father
only put her into a bad humour, and did not in the least
disappoint or humiliate her.
For the sake of exercise, she resolved to carry her letter
to the village post office, and return along the Riverside
Road, whereby she had seen hemlock growing. She took
care to go out unobserved, lest Agatha should volunteer
to walk with her, or Jane declare her intention of driving
to the post office in the afternoon, and sulk for the rest
of the day unless the trip to the village were postponed
until then. She took with her, as a protection against
tramps, a big St. Bernard dog named Max. This animal,
which was young and enthusiastic, had taken a strong
fancy to her, and had expressed it frankly and boisterously ;
and she, whose affections had been starved in her home
and in society, had encouraged him with more kindness
than she had ever shown to any human being.
In the village, having posted her letter, she turned
towards a lane that led to the Riverside Road. Max, una-
ware of her reason for choosing the longest way home,
remonstrated by halting in the middle of the lane, wagging
his tail rapidly and uttering gruff barks.
" Dont be stupid, sir," said Gertrude impatiently. " I
am going this way."
Max, apparently understanding, rushed after her ; passed
her ; and disappeared in a cloud of dust raised by his effort
to check himself when he had left her far enough behind.
When he came back she kissed his nose, and ran a race
with him until she too was panting, and had to stand still
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 175
to recover her breath, whilst he bounded about, barking
ferociously. She had not for many years enjoyed such
a frolic ; and the thought of this presently brought tears
to her eyes. Rather peevishly she bade Max be quiet;
walked slowly to cool herself ; and put up her sunshade
to avert freckles.
The sun was now at the meridian. On a slope to Gert-
rude's right hand, Sallust's House, with its cinnamon
coloured walls and yellow frieze, gave a foreign air to the
otherwise very English landscape. She passed by without
remembering who lived there. Further down, on some
waste land separated from the road by a dry ditch and a
low mud wall, a cluster of hemlocks, nearly six feet high,
poisoned the air with their odour. She crossed the ditch ;
took a pair of gardening gloves from her plaited straw
handbasket ; and busied herself with the hemlock leaves,
pulling the tender ones, separating them from the stalk,
and filling her basket with the web. She forgot Max until
an impression of dead silence, as if the earth had stopped,
caused her to look round in vague dread. Trefusis, with
his hand abandoned to the dog, who was trying how much
of it he could cram into his mouth, was standing within a
few yards of her, watching her intently. Gertrude turned
pale, and came out hastily from among the bushes. Then
she had a strange sensation as if something had happened
high above her head. There was a threatening growl, a
commanding exclamation, and an unaccountable pause, at
the expiration of which she found herself supine on the
sward, with her parasol between her eyes and the sun. A
sudden scoop of Max's wet warm tongue in her right ear
startled her into activity. She sat up, and saw Trefusis on
his knees at her side, holding the parasol with an uncon-
cerned expression, whilst Max was snuffing at her in restless
anxiety opposite.
*' I must go home," she said. " I must go home
instantly."
** Not at all," said Trefusis, soothingly. "They have
just sent word to say that everything is settled satis-
factorily, and that you need not come."
176 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Have they ? " she said faintly. Then she lay down
again ; and it seemed to her that a very long time elapsed.
Suddenly recollecting that Trefusis had supported her
gently with his hand to prevent her falling back too
rudely, she rose again, and this time got upon her feet
with his help.
** I must go home," she said again. ** It is a matter of
life or death."
" No, no," he said softly. *' It is all right. You may
depend on me."
She looked at him earnestly. He had taken her hand
to steady her ; for she was swaying a little. ** Are you
sure," she said, grasping his arm. ''Are you quite
sure } "
" Absolutely certain. You know I am always right, do
you not ? "
**Yes, oh yes: you have always been true to me.
You " Here her senses came back with a rush.
Dropping his hand as if it had become red hot, she said
sharply, " What are you talking about ? "
" I dont know," he said, resuming his indifferent manner
with a laugh. " Are you better } Let me drive you to the
Beeches. My stable is within a stone's throw : I can get
a trap out in ten minutes."
*' No, thank you," said Gertrude haughtily. " I do not
wish to drive." She paused, and added in some be-
wilderment, '* What has happened } "
** You fainted ; and "
*' I did not faint," said Gertrude indignantly. " I never
fainted in my life."
'' Yes, you did."
" Pardon me, Mr. Trefusis. I did not."
*' You shall judge for yourself. I was coming through
this field when I saw you gathering hemlock. Hemlock
is interesting on account of Socrates ; and you were inte-
resting as a young lady gathering poison. So I stopped to
look on. Presently you came out from among the bushes
as if you had seen a snake there. Then you fell into my
arms — which led me to suppose that you had fainted — ;
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 177
and Max, concluding that it was all my fault, nearly sprang
at my throat. You were overpowered by the scent of the
water-hemlock, which you must have been inhaling for
ten minutes or more."
** I did not know that there was any danger, " said
Gertrude, crestfallen. *' I felt very tired when I came to.
That was why I lay so long the second time. I really
could not help it."
** You did not lie very long."
" Not when I first fell : that was only a few seconds, I
know. But I must have lain there nearly ten minutes
after I recovered."
" You were nearly a minute insensible when you first
fell ; and when you recovered you only rested for about
one second. After that you raved ; and I invented suitable
answers until you suddenly asked me what I was talking
about."
Gertrude reddened a little as the possibility of her
having raved indiscreetly occurred to her. " It was very
silly of me to faint," she said.
" You could not help it : you are only human. I shall
walk with you to the Beeches/'
" Thank you : I will not trouble you," she said
quickly.
He shook his head. " I do not know how long the
effect of that abominable water-weed may last," he said ;
" and I dare not leave you to walk alone. If you prefer
it I can send you in a trap with my gardener ; but I had
rather accompany you myself."
"You are giving yourself a great deal of unnecessary
trouble. I will walk. I am quite well again, and need no
assistance."
They started without another word. Gertrude had to
concentrate all her energy to conceal from him that she
was giddy. Numbness and lassitude crept upon her; and
she was beginning to hope that she was only dreaming it
all when he roused her by saying,
** Take my arm."
" No, thank you."
12
178 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** Do not be so senselessly obstinate. You will have to
lean on the hedge for support if you refuse my help. I
am sorry I did not insist on getting the trap."
Gertrude had not been spoken to in this tone since
her childhood. " I am perfectly well," she said sharply.
"You are really very officious."
** You are not perfectly well ; and you know it. How-
ever, if you make a brave struggle, you will probably be
able to walk home without my assistance ; and the effort
may do you good."
" You are very rude," she said peremptorily.
** I know it," he replied calmly. '* You will find three
classes of men polite to you : slaves ; men who think
much of their manners and nothing of you; and your
lovers. I am none of these, and therefore give you back
your ill manners with interest. Why do you resist your
good angel by suppressing those natural and sincere
impulses which come to you often enough, and some-
times bring a look into your face that might tame a bear
— a look which you hasten to extinguish as a thief darkens
his lantern at the sound of a footstep."
" Mr. Trefusis : I am not accustomed to be lectured."
** That is why I lecture you. I felt curious to see how
your good breeding, by which I think you set some store,
would serve you in entirely novel circumstances — those of
a man speaking his mind to you, for instance. What is
the result of my experiment ? Instead of rebuking me
with the sweetness and dignity which I could not, in spite
of my past observation, help expectmg from you, you
churlishly repel my offer of the assistance you need ; tell
me that I am very rude, very officious ; and, in short, do
what you can to make my position disagreeable and
humiliating."
She looked at him haughtily; but his expression was
void of offence or fear ; and he continued, unanswered,
"I would bear all this from a working woman without
remonstrance ; for she would owe me no graces of manner
or morals. But you are a lady. That means that many
have starved and drudged in uncleanly discomfort in order
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 179
that you may have white and unbroken hands, fine gar-
ments, and exquisite manners — that you may be a living
fountain of those influences that soften our natures and
lives. When such a costly thing as a lady breaks down
at the first touch of a firm hand, I feel justified in com-
plaining."
Gertrude walked on quickly, and said between her teeth,
** I dont want to hear any of your absurd views, Mr.
Trefusis."
He laughed. "My unfortunate views!" he said.
** Whenever I make an inconvenient remark, it is alway§
set aside as an expression of certain dangerous crazes with
which I am supposed to be afflicted. When I point out to
Sir Charles that one of his favourite artists has not accur-
ately observed something before attempting to draw it, he
replies, 'You know our views diff'er on these things,
Trefusis.' When I told Miss Wylie's guardian that his
emigration scheme was little better than a fraud, he said,
* You must excuse me ; but I cannot enter into your
peculiar views.' One of my views at present is that Miss
Lindsay is more amiable under the influence of hemlock
than under that of the social system which has made her
so unhappy."
** Well ! " exclaimed Gertrude, outraged. Then, after a
pause, "I was under the impression that I had accepted
the escort of a gentleman." Then, after another pause,
Trefusis being quite undisturbed, " How do you know that
I am unhappy } "
" By a certain defect in your countenance, which lacks
the crowning beauty of happiness ; and a certain defect in
your voice which will never disappear until you learn to
love or pity those to whom you speak."
"You are wrong," said Gertrude, with calm disdain.
" You do not understand me in the least. I am particularly
attached to my friends."
" Then I have never seen you in their company."
" You are still wrong."
** Then how can you speak as you do, look as you do,
act as you do } "
i8o AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" What do you mean ? How do I look and act ? "
" Like one of the railings of Belgrave Square, cursed
with consciousness of itself, fears of the judgment of the
other railings, and doubts of their fitness to stand in the
same row with it. You are cold, mistrustful, cruel to
nervous or clumsy people, and more afraid of the criticisms
of those with whom you dance and dine than of your
conscience. All of which prevents you from looking like
an angel."
" Thank you. Do you consider paying compliments the
perfection of gentlemanly behaviour ? "
"■ Have I been paying you many } That last remark of
mine was not meant as one. On my honour, the angels
will not disappoint me if they are no lovelier than you
should be if you had that look in your face and that tone
in your voice I spoke of just now. It can hardly displease
you to hear that. If I were particularly handsome myself,
I should like to be told so."
" I am sorry I cannot tell you so."
** Oh ! Ha ! ha ! What a retort. Miss Lindsay ! You
are not sorry either : you are rather glad."
Gertrude knew it, and was angry with herself, not
because her retort was false, but because she thought it
unladylike. " You have no right to annoy me," she
exclaimed, in spite of herself.
*' None whatever," he said, humbly. *' If I have done
so, forgive me before we part. I will go no further with
you : Max will give the alarm if you faint in the avenue,
which I dont think you are likely to do, as you have for-
gotten all about the hemlock."
*' Oh, how maddening ! " she cried. ** I have left my
basket behind."
" Never mind : I will find it and have it filled and sent
to you."
** Thank you. I am sorry to trouble you."
" Not at all. I hope you do not want the hemlock to
help you to get rid of the burden of life."
** Nonsense. I want it for my father, who uses it for
medicine."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, i8l
"I will bring it myself to-morrow. Is that soon
enough ? "
** Quite. I am in no hurry. Thank you, Mr. Trefusis.
Good-bye."
She gave him her hand, and even smiled a little ; and
then hurried away. He stood watching her as she passed
along the avenue under the beeches. Once, when she
came into a band of sunlight at a gap in the trees, she
made so pretty a figure in her spring dress of violet and
white that his eyes kindled as he gazed. He took out his
note-book, and entered her name and the date, with a
brief memorandum.
*' I have thawed her," he said to himself as he put up
his book. ** She shall learn a lesson or two to hand on
to her children before I have done with her. A trifle
underbred, too, or she would not insist so much on her
breeding. Henrietta used to wear a dress like that. I
am glad to see that there is no danger of her taking to
me personally."
He turned away, and saw a crone passing, bending
beneath a bundle of sticks. He eyed it curiously; and
she scowled at him, and hurried on.
" Hallo," he said.
She continued for a few steps ; but her courage failed
her, and she stopped.
*' You are Mrs. Hickling, I think } "
" Yes, please your worship."
" You are the woman who carried away an old wooden
gate that lay on Sir Charles Brandon's land last winter,
and used it for firewood. You were imprisoned for seven
days for it."
" You may send me there again if you like," she re-
torted, in a cracked voice, as she turned at bay. " But
the Lord will make me even with you some day. Cursed
be them that oppress the poor and needy : it is one of the
seven deadly sins."
" Those green laths on your back are the remainder of
my garden gate," he said. " You took the first half last
Saturday. Next time you want fuel, come to the house
I82 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
and ask for coals ; and let my gates alone : I suppose you
can enjoy a fire without stealing the combustibles. Now
pay me for my gate by telling me something I want to
know."
" And a kind gentleman too, sir : blessings "
" What is the hemlock good for } "
" The hemlock, kind gentleman } For the evil, sir, to
be sure."
" Scrofulous ulcers ! " he exclaimed, recoiling. " The
father of that beautiful girl ! " He turned homeward, and
trudged along with his head bent, muttering, ** All rotten
to the bone. Oh civilization ! civilization ! civilization ! "
CHAPTER XIV.
"What has come over Gertrude } " said Agatha one day
to Lady Brandon.
" Why } Is anything the matter with her .? "
" I dont know : she has not been the same since she
poisoned herself. And why did she not tell about it }
But for Trefusis we should never have known."
*' Gertrude always made secrets of things."
" She was in a vile temper for two days after ; and now
she is quite changed. She falls into long reveries, and
does not hear a word of what is going on around. Then
she starts into life again, and begs your pardon with the
greatest sweetness for not catching what you have said."
" I hate her when she is polite : it is not natural to her.
As to her going to sleep, that is the effect of the hemlock.
We know a man who took a spoonful of strychnine in a
bath ; and he never was the same afterwards."
" I think she is making up her mind to encourage
Erskine," said Agatha. " When I came here he hardly
dared speak to her — at least, she always snubbed him.
Now she lets him talk as much as he likes, and actually
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 183
sends him on messages and allows him to carry things
for her."
** Yes. I never saw anybody like Gertrude in my life.
In London, if men were attentive to her, she sat on them
for being officious ; and if they let her alone she was
angry at being neglected. Erskine is quite good enough
for her, / think."
Here Erskine appeared at the door, and looked round
the room.
** She's not here," said Jane.
*M am seeking Sir Charles," he said, withdrawing some-
what stiffly.
** What a lie ! " said Jane, discomfited by his reception
of her jest. ** He was talking to Sir Charles ten minutes
ago in the billiard room. Men are such conceited fools ! "
Agatha had strolled to the window, and was looking
discontentedly at the prospect, as she had often done at
school when alone, and sometimes did now in society.
The door opened again ; and Sir Charles appeared. He,
too, looked round ; but when his roving glance reached
Agatha, it cast anchor ; and he came in.
** Are you busy just now, Miss Wylie } " he asked.
** Yes," said Jane hastily. ** She is going to write a
letter for me."
" Really, Jane," he said, " I think you are old enough
to write your letters without troubling Miss Wylie."
, " When I do write my own letters, you always find fault
with them," she retorted.
*' I thought perhaps you might have leisure to try over
a duet with me," he said, turning to Agatha.
" Certainly," she replied, hoping to smooth matters by
humouring him. "The letter will do any time before
post hour."
Jane reddened, and said shortly, ** I will write it myself,
if you will not."
Sir Charles quite lost his temper. ** How can you be so
damnably rude } " he said, turning upon his wife. ** What
objection have you to my singing duets with Miss Wylie.?"
*' Nice language that ! " said Jane. ** I never said I
i84 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
objected ; and you have no right to drag her away to the
piano just when she is going to write a letter for me."
** I do not wish Miss Wylie to do anything except what
pleases her best. It seems to me that writing letters to
your tradespeople cannot be a very pleasant occupation."
** Pray dont mind me," said Agatha. ** It is not the
least trouble to me. I used to write all Jane's letters for
her at school. Suppose I write the letter first ; and then
we can have the duet. You will not mind waiting five
minutes ? "
** I can wait as long as you please, of course. But it
seems such an absurd abuse of your good nature, that I
cannot help protesti "
** Oh, let it wait ! " exclaimed Jane. " Such a ridiculous
fuss to make about asking Agatha to write a letter, just
because you happen to want her to play you your duets !
I am certain she is heartily sick and tired of them."
Agatha, to escape the altercation, went to the library,
and wrote the letter. When she returned to the drawing-
room, she found no one there ; but Sir Charles came in
presently.
*' I am so sorry, Miss Wylie," he said, as he opened the
piano for her, ** that you should be incommoded because
my wife is silly enough to be jealous."
" Jealous ! "
" Of course. Idiocy ! "
"Oh, you are mistaken," said Agatha, incredulously.
" How could she possibly be jealous of me ? "
"She is jealous of everybody and everything," he replied
bitterly; "and she cares for nobody and for nothing.
You do not know what I have to endure sometimes from
her."
Agatha thought her most discreet course was to sit
down immediately, and begin " I would that my love."
Whilst she played and sang, she thought over what Sir
Charles had just let slip. She had found him a pleasant
companion, light-hearted, fond of music and fun, polite
and considerate, appreciative of her talents, quickwitted
without being oppressively clever, and, as a married man,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 185
disinterested in his attentions. But it now occurred to her
that perhaps they had been a good deal together of late.
Sir Charles had by this time wandered from his part
into hers ; and he now recalled her to the music by
stopping to ask whether he was right. Knowing by ex-
perience what his difficulty was likely to be, she gave him
his note, and went on. They had not been singing long
when Jane came back and sat down, expressing a hope
that her presence would not disturb them. It did disturb
them. Agatha suspected that she had come there to
watch them ; and Sir Charles knew it. Besides, Lady
Brandon, even when her mind was tranquil, was habitually
restless. She could not speak because of the music ; and,
though she held an open book in her hand, she could not
read and watch simultaneously. She gaped, and leaned
to one end of the sofa until, on the point of overbalanc-
ing, she recovered herself with a prodigious bounce.
The floor vibrated at her every movement. At last she
could keep silence no longer.
" Oh dear ! " she said, yawning audibly. " It must be
five o'clock at the very earliest."
Agatha turned round upon the piano-stool, feeling that
music and Lady Brandon were incompatible. Sir Charles,
for his guest's sake, tried hard to restrain his exasperation.
" Probably your watch will tell you," he said.
** Thank you for nothing," said Jane. ** Agatha : where
is Gertrude } "
** How can Miss Wylie possibly tell you where she is,
Jane ? I think you have gone mad to-day."
" She is most likely playing billiards with Mr. Erskine,"
said Agatha, interposing quickly to forestall a retort from
Jane, with its usual sequel of a domestic squabble.
, ** I think it is very strange of Gertrude to pass the whole
day with Chester in the billiard room," said Jane discon-
tentedly.
** There is not the slightest impropriety in her doing so,"
said Sir Charles. " If our hospitality does not place Miss
Lindsay above suspicion, the more shame for us. How
would you feel if any one else made such a remark .? "
l86 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Oh, stuif ! " said Jane peevishly. ** You are always
preaching long rigmaroles about nothing at all. I did not
say that there was any impropriety about Gertrude. She
is too proper to be pleasant, in my opinion."
Sir Charles, unable to trust himself further, frowned and
left the room : Jane speeding him with a contemptuous
laugh.
** Dont ever be such a fool as to get married," she said,
when he was gone. She looked up as she spoke, and was
alarmed to see Agatha seated on the pianoforte, with her
ankles swinging in the old school fashion.
" Jane," she said, surveying her hostess coolly : ** do you
know what I would do if I were Sir Charles } "
Jane did not know.
** I would get a big stick ; beat you black and blue ; and
then lock you up on bread and water for a week."
Jane half rose, red and angry. *' Wh why } " she
said, relapsing upon the sofa.
** If I were a man, I would not, for mere chivalry's sake,
let a woman treat me like a troublesome dog. You want
a sound thrashing."
** I'd like to see anybody thrash me,^' said Jane, rising
again and displaying her formidable person erect. Then
she burst into tears, and said, " I wont have such things
said to me in my own house. How dare you } "
" You deserve it for being jealous of me," said Agatha. '
Jane's eyes dilated angrily, ** I ! — I ! — I jealous of
you ! " She looked round, as if for a missile. Not finding
one, she sat down again, and said in a voice stifled with
tears, ** J — Jealous oiyou, indeed ! "
*' You have good reason to be ; for he is fonder of me
than of you."
Jane opened her mouth and eyes convulsively, but only
uttered a gasp ; and Agatha proceeded calmly, " I am
polite to him, which you never are. When he speaks to
me, I allow him to finish his sentence without expressing,
as you do, a foregone conclusion that it is not worth
attending to. I do not yawn and talk whilst he is singing.
When he converses with me on art or literature, about
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 187
which he knows twice as much as I do, and at least ten
times as much as you" (Jane gasped again) "I do not
make a silly answer and turn to my neighbour at the other
side with a remark about the stables or the weather.
When he is willing to be pleased, as he always is, I am
willing to be pleasant. And that is why he likes me."
** He does not like you. He is the same to every one."
** Except his wife. He likes me so much, that you, like
a great goose as you are, came up here to watch us at our
duets, and made yourself as disagreeable as you possibly
could whilst I was making myself charming. The poor
man was ashamed of you."
*' He wasnt," said Jane, sobbing. ** I didnt do anything.
I didnt say anything. I wont bear it. I will get a
divorce. I will ■"
** You will mend your ways, if you have any sense left,"
said Agatha remorselessly. " Do not make such a noise,
or some one will come to see what is the matter ; and I
shall have to get down from the piano, where I am very
comfortable."
" It is you who are jealous."
*' Oh, is it, Jane } I have not allowed Sir Charles to
fall in love with me yet; but I can do so very easily.
What will you wager that he will not kiss me before
to-morrow evening .? "
" It will be very mean and nasty of you if he does. You
seem to think that I can be treated like a child."
'* So you are a child," said Agatha, descending from her
perch, and preparing to go. "An occasional slapping
does you good."
" It is nothing to you whether I agree with my husband
or not," said Jane with sudden fierceness.
" Not if you quarrel with him in private, as well bred
couples do. But when it occurs in my presence, it makes
me uncomfortable ; and I object to being made uncom-
fortable."
" You would not be here at all if I had not asked you."
"Just think how dull the house would be without me,
Jane ! "
l88 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Indeed ! It was not dull before you came. Gertrude
always behaved like a lady, at least."
"I am sorry that her example was so utterly lost on
you."
** I wont bear it," said Jane with a sob, and a plunge
upon the sofa that made the lustres of the chandeliers
rattle, ** I wouldnt have asked you if I had thought you
could be so hateful. I will never ask you again."
** I will make Sir Charles divorce you for incompatibility
of temper and marry me. Then I shall have the place to
myself."
" He cant divorce me for that, thank goodness. You
dont know what you're talking about."
Agatha laughed. " Come," she said good-humouredly :
" dont be an old ass, Jane. Wash your face before any one
sees it ; and remember what I have told you about Sir
Charles."
" It is very hard to be called an ass in one's own house.'*
** It is harder to be treated as one, like your husband.
I am going to look for him in the billiard room."
Jane ran after her, and caught her by the sleeve.
"Agatha," she pleaded: "promise me that you wont be
mean. Say that you wont make love to him."
** I will consider about it," replied Agatha gravely.
Jane uttered a groan, and sank into a chair, which
creaked at the shock. Agatha turned on the threshold,
and seeing her shaking her head, pressing her eyes, and
tapping with her heel in a restrained frenzy, said quickly,
*' Here are the Waltons, and the Fitzgeorges, and Mr.
Trefusis coming upstairs. How do you do, Mrs. Walton ?
Lady Brandon will be so glad to see you. Good-evening,
Mr. Fitzgeorge."
Jane sprang up ; wiped her eyes ; and, with her hands
on her hair, smoothing it, rushed to a mirror. No
visitors appearing, she perceived that she was, for perhaps
the hundredth time in her life, the victim of an imposture
devised by Agatha. She, gratified by the success of her
attempt to regain her old ascendency over Jane — she had
made it with misgiving, notwithstanding her apparent
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 189
confidence — went downstairs to the library, where she
found Sir Charles gloomily trying to drown his domestic
troubles in art criticism.
" I thought you were in the billiard room," said Agatha.
** I only peeped in," he replied ; ** but as I saw some-
thing particular going on, I thought it best to slip away ;
and I have been alone ever since."
The something particular which Sir Charles had not
wished to interrupt was only a game of billiards. It was
the first opportunity Erskine had ever enjoyed of speaking
to Gertrude at leisure and alone. Yet their conversation
had never been so commonplace. She, liking the game,
played very well and chatted indifferently : he played badly,
and broached trivial topics in spite of himself. After an
hour-and-a-halfs play, Gertrude had announced that this
game must be their last. He thought desperately that if
he were to miss many more strokes the game must presently
end, and an opportunity which might never recur pass
beyond recall. He determined to tell her without preface
that he adored her; but when he opened his lips a question
came forth of its own accord relating to the Persian way of
playing billiards. Gertrude had never been in Persia, but
had seen some Eastern billiard cues in the India Museum.
Were not the Hindoos wonderful people for filagree work,
and carpets, and such things } Did he not think the
crookedness of their carpet patterns a blemish } Some
people pretended to admire them; but was not that all
nonsense "^ Was not the modern polished floor, with a rug
in the middle, much superior to the old carpet fitted into
the corners of the room } Yes. Enormously superior.
Immensely
** Why, what are you thinking of to-day, Mr. Erskine }
You have played with my ball."
'* I am thinking of you."
" What did you say 1 " said Gertrude, not catching the
serious turn he had given to the conversation, and poising
her cue for a stroke. *'Oh ! I am as bad as you : that was
the worst stroke I ever made, I think. — I beg your pardon :
you said something just now."
190 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"I forget. Nothing of any consequence." And he
groaned at his own cowardice.
"Suppose we stop," she said. "There is no use in
finishing the game if our hands are out. I am rather tired
of it."
" Certainly — if you wish it."
" I will finish if you like."
" Not at all. What pleases you, pleases me."
Gertrude made him a little bow, and idly knocked the
balls about with her cue. Erskine's eyes wandered ; and
his lip moved irresolutely. He had settled with himself
that his declaration should be a frank one — heart to heart.
He had pictured himself in the act of taking her hand
delicately, and saying, ** Gertrude : I love you. May I
tell you so again?" But this scheme did not now seem
practicable.
" Miss Lindsay."
Gertrude, bending over the table, looked up in alarm.
" The present is as good an opportunity as I will — as I
shall — as I will "
" Shall," said Gertrude.
** I beg your pardon } "
''Shall,'" repeated Gertrude. "Did you ever study the
doctrine of necessity } "
" The doctrine of necessity } " he said, bewildered.
Gertrude went to the other side of the table in pursuit
of a ball. She now guessed what was coming, and was
willing that it should come ; not because she intended to
accept, but because, like other young ladies experienced
in such scenes, she counted the proposals of marriage she
received as a Red Indian counts the scalps he takes.
"' We have had a very pleasant time of it here," he said,
giving up as inexplicable the relevance of the doctrine of
necessity. "At least, I have."
" Well," said Gertrude, quick to resent a fancied allusion
to her private discontent : " so have I."
"I am glad of that — more so than I can convey by
words."
"Is it any business of yours ? " she said, following the
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 191
disagreeable vein he had unconsciously struck upon, and
suspecting pity in his efforts to be sympathetic.
** I wish I dared hope so. The happiness of my visit
has been due to you entirely."
'* Indeed," said Gertrude, wincing as all the hard things
Trefusis had told her of herself came into her mind at the
heels of Erskine's unfortunate allusion to her power of
enjoying herself.
** I hope I am not paining you," he said earnestly.
** I dont know what you are talking about," she said,
standing erect with sudden impatience. " You seem to
think that it is very easy to pain me."
" No," he said timidly, puzzled by the effect he had
produced. *' I fear you misunderstand me. I am very
awkward. Perhaps I had better say no more."
Gertrude, by turning away to put up her cue, signified
that that was a point for him to consider : she not intend-
ing to trouble herself about it. When she faced him again,
he was motionless and dejected, with a wistful expression
like that of a dog that has proffered a caress and received
a kick. Remorse, and a vague sense that there was some-
thing base in her attitude towards him, overcame her. She
looked at him for an instant, and left the room.
The look excited him. He did not understand it, nor
attempt to understand it ; but it was a look that he had
never before seen in her face or in that of any other woman.
It struck him as a momentary revelation of what he had
written of in *' The Patriot Martyrs " as
" The glorious mystery of a woman's heart,"
and it made him feel unfit for ordinary social intercourse.
He hastened from the house ; walked swiftly down the
avenue to the lodge, where he kept his velocipede ; left
word there that he was going for an excursion and should
probably not return in time for dinner ; mounted ; and
sped away recklessly along the Riverside Road. In less
than two minutes he passed the gate of Sallust's House,
where he nearly ran over an old woman laden with a
basket of coals, who put down her burthen to scream curses
192 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
after him. Warned by this that his headlong pace was
dangerous, he slackened it a little, and presently saw
Trefusis lying prone on the river bank, with his cheeks
propped on his elbows, reading intently. Erskine, who
had presented him, a few days before, with a copy of
** The Patriot Martyrs and other Poems," tried to catch
a glimpse of the book over which Trefusis was so serious.
It was a Blue Book, full of figures. Erskine rode on
in disgust, consoling himself with the recollection of
Gertrude's face.
The highway now swerved inland from the river, and
rose to a steep acclivity, at the brow of which he turned
and looked back. The light was growing ruddy ; and the
shadows were lengthening. Trefusis was still prostrate
in the meadow ; and the old woman was in a field, gathering
hemlock.
Erskine raced down the hill at full speed, and did not
look behind him again until he found himself at nightfall
on the skirts of a town, where he purchased some beer and
a sandwich, which he ate with little appetite. Gertrude
had set up a disturbance within him which made him
impatient of eating.
It was now dark. He was many miles from Brandon
Beeches, and not sure of the way back. Suddenly he
resolved to complete his unfinished declaration that even-
ing. He now could not ride back fast enough to satisfy
his impatience. He tried a short cut ; lost himself; spent
nearly an hour seeking the high road ; and at last came
upon a railway station just in time to catch a train that
brought him within a mile of his destination.
When he rose from the cushions of the railway-carriage,
he found himself somewhat fatigued ; and he mounted the
bicycle stiffly. But his resolution was as ardent as ever ;
and his heart beat strongly as, after leaving his velocipede
at the lodge, he walked up the avenue through the deep
gloom beneath the beeches. Near the house, the first
notes oVCrudel perche finora^^ reached him; and he stepped
softly on to the turf lest his footsteps on the gravel should
rouse the dogs and make them mar the harmony by barking.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 193
A rustle made him stop and listen. Then Gertrude's voice
whispered through the darkness.
" What did you mean by what you said to me within ? "
An extraordinary sensation shook Erskine : confused
ideas of fairyland ran through his imagination. A bitter
disappointment, like that of waking from a happy dream,
followed as Trefusis's voice, more finely tuned than he had
ever heard it before, answered,
" Merely that the expanse of stars above us is not more
illimitable than my contempt for Miss Lindsay, nor brighter
than my hopes of Gertrude."
" Miss Lindsay always to you, if you please, Mr.
Trefusis."
** Miss Lindsay never to me, but only to those who
cannot see through her to the soul within, which is
Gertrude. There are a thousand Miss Lindsays in the
world, formal and false. There is but one Gertrude."
" I am an unprotected girl, Mr. Trefusis ; and you can
call me what you please."
It occurred to Erskine that this was a fit occasion to
rush forward and give Trefusis, whose figure he could now
dimly discern, a black eye. But he hesitated ; and the
opportunity passed.
"■ Unprotected ! " said Trefusis. "Why, you are fenced
round and barred in with conventions, laws, and lies that
would frighten the truth from the lips of any man whose
faith in Gertrude was less strong than mine. Go to Sir
Charles and tell him what I have said to Miss Lindsay;
and within ten minutes I shall have passed these gates
with a warning never to approach them again. I am in
your power ; and were I in Miss Lindsay's power alone, my
shrift would be short. Happily, Gertrude, though she
sees as yet but darkly, feels that Miss Lindsay is her
bitterest foe."
** It is ridiculous : I am not two persons : I am only
one. What does it matter to me if your contempt for me
is as illimitable as the stars .? "
** Ah : you remember that, do you } Whenever you hear
a man talking about the stars, you may conclude that he
13
194 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
is either an astronomer or a fool. But you and a fine
starry night would make a fool of any man."
** I dont understand you. I try to ; but I cannot : or, if
I guess, I cannot tell whether you are in earnest or not."
** I am very much in earnest. Abandon at once and for
ever all misgivings that I am trifling with you, or passing
an idle hour as men do when they find themselves in the
company of beautiful women. I mean what I say literally,
and in the deepest sense. You doubt me: we have brought
society to such a state that we all suspect one another.
But whatever is true will command belief sooner or later
from those who have wit enough to comprehend truth.
Now let me recall Miss Lindsay to consciousness by re-
marking that we have been out for ten minutes, and that
our hostess is not the woman to allow our absence to pass
without comment,"
** Let us go in. Thank you for reminding me."
" Thank you for forgetting."
Erskine heard their footsteps retreating, and presently
saw the two enter the glow of light that shone from the
open window of the billiard room, through which they
went indoors. Trefusis, a man whom he had seen that
day in a beautiful landscape, blind to everything except a
row of figures in a Blue Book, was his successful rival,
although it was plain from the very sound of his voice that
he did not — could not — love Gertrude. Only a poet could
do that. Trefusis was no poet, but a sordid brute unlikely
to inspire interest in anything more human than a public
meeting, much less in a woman, much less again in a
woman so ethereal as Gertrude. She was proud too : yet
she had allowed the fellow to insult her — had forgiven him
for the sake of a few broad compliments. Erskine grew
angry and cynical. The situation did not suit his poetry.
Instead of being stricken to the heart with a solemn
sorrow, as a Patriot Martyr would have been under similar
circumstances, he felt slighted and ridiculous. He was
hardly convinced of what had seemed at first the most
obvious feature of the case, Trefusis's inferiority to himself.
He stood under the trees until Trefusis reappeared
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 195
on his way home, making, Erskine thought, as much noise
with his heels on the gravel as a regiment of delicately
bred men would have done. He stopped for a moment to
make inquiry at the lodge as he went out : then his foot-
steps died away in the distance.
Erskine, chilled, stiff, and with a sensation of a bad cold
coming on, went into the house, and was relieved to find
that Gertrude had retired, and that Lady Brandon, though
she had been sure that he had ridden into the river in
the dark, had nevertheless provided a warm supper for him.
CHAPTER XV.
Erskine soon found plenty of themes for his newly be-
gotten cynicism. Gertrude's manner towards him softened
so much that he, believing her heart given to his rival,
concluded that she was tempting him to make a proposal
which she had no intention of accepting. Sir Charles,
to whom he told what he had overheard in the avenue,
professed sympathy, but was evidently pleased to learn
that there was nothing serious in the attentions Trefusis
paid to Agatha. Erskine wrote three bitter sonnets on
hollow friendship, and showed them to Sir Charles, who,
failing to apply them to himself, praised them highly, and
showed them to Trefusis without asking the author's per-
mission. Trefusis remarked that in a corrupt society
expressions of dissatisfaction were always creditable to
a writer's sensibility ; but he did not say much in praise
of the verse.
** Why has he taken to writing in this vein ? " he said.
** Has he been disappointed in any way of late ? Has he
proposed to Miss Lindsay and been rejected ?"
" No," said Sir Charles, surprised by this blunt reference
to a subject they had never before discussed. ** He does
not intend to propose to Miss Lindsay."
" But he did intend to."
196 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" He certainly did ; but he has given up the idea."
" Why ? " said Trefusis, apparently disapproving strongly
of the renunciation.
Sir Charles shrugged his shoulders, and did not reply.
" I am sorry to hear it. I wish you could induce him
to change his mind. He is a nice fellow, with enough
to live on comfortably ; whilst he is yet what is called a
poor man, so that she could feel perfectly disinterested in
marrying him. It will do her good to marry without
making a pecuniary profit by it : she will respect herself
the more afterwards, and will neither want bread and
butter nor be ashamed of her husband's origin, in spite
of having married for love alone. Make a match of it if
you can. I take an interest in the girl : she has good
instincts."
Sir Charles's suspicion that Trefusis was really paying
court to Agatha returned after this conversation, which he
repeated to Erskine, who, much annoyed because his
poems had been shown to a reader of Blue Books, thought
it only a blind for Trefusis' s design upon Gertrude. Sir
Charles pooh-poohed this view ; and the two friends were
sharp with one another in discussing it. After dinner,
when the ladies had left them. Sir Charles, repentant and
cordial, urged Erskine to speak to Gertrude without
troubling himself as to the sincerity of Trefusis. But
Erskine, knowing himself ill able to brook a refusal, was
loth to expose himself to one.
** If you had heard the tone of her voice when she asked
him whether he was in earnest, you would not talk to me
like this," he said despondently. ** I wish he had never
come here."
** Well, that, at least, was no fault of mine, my dear
fellow," said Sir Charles. ** He came among us against
my will. And now that he appears to have been in the
right — legally — about the field, it would look like spite if
I cut him. Besides, he really isnt a bad man if he would
only let the women alone."
** If he trifles with Miss Lindsay, I shall ask him to
cross the Channel, and have a shot at him,"
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 197
'*I dont think he'd go," said Sir Charles dubiously,
"If I were you, I would try my luck with Gertrude at
once. In spite of what you heard, I dont believe she
would marry a man of his origin. His money gives him
an advantage, certainly ; but Gertrude has sent richer men
to the rightabout."
*' Let the fellow have fair play," said Erskine. " I may
be wrong, of course : all men are liable to err in judging
themselves ; but I think I could make her happier than
he can."
Sir Charles was not so sure of that ; but he cheerfully
responded, ** Certainly. He is not the man for her at all ;
and you are. He knows it, too."
*'Hmf!" muttered Erskine, rising dejectedly. "Let's
go upstairs."
" By-the-bye, we are to call on him to-morrow, to go
through his house, and his collection of photographs.
Photographs ! Ha, ha ! "
" Damn his house ! " said Erskine.
Next day they went together to Sallust's House. It
stood in the midst of an acre of land, waste except a little
kitchen garden at the rear. The lodge at the entrance
was uninhabited; and the gates stood open, with dust
and fallen leaves heaped up against them. Free ingress
had thus been afforded to two stray ponies, a goat, and a
tramp, who lay asleep in the grass. His wife sat near,
watching him.
" I have a mind to turn back," said Sir Charles, looking
about him in disgust. "The place is scandalously neg-
lected. Look at that rascal asleep within full view of the
windows."
" I admire his cheek," said Erskine. " Nice pair of
ponies, too."
Sallust's House was square and painted cinnamon colour.
Beneath the cornice was a yellow frieze with figures of
dancing children, imitated from the works of Donatello,
and very unskilfully executed. There was a meagre portico
of four columns, painted red ; and a plain pediment, painted
yellow. The colours, meant to match those of the walls,
198 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
contrasted disagreeably with them, having been applied
more recently, apparently by a colour-blind artist. The
door beneath the portico stood open. Sir Charles rang
the bell ; and an elderly woman answered it ; but before
they could address her, Trefusis appeared, clad in a
painter's jacket of white jean. Following him in, they
found that the house was a hollow square, enclosing a
courtyard with a bath sunk in the middle, and a fountain
in the centre of the bath. The courtyard, formerly open
to the sky, was now roofed in with dusty glass ; the nymph
that had once poured out the water of the fountain was
barren and mutilated ; and the bath was partly covered in
with loose boards : the exposed part accommodating a heap
of coals in one corner, a heap of potatoes in another, a beer
barrel, some old carpets, a tarpaulin, and a broken canoe.
The marble pavement extended to the outer walls of the
house, and was roofed in at the sides by the upper stories,
which were supported by fluted stone columns, much
stained and chipped. The staircase, towards which
Trefusis led his visitors, was a broad one at the end
opposite the door, and gave access to a gallery leading
to the upper rooms.
"This house was built in 1780 by an ancestor of my
mother," said Trefusis. '* He passed for a man of
exquisite taste. He wished the place to be maintained
for ever — he actually used that expression in his will — as
. the family seat ; and he collected a fine library here, which
I I found useful, as all the books came into my hands in
J good condition, most of them with the leaves uncut.
I Some people prize uncut copies of old editions : a dealer
gave me three hundred and fifty pounds for a lot of them.
I came into possession of a number of family fetishes —
heirlooms, as they are called. There was a sword that
one of my forbears wore at Edgehill and other battles in
Charles the First's time. We fought on the wrong side, of
course ; but the sword fetched thirty-five shillings never-
theless. You will hardly believe that I was offered one
hundred and fifty pounds for a gold cup worth about
twenty-five, merely because Queen Elizabeth once drank
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 199
from it. This is my study. It was designed for a ban-
queting hall."
They entered a room as long as the wall of the house,
pierced on one side by four tall windows, between which,
square pillars, with Corinthian capitals supporting the
cornice, were half sunk in the wall. There were similar
pillars on the opposite side ; but between them, instead of
windows, were arched niches in which stood life-size plaster
statues, chipped, broken, and defaced in an extraordinary
fashion. The flooring, of diagonally set narrow boards,
was uncarpeted and unpolished. The ceiling was adorned
with frescoes, which at once excited Sir Charles's interest ;
and he noted with indignation that a large portion of the
painting at the northern end had been destroyed, and some
glass roofing inserted. In another place, bolts had been
driven in to support the ropes of a trapeze and a few other
pieces of gymnastic apparatus. The walls were white-
washed ; and at about four feet from the ground a dark
band appeared, produced by pencil memoranda and little
sketches scribbled on the whitewash. One end of the
apartment was unfurnished, except by the gymnastic appa-
ratus, a photographer's camera, a ladder in the corner, and
a common deal table with oil cans and paint pots upon it.
At the other end a comparatively luxurious show was made
by a large bookcase ; an elaborate combination of bureau
and writing desk ; a rack with a rifle, a set of foils, and an
umbrella in it ; several folio albums on a table ; some
comfortable chairs and sofas ; and a thick carpet under
foot. Close by, and seeming much out of place, was a
carpenter's bench with the usual implements, and a number
of board sof various thicknesses.
** This is a sort of comfort beyond the reach of any but a
rich man," said Trefusis, turning and surprising his visitors
in the act of exchanging glances of astonishment at his
taste. ** I keep a drawing room of the usual kind for re-
ceiving strangers with whom it is necessary to be conven-
tional ; but I never enter it except on such occasions.
What do you think of this for a study ? "
" On my soul, Trefusis, I think you are mad," said Sir
200 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
Charles. "The place looks as if it had stood a siege. How
did you manage to break the statues and chip the walls so
outrageously } "
Trefusis took a newspaper from the table, and said,
" Listen to this.
* In spite of the unfavourable nature of the weather, the sport of the
Emperor and his guests in Styria has been successful. In three days 52
chamois and 79 stags and deer fell to 19 single barrelled rifles, the
Emperor allowing no more on this occasion.'
"I share the Emperor's delight in shooting; but I am no
butcher, and do not need the royal relish of blood to my
sport. And I do not share my ancestor's taste in statuary.
Hence " Here Trefusis opened a drawer, took out a
pistol, and fired at the Hebe in the farthest niche.
" Well done ! " said Erskine coolly, as the last fragment
of Hebe's head crumbled at the touch of the bullet.
" Very fruitlessly done," said Trefusis. " I am a good
shot ; but of what use is it to me } * None. I once met
a gamekeeper who was a Methodist. He was a most
eloquent speaker, but a bad shot. If he could have
swapped talents with me I would have given him ten
thousand pounds to boot willingly, although he would have
profited as much as I by the exchange alone. I have no
more desire or need to be a good shot than to be king of
England, or owner of a Derby winner, or anything else
equally ridiculous ; and yet I never missed my aim in my
life — thank blind fortune for nothing ! "
** King of England ! " said Erskine with a scornful laugh,
to show Trefusis that other people were as liberty-loving
as he. ** Is it not absurd to hear a nation boasting of its
freedom and tolerating a king ? "
** Oh, hang your republicanism, Chester ! " said Sir
Charles, who privately held a low opinion of the political
side of the Patriot Martyrs.
" I wont be put down on that point," said Erskine. ** I
admire a man that kills a king. You will agree with me
there, Trefusis, wont you ? "
" Certainly not," said Trefusis. " A king nowadays is
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 201
only a dummy put up to draw your fire off the real oppres-
sors of society ; and the fraction of his salary that he can
spend as he likes is usually far too small for his risk, his
trouble, and the condition of personal slavery to which
he is reduced. What private man in England is worse
oif than the constitutional monarch ? We deny him all
privacy : he may not marry whom he chooses, consort with
whom he prefers, dress according to his taste, or live where
he pleases. I dont believe he may even eat or drink what
he likes best : a taste for tripe and onions on his part would
.provoke a remonstrance from the Privy Council. We dic-
tate everything except his thoughts and dreams ; and even
these he must keep to himself if they are not suitable, in
our opinion, to his condition. The work we impose on
him has all the hardship of mere task work : it is unfruitful,
incessant, monotonous, and has to be transacted for the
most part with nervous bores. We make his kingdom a
treadmill to him, and drive him to and fro on the face of
it. Finally, having taken everything else that men prize
from him, we fall upon his character, and that of every
person to whom he ventures to show favour. We impose
enormous expenses on him ; stint him ; and then rail at
his parsimony. We use him as I use those statues — stick
him up in the place of honour for our greater convenience
in disfiguring and abusing him. We send him forth through
our crowded cities, proclaiming that he is the source of
all good and evil in the nation ; and he, knowing that many
people believe it ; knowing that it is a lie, and that he is
powerless to shorten the working day by one hour, raise
wages one penny, or annul the smallest criminal sentence,
however unjust it may seem to him ; knowing that every
miner in the kingdom can manufacture dynamite, and that
revolvers are sold for seven and sixpence apiece ; knowing
that he is not bullet proof, and that every king in Europe
has been shot at in the streets ; he must smile and bow,
and maintain an expression of gracious enjoyment whilst
the mayor and corporation inflict upon him the twaddling
address he has heard a thousand times before. I do not
ask you to be loyal, Erskine ; but I expect you, in common
202 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
humanity, to sympathize with the chief figure in the pageant,
who is no more accountable for the manifold evils and
abominations that exist in his realm than the Lord Mayor
is accountable for the thefts of the pickpockets who follow
his show on the ninth of November."
Sir Charles laughed at the trouble Trefusis took to prove
his case, and said soothingly, " My dear fellow, kings are
used to it, and expect it, and like it."
** And probably do not see themselves as I see them,
any more than common people do," assented Trefusis.
" What an exquisite face ! " exclaimed Erskine suddenly,
catching sight of a photograph in a rich gold and coral
frame on a miniature easel draped with ruby velvet.
Trefusis turned quickly, so evidently gratified that Sir
Charles hastened to say, " Charming ! " Then, looking
at the portrait, he added, as if a little startled, *' It certainly
is an extraordinarily attractive face."
*' Years ago," said Trefusis, ** when I saw that face for
the first time, I felt as you feel now."
Silence ensued : the two visitors looking at the portrait :
Trefusis looking at them.
** Curious style of beauty," said Sir Charles at last, not
quite so assuredly as before.
Trefusis laughed unpleasantly. ** Do you recognize the
artist — the enthusiastic amateur — in her ? " he said, open-
ing another drawer and taking out a bundle of drawings,
which he handed to be examined.
"Very clever. Very clever indeed," said Sir Charles.
*' I should like to meet the lady."
** I have often been on the point of burning them," said
Trefusis ; " but there they are ; and there they are likely
to remain. The portrait has been much admired."
" Can you give us an introduction to the original, old
fellow } " said Erskine.
" No, happily. She is dead."
Disagreeably shocked, they looked at him for a moment
with aversion. Then Erskine, turning with pity and dis-
appointment to the picture, said, "Poor girl! Was she
married .? " .
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 203
**Yes. To me."
'* Mrs. Trefusis ! " exclaimed Sir Charles, ** Ah ! Dear
me ! "
Erskine, with proof before him that it was possible for a
beautiful girl to accept Trefusis, said nothing.
** I keep her portrait constantly before me to correct my
natural amativeness. I fell in love with her, and married
her. I have fallen in love once or twice since ; but a
glance at my lost Hetty has cured me of the slightest in-
clination to marry."
Sir Charles did not reply. It occurred to him that Lady
Brandon's portrait, if nothing else were left of her, might
be useful in the same way.
** Come : you will marry again one of these days," said
Erskine, in a forced tone of encouragement.
"It is possible. Men should marry, especially rich
men. But I assure you I have no present intention of
doing so."
Erskine's colour deepened ; and he moved away to the
table where the albums lay.
** This is the collection of photographs I spoke of," said
Trefusis, following him and opening one of the books. "I
took many of them myself under great difficulties with
regard to light — the only difficulty that money could not
always remove. This is a view of my father's house — or
rather one of his houses. It cost seventy-five thousand
pounds."
'* Very handsome indeed," said Sir Charles, secretly dis-
gusted at being invited to admire a photograph, such as
house agents exhibit, of a vulgarly designed country house,
merely because it had cost seventy-five thousand pounds.
The figures were actually written beneath the picture.
"This is the drawing-room ; and this one of the best
bedrooms. In the right hand corner of the mount you
will see a note of the cost of the furniture, fittings, napery,
and so forth. They were of the most luxurious descrip-
tion."
" Very interesting," said Sir Charles, hardly disguising
the irony of the comment.
204 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** Here is a view — this is the first of my own attempts —
of the apartment of one of the under servants. It is
comfortable and spacious, and solidly furnished."
** So I perceive."
** These are the stables. Are they not handsome } "
" Palatial. Quite palatial."
" There is every luxury that a horse could desire, includ-
ing plenty of valets to wait on him. You are noting the
figures, I hope. There is the cost of the building, and the
expenditure per horse per annum."
" I see."
" Here is the exterior of a house. What do you think
of it ? "
*' It is rather picturesque in its dilapidation."
*' Picturesque ! Would you like to live in it ? "
" No," said Erskine. *' / dont see anything very pictur-
esque about it. What induced you to photograph such a
wretched old rookery ? "
" Here is a view of the best room in it. Photography
gives you a fair idea of the broken flooring and patched
windows ; but you must imagine the dirt and the odour of
the place. Some of the stains are weather stains : others
came from smoke and filth. The landlord of the house
holds it from a peer, and lets it out in tenements. Three
families occupied that room when I photographed it.
You will see by the figures in the corner that it is more
profitable to the landlord than an average house in Mayfair.
Here is the cellar, let to a family for one and sixpence a
week, and considered a bargain. The sun never shines
there, of course : I took it by artificial light. You may
add to the rent the cost of enough bad beer to make the
tenant insensible to the filth of the place. Beer is the
chloroform that enables the labourer to endure the severe
operation of living : that is why we can always assure one
another over our wine that the rascal's misery is due to his
habit of drinking. We are down on him for it, because,
if he could bear his life without beer, we should save his
beer-money — get hiin for lower wages. In short, we
should be richer and he soberer. Here is the yard : the
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 205
arrangements are indescribable. Seven of the inhabitants
of that house had worked for years in my father's mill.
That is, they had created a considerable part of the vast
sums of money for drawing your attention to which you
were disgusted with me just now."
" Not at all," said Sir Charles faintly.
" You can see how their condition contrasts with that of
my father's horses. The seven men to whom I have alluded,
with three hundred others, were thrown destitute upon the
streets by this." (Here he turned over a leaf and displayed
a photograph of an elaborate machine.) ** It enabled my
father to dispense with their services, and to replace them
by a handful of women and children. He had bought the
patent of the machine for fifty pounds from the inventor,
who was almost ruined by the expenses of his ingenuity,
and would have sacrificed anything for a handful of ready
money. Here is a portrait of my father in his masonic
insignia. He believed that freemasons generally get on in
the world ; and as the main object of his life was to get
on, he joined them, and wanted me to do the same. But
I object to pretended secret societies and hocus pocus, and
would not. You see what he was — a portly, pushing,
egotistical tradesman. Mark the successful man, the
merchant prince with argosies on every sea, the employer of
thousands of hands, the munificent contributor to public
charities, the churchwarden, the member of parliament,
and the generous patron of his relatives : his self-approba-
tion struggling with the instinctive sense of baseness in the
money-hunter, the ignorant and greedy filcher of the
labour of others, the seller of his own mind and manhood
for luxuries and delicacies that he was too lowlived to
enjoy, and for the society of people who made him feel his
inferiority at every turn "
** And the man to whom you owe everything you pos-
sess," said Erskine boldly.
** I possess very little. Everything he left me, except
a few pictures, I spent long ago; and even that was
made by his slaves, and not by him. My wealth comes
day by day fresh from the labour of the wretches who live
206 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
in the dens I have just shown you, or of a few aristocrats
of labour who are within ten shillings a week of being
worse off. However, there is some excuse for my father.
Once, at an election riot, I got into a free fight. I am a
peaceful man ; but as I had either to fight or be knocked
down and trampled upon, I exchanged blows with men
who were perhaps as peacefully disposed as I. My father,
launched into a free competition (free in the sense that the
fight is free : that is, lawless) — my father had to choose
between being a slave himself and enslaving others. He
chose the latter ; and as he was applauded and made much
of for succeeding, who dare blame him ? Not I. Besides,
he did something to destroy the anarchy that enabled him
to plunder society with impunity. He furnished me, its
enemy, with the powerful weapon of a large fortune. Thus
our system of organizing industry sometimes hatches the
eggs from which its destroyers break. Does Lady Bran-
don wear much lace } "
*' I No : that is How the deuce do I know,
Trefusis } What an extraordinary question ! "
** This is a photograph of a lace school. It was a filthy
room, twelve feet square. It was paved with brick ; and
the children were not allowed to wear their boots, lest the
lace should get muddy. However, as there were twenty
of them working there for fifteen hours a day — all girls —
they did not suffer much from cold. They were pretty
tightly packed — may be still, for aught I know. They
brought three or four shillings a week sometimes to their
fond parents ; and they were very quick-fingered little
creatures, and stuck intensely to their work, as the overseer
always hit them when they looked up or "
" Trefusis," said Sir Charles, turning away from the
table : " I beg your pardon ; but I have no appetite for
horrors. You really must not ask me to go through your
collection. It is no doubt very interesting; but I cant
stand it. Have you nothing pleasant to entertain me
with?"
** Pooh ! you are squeamish. However, as you are a
novice, let us put off the rest until you are seasoned. The
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 207
pictures are not all horrible. Each book refers to a
different country. That one contains illustrations of modern
civilization in Germany, for instance. That one is France :
that, British India. Here you have the United States of
America ; home of liberty ; theatre of manhood suffrage ;
kingless and lordless land of Protection, Republicanism and
the realized Radical Programme, where all the black chattel
slaves were turned into wage-slaves (like my father's white
fellows) at a cost of 800,000 lives and wealth incalculable.
You and I are paupers in comparison with the great
capitalists of that country, where the labourers fight for
bones with the Chinamen, like dogs. Some of these great
men presented me with photographs of their yachts and
palaces, not anticipating the use to which I would put them.
Here are some portraits that will not harrow your feelings.
This is my mother, a woman of good family, every inch a
lady. Here is a Lancashire lass, the daughter of a common
pitman. She has exactly the same physical characteristics
as my well-born mother — the same small head, delicate fea-
tures, and so forth : they might be sisters. This villainous-
looking pair might be twin brothers, except that there is
a trace of good humour about the one to the right. The
good-humoured one is a bargee on the Lyvern Canal. The
other is one of the senior noblemen of the British Peerage.
They illustrate the fact that Nature, even when perverted
by generations of famine fever, ignores the distinctions we
set up between men. This group of men and women, all
tolerably intelligent and thoughtful looking, are so-called
enemies of society — Nihilists, Anarchists, Communards,
members of the International and so on. These other
poor devils, worried, stiff, strumous, awkward, vapid, and
rather coarse, with here and there a passably pretty woman,
are European kings, queens, grand-dukes and the like.
Here are ship-captains, criminals, poets, men of science,
peers, peasants, political economists and representatives
of dozens of degrees. The object of the collection is to
illustrate the natural inequality of man, and the failure
of our artificial inequality to correspond with it."
"It seems to me a sort of infernal collection for the
2o8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
upsetting of people's ideas," said Erskine. *' You ought
to label it * A Portfolio of Paradoxes.' "
" In a rational state of society they would be paradoxes ;
but now the time gives them proof — like Hamlet's paradox.
It is, however, a collection of facts ; and I will give no
fanciful name to it. You dislike figures, dont you } "
*' Unless they are by Phidias, yes."
" Here are a few, not by Phidias. This is the balance
sheet of an attempt I made some years ago to carry out
the idea of an International Association of Labourers —
commonly known as The International — or union of all
workmen throughout the world in defence of the interests
of labour. You see the result. Expenditure, four thousand
five hundred pounds. Subscriptions received from work-
ing men, twenty-two pounds, seven and tenpence half-
penny. The British workmen showed their sense of my
eff"orts to emancipate them by accusing me of making
a good thing out of the Association for my own pocket,
and by mobbing and stoning me twice. I now help them
only when they show some disposition to help themselves.
I occupy myself partly in working out a scheme for the
reorganization of industry, and partly in attacking my own
class, women and all, as I am attacking you."
"There is little use in attacking us, I fear," said Sir
Charles.
'* Great use," said Trefusis confidently. " You have a
very difi"erent opinion of our boasted civilization now from
that which you held when I broke your wall down, and
invited those Land Nationalization zealots to march across
your pleasure ground. You have seen in my album some-
thing you had not seen an hour ago ; and you are conse-
quently not quite the same man you were an hour ago.
My pictures stick in the mind longer than your scratchy
etchings, or the leaden things in which you fancy you see
tender harmonies in grey. Erskine's next drama may be
about liberty ; but its Patriot Martyrs will have something
better to do than spout balderdash against figure-head
kings who in all their lives never secretly plotted as
much dastardly meanness, greed, cruelty, and tyranny
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 209
as is openly voted for in London by every half-yearly
meeting of dividend-consuming vermin whose miserable
wage-slaves drudge sixteen hours out of the twenty-four."
** What is going to be the end of it all ? " said Sir
Charles, a little dazed.
** Socialism, or Smash. Socialism if the race has at last
evolved the faculty of co-ordinating the functions of a
society too crowded and complex to be worked any longer
on the old haphazard private property system. Unless
we reorganize our society socialistically — humanly a most
arduous and magnificent enterprise : economically a most
simple and sound one — Free Trade by itself will ruin
England ; and I will tell you exactly how. When my
father made his fortune, we had the start of all other nations
in the organization of our industry and in our access to iron
and coal. Other nations bought our products for less than
they must have spent to raise them at home, and yet for so
much more than they cost us, that profits rolled in Atlantic
waves upon our capitalists. When the workers, by their
trades-unions, demanded a share of the luck in the form of
advanced wages, it paid better to give them the little they
dared to ask than to stop gold-gathering to fight and crush
them. But now our customers have set up in their own
countries improved copies of our industrial organization,
and have discovered places where iron and coal are even
handier than they are by this time in England. They pro-
duce for themselves, or buy elsewhere, what they formerly
bought from us. Our profits are vanishing : our machinery
is standing idle : our workmen are locked out. It pays
now to stop the mills and fight and crush the unions when
the men strike, no longer for an advance, but against a re-
duction. Now that these unions are beaten, helpless, and
drifting to bankruptcy as the proportion of unemployed
men in their ranks becomes greater, they are being petted
and made much of by our class : an infallible sign that they
are making no further progress in their duty of destroying
us. The small capitalists are left stranded by the ebb : the
big ones will follow the tide across the water, and rebuild
their factories where steam power, water power, labour
210 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
power, and transport are now cheaper than in England,
where they used to be cheapest. The workers will emigrate
in pursuit of the factory ; but they will multiply faster than
they emigrate, and be told that their own exorbitant
demand for wages is driving capital abroad, and must
continue to do so whilst there is a Chinaman or a Hindoo
unemployed to underbid them. As the British factories
are shut up, they will be replaced by villas: the manu-
facturing districts will become fashionable resorts for
capitalists living on the interest of foreign investments : the
farms and sheep runs will be cleared for deer forests.
All products that can in the nature of things be manu-
factured elsewhere than where they are consumed, will be
imported in payment of deer-forest rents from foreign
sportsmen, or of dividends due to shareholders resident in
England, but holding shares in companies abroad ; and
these imports will not be paid for by exports, because rent
and interest are not paid for at all — a fact which the Free
Traders do not yet see, or at any rate do not mention,
although it is the key to the whole mystery of their
opponents. The cry for Protection will become wild ; but
no one will dare resort to a demonstrably absurd measure
that must raise prices before it raises wages, and that has
everywhere failed to benefit the worker. There will be no
employment for any one except in doing things that must
be done on the spot, such as unpacking and distributing
the imports, ministering to the proprietors as domestic
servants, or by acting, preaching, paving, lighting, house-
building and the rest ; and some of these, as the capitalist
comes to regard ostentation as vulgar, and to enjoy a
simpler life, will employ fewer and fewer people. A vast
proletariat, beginning with a nucleus of those formerly
employed in export trades, with their multiplying progeny,
will be out of employment permanently. They will demand
access to the land and machinery to produce for themselves.
They will be refused. They will break a few windows,
and be dispersed with a warning to their leaders. They
will burn a few houses and murder a policeman or two ;
and then an example will be made of the warned. They
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 211
will revolt, and be shot down with machine guns — emigrated
— exterminated anyhow and everyhow ; for the proprietary
classes have no idea of any other means of dealing with
the full claims of labour. You yourself, though you would
give fifty pounds to Jansenius's emigration fund readily
enough, would call for the police, the military, and the
Riot Act, if the people came to Brandon Beeches and bade
you turn out and work for your living with the rest. Well :
the superfluous proletariat destroyed, there will remain a
population of capitalists living on gratuitous imports, and
served by a disaffected retinue. One day, the gratuitous
imports will stop in consequence of the occurrence abroad
of revolution and repudiation, fall in the rate of interest,
purchase of industries by governments for lump sums, not
reinvestable, or what not. Our capitalist community is
then thrown on the remains of the last dividend, which
it consumes long before it can rehabilitate its extinct
machinery of production in order to support itself with
its own hands. Horses, dogs, cats, rats, blackberries,
mushrooms, and cannibalism only postpone "
*' Ha ! ha! ha ! " shouted Sir Charles. " On my honour,
I thought you were serious at first, Trefusis. Come :
confess, old chap : it's all a fad of yours. I half suspected
you of being a bit of a crank." And he winked at Erskine.
" What I have described to you is the inevitable outcome
of our present Free Trade policy without Socialism. The
theory of Free Trade is only applicable to systems of
exchange, not to systems of spoliation. Our system is
one of spoliation ; and if we dont abandon it, we must
either return to Protection or go to smash by the road I
have just mapped. Now, sooner than let the Protectionists
triumph, the Cobden Club itself would blow the gaff, and
point out to the workers that Protection only means com-
pelling the proprietors of England to employ slaves
resident in England, and therefore presumably — though
by no means necessarily — Englishmen. This would open
the eyes of the nation at last to the fact that England is
not their property. Once let them understand that, and
they would soon make it so. When England is made the
212 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
property of its inhabitants collectively, England becomes
socialistic. Artificial inequality will vanish then before
real freedom of contract; freedom of competition, or
unhampered emulation, will keep us moving ahead ; and
Free Trade will fulfil its promises at last."
" And the idlers and loafers," said Erskine. " What of
them.?"
" You and I, in fact," said Trefusis. ** Die of starvation,
I suppose, unless we choose to work ; or unless they give
us a little outdoor relief in consideration of our bad
bringing-up."
** Do you mean that they will plunder us } " said Sir
Charles.
" I mean that they will make us 'stop plundering them.
If they hesitate to strip us naked, or to cut our throats if
we offer them the smallest resistance, they will shew us
more mercy than we ever shewed them. Consider what
we have done to get our rents in Ireland and Scotland,
and our dividends in Egypt, if you have already forgotten
my photographs and their lesson in our atrocities at home.
Why, man, we murder the great mass of these toilers with
overwork and hardship : their average lifetime is not half
as long as ours. Human nature is the same in them as in
us. If we resist them, and succeed in restoring order, as
we call it, we will punish them mercilessly for their insub-
ordination, as we did in Paris in 1871, where, by-the-bye,
we taught them the folly of giving their enemies quarter.
If they beat us, we shall catch it ; and serve us right.
Far better turn honest at once, and avert bloodshed. Eh,
Erskine.?"
Erskine was considering what reply he should make,
when Trefusis disconcerted him by ringing a bbll. Pre-
sently the elderly woman appeared, pushing before her an
oblong table mounted on wheels, like a barrow.
" Thank you," said Trefusis, and dismissed her. " Here
is some good wine, some good water, some good fruit, and
some good bread. I know that you cling to wine as to a
good familiar creature. As for me, I make no distinction
between it and other vegetable poisons; I abstain from
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 213
them all. Water for serenity: wine for excitement. I,
having boiling springs of excitement within myself, am
never at a loss for it, and have only to seek serenity.
However " (here he drew a cork), " a generous goblet of this
will make you feel like gods for half an hour at least.
Shall we drink to your conversion to Socialism } "
Sir Charles shook his head.
'* Come : Mr. Donovan Brown, the great artist, is a
Socialist ; and why should not you be one } "
" Donovan Brown ! " exclaimed Sir Charles with interest.
" Is it possible ? Do you know him personally ? "
** Here are several letters from him. You may read
them : the mere autograph of such a man is interesting."
Sir Charles took the letters, and read them earnestly :
Erskine reading over his shoulder.
" I most cordially agree with everything he says here,"
said Sir Charles. *' It is quite true, quite true."
*' Of course you agree with us. Donovan Brown's
eminence as an artist has gained me one recruit; and
yours as a baronet will gain me some more."
** But "
** But what ? " said Trefusis, deftly opening one of the
albums at a photograph of a loathsome room. *' You are
against that, are you not } Donovan Brown is against it ;
and I am against it. You may disagree with us in every-
thing else ; but there you are at one with us. Is it not
so } "
" But that may be the result of drunkenness, improvi-
dence, or "
** My father's income was fifty times as great as that of
Donovan Brown. Do you believe that Donovan Brown is
fifty times as drunken and improvident as my father was } "
" Certainly not. I do not deny that there is much in
what you urge. Still, you ask me to take a rather im-
portant step."
" Not a bit of it. I dont ask you to subscribe to, join,
or in any way pledge yourself to any society or conspiracy
whatsoever. I only want your name for private mention
to cowards who think Socialism right, but will not say so
214 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
because they do not think it respectable. They will not
be ashamed of their convictions when they learn that a
baronet shares them. Socialism oifers you something
already, you see : a good use for your hitherto useless
title."
Sir Charles coloured a little, conscious that the example
of his favourite painter had influenced him more than his
own conviction or the arguments of Trefusis. "What do
you think, Chester } " he said. " Will you join ? "
'* Erskine is already committed to the cause of liberty
by his published writings," said Trefusis. ''Three of the
pamphlets on that shelf contain quotations from the
Patriot Martyrs."
Erskine blushed, flattered by being quoted : an attention
that had been shewn him only once before, and then
by a reviewer with the object of proving that the Patriot
Martyrs were slovenly in their grammar.
" Come ! " said Trefusis. " Shall I write to Donovan
Brown that his letters have gained the cordial assent and
sympathy of Sir Charles Brandon ? "
"Certainly, certainly. That is, if my unknown name
would be of the least interest to him."
" Good," said Trefusis, filling his glass with water.
" Erskine : let us drink to our brother Social Democrat."
Erskine laughed loudly, but not heartily. " What an ass
you are, Brandon ! " he said. " You, with a large landed
estate, and bags of gold invested in railways, calling your-
self a Social Democrat ! Are you going to sell out and
distribute .? — to sell all that thou hast and give to the
poor .? "
*' Not a penny," replied Trefusis for him promptly. " A
man cannot be a Christian in this country : I have tried it,
and found it impossible both in law and in fact. I am a
capitalist and a landholder. I have railway shares, mining
shares, building shares, bank shares, and stock of most
kinds ; and a great trouble they are to me. But these
shares do not represent wealth actually in existence : they
are a mortgage on the labour of unborn generations of
labourers, who must work to keep me and mine in idleness
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 215
and luxury. If I sold them, would the mortgage be can-
celled and the unborn generations released from its thrall ?
No. It would only pass into the hands of some other
capitalist ; and the working class would be no better off
for my self-sacrifice. Sir Charles cannot obey the com-
mand of Christ : I defy him to do it. Let him give his
land for a public park : only the richer classes will have
leisure to enjoy it. Plant it at the very doors of the poor,
so that they may at least breathe its air ; and it will raise
the value of the neighbouring houses and drive the poor
away. Let him endow a school for the poor, like Eton or
Christ's Hospital ; and the rich will take it for their own
children as they do in the two instances I have named.
