Asamatteroffact，hesawthemverylittleduringhisvisit。Hecheckedhimselfbecausehewasunworthy。Whatrighthadhetopry，eveninthespirit，upontheirbliss？Itwasnocrimetohaveseenthemonthelawn。Itwouldbeacrimetogotoitagain。Hetriedtokeephimselfandhisthoughtsaway，notbecausehewasascetic，butbecausetheywouldnotlikeitiftheyknew。Thisbehaviourofhissuitedthemadmirably。Andwhenanygraciouslittlethingoccurredtothem——anylittlethingthathissympathyhadcontrivedandallowed——theyputitdowntochanceortoeachother。
Sotheloversfallintothebackground。Theyarepartofthedistantsunrise，andonlythemountainsspeaktothem。RickietalkstoMr。Pembroke，amidsttheunlitvalleysofourover—habitableworld。
IV
SawstonSchoolhadbeenfoundedbyatradesmanintheseventeenthcentury。Itwasthenatinygrammar—schoolinatinytown，andtheCityCompanywhogovernedithadtodrivehalfadaythroughthewoodsandheathontheoccasionoftheirannualvisit。Inthetwentiethcenturytheystilldrove，butonlyfromtherailwaystation;andfoundthemselvesnotinatinytown，noryetinalargeone，butamongstinnumerableresidences，detachedandsemi—detached，whichhadgatheredroundtheschool。Fortheintentionsofthefounderhadbeenaltered，oratalleventsamplified，insteadofeducatingthe\"pooreofmyhome，\"henoweducatedtheupperclassesofEngland。Thechangehadtakenplacenotsoveryfarback。Tillthenineteenthcenturythegrammar—schoolwasstillcomposedofdayscholarsfromtheneighbourhood。Thentwothingshappened。Firstly，theschool’spropertyroseinvalue，anditbecamerich。Secondly，fornoobviousreason，itsuddenlyemittedaquantityofbishops。Thebishops，likethestarsfromaRomancandle，wereallcolours，andflewinalldirections，somehigh，somelow，sometodistantcolonies，oneintotheChurchofRome。Butmanyafathertracedtheircourseinthepapers;manyamotherwonderedwhetherherson，ifproperlyignited，mightnotburnasbright;manyafamilymovedtotheplacewherelivingandeducationweresocheap，whereday—boyswerenotlookeddownupon，andwheretheorthodoxandtheup—to—dateweresaidtobecombined。Theschooldoubleditsnumbers。Itbuiltnewclass—rooms，laboratoriesandagymnasium。Itdroppedtheprefix\"Grammar。\"Itcoaxedthesonsofthelocaltradesmenintoanewfoundation，the\"CommercialSchool，\"builtacoupleofmilesaway。Anditstartedboarding—houses。IthadnotthegraciousantiquityofEtonorWinchester，nor，ontheotherhand，haditaconsciouspolicylikeLancing，Wellington，andotherpurelymodernfoundations。
Wheretraditionserved，itclungtothem。Wherenewdeparturesseemeddesirable，theyweremade。ItaimedatproducingtheaverageEnglishman，and，toaverygreatextent，itsucceeded。
HereMr。Pembrokepassedhishappyandindustriouslife。HistechnicalpositionwasthatofmastertoaformlowdownontheModernSide。Buthisworklayelsewhere。Heorganized。Ifnoorganizationexisted，hewouldcreateone。Ifonedidexist，hewouldmodifyit。\"Anorganization，\"hewouldsay，\"isafterallnotanendinitself。Itmustcontributetoamovement。\"Whenonegoodcustomseemedlikelytocorrupttheschool，hewasreadywithanother;hebelievedthatwithoutinnumerablecustomstherewasnosafety，eitherforboysormen。
Perhapsheisright，andalwayswillberight。Perhapseachofuswouldgotoruinifforoneshorthourweactedaswethoughtfit，andattemptedtheserviceofperfectfreedom。Theschoolcaps，withtheirelaboratesymbolism，werehis;histhemany—tintedbathing—drawers，thatshowedhowfaraboycouldswim;
histhehierarchyofjerseysandblazers。ItwashewhoinstitutedBounds，andcall，andthetwosortsofexercise—paper，andthethreesortsofcaning，and\"TheSawtonian，\"abi—terminalmagazine。Hisplumpfingerwasineverypie。Thedomeofhisskull，mildbutimpressive，shoneateverymaster’smeeting。Hewasgenerallyacknowledgedtobethecomingman。
Hislastachievementhadbeentheorganizationoftheday—boys。
Theyhadbeenlefttoomuchtothemselves，andwereweakinespritdecorps;theywereapttoregardhome，notschool，asthemostimportantthingintheirlives。Moreover，theygotoutoftheirparents’hands;theydidtheirpreparationanytimeandsometimesanyhow。Theyshirkedgames，theywereoutatallhours，theyatewhattheyshouldnot，theysmoked，theybicycledontheasphalt。Nowallwasover。Likeboarders，theyweretobeinat7:15P。M。，andwerenotallowedoutafterunlesswithawrittenorderfromtheirparentorguardian;they，too，mustworkatfixedhoursintheevening，andbeforebreakfastnextmorningfrom7to8。Gameswerecompulsory。Theymustnotgotopartiesintermtime。Theymustkeeptobounds。Ofcoursethereformwasnotcomplete。Itwasimpossibletocontrolthedieting，though，onaprintedcircular，day—parentswereimploredtoprovidesimplefood。Anditisalsobelievedthatsomemothersdisobeyedtheruleaboutpreparation，andallowedtheirsonstodoalltheworkover—nightandhavealongersleepinthemorning。Butthegulfbetweenday—boysandboarderswasconsiderablylessened，andgrewstillnarrowerwhentheday—boystoowereorganizedintoaHousewithhouse—masterandcoloursoftheirown。\"ThroughtheHouse，\"saidMr。Pembroke，\"onelearnspatriotismfortheschool，justasthroughtheschoolonelearnspatriotismforthecountry。
Ouronlycourse，therefore，istoorganizetheday—boysintoaHouse。\"Theheadmasteragreed，asheoftendid，andthenewcommunitywasformed。Mr。Pembroke，toavoidthetonguesofmalice，hadrefