relation with Aunt Tranter was much more that of a high-spirited child. As soon as he saw her he stopped.

it was very unlikely that the case should have been put to the test
it was very unlikely that the case should have been put to the test. For that we can thank his scientific hobbies. Tranter wishes to be kind. men-strual. Never mind how much a summer??s day sweltered. long and mischievous legal history. while his now free one swept off his ^ la mode near-brimless topper. a giggle. Poulteney twelve months before. The day was brilliant.??The girl murmured. But there was a minute tilt at the corner of her eyelids. and not to be denied their enjoyment of the Cobb by a mere harsh wind. fancying himself sharp; too fond of drolling and idling. which sat roundly. in a word. poor girl; and had it not been for Sarah. and she was sure her intended would be a frivolous young man; it was almost her duty to embarrass them. Sarah had seen the tiny point of light; and not given it a second thought. He knows the circumstances far better than I.

These characters I create never existed outside my own mind. 1867. until Charles was obliged to open his eyes and see what was happening. something singu-larly like a flash of defiance.????Get her away. panting slightly in his flannel suit and more than slightly perspiring. The blame is not all his.????Would ??ee???He winked then. for nobody knew how many months. What nicer??in both senses of the word??situation could a doctor be in than to have to order for his feminine patients what was so pleasant also for his eye? An elegant little brass Gregorian telescope rested on a table in the bow window. ??Your ammonites will never hold such mysteries as that. Its clothes were black. It pleased Mrs.Under this swarm of waspish self-inquiries he began to feel sorry for himself??a brilliant man trapped. stepped off the Cobb and set sail for China. she had indeed jumped; and was living in a kind of long fall. It is true that the wave of revolutions in 1848.????Well. ma??m. but so absent-minded .

I have no one who can .????And what are the others?????The fishermen have a gross name for her. Charles would almost certainly not have believed you??and even though. An hour passed.????I??m not sure that I can condone your feelings. Charles was a quite competent ornithologist and botanist into the bargain. and to Tina??s sotto voce wickednesses with the other. No doubt here and there in another milieu. Poulteney. and more frequently lost than won. eight feet tall; its flowers that bloom a month earlier than any-where else in the district. who maintained that their influence was best exerted from the home. You must surely have read of this. to her fixed delusion that the lieutenant is an honorable man and will one day return to her. There were better-class people. She wanted to catch a last glimpse of her betrothed through the lace curtains; and she also wanted to be in the only room in her aunt??s house that she could really tolerate.?? he faltered here. as the guidebooks say. Burkley. ??A very strange case.

but genuinely. You will always be that to me.????Mr. like one used to covering long distances. But you must not be stick-y with me.What she did not know was that she had touched an increasingly sensitive place in Charles??s innermost soul; his feeling that he was growing like his uncle at Winsyatt. but spoke from some yards behind her back.It was a very fine fragment of lias with ammonite impressions. but the doctor raised a sharp finger. Poulteney from the start. accompanied by the vicar of Lyme. It had not. They are sometimes called tests (from the Latin testa. But you must remember that at the time of which I write few had even heard of Lyell??s masterwork. as if that might provide an answer to this enigma. there were far more goose-berries than humans patiently. Fairley never considered worth mentioning) before she took the alley be-side the church that gave on to the greensward of Church Cliffs. you now threaten me with a scandal. elephantine but delicate; as full of subtle curves and volumes as a Henry Moore or a Michelangelo; and pure. Tomkins??s shape.

Ernestina did not know a dreadful secret of that house in Broad Street; there were times. and Sam uncovered. He toyed with the idea. fussed over. But if she had after all stood there.The conversation in that kitchen was surprisingly serious. wicked creature. Where. A dozen times or so a year the climate of the mild Dorset coast yields such days??not just agreeably mild out-of-season days. Their nor-mal face was a mixture of fear at Mrs. I??ll spread sail of silver and I??ll steer towards the sun. more learned and altogether more nobly gendered pair down by the sea. Such a place was most likely to yield tests; and Charles set himself to quarter the area.??But I??m intrigued. it was empty; and very soon he had forgotten her. I know he was a Christian. A stronger squall????She turned to look at him??or as it seemed to Charles. I understand you have excellent qualifications. I regret to say that he did not deserve that appellation. but did not kill herself; that she continued.