Sir Charles ,'does not want to minister to poverty, but to
abolish it. No matter how much you give to the poor,
everything except a bare subsistence wage will be taken
from them again by force .? All talk of practising Christi-
anity, or even bare justice, is at present mere waste of
words. How can you justly reward the labourer when you
cannot ascertain the value of what he makes, owing to the
prevalent custom of stealing it } I know this by experi-
ence : I wanted to pay a just price for my wife's tomb ;
but I could not find out its value, and never shall. The
principle on which we farm out our national industry to
private marauders, who recompense themselves by black
mail, so corrupts and paralyzes us that we cannot be
honest even when we want to. And the reason we bear it
so calmly is that very few of us really want to."
" I must study this question of value," said Sir Charles
dubiously, refilling his goblet. '* Can you recommend me
a good book on the subject } "
" Any good treatise on political economy will do," said
Trefusis. " In economics all roads lead to Socialism ;
although in nine cases out of ten, so far, the economist
doesnt recognize his destination, and incurs the maledic-
tion pronounced by Jeremiah on those who justify the
wicked for reward. I will look you out a book or two.
And if you will call on Donovan Brown the next time you
are in London, he will be delighted, I know. He meets
'2l6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
with very few who are capable of sympathizing with him
from both his points of view — social and artistic."
Sir Charles brightened on being reminded of Donovan
Brown. " I shall esteem an introduction to him a great
honour," he said. " I had no idea that he was a friend of
yours."
** I was a very practical young Socialist when I first met
him," said Trefusis. *' When Brown was an unknown and
wretchedly poor man, my mother, at the petition of a friend
of his, charitably bought one of his pictures for thirty
pounds, which he was very glad to get. Years afterwards,
when my mother was dead, and Brown famous, I was
offered eight hundred pounds for this picture, which was,
by-the-bye, a very bad one in my opinion. Now, after
making the usual unjust allowance 'for interest on thirty
pounds for twelve years or so that had elapsed, the sale of
the picture would have brought me in a profit of over seven
hundred and fifty pounds, an unearned increment to which
I had no righteous claim. My solicitor, to whom I men-
tioned the matter, was of opinion that I might justifiably
pocket the seven hundred and fifty pounds as reward for
my mother's benevolence in buying a presumably worthless
picture from an obscure painter. But he failed to convince
me that I ought to be paid for my mother's virtues,
though we agreed that neither I nor my mother had
received any return in the shape of pleasure in contemplat-
ing the work, which had deteriorated considerably by the
fading of the colours since its purchase. At last I went
to Brown's studio with the picture, and told him that it
was worth nothing to me, as I thought it a particularly
bad one ; and that he might have it back again for fifteen
pounds, half the first price. He at once told me that I
could get from any dealer more for it than he could afford
to give me ; but he told me too that I had no right to
make a profit out of his work, and that he would give me
the original price of thirty pounds. I took it, and then
sent him the man who had offered me the eight hundred.
To my discomfiture. Brown refused to sell it on any terms,
because he considered it unworthy of his reputation. The
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 217
man bid up to fifteen hundred ; but Brown held out ; and
I found that instead of putting seven hundred and seventy
pounds into his pocket, I had taken thirty out of it. I
accordingly offered to return the thirty pieces. Brown,
taking the offer as an insult, declined all further communi-
cation with me. I then insisted on the matter being sub-
mitted to arbitration, and demanded fifteen hundred pounds
as the full exchange value of the picture. All the arbitrators
agreed that this was monstrous ; whereupon I contended
that if they denied my right to the value in exchange, they
must admit my right to the value in use. They assented
to this after putting off their decision for a fortnight in
order to read Adam Smith and discover what on earth I
meant by my values in use and exchange. I now shewed
that the picture had no value in use to me, as I disliked
it ; and that theref4fre I was entitled to nothing, and that
Brown must take back the thirty pounds. They were glad
to concede this also to me, as they were all artist friends
of Brown, and wished him not to lose money by the
transaction ; though they of course privately thought that
the picture was, as I described it, a bad one. After that
Brown and I became very good friends. He tolerated my
advances, at first lest it should seem that he was annoyed
by my disparagement of his work. Subsequently he fell
into my views much as you have done."
"That is very interesting," said Sir Charles. "What a
noble thing — refusing fifteen hundred pounds ! He could
ill afford it, probably."
" Heroic — according to nineteenth century notions of
heroism. Voluntarily to throw away a chance of making
money ! that is the ne plus ultra of martyrdom. Brown's
wife was extremely angry with him for doing it."
"It is an interesting story — or might be made so," said
Erskine. " But you make my head spin with your con-
founded exchange values and stuff. Everything is a
question of figures with you."
%,> " That comes of my not being a poet," said Trefusis.
" But we Socialists need to study the romantic side of our
movement to interest women in it. If you want to make
2i8 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
a cause grow, instruct every woman you meet in it. She
is or will one day be a wife, and will contradict her husband
with scraps of your arguments. A squabble will follow.
The son will listen, and will be set thinking if he be
capable of thought. And so the mind of the people gets
leavened. I have converted many young women. Most
of them know no more of the economic theory of Socialism
than they know of Chaldee ; but they no longer fear or
condemn its name. Oh, I assure you that much can be
done in that way by men who are not afraid of women,
and who are not in too great a hurry to see the harvest
they have sown for."
" Take care. Some of your lady proselytes may get the
better of you some day. The future husband to be con-
tradicted may be Sidney Trefusis. Ha ! ha ! ha ! " Sir
Charles had emptied a second large goblet of wine, and
was a little flushed and boisterous.
" No," said Trefusis : " I have had enough of love
myself, and am not likely to inspire it. Women do not
care for men to whom, as Erskine says, everything is a
question of figures. I used to flirt with women : now I
lecture them, and abhor a man-flirt worse than I do a
woman one. Some more wine } Oh, you must not waste
the remainder of this bottle."
" I think we had better go, Brandon," said Erskine, his
mistrust of Trefusis growing. "We promised to be back
before two."
'* So you shall," said Trefusis. "It is not yet a quarter
past one. By-the-bye, I have not shewn you Donovan
Brown's pet instrument for the regeneration of society.
Here it is. A monster petition praying that the holding
back from the labourer of any portion of the net value
produced by his labour be declared a felony. That is
all."
Erskine nudged Sir Charles, who said hastily, " Thank
you ; but I had rather not sign anything."
** A baronet sign such a petition ! " exclaimed Trefusis.
" I did not think of asking you. I only shew it to you as an
interesting historical document, containing the autographs
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 219
of a few artists and poets. There is Donovan Brown's
for example. It was he who suggested the petition, which
is not likely to do much good, as the thing cannot be done
in any such fashion. However, I have promised Brown to
get as many signatures as I can ; so you may as well sign
it, Erskine. It says nothing in blank verse about the
holiness of slaying a tyrant ; but it is a step in the right
direction. You will not stick at such a trifle — unless
the reviews have frightened you. Come : your name and
address."
Erskine shook his head.
'*Do you then only commit yourself to revolutionary
sentiments when there is a chance of winning fame as a
poet by them .? "
** I will not sign, simply because I do not choose to,"
said Erskine warmly.
" My dear fellow," said Trefusis, almost affectionately,
" if a man has a conscience he can have no choice in
matters of conviction. I have read somewhere in your
book that the man who will not shed his blood for the
liberty of his brothers is a coward and a slave. Will you
not shed a drop of ink — my ink, too — for the right of your
brothers to the work of their hands } I at first sight did
not care to sign this petition, because I would as soon
petition a tiger to share his prey with me, as our rulers to
relax their grip of the stolen labour they live on. But
Donovan Brown said to me, * You have no choice. Either
you believe that the labourer should have the fruit of his
labour or you do not. If you do, put your conviction on
record, even if it should be as useless as Pilate's washing
his hands.' So I signed."
" Donovan Brown was right," "said Sir Charles. " /
will sign." And he did so with a flourish.
*' Brown will be delighted," said Trefusis. " I will
write to him to-day that I have got another good signature
for him."
"Two more," said Sir Charles. "You shall sign,
Erskine : hang me if you shant ! It is only against rascals
that run away without paying their men their wages."
220 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST,
" Or that dont pay them in full," observed Trefusis, with
a curious smile. ** But do not sign if you feel uncomfort-
able about it."
"If you dont sign after me, you are a sneak, Chester,"
said Sir Charles.
" I dont know what it means," said Erskine, wavering.
" I dont understand petitions."
** It means what it says : you cannot be held responsible
for any meaning that is not expressed in it," said Trefusis.
** But never mind. You mistrust me a little, I fancy, and
would rather not meddle with my petitions ; but you will
think better of that as you grow used to me. Meanwhile,
there is no hurry. Dont sign yet."
" Nonsense ! I dont doubt your good faith," said
Erskine, hastily disavowing suspicions which he felt but
could not account for. " Here goes ! " And he signed.
** Well done ! " said Trefusis. '* This will make Brown
happy for the rest of the month."
*' It is time for us to go now," said Erskine gloomily.
*' Look in upon me at any time : you shall be welcome,"
said Trefusis. "You need not stand upon any sort of
ceremony."
Then they parted : Sir Charles assuring Trefusis that he
had never spent a more interesting morning, and shaking
hands with him at considerable length three times.
Erskine said little until he was in the Riverside Road
with his friend, when he suddenly burst out,
" What the devil do you mean by drinking two tumblers
of such staggering stuff at one o'clock in the day in the
house of a dangerous man like that } I am very sorry I
went into the fellow's place. I had misgivings about it ;
and they have been fully borne out."
" How so .?" said Sir Charles, taken aback.
" He has overreached us. I was a deuced fool to sign
that paper; and so were you. It was for that that he
invited us."
" Rubbish, my dear boy. It was not his paper, but
Donovan Brown's."
'* I doubt it. Most likely he talked Brown into signing
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 221
it just as he talked us. I tell you his ways are all crooked,
like his ideas. Did you hear how he lied about Miss
Lindsay ? "
** Oh, you were mistaken about that. He does not care
two straws for her or for any one."
** Well, if you are satisjfied, I am not. You would not
be in such high spirits over it if you had taken as little
wine as I."
** Pshaw ! you're too ridiculous. It was capital wine.
Do you mean to say I am drunk ? "
" No. But you would not have signed if you had not
taken that second goblet. If you had not forced me — I
could not get out of it after you set the example — I would
have seen him d d sooner than have had anything to
do with his petition."
** I dont see what harm can come of it," said Sir
Charles, braving out some secret disquietude.
'*I will never go into his house again," said Erskine
moodily. " We were just like two flies in a spider's web."
Meanwhile, Trefusis was fulfilling his promise to write
to Donovan Brown.
Sallust's House.
Dear Brown : I have spent the forenoon angling for a couple of very
young fish^ and have landed them with more trouble than they are worth.
One has gaudy scales : he is a baronet, and an amateur artist, save the
mark. All my arguments and my little museum of photographs were
lost on him ; but when I mentioned your name, and promised him an
introduction to you, he goiged the bait greedily. He was half drunk
when he signed ; and I should not have let him touch the paper if I
had tiot convinced myself beforehand that he means well, and that my
wine had only freed his natural generosity from his conventional cow-
ardice and prejudice. We must get his na?ne published itt as many
journals as possible as a signatory to the great petition : it will draw on
others as your name drew him. The second novice, Chichester Erskine,
is a young poet. He will not be of much use to us, though he is a devoted
champion of liberty in blank verse, and dedicates his works to Mazzini,
etc. He signed reluctantly. All this hesitation is the uncertainty that
comes of ignorance : they have not found out the truth for themselves,
and are afraid to trust me, matters having come to the pass at which no
man dares trust his fellow.
I have m^t a pretty young lady here who might serve you as a model
222 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
for Hypatia. She is crammed with all the p7-ejudices of the peerage ; but
I am effecting a cure. I have set my heart on marrying her to Erskine,
7uho, thinking that I am making love to her on ?7iy own account^ is Jealous.
The weather is pleasant here ; and I am having a merry life of it ; but
I find myself too idle. Etc., etc., etc.
CHAPTER XVI.
One sunny forenoon, as Agatha sat reading on the door-
step of the conservatory, the shadow of her parasol
deepened ; and she, looking up for something denser than
the silk of it, saw Trefusis.
- Oh ! "
She offered him no further greeting, having fallen in
with his habit of dispensing, as far as possible, with salu-
tations and ceremonies. He seemed in no hurry to speak ;
and so, after a pause, she began, *' Sir Charles "
** — is gone to town," he said. ** Erskine is out on his
bicycle. Lady Brandon and Miss Lindsay have gone to
the village in the waggonette ; and you have come out
here to enjoy the summer sun and read rubbish. I know
all your news already."
*' You are very clever, and, as usual, wrong. Sir Charles
has not gone to town. He has only gone to the railway
station for some papers: he will be back for luncheon.
How do you know so much of our aifairs ? "
" I was on the roof of my house with a field-glass. I
saw you come out and sit down here. Then Sir Charles
passed. Then Erskine. Then Lady Brandon, driving
with great energy, and presenting a remarkable contrast
to the disdainful repose of Gertrude."
** Gertrude ! I like your cheek."
" You mean that you dislike my presumption."
" No : I think cheek a more expressive word than pre-
sumption ; and I mean that I like it — that it amuses me."
" Really ! What are you reading ? "
" Rubbish, you said just now. A novel."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 223
*'That is, a lying story of two people who never existed,
and who would have acted very diflferently if they had
existed."
"Just so."
" Could you not imagine something just as amusing for
yourself .^ "
" Perhaps so ; but it would be too much trouble. Besides,
cooking takes away one's appetite for eating. I should
not relish stories of my own confection."
" Which volume are you at } "
** The third."
" Then the hero and heroine are on the point of being
united } "
'* I really dont know. This is one of your clever novels.
I wish the characters would not talk so much."
** No matter. Two of them are in love with one another,
are they not } "
" Yes. It would not be a novel without that."
" Do you believe, in your secret soul, Agatha — I take the
liberty of using your Christian name because I wish to be
very solemn — do you really believe that any human being
was ever unselfish enough to love another in the story-book
fashion } "
" Of course. At least I suppose so. I have never thought
much about it."
" I doubt it. My own belief is that no latter-day man
has any faith in the thoroughness or permanence of his
affection for his mate. Yet he does not doubt the sincerity
of her professions ; and he conceals the hollowness of his
own from her, partly because he is ashamed of it, and partly
out of pity for her. And she, on her side, is playing
exactly the same comedy."
*' I believe that is what men do, but not women."
** Indeed ! Pray do you remember pretending to be very
much in love with me once when "
Agatha reddened, and placed her palm on the step as if
about to spring up. But she checked herself, and said,
*' Stop, Mr. Trefusis. If you talk about that I shall go
away. I wonder at you ! Have you no taste } "
■224 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" None whatever. And as I was the aggrieved party on
that — stay : dont go. I will never allude to it again. I
am growing afraid of you. You used to be afraid of me."
" Yes ; and you used to bully me. You have a habit of
bullying women who are weak enough to fear you. You
are a great deal cleverer than I, and know much more, I
daresay ; but I am not in the least afraid of you now."
** You have no reason to be, and never had any. Hen-
rietta, if she were alive, could testify that if there is a defect
in my relations with women, it arises from my excessive
amiability. I could not refuse a woman anything she had
set her heart upon — except my hand in marriage. As long
as your sex are content to stop short of that, they can do
as they please with me."
** Ho^ cruel ! I thought you were nearly engaged to
Gertrude."
*' The usual interpretation of a friendship between a
man and a woman ! I have never thought of such a thing ;
and I am sure she never has. We are not half so intimate
as you and Sir Charles."
** Oh, Sir Charles is married. And I advise you to get
married if you wish to avoid creating misunderstandings
by your friendships."
Trefusis was struck. Instead of answering, he stood,
after one startled glance at her, looking intently at the
knuckle of his forefinger.
" Do take pity on our poor sex," said Agatha maliciously.
" You are so rich, and so very clever, and really so nice
looking, that you ought to share yourself with somebody.
Gertrude would be only too happy."
Trefusis grinned, and shook his head, slowly but empha-
tically.
" I suppose / should have no chance," continued Agatha
pathetically.
" I should be delighted, of course," he replied with
simulated confusion, but with a lurking gleam in his eye
that might have checked her, had she noticed it.
** Do marry me, Mr. Trefusis," she pleaded, clasping her
hands in a rapture of mischievous raillery. " Pray do."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 225
** Thank you," said Trefusis determinedly: "I will."
** I am very sure you shant," said Agatha, after an incredu-
lous pause, springing up and gathering her skirt as if to
run away. " You do not suppose I was in earnest, do
you ? "
*' Undoubtedly I do. / am in earnest."
Agatha hesitated, uncertain whether he might not be
playing with her as she had just been playing with
him. *'Take care," she said. "I may change my mind
and be in earnest too ; and then how will you feel,
Mr. Trefusis } "
** I think, under our altered relations, you had better call
me Sidney."
" I think we had better drop the joke. It was in
rather bad taste ; and I should not have made' it, per-
haps."
*' It would be an execrable joke : therefore I have no
intention of regarding it as one. You shall be held to your
offer, Agatha. Are you in love with me .? "
" Not in the least. Not the very smallest bit in the world.
I do not know anybody with whom I am less in love or
less likely to be in love."
" Then you must marry me. If you were in love with
me, I should run away. My sainted Henrietta adored me ;
and I proved unworthy of adoration — though I was
immensely flattered."
" Yes : exactly ! The way you treated yciir first wife
ought to be sufficient to warn any woman against becoming
your second."
" Any woman who loved me, you mean. But you do
not love me ; and if I run away you will have the advantage
of being rid of me. Our settlements can be drawn so
as to secure you half my fortune in such an event."
** You will never have a chance of running away from
me."
" I shall not want to. I am not so squeamish as I was.
No : I do not think I shall run away from you."
" I do not think so either."
" Well : when shall we be married .? "
15
226 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** Never," said Agatha, and fled. But before she had
gone a step he caught her.
" Dont," she said breathlessly. ** Take your arm away.
How dare you } "
He released her and shut the door of the conservatory.
*' Now," he said, " if you want to run away, you will have
to run in the open."
" You are very impertinent. Let me go in immediately."
" Do you want me to beg you to marry me after you have
offered to do it freely .? "
" But I was only joking : I dont care for you," she
said, looking round for an outlet.
*' Agatha," he said, with grim patience : " half an hour
ago I had no more intention of marrying you than of
making a voyage to the moon. But when you made the
suggestion, I felt all its force in an instant ; and now
nothing will satisfy me but your keeping your word. Of all
the women I know, you are the only one not quite a fool."
** I should be a great fool if "
" If you married me, you were going to say ; but I dont
think so. I am the only man, not quite an ass, of your
acquaintance. I know my value, and yours. And I loved
you long ago, when I had no right to."
Agatha frowned. " No," she said. " There is no use
in saying anything more about it. It is out of the
question."
** Come : -dont be vindictive. I was more sincere then
than you were. But that has nothing to do with the present.
You have spent our renewed acquaintance on the defensive
against me, retorting upon me, teasing and tempting me.
Be generous for once ; and say Yes with a good will."
"■ Oh, I never tempted you," cried Agatha. ** I did not.
It is not true." He said nothing, but offered his hand.
*•' No : go away : I will not." He persisted ; and she felt
her power of resistance suddenly wane. Terror-stricken,
she said hastily, " There is not the least use in bothering
me : I will tell you nothing to-day."
" Promise me on your honour that you will say Yes to-
morrow ; and I will leave you in peace until then."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 227
" I will not."
** The deuce take your sex," he said plaintively. ** You
know my mind now ; and I have to stand here coquetting
because you dont know your own. If I cared for my
comfort I should remain a bachelor."
" I advise you to do so," she said, stealing backward
towards the door. " You are a very interesting widower.
A wife would spoil you. Consider the troubles of
domesticity, too."
** I like troubles. They strengthen — Aha ! " (she had
snatched at the knob of the door ; and he swiftly put his
hand on hers and stayed her). " Not yet, if you please.
Can you not speak out like a woman — like a man, I mean ?
You may withhold a bone from Max until he stands on his
hind legs to beg for it ; but you should not treat me like a
dog. Say Yes frankly, and do not keep me begging."
*' What in the world do you want to marry me for ? "
** Because I was made to carry a house on my shoulders,
and will do so. I want to do the best I can for myself ;
and I shall never have such a chance again. And I cannot
help myself, and dont know why : that is the plain truth
of the matter. You will marry someone someday." She
shook her head. " Yes, you will. Why not marry
me.?"
Agatha bit her nether lip ; looked ruefully at the ground ;
and, after a long pause, said reluctantly, " Very well. But
mind, I think you are acting very foolishly; and if you are
disappointed afterwards, you must not blame me.^^
" I take the risk of my bargain," he said, releasing her
hand, and leaning against the door as he took out his
pocket diary. "You will have to take the risk of yours,
which I hope may not prove the worse of the two. This
is the seventeenth of June. What date before the twenty-
fourth of July will suit you ? "
** You mean the twenty-fourth of July next year, I pre-
sume."
** No : I mean this year. I am going abroad on that
date, married or not, to attend a conference at Geneva ; and
I want you to come with me. I will show you a lot of
228 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
places and things that you have never seen before. It is
your right to name the day ; but you have no serious busi-
ness to provide for ; and I have."
" But you dont know all the things I shall — I should
have to provide. You had better wait until you come back
from the continent."
** There is nothing to be provided on your part but settle-
ments and your trousseau. The trousseau is all nonsense ;
and Jansenius knows me of old in the matter of settlements.
I got married in six weeks before."
" Yes," said Agatha sharply ; " but I am not Henrietta."
" No, thank Heaven," he assented placidly.
Agatha was struck with remorse. ** That was a vile
thing for me to say," she said ; ** and for you too."
" Whatever is true is to the purpose, vile or not. Will
you come to Geneva on the twenty-fourth } "
" But I really was not thinking when I I did
not intend to say that I would I "
" I know. You will come if we are married."
" Yes. 7/* we are married."
"We shall be married. Do not write either to your
mother or Jansenius until I ask you."
** I dont intend to. I have nothing to write about."
** Wretch that you are! And do .not be jealous if you
catch me making love to Lady Brandon. I always do so :
she expects it."
" You may make love to whom you please. It is no
concern of mine."
" Here comes the waggonette with Lady Brandon and
Ger and Miss Lindsay. I mustnt call her Gertrude
now except when you are not by. Before they interrupt us,
let me remind you of the three points we are agreed upon.
I love you. You do not love me. We are to be married
before the twenty-fourth of next month. Now I must fly
to help her ladyship to alight."
He hastened to the house door, at which the waggonette
had just stopped. Agatha, bewildered, and ashamed to
face her friends, went in through the conservatory, and
locked herself into her room.
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 229
Trefusis'went into the library with Gertrude whilst Lady
Brandon loitered in the hall to take off her gloves and ask
questions of the servants. When she followed, she found
the two standing together at the window. Gertrude was
listening to him with the patient expression she now often
wore when he talked. He was smiling ; but it struck Jane
that he was not quite at ease.
" I was just beginning to tell Miss Lindsay," he said,
** of an extraordinary thing that has happened during your
absence."
** I know," exclaimed Jane, with sudden conviction.
" The heater in the conservatory has cracked."
" Possibly," said Trefusis ; ** but, if so, I have not heard
of it."
"If it hasnt cracked, it will," said Jane gloomily.
Then, assuming with some effort an interest in Trefusis's
news, she added, "Well: what has happened.'*"
** I was chatting with Miss Wylie just now, when a sin-
gular idea occurred to us. We discussed it for some time ;
and the upshot is that we are to be married before the
end of next month."
Jane reddened and stared at him ; and he looked keenly
back at her. Gertrude, though unobserved, did not suffer
her expression of patient happiness to change in the least ;
but a greenish white colour suddenly appeared in her face,
and only gaye place very slowly to her usual complexion.
"Do you mean to say that you are going to marry
Agatha .<'" said Lady Brandon incredulously, after a pause.
" Yes. I had no intention of doing so when I last saw
you, or I should have told you."
" I never heard of such a thing in my life ! You fell in
love with one another in five minutes, I suppose."
" Good Heavens, no ! we are not in love with one
another. Can you believe that I would marry for such
a frivolous reason } No. The subject turned up acci-
dentally; and the advantages of a match between us
struck me forcibly. I was fortunate enough to convert
her to my opinion."
" Yes : she wanted a lot of pressing, I dare say," said
230 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Jane, glancing at Gertrude, who was smiling un-
meaningly.
** As you imply," said Trefusis coolly, " her reluctance
may have been affected, and she only too glad to get such
a charming husband. Assuming that to be the case, she
dissembled remarkably well."
Gertrude took off her bonnet, and left the room without
speaking.
•'This is my revenge upon you for marrying Brandon,"
he said then, approaching Jane.
** Oh yes," she retorted ironically. " I believe all that,
of course."
"You have the same security for its truth as for that of
all the foolish things I confess to you. There ! " He
pointed to a panel of looking glass, in which Jane's figure
was reflected at full length.
" I dont see anything to admire," said Jane, looking at
herself with no great favour. *' There is plenty of me, if
you admire that."
"It is impossible to have too much of a good thing.
But I must not look any more. Though Agatha says she
does not love me, I am not sure that she would be pleased
if I were to look for love from anyone else."
" Says she does not love you ! Dont believe her : she
has taken trouble enough to catch you."
" I am flattered. You caught me without any trouble ;
and yet you would not have me."
*' It is manners to wait to be asked. I think you have
treated Gertrude shamefully — I hope you wont be offended
with me for saying so. I blame Agatha most. She is an
awfully double-faced girl."
" How so .?" said Trefusis, surprised. "What has Miss
Lindsay to do with it } "
" You know very well."
" I assure you I do not. If you were speaking of your-
self, I could understand you."
" Oh, you can get out of it very cleverly, like all men ;
but you cant hoodwink me. You shouldnt have pretended
to like Gertrude when^ you were really pulling a cord with
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 231
Agatha. And she, too, pretending to flirt with Sir Charles
— as if he would care twopence for her ! "
Trefusis seemed a little disturbed. " I hope Miss
Lindsay had no such — but she could not."
" Oh, couldnt she } You will soon see whether she had
or not."
** You misunderstood us, Lady Brandon : Miss Lindsay
knows better. Remember, too, that this proposal of mine
was quite unpremeditated. This morning I had no tender
thoughts of anyone — except one whom it would be im-
proper to name."
" Oh, that is all talk. It wont do nowT
" I will talk no more at present : I must be off to the
village to telegraph to my solicitor. If I meet Erskine, I
will tell him the good news."
*' He will be delighted. He thought, as we all did, that
you were cutting him out with Gertrude."
Trefusis smiled ; shook his head ; and, with a glance of
admiring homage to Jane's charms, went out. Jane was
contemplating herself in the glass when a servant begged
her to come and speak to Master Charles and Miss Fanny.
She hurried upstairs to the nursery, where her boy and
girl, disputing each other's prior right to torture the baby,
had come to blows. They were somewhat frightened, but
not at all appeased, by Jane's entrance. She scolded,
coaxed, threatened, bribed, quoted Dr. Watts, appealed to
the nurse and then insulted her, demanded of the children
whether they loved one another, whether they loved
mamma, and whether they wanted a right good whipping.
At last, exasperated by her own inability to restore order,
she seized the baby, which had cried incessantly through-
out ; and, declaring that it was doing it on purpose and
should have something real to cry for, gave it an exem-
plary smacking, and ordered the others to bed. The boy,
awed by the fate of his infant brother, offered, by way of
compromise, to be good if Miss Wylie would come and
play with him : a proposal which provoked from his
jealous mother a box on the ear that sent him howling
to his cot. Then she left the room, pausing on the thres-
232 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
hold to remark that if she heard another sound from them
that day, they might expect the worst from her. On
descending, heated and angry, to the drawing-room, she
found Agatha there alone, looking out of window as if
the landscape were especially unsatisfactory this time.
*' Selfish little beasts ! " exclaimed Jane, making a
miniature whirlwind with her skirts as she came in.
** Charlie is a perfect little fiend. He spends all his time
thinking how he can annoy me. Ugh ! He's just like
his father."
** Thank you, my dear," said Sir Charles, from the
doorway.
Jane laughed. ** I knew you were there," she said.
"Where's Gertrude.?"
** She has gone out," said Sir Charles.
** Nonsense ! She has only just come in from driving
with me."
" I do not know what you mean by nonsense," said Sir
Charles, chafing. ** I saw her walking along the Riverside
Road. I was in the village road ; and she did not see
me. She seemed in a hurry."
** I met her on the stairs, and spoke to her," said
Agatha; "but she didnt hear me."
** I hope she is not going to throw herself into the
river," said Jane. Then, turning to her husband, she
added, " Have you heard the news } "
** The only news I have heard is from this paper," said
Sir Charles, taking out a journal, and flinging it on the
table. " There is a paragraph in it stating that I. have
joined some infernal Socialistic league ; and I am told
that there is an article in the Times on the spread of
Socialism, in which my name is mentioned. This is all
due to Trefusis ; and I think he has played me a most
dishonourable trick. I will tell him so, too, when next
I see him."
"You had better be careful what you say of him before
Agatha," said Jane. "Oh, you need not be alarmed,
Agatha : I know all about it. He told us in the library.
We went out this morning — Gertrude and I ; and when
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 233
we came back we found Mr. Trefusis and Agatha talking
very lovingly to one another on the conservatory steps,
newly engaged."
" Indeed ! " said Sir Charles, disconcerted and dis-
pleased, but trying to smile. **I may then congratulate
you, Miss Wylie } "
" You need not," said Agatha, keeping her countenance
as well as she could. " It was only a joke. At least it
came about quite in jest. He has no right to say that we
are engaged."
" Stuff and nonsense," said Jane. ** That wont do,
Agatha. He has gone off to telegraph to his solicitor.
He is quite in earnest."
"I am a great fool," said Agatha, sitting down and
twisting her hands perplexedly. " I believe I said some-
thing ; but I really did not intend to. He surprised me
into speaking before I knew what I was saying. A pretty
mess I have got myself into ! "
** I am glad you have been outwitted at last," said Jane,
laughing spitefully. ** You never had any pity for me
when I could not think of the proper thing to say at a
moment's notice."
Agatha let the taunt pass unheeded. Her gaze wandered
anxiously, and at last settled appealingly upon Sir Charles.
** What shall I do } " she said to him.
** Well, Miss Wylie," he said gravely : " if you did not
mean to marry him, you should not have promised. I
dont wish to be unsympathetic ; and I know that it is very
hard to get rid of Trefusis when he makes up his mind to
get something out of you ; but still "
" Never mind her," said Jane, interrupting him. " She
wants to marry him just as badly as he wants to marry her.
You would be preciously disappointed if he cried off,
Agatha ; for all your interesting reluctance."
" That is not so, really," said Agatha, earnestly. " I
wish I had taken time to think about it. I suppose he has
told everybody by this time."
" May we then regard it as settled } " said Sir Charles.
*' Of course you may," said Jane contemptuously.
234 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Pray allow Miss Wylie to speak for herself, Jane. I
confess I do not understand why you are still in doubt —
if you have really engaged yourself to him."
" I suppose I am in for it," said Agatha. " I feel as if
there were some fatal objection, if I could only remember
what it is. I wish I had never seen him."
Sir Charles was puzzled. " I do not understand ladies'
ways in these matters," he said. ** However, as there
seems to be no doubt that you and Trefusis are engaged,
I shall of course say nothing that would make it un-
pleasant for him to visit here ; but I must say that he has
— to say the least — been inconsiderate to me personally.
I signed a paper at his house on the implicit understanding
that it was strictly private ; and now he has trumpeted it
forth to the whole world, and publicly associated my name
not only with his own, but with those of persons of whom
I know nothing except that I would rather not be connected
with them in any way."
"What does it matter.?" said Jane. *' Nobody cares
twopence."
** / care," said Sir Charles angrily. " No sensible
person can accuse me of exaggerating my own importance
because I value my reputation sufficiently to object to my
approval being publicly cited in support of a cause with
which I have no sympathy."
" Perhaps Mr. Trefusis has had nothing to do with it,"
said Agatha. ** The papers publish whatever they please,
dont they ? "
" That's right, Agatha," said Jane maliciously. " Dont
let anyone speak ill of him."
" I am not speaking ill of him," said Sir Charles, before
Agatha could retort. " It is a mere matter of feeling ; and
I should not have mentioned it had I known the altered
relations between him and Miss Wylie."
** Pray dont speak of them," said Agatha. " I have a
mind to run away by the next train."
Sir Charles, to change the subject, suggested a duet.
Meanwhile, Erskine, returning through the village from
his morning ride, had met Trefusis, and attempted to pass
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 235
him with a nod. But Trefusis called to him to stop ; and
he dismounted reluctantly.
" Just a word to say that I am going to be married,"
said Trefusis.
" To } " Erskine could not add Gertrude's name.
**To one of our friends at the Beeches. Guess to
which."
" To Miss Lindsay, I presume."
** What in the fiend's name has put it into all your heads
that Miss Lindsay and I are particularly attached to one
another?" exclaimed Trefusis. " You have always appeared
to me to be the man for Miss Lindsay. I am going to
marry Miss Wylie."
" Really ! " exclaimed Erskine, with a sensation of
suddenly thawing after a bitter frost.
" Of course. And now, Erskine, you have the advantage
of being a poor man. Do not I'et that splendid girl marry
for money. If you go further you are likely to fare worse ;
and so is she." Then he nodded and walked away, leaving
the other staring after him.
*' If he has jilted her, he is a scoundrel," said Erskine.
" I am sorry I didnt tell him so."
He mounted, and rode slowly along the Riverside Road,-
partly suspecting Trefusis of some mystification, but
inclining to believe in him, and, in any case, to take his
advice as to Gertrude. The conversation he had overheard
in the avenue still perplexed him. He could not reconcile
it with Trefusis's profession of disinterestedness towards
her.
His bicycle carried him noiselessly on its indiarubber
tires to the place by which the hemlock grew ; and there
he saw Gertrude sitting on the low earthern wall that
separated the field from the road. Her straw bag, with
her scissors in it, lay beside her. Her fingers were inter-
laced ; and her hands rested, palms downwards, on her
knee. Her expression was rather vacant, and so little
suggestive of any serious emotion that Erskine laughed as
he alighted close to her.
•* Are you tired } " he said.