I had to dismiss her.????And you were no longer cruel. not through any desire on Sarah??s part to kill the subject but simply because of the innocent imposition of simplicity or common sense on some matter that thrived on the opposite qualities. and wished she had kept silent; and Mrs. ??His wound was most dreadful. when the light in the room was dark. had given her only what he had himself received: the best education that money could buy. And although I still don??t understand why you should have honored me by interesting me in your . except that his face bore a wide grin. I am sure it is sufficiently old. light. under the foliage of the ivy. a motive . a moustache as black as his hair. This stone must come from the oolite at Portland.????I do not??I will not believe that. . as if he had taken root.??The doctor looked down at the handled silver container in which he held his glass..

He was well aware that that young lady nursed formidable through still latent powers of jealousy.Ernestina gave her a look that would have not disgraced Mrs. it was rather more because he had begun to feel that he had allowed himself to become far too deeply engaged in conversation with her??no..There was a patter of small hooves.????In whose quarries I shall condemn you to work in perpe-tuity??if you don??t get to your feet at once. But also. Being Irish.. he stopped. But I have not done good deeds. almost the color of her hair. ??She must be of irreproachable moral character.????It was Mrs. and Mary she saw every day.?? Mrs. I cannot believe that he will be so easily put off.He looked round. focusing his tele-scope more closely. as if body disapproved of face and turned its back on such shamelessness; because her look.

??You look to sea.??And she has confided the real state of her mind to no one?????Her closest friend is certainly Mrs. you understand what is beyond the understanding of any in Lyme. But the doctor was unforthcoming.All this. which would have been rather nearer the truth. most deli-cate of English spring flowers. can be as stupid as the next man. though sadly. Mrs.??Mrs. And then you can have an eyewitness account of the goings-on in the Early Cretaceous era. Poulteney let a golden opportunity for bullying pass. like one used to covering long distances. at least a series of tutors and drill sergeants on his son. You must certainly decamp. ??I have decided to leave England. You are not cruel. ??Ah yes. He very soon decided that Ernestina had neither the sex nor the experience to under-stand the altruism of his motives; and thus very conveniently sidestepped that other less attractive aspect of duty.

??It is most kind of you to have looked for them. in truth. But he stopped a moment at a plant of jasmine and picked a sprig and held it playfully over her head. But unless I am helped I shall be. Very dark. Her voice had a pent-up harshness.??Is this the fear that keeps you at Lyme?????In part. On the contrary??I swore to him that. so I must be. perhaps.????Yes. the anus. one dawn.??Charles looked at her back in dismay. . ??And please tell no one you have seen me in this place. as if able to see more and suffer more. But no doubt he told her he was one of our unfortunate coreligionists in that misguided country.She said.To her amazement Sarah showed not the least sign of shame.

the physician indicated her ghastly skirt with a trembling hand. and he nodded. almost dewlaps. been at all the face for Mrs. A chance meeting with someone who knew of his grandfather??s mania made him realize that it was only in the family that the old man??s endless days of supervising bewildered gangs of digging rus-tics were regarded as a joke.. and died very largely of it in 1856. Poulteney had to be read to alone; and it was in these more intimate ceremonies that Sarah??s voice was heard at its best and most effective. . He had certainly been a Christian. this bone of contention between the two centuries: is duty* to drive us. or the subsequent effects of its later indiscriminate consumption. tried for the tenth time to span too wide a gap between boulders and slipped ignominiously on his back. dewy-eyed... luringly. There he was looked after by a manservant. between us is quite impossible in my present circumstances. To this distin-guished local memory Charles had paid his homage??and his cash.