236 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** No," she replied, not startled, and smiling mechani-
cally — an unusual condescension on her part.
** Indulging in a day-dream ? "
" No." She moved a little to one side, and concealed
the basket with her dress.
He began to fear that something was wrong. "Is it
possible that you have ventured among those poisonous
plants again.?" he said. "Are you ill.?"
" Not at all," she replied, rousing herself a little. " Your
solicitude is quite thrown away. I am perfectly well."
" I beg your pardon," he said, snubbed. " I thought
Dont you think it dangerous to sit on that damp wall } "
*' It is not damp. It is crumbling into dust with dry-
ness." An unnatural laugh, with which she concluded,
intensified his uneasiness.
He began a sentence ; stopped ; and, to gain time to
recover himself, placed his velocipede in the opposite
ditch : a proceeding which she witnessed with impatience,
as it indicated his intention to stay and talk. She, however,
was the first to speak ; and she did so with a callousness
that shocked him.
" Have you heard the news } "
" What news } "
" About Mr. Trefusis and Agatha. They are engaged."
" So Trefusis told me. I met him just now in the village.
I was very glad to hear it."
" Of course."
" But I had a special reason for being glad."
" Indeed } "
" I was desperately afraid, before he told me the truth,
that he had other views — views that might have proved
fatal to my dearest hopes."
Gertrude frowned at him ; and the frown roused him to
brave her. He lost his self-command, already shaken by
her strange behaviour. " You know that I love you. Miss
Lindsay," he said. " It may not be a perfect love ; but,
humanly speaking, it is a true one. I almost told you so
that day when we were in the billiard room together ; and
I did a very dishonourable thing the same evening. When
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 237
you were speaking to Trefusis in the avenue, I was close
to you ; and I listened."
"Then you heard him," cried Gertrude vehemently.
" You heard him swear that he was in earnest."
** Yes," said Erskine, trembling ; " and I thought he
meant in earnest in loving you. You can hardly blame
me for that: I was in love myself; and love is blind and
jealous. I never hoped again until he told me that he
was to be married to Miss Wylie. May I speak to you,
now that I know I was mistaken, or that you have changed
your mind ? "
** Or that he has changed his mind," said Gertrude
scornfully.
Erskine, with a new anxiety for her sake, checked him-
self. Her dignity was dear to him ; and he saw that her
disappointment had made her reckless of it. ** Do not
say anything to me now, Miss Lindsay, lest "
** What have I said ? What have I to say ? "
"Nothing, except on my own affairs. I love you dearly."
She made an impatient movement, as if that were
a very insignificant matter.
" You believe me, I hope," he said, timidly.
Gertrude made an effort to recover her habitual ladylike
reserve ; but her energy failed before she had done more
than raise her head. She relapsed into her listless attitude,
and made a faint gesture of intolerance.
"You cannot be quite indifferent to being loved," he
said, becoming more nervous and more urgent. " Your
existence constitutes all my happiness. I offer you my
services and devotion. I do not ask any reward." (He
was now speaking very quickly and almost inaudibly.)
" You may accept my love without returning it. I do not
want — seek to make a bargain. If you need a friend, you
may be able to rely on me more confidently because you
know I love you."
" Oh, you think so," said Gertrude, interrupting him ;
" but you will get over it. I am not the sort of person
that men fall in love with. You will soon change your
mind."
238 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
" Not the sort ! Oh, how little you know ! " he said,
becoming eloquent. " I have had plenty of time to
change ; but I am as . fixed as ever. If you doubt, wait
and try me. But do not be rough with me. You pain
me more than you can imagine, when you are hasty or
indifferent. I am in earnest."
*' Ha, ha ! That is easily said."
** Not by me. I change in my judgment of other people
according to my humour ; but I believe steadfastly in your
goodness and beauty — as if you were an angel. I am in
earnest in my love for you as I am in earnest for my own
life, which can only be perfected by your aid and in-
fluence."
" You are greatly mistaken if you suppose that I am an
angel."
"You are wrong to mistrust yourself; but it is what I
owe to you and not what I expect from you that I try to
express by speaking of you as an angel. I know that you
are not an angel to yourself But you are to me."
She sat stubbornly silent.
** I will not press you for an answer now. I am content
that you know my mind at last. Shall we return to-
gether } "
She looked round slowly at the hemlock, and from that
to the river. Then she took up her basket ; rose ; and
prepared to go, as if under compulsion.
** Do you want any more hemlock } " he said. *' If so,
I will pluck some for you."
'* I wish you would let me alone," she said, with sudden
anger. She added, a little ashamed of herself, " I have a
headache."
" I am very sorry," he said, crestfallen.
"It is only that I do not wish to be spoken to. It
hurts my head to listen."
He meekly took his bicycle from the ditch, and wheeled
it along beside her to the Beeches without another word.
They went in through the conservatory, and parted in the
dining-room. Before leaving him she said, with some
remorse, " I did not mean to be rude, Mr. Erskine."
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 239
He flushed ; murmured something ; and attempted to
kiss her hand. But she snatched it away and went out
quickly. He was stung by this repulse, and stood mortify-
ing himself by thinking of it until he was disturbed by the
entrance of a maid-servant. Learning from her that Sir
Charles was in the billiard-room, he joined him there, and
asked him carelessly if he had heard the news.
'* About Miss Wylie ? " said Sir Charles. " Yes, I
should think so. I believe the whole country knows it,
though they have not been engaged three hours. Have
you seen these } " And he pushed a couple of newspapers
across the table.
Erskine had to make several efforts before he could
read. " You were a fool to sign that document," he said.
*' I told you so at the time."
** I relied on the fellow being a gentleman," said Sir
Charles warmly. '* I do not see that I was a fool. I see
that he is a cad ; and but for this business of Miss Wylie's
I would let him know my opinion. Let me tell you,
Chester, that he has played fast and loose with Miss
Lindsay. There is a deuce of a row upstairs. She has
just told Jane that she must go home at once ; Miss
Wylie declares that she will have nothing to do with
Trefusis if Miss Lindsay has a prior claim to him ; and
Jane is annoyed at his admiring anybody except herself.
It serves me right : my instinct warned me against the
fellow from the first."
Just then luncheon was announced. Gertrude did not
come down. Agatha was silent and moody. Jane tried
to make Erskine describe his walk with Gertrude ; but he
baffled her curiosity by omitting from his account every-
thing except its commonplaces.
" I think her conduct very strange," said Jane. ** She
insists on going to town by the four o'clock train. I
consider that it's not polite to me, although she always
made a point of her perfect manners. I never heard of
such a thing ! "
When they had risen from table, they went together to
the drawing-room. They had hardly arrived there when
240 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
Trefusis was announced ; and he was in their presence
before they had time to conceal the expression of con-
sternation his name brought into their faces.
** I have come to say good-bye," he said. " I find that
I must go to town by the four o'clock train to push my
arrangements in person : the telegrams I have received
breathe nothing but delay. Have you seen the Times ? "
" I have indeed," said Sir Charles, emphatically.
" You are in some other paper too, and will be in half-
a-dozen more in the course of the next fortnight. Men
who have committed themselves to an opinion are always
in trouble with the newspapers: some because they cannot
get into them : others because they cannot keep out. If
you had put forward a thundering revolutionary manifesto,
not a daily paper would have dared allude to it: there
is no cowardice like Fleet Street cowardice ! I must run
off : I have much to do before I start ; and it is getting
on for three. Good-bye, Lady Brandon, and everybody."
He shook Jane's hand ; dealt nods to the rest rapidly,
making no distinction in favour of Agatha ; and hurried
away. They stared after him for a moment ; and then
Erskine ran out and went downstairs two steps at a time.
Nevertheless he had to run as far as the avenue before he
overtook his man.
"Trefusis," he said breathlessly: "you must not go by
the four o'clock train."
"Why not.?"
" Miss Lindsay is going to town by it."
" So much the better, my dear boy ; so much the better.
You are not jealous of me now, are you ? "
" Look here, Trefusis. I dont know and I dont ask
what there has been between you and Miss Lindsay ; but
your engagement has quite upset her ; and she is running
away to London in consequence. If she hears that you
are going by the same train, she will wait until to-morrow ;
and I believe the delay would be very disagreeable. Will
you inflict that additional pain upon her ? "
Trefusis, evidently concerned, looking doubtfully at
Erskine, and pondered for a moment. " I think you are
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 241
on a wrong scent about this," he said. *' My relations
with Miss Lindsay were not of a sentimental kind. Have
you said anything to her } — on your own account, I
mean."
" I have spoken to her on both accounts ; and I know
from her own lips that I am right."
Trefusis uttered a low whistle.
" It is not the first time I have had the evidence of
my senses in the matter," said Erskine significantly.
'* Pray think of it seriously, Trefusis. Forgive my telling
you frankly that nothing but your own utter want of feeling
could excuse you for the way in which you have acted
towards her."
Trefusis smiled. " Forgive me in turn for my inquisi-
tiveness," he said. " What does she say to your suit } "
Erskine hesitated, shewing by his manner that he
thought Trefusis had no right to ask the question. *' She
says nothing," he answered.
" Hm ! " said Trefusis. ** Well, you may rely on me as
to the train. There is my hand upon it."
" Thank you," said Erskine fervently. They shook
hands and parted : Trefusis walking away with a grin
suggestive of anything but good faith.
CHAPTER XVH.
Gertrude, unaware of the extent to which she had
already betrayed her disappointment, believed that anxiety
for her father's health, which she alleged as the motive of
her sudden departure, was an excuse plausible enough to
blind her friends to her overpowering reluctance to speak
to Agatha or endure her presence ; to her fierce shrinking
from the sort of pity usually accorded to a jilted woman ;
and, above all, to her dread of meeting Trefusis. She had
for some time past thought of him as an upright and
perfect man deeply interested in her. Yet, comparatively
16
242 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
liberal as her education had been, she had no idea of any
interest of man in woman existing apart from a desire to
marry. He had, in his serious moments, striven to make
her sensible of the baseness he saw in her worldliness,
flattering her by his apparent conviction — which she
shared — that she was capable of a higher life. Almost in
the same breath, a strain of gallantry which was incorrigi-
ble in him, and to which his humour and his tenderness to
women whom he liked gave variety and charm, would
supervene upon his seriousness with a rapidity which her
far less flexible temperament could not follow. Hence
she, thinking him still in earnest when he had swerved
into florid romance, had been dangerously misled. He
had no conscientious scruples in his love-making, because
he was unaccustomed to consider himself as likely to
inspire love in women ; and Gertrude did not know that
her beauty gave to an hour spent alone with her a transient
charm which few men of imagination and address could
resist. She, who had lived in the marriage market since
she had left school, looked upon love-making as the most
serious business of life. To him it was only a pleasant
sort of trifling, enhanced by a dash of sadness in the
reflection that it meant so little.
Of the ceremonies attending her departure, the one that
cost her most was the kiss she felt bound to offer Agatha.
She had been jealous of her at college, where she had
esteemed herself the better bred of the two ; but that
opinion had hardly consoled her for Agatha's superior
quickness of wit, dexterity of hand, audacity, aptness of
resource, capacity for forming or following intricate
associations of ideas, and consequent power to dazzle
others. Her jealousy of these qualities was now barbed
by the knowledge that they were much nearer akin than
her own to those of Trefusis. It mattered little to her
how she appeared to herself in comparison with Agatha.
But it mattered the whole world (she thought) that she
must appear to Trefusis so slow, stiff", cold, and studied,
and that she had no means to make him understand that
she was not really so. For she would not admit the
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 243
justice of impressions made by what she did not intend
to do, however habitually she did it. She had a theory
that she was not herself, but what she would have liked
to be. As to the one quality in which she had always
felt superior to Agatha, and which she called " good
breeding," Trefusis had so far destroyed her conceit in
that, that she was beginning to doubt whether it was not
her cardinal defect.
She could not bring herself to utter a word as she em-
braced her schoolfellow ; and Agatha was tongue-tied too.
But there was much remorseful tenderness in the feelings that
choked them. Their silence would have been awkward but
for the loquacity of Jane, who talked enough for all three.
Sir Charles was without, in the trap, waiting to drive Ger-
trude to the station. Erskine intercepted her in the hall
as she passed out ; told her that he should be desolate
when she was gone ; and begged her to remember him :
a simple petition which moved her a little, and caused her
to note that his dark eyes had a pleading eloquence which
she had observed before in the kangaroos at the Zoological
Society's gardens.
On the way to the train, Sir Charles worried the horse in
order to be excused from conversation on the sore subject
of his guest's sudden departure. He made a few remarks on
the skittishness of young ponies, and on the weather ; and
that was all until they reached the station, a pretty building
standing in the open country, with a view of the river from
the platform. There were two flies waiting, two porters,
a bookstall, and a refreshment room with a neglected
beauty pining behind the bar. Sir Charles waited in the
booking office to purchase a ticket for Gertrude, who went
through to the platform. The first person she saw there
was Trefusis, close beside her.
*' I am going to town by this train, Gertrude," he said
quickly. " Let me take charge of you. I have something
to say ; for I hear that some mischief has been made be-
tween us which must be stopped at once. You "
Just then Sir Charles came out, and stood amazed to see
them in conversation.
244 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
"It happens that I am going by this train," said Trefusis.
*' I will see after Miss Lindsay."
*'Mjss Lindsay has her maid with her," said Sir Charles,
almost stammering, and looking at Gertrude, whose expres-
sion was inscrutable.
"We can get into the Pullman car," said Trefusis.
" There we shall be as private as in a corner of a crowded
drawing-room. I may travel with you, may I not .'^ " he
said, seeing Sir Charles's disturbed look, and turning to
her for express permission.
She felt that to deny him would be to throw away her
last chance of happiness. Nevertheless she resolved to do
it, though she should die of grief on the way to London.
As she raised her head to forbid him the more emphatically,
she met his gaze, which was grave and expectant. For an
instant she lost her presence of mind, and in that instant
said, " Yes. I shall be very glad."
" Well, if that is the case," said Sir Charles, in the tone
of one whose sympathy had been alienated by an un-
pardonable outrage, " there can be no use in my waiting.
I leave you in the hands of Mr. Trefusis. Good-bye, Miss
Lindsay."
Gertrude winced. Unkindness from a man usually kind
proved hard to bear at parting. She was offering him her
hand in silence when Trefusis said,
"Wait and see us off. If we chance to be killed on the
journey — which is always probable on an English railway
— you will reproach yourself afterwards if you do not see
the last of us. Here is the train : it will not delay you a
minute. Tell Erskine that you saw me here ; that I have
not forgotten my promise ; and that he may rely on me.
Get in at this end. Miss Lindsay."
" My maid," said Gertrude hesitating ; for she had not
intended to travel so expensively. " She "
" She comes with us to take care of me : I have tickets
for everybody," said Trefusis, handing the woman in.
" But "
" Take your seats, please," said the guard. " Going by
the train, sir } "
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 245
" Good-bye, Sir Charles. Give my love to Lady Brandon,
and Agatha, and the dear children ; and thanks so much
for a very pleasant " Here the train moved off ; and
Sir Charles, melting, smiled and waved his hat until he
caught sight of Trefusis looking back at him with a grin
which seemed, under the circumstances, so Satanic, that he
stopped as if petrified in the midst of his gesticulations,
and stood with his arm out like a semaphore.
The drive home restored him somewhat ; but he was
still full of his surprise when he rejoined Agatha, his wife,
and Erskine, in the drawing-room at the Beeches. The
moment he entered, he said without preface, " She has
gone off with Trefusis."
Erskine, who had been reading, started up, clutching his
book as if about to hurl it at some one ; and cried,
" Was he at the train } "
** Yes, and has gone to town by it."
** Then," said Erskine, flinging the book violently on the
floor, *' he is a scoundrel and a liar."
"What is the matter.?" said Agatha rising, whilst Jane
stared openmouthed at him.
" I beg your pardon. Miss Wylie : I forgot you. He
pledged me his honour that he would not go by that train.
I will " He hurried from the room. Sir Charles
rushed after him, and overtook him at the foot of the
stairs.
" Where are you going ? What do you want to do .? "
" I will follow the train and catch it at the next station.
I can do it on my bicycle."
" Nonsense ! you're mad. They have thirty-five minutes
start ; and the train travels forty-five miles an hour."
Erskine sat down on the stairs, and gazed blankly at the
opposite wall.
"You must have mistaken him," said Sir Charles. " He
told me to tell you that he had not forgotten his promise,
and that you may rely on him."
" What is the matter } " said Agatha, coming down,
followed by Lady Brandon.
" Miss Wylie," said Erskine, springing up : ** he gave
246 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
me his word that he would not go by that train when I
told him Miss Lindsay was going by it. He has broken
his word and seized the opportunity I was mad and
credulous enough to tell him of. If I had been in your
place, Brandon, I would have strangled him or thrown
him under the wheels sooner than let him go. He has
shewn himself in this as in everything else, a cheat, a
conspirator, a man of crooked ways, shifts, tricks, lying
sophistries, heartless selfishness, cruel cynicism " He
stopped to catch his breath ; and Sir Charles interposed
a remonstrance.
"You are exciting yourself about nothing, Chester.
They are in a Pullman, with her maid and plenty of people;
and she expressly gave him leave to go with her. He
asked her the question flatly before my face ; and I must
say I thought it a strange thing for her to consent to.
However, she did consent; and of course I was not in
a position to prevent him from going to London if he
pleased. Dont let us have a scene, old man. It cant be
helped."
" I am very sorry," said Erskine, hanging his head. " I
did not mean to make a scene. I beg your pardon."
He went away to his room without another word. Sir
Charles followed and attempted to console him ; but
Erskine caught his hand, and asked to be left to himself.
So Sir Charles returned to the drawing-room, where his
wife, at a loss for once, hardly ventured to remark that she
had never heard of such a thing in her life.
Agatha kept silence. She had long ago come uncon-
sciously to the conclusion that Trefusis and she were the
only members of the party at the Beeches who had much
common sense ; and this made her slow to believe that he
could be in the wrong and Erskine in the right in any mis-
understanding between them. She had a slovenly way of
summing up as " asses " people whose habits of thought
differed from hers. Of all varieties of man, the minor poet
realized her conception of the human ass most completely ;
and Erskine, though a very nice fellow indeed, thoroughly
good and gentlemanly, in her opinon, was yet a minor poet,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 247
and therefore a pronounced ass. Trefusis, on the contrary,
was the last man of her acquaintance whom she would have
thought of as a very nice fellow or a virtuous gentleman ;
but he was not an ass, although he was obstinate in his
socialistic fads. She had indeed suspected him of weak-
ness almost asinine with respect to Gertrude ; but then all
men were asses in their dealings with women ; and since
he had transferred his weakness to her own account it no
longer seemed to need justification. And now, as her
concern for Erskine, whom she pitied, wore off, she began
to resent Trefusis' s journey with Gertrude as an attack on
her recently acquired monopoly of him. There was an air
of aristocratic pride about Gertrude which Agatha had
formerly envied, and which she still feared Trefusis might
mistake for an index of dignity and refinement. Agatha
did not believe that her resentment was the common feeling
called jealousy ; for she still deemed herself unique ; but it
gave her a sense of meanness that did not improve her
spirits.
The dinner was dull. Lady Brandon spoke in an under-
tone, as if someone lay dead in the next room. Erskine
was depressed by the consciousness of having lost his head
and acted foolishly in the afternoon. Sir Charles did not
pretend to ignore the suspense they were all in pending
intelligence of the journey to London : he ate and drank
and said nothing. Agatha, disgusted with herself and with
Gertrude, and undecided whether to be disgusted with
Trefusis or to trust him affectionately, followed the
example of her host. After dinner she accompanied him
in a series of songs by Schubert. This proved an aggra-
vation instead of a relief. Sir Charles, excelling in the
expression of melancholy, preferred songs of that character;
and as his musical ideas, like those of most Englishmen,
were founded on what he had heard in church in his child-
hood, his style was oppressively monotonous. Agatha
took the first excuse that presented itself to leave the piano.
Sir Charles felt that his performance had been a failure,
and remarked, after a cough or two, that he had caught a
touch of cold returning from the station. Erskine sat on
248 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
a sofa with his head drooping, and his pahns joined and
hanging downward between his knees. Agatha stood at
the window, looking at the late summer afterglow. Jane
yawned, and presently broke the silence.
" You look exactly as you used at school, Agatha. I
could almost fancy us back again in number six."
Agatha shook her head.
*' Do I ever look like that ? — like myself, as I used to be."
" Never," said Agatha emphatically, turning and sur-
veying the figure of which Miss Carpenter had been the
unripe antecedent.
" But why } " said Jane querulously. ** I dont see why
I shouldnt. I am not so changed."
" You have become an exceedingly fine woman, Jane,"
said Agatha gravely, and then, without knowing why,
turned her attentive gaze upon Sir Charles, who bore it
uneasily, and left the room. A minute later he returned
with two buff envelopes in his hand.
"A telegram for you. Miss Wylie ; and one for Chester."
Erskine started up, white with vague fears. Agatha's
colour went, and came again with increased richness as she
read,
/ have arrived safe and ridiculously happy. Read a thousand things
between the lines. I will write tomorrow. Good night.
"You may read it," said Agatha, handing it to Jane.
** Very pretty," said Jane. " A shillingsworth of attention
— exactly twenty words ! He may well call himself an
economist."
Suddenly a crowing laugh from Erskine caused them to
turn and stare at him. '* What nonsense ! " he said,
blushing. *' What a fellow he is ! I dont attach the
slightest importance to this."
Agatha took a corner of his telegram and pulled it
gently.
*' No, no," he said, holding it tightly. " It is too absurd.
I dont think I ought "
Agatha gave a decisive pull, and read the message aloud.
It was from Trefusis, thus,
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 249
I forgive your thoughts since Brandons rettirn. Write to her to-night ;
and follow your letter to receive an affirmative atistver in person. I
promised that you might rely on me. She loves you.
*' I never heard of such a thing in my life," said Jane.
" Never ! "
** He is certainly a most unaccountable man," said Sir
Charles.
*' I am glad, for my own sake, that he is not so black as
he is painted," said Agatha. ** You may believe every
word of it, Mr. Erskine. Be sure to do as he tells you.
He is quite certain to be right."
** Pooh ! " said Erskine, crumpling the telegram and
thrusting it into his pocket as if it were not worth a second
thought. Presently he slipped away, and did not reappear.
When they were about to retire. Sir Charles asked a
servant where he was.
"In the library, Sir Charles; writing."
They looked significantly at one another, and went to
bed without disturbing him.
CHAPTER XVHI.
When Gertrude found herself beside Trefusis in the
Pullman, she wondered how she came to be travelling
with him against her resolution, if not against her will.
In the presence of two women scrutinizing her as if they
suspected her of being there with no good purpose, a male
passenger admiring her a little further off, her maid
reading Trefusis's newspapers just out of earshot, an un-
interested country gentleman looking glumly out of window,
a city man preoccupied with the Economist, and a polite
lady who refrained from staring but not from observing,
she felt that she must not make a scene : yet she knew he
had not come there to hold an ordinary conversation.
Her doubt did not last long. He began promptly, and
went to the point at once.
250 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
** What do you think of this engagement of mine ? "
This was more than she could bear calmly. ** What is
it to me ?" she said indignantly. " I have nothing to do
with it."
"Nothing! You are a cold friend to me then. I
thought you one of the surest I possessed."
She moved as if about to look at him, but checked her-
self ; closed her lips ; and fixed her eyes on the vacant
seat before her. The reproach he deserved was beyond
her power of expression.
" I cling to that conviction still, in spite of Miss Lindsay's
indifference to my affairs. But I confess I hardly know how
to bring you into sympathy with me in this matter. In
the first place, you have never been married : I have. In
the next, you are much younger than I, in more respects
than that of years. Very likely half your ideas on the
subject are derived from fictions in which happy results
are tacked on to conditions very ill-calculated to produce
them — which in real life hardly ever do produce them. If
our friendship were a chapter in a novel, what would be the
upshot of it } Why, I should marry you ; or you break
your heart at my treachery."
Gertrude moved her eyes as if she had some intention of
taking to flight.
" Bat our relations being those of real life — far sweeter,
after all — I never dream of marrying you, having gained
and enjoyed your friendship without that eye to business
which our nineteenth century keeps open even whilst it
sleeps. You, being equally disinterested in your regard for
me, do not think of breaking your heart ; but you are, I
suppose, a little hurt at my apparently meditating and
resolving on such a serious step as marriage with Agatha
without confiding my intention to you. And you punish
me by telling me that you have nothing to do with it —
that it is nothing to you. But I never meditated the step,
and so had nothing to conceal from you. It was conceived
and executed in less than a minute. Although my first
marriage was a silly love match and a failure, I have always
admitted to myself that I should marry again. A bachelor
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 251
is a man who shirks responsibilities and duties : I seek
them, and consider it my duty, with my monstrous super-
fluity of means, not to let the individualists outbreed me.
Still, I was in no hurry, having other things to occupy me,
and being fond of my bachelor freedom, and doubtful some-
times whether I had any right to bring more idlers into
the world for the workers to feed. Then came the usual
difficulty about the lady. I did not want a helpmeet : I
can help myself. Nor did I expect to be loved devotedly ;
for the race has not yet evolved a man lovable on thorough
acquaintance : even my self-love is neither thorough nor
constant. I wanted a genial partner for domestic business ;
and Agatha struck me quite suddenly as being the nearest
approach to what I desired that I was likely to find in the
marriage market, where it is extremely hard to suit oneself,
and where the likeliest bargains are apt to be snapped up
by others if one hesitates too long in the hope of finding
something better. I admire Agatha's courage and capa-
bility, and believe I shall be able to make her like me,
and that the attachment so begun may turn into as close
a union as is either healthy or necessary between two
separate individuals. I may mistake her character ; for
I do not know her as I know you, and have scarcely
enough faith in her as yet to tell her such things as I have
told you. Still, there is a consoling dash of romance in
the transaction. Agatha has charm. Do you not think so .^ "
Gertrude's emotion was gone. She replied with cool
scorn, "Very romantic indeed. She is very fortunate."
Trefusis half laughed, half sighed with relief to find her
so self-possessed. " It sounds like — and indeed is — the
selfish calculation of a disilluded widower. You would not
value such an oifer, or envy the recipient of it } "
" No," said Gertrude with quiet contempt.
" Yet there is some calculation behind every such offer.
We marry to satisfy our needs ; and the more reasonable
our needs are, the more likely are we to get them satisfied.
I see you are disgusted with me : I feared as much. You
are the sort of woman to admit no excuse for my marriage
except love — pure emotional love, blindfolding reason."
252 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
I really do not concern myself-
** Do not say so, Gertrude. I watch every step you take
with anxiety ; and I do not believe you are indifferent to
the worthiness of my conduct. Believe me, love is an
overrated passion : it would be irremediably discredited
but that young people, and the romancers who live upon
their follies, have a perpetual interest in rehabilitating it.
No relation involving divided duties and continual inter-
course between two people can subsist permanently on love
alone. Yet love is not to be despised when it comes from a
fine nature. There is a man who loves you exactly as you
think I ought to love Agatha — and as I dont love her."
Gertrude's emotion stirred again ; and her colour rose.
** You have no right to say these things now," she said.
" Why may I not plead the cause of another } I speak
of Erskine." Her colour vanished ; and he continued,
*' I want you to marry him. When you are married you
will understand me better ; and our friendship, shaken
just now, will be deepened ; for I dare assure you, now
that you can no longer misunderstand me, that no living
woman is dearer to me than you. So much for the
inevitable selfish reason. Erskine is a poor man ; and in
his comfortable poverty — save the mark — lies your salva-
tion from the baseness of marrying for wealth and position :
a baseness of which women of your class stand in constant
peril. They court it : you must shun it. The man is
honourable and loves you : he is young, healthy, and
suitable. What more do you think the world has to offer
you
" Much more, I hope. Very much more."
*' I fear that the names I give things are not romantic
enough. He is a poet. Perhaps he would be a hero if it
were possible for a man to be a hero in this nineteenth
century, which will be infamous in history as a time when
the greatest advances in the power of man over nature only
served to sharpen his greed and make famine its avowed
minister. Erskine is at least neither a gambler nor a
slavedriver at first hand : if he lives upon plundered
labour, he can no more help himself than I. Do not say
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST. 253
that you hope for much more ; but tell me, if you can,
what more you have any chance of getting. Mind : I do
not ask what more you desire : we all desire unutterable
things. I ask you what more you can obtain ! "
" I have not found Mr. Erskine such a wonderful person
as you seem to think him."
" He is only a man. Do you know anybody more
wonderful } "
** Besides, my family might not approve."
** They most certainly will not. If you wish to please
them, you must sell yourself to some rich vampire of
the factories or great landlord. If you give yourself away
to a poor poet who loves you, their disgust will be un-
bounded. If a woman wishes to honour her father and
mother to their own satisfaction nowadays, she must
dishonour herself."
" I do not understand why you should be so anxious for
me to marry someone else } "
" Someone else } " said Trefusis, puzzled.
** I do not mean someone else," said Gertrude hastily,
reddening. " Why should I marry at all } "
*' Why do any of us marry } Why do I marry } It is a
function craving fulfilment. If you do not marry betimes
from choice, you will be driven to do so later on by the
importunity of your suitors and of your family, and by
weariness of the suspense that precedes a definite settlement
of oneself. Marry generously. Do not throw yourself
away or sell yourself : give yourself away. Erskine has as
much at stake as you ; and yet he offers himself fear-
lessly."
Gertrude raised her head proudly.
** It is true," continued Trefusis, observing the gesture
with some anger, '* that he thinks more highly of you than
you deserve ; but you, on the other hand, think too lowly
of him. When you marry him you must save him from a
cruel disenchantment by raising yourself to the level he
fancies you have attained. This will cost you an effort ;
and the effort will do you good, whether it fail or succeed.
As for him, he will find his just level in your estimation if
254 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
your thoughts reach high enough to comprehend him at
that level."
Gertrude moved impatiently.
** What ! " he said quickly. " Are my long-winded
sacrifices to the god of reason distasteful ? I believe I am
involuntarily making them so because I am jealous of the
fellow after all. Nevertheless I am serious : I want you
to get married ; though I shall always have a secret grudge
against the man who marries you. Agatha will suspect me
of treason if you dont. Erskine will be a disappointed
man if you dont. You will be moody, wretched, and —
and unmarried if you dont."
Gertrude's cheeks flushed at the word jealous, and again
at his mention of Agatha. *' And if I do," she said bitterly :
** what then } "
'* If you do, Agatha's mind will be at ease ; Erskine will
be happy ; and you ! You will have sacrificed yourself,
and will have the happiness which follows that when it is
worthily done."
*' It is you who have sacrificed me," she said, casting
away her reticence, and looking at him for the first time
during the conversation.
" I know it," he said, leaning towards her and half
whispering the words. '* Is not renunciation the beginning
and the end of wisdom } I have sacrificed you rather than
profane our friendship by asking you to share my whole life
with me. You are unfit for that ; and I have committed
myself to another union, and am begging you to follow my
example, lest we should tempt one another to a step which
would soon prove to you how truly I tell you that you are
unfit. I have never allowed you to roam through all the
chambers of my consciousness ; but I keep a sanctuary
there for you alone, and will keep it inviolate for you
always. Not even Agatha shall have the key : she must
be content with the other rooms — the drawing-room, the
working- room, the dining-room, and so forth. They would
not suit you : you would not like the furniture or the
guests : after a time you would not like the master. Will
you be content with the sanctuary } "
AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST, 255
Gertrude bit her lip : tears came into her eyes. She
looked imploringly at him. Had they been alone, she
would have thrown herself into his arms and entreated him
to disregard everything except their strong cleaving to one
another.
** And will you keep a corner of your heart for me } "
She slowly gave him a painful look of acquiescence.
•' Will you be brave, and sacrifice yourself to the poor
man who loves you } He will save you from useless
solitude, or from a worldly marriage — I cannot bear to
think of either as your fate."
** I do not care for Mr. Erskine," she said, hardly able
to control her voice; "but I will marry him if you wish
it."
" I do wish it earnestly, Gertrude."
** Then you have my promise," she said, again with some
bitterness.
" But you will not forget me } Erskine will have all
but that — a tender recollection — nothing."
** Can I do more than I have just promised } "
** Perhaps so ; but I am too selfish to be able to conceive
anything more generous. Our renunciation will bind us
to one another as our union could never have done."
They exchanged a long look. Then he took out his
watch, and began to speak of the length of their journey,
now nearly at an end. When they arrived in London, the
first person they recognized on the platform was Mr.
Jansenius.
*' Ah ! you got my telegram, I see," said Trefusis.
" Many thanks for coming. Wait for me whilst I put this
lady into a cab."
When the cab was engaged, and Gertrude, with her maid,
stowed within, he whispered to her hurriedly,
" In spite of all, I have a leaden pain here " (indicating
his heart). " You have been brave ; and I have been
wise. Do not speak to me ; but remember that we are
friends always and deeply."
He touched her hand, and turned to the cabman, direct-
ing him whither to drive. Gertrude shrank back into a
2S6 AN UNSOCIAL SOCIALIST.
corner of the vehicle as it departed. Then Trefusis,
expanding his chest like a man just released from some
cramping drudgery, rejoined Mr. Jansenius.
" There goes a true woman," he said. ** I have been
persuading her to take the very best step open to her. I
began by talking sense, like a man of honour, and kept at
it for half an hour ; but she would not listen to me. Then
I talked romantic nonsense of the cheapest sort for five
minutes ; and she consented with tears in her eyes. Let
us take this hansom. Hi ! Belsize Avenue. Yes : you
sometimes have to answer a woman according to her
womanishness, just as you have to answer a fool according
to his folly. Have you ever made up your mind, Jansenius,
whether I am an unusually honest man, or one of the worst
products of the social organization I spend all my energies
in assailing — an infernal scoundrel, in short } "
** Now pray do not be absurd," said Mr. Jansenius. *' I
wonder at a man of your ability behaving and speaking as
you sometimes do."
*' I hope a little insincerity, when meant to act as
chloroform — to save a woman from feeling a wound to her
vanity — is excusable. By-the-bye, I must send a couple of
telegrams from the first post office we pass. Well, sir, I am
going to marry Agatha, as I sent you word. There was
only one other single man, and one other virgin down at
Brandon Beeches ; and they are as good as engaged.
And so
' Jack shall have Jill ;
Nought shall go ill ;
The man shall have his mare again ;
And all shall be well.'"
London, 1883.
Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., Loudon and Aylesbury.