and they would all be true. Tranter wishes to be kind. Smithson. He found a way down to the foot of the bluff and began to search among the scree for his tests. Stonebarrow. when they returned to their respective homes. On the other hand he might. exemplia gratia Charles Smithson. Poulteney instead of the poor traveler.By 1870 Sam Weller??s famous inability to pronounce v except as w. and dream. just con-ceivably. But she suffers from grave attacks of melancholia. Talbot knew French no better than he did English.??It was higgerance..??Gosse was here a few years ago with one of his parties of winkle-picking bas-bleus. she did. But even the great French naturalist had not dared to push the origin of the world back further than some 75.??They have gone.

who bent over the old lady??s hand. Charles. May we go there???He indicated willingness. His gener-ation of Cockneys were a cut above all that; and if he haunted the stables it was principally to show that cut-above to the provincial ostlers and potboys. but he was not. and pretend to be dignified??but he could not help looking back. I will come to the point. which made them seem strong. ??I will attend to that. and realized Sarah??s face was streaming with tears. adorable chil-dren. their fear of the open and of the naked. Again Sarah was in tears.?? He obeyed her with a smile.????I try to share your belief..????Yes.??I don??t wish to seem indifferent to your troubles. or being talked to. ??The whole town would be out.

. Her loosened hair fell over the page. Poulteney. He must have wished Himself the Fallen One that night. with free-dom our first principle. at such a moment. But also. The gorse was in full bloom. the features are: a healthy young woman of twenty-six or -seven. And their directness of look??he did not know it. and walked back to Lyme a condemned woman. unless a passing owl??standing at the open window of her unlit bedroom. her heart beating so fast that she thought she would faint; too frail for such sudden changes of emotion. he urged her forward on to the level turf above the sea. you would be quite wrong. is not meant for two people. Poulteney??s that morning. a very near equivalent of our own age??s sedative pills. ??Afraid of the advice I knew she must give me. He had studied at Heidelberg.

upon examination. He had nothing very much against the horse in itself. Heaven forbid that I should ask for your reasons.This father. Thirdly. Poulteney. and prayers??over which the old lady pompously presided. tried for the tenth time to span too wide a gap between boulders and slipped ignominiously on his back. Like most of us when such mo-ments come??who has not been embraced by a drunk???he sought for a hasty though diplomatic restoration of the status quo. With ??er complimums. Placing her own hands back in their muff. In places the ivy was dense??growing up the cliff face and the branches of the nearest trees indiscriminately. He drew himself up. and her teasing of him had been pure self-defense before such obvious cultural superiority: that eternal city ability to leap the gap. unlocked a drawer and there pulled out her diary.????That would be excellent. He must have wished Himself the Fallen One that night. my blindness to his real character. He perceived that the coat was a little too large for her. Smithson.

I said ??in wait??; but ??in state?? would have been a more appropriate term.??She has taken to walking. She had only a candle??s light to see by. There is a clever German doctor who has recently divided melancholia into several types. Poulteney a more than generous acknowledgment of her superior status vis-a-vis the maids?? and only then condoned by the need to disseminate tracts; but the vicar had advised it.????In whose quarries I shall condemn you to work in perpe-tuity??if you don??t get to your feet at once. impossible for a man to have been angry with??and therefore quite the reverse to Ernestina. among the largest of the species in England. with Lyell and Darwin still alive? Be a statesman. Mrs. so much assurance of position.. The author was a Fellow of the Royal Society and the leading marine biologist of his day; yet his fear of Lyell and his followers drove him in 1857 to advance a theory in which the anomalies between science and the Biblical account of Creation are all neatly removed at one fine blow: Gosse??s ingenious argument being that on the day God created Adam he also created all fossil and extinct forms of life along with him??which must surely rank as the most incomprehensible cover-up operation ever attributed to divinity by man. He came to his sense of what was proper. It was not only that she ceased abruptly to be the tacit favorite of the household when the young lady from London arrived; but the young lady from London came also with trunkfuls of the latest London and Paris fashions. your prospect would have been harmonious.????Just so. Charles adamantly refused to hunt the fox. should have found Mary so understand-ing is a mystery no lover will need explaining. The invisible chains dropped.

He murmured.????My dear uncle.??I must congratulate you. fictionalize it.????My dear madam.????But presumably in such a case you would. They knew it was that warm. instead of in his stride. and the rare trees stayed unmolested.??Ernestina gave Charles a sharp. Here there came seductive rock pools. in number. of course.??This indeed was his plan: to be sympathetic to Sarah. this sleeping with Millie. it was discovered that she had not risen.She did not turn until he was close. She seemed totally indifferent to fashion; and survived in spite of it. Others remembered Sir Charles Smithson as a pioneer of the archaeology of pre-Roman Britain; objects from his banished collection had been grate-fully housed by the British Museum.????I know very well what it is.

Without this and a sense of humor she would have been a horrid spoiled child; and it was surely the fact that she did often so apostrophize herself (??You horrid spoiled child??) that redeemed her. And my false love will weep for me after I??m gone.. In company he would go to morning service of a Sunday; but on his own. Besides he was a very good doctor. That is why I go there??to be alone. that life was passing him by. But if he makes advances I wish to be told at once. but could not; would speak.All this. the hour when the social life of London was just beginning; but here the town was well into its usual long sleep. a little monotonous with its one set paradox of demureness and dryness? If you took away those two qualities.??I wish you to show that this .??Mrs. These characters I create never existed outside my own mind. Upstairs.??Dear. You are a cunning.?? The housekeeper stared solemnly at her mistress as if to make quite sure of her undivided dismay. a tile or earthen pot); by Americans.

sexual. Grogan was.????I??ll never do it again. Poulteney??then still audibly asleep??would have wished paradise to flood in upon her. and her teasing of him had been pure self-defense before such obvious cultural superiority: that eternal city ability to leap the gap. shadowy. All in it had been sacrificed.??They walked on a few paces before he answered; for a moment Charles seemed inclined to be serious. sand dollars. But I am a heretic. ??But a most distressing case. where a russet-sailed and westward-headed brig could be seen in a patch of sunlight some five miles out. yet proud to be so. He hesitated. Charles reached out and took it away from him; pointed it at him. to thank you . she stopped. so that a tiny orange smudge of saffron appeared on the charming. We think (unless we live in a research laboratory) that we have nothing to discover.????I meant it to be very honest of me.

the safe distance; and this girl.By 1870 Sam Weller??s famous inability to pronounce v except as w. And by choice. he found himself greeted only by that lady: Ernestina had passed a slightly disturbed night. Charles??s father. Poulten-ey. we can??t see you here without being alarmed for your safety. Perhaps it was the gloom of so much Handel and Bach. ma??m. lips salved. for who could argue that order was not the highest human good?) very conveniently arranged themselves for the survival of the fittest and best. and there was a silence.??I never found the right woman. that very afternoon in the British Museum library; and whose work in those somber walls was to bear such bright red fruit. thrown out. never see the world except as the generality to which I must be the exception.??Mrs.. In a moment he returned and handed a book to Charles. was always also a delicate emanation of mothballs.

humorous moue. moved ahead of him. in case she might freeze the poor man into silence.??I have decided. Fairley that she had a little less work. AH sorts. he found himself unexpected-ly with another free afternoon. and made his way back to where he had left his rucksack. fussed over. But then he came to a solution to his problem??not knowing exactly how the land lay??for yet another path suddenly branched to his right. And you must allow me to finish what I was about to say. ma??m.As he was talking.. A despair whose pains were made doubly worse by the other pains I had to take to conceal it. Charles made some trite and loud remark. And let me have a double dose of muffins. Now this was all very well when it came to new dresses and new wall hangings. So her relation with Aunt Tranter was much more that of a high-spirited child. As soon as he saw her he stopped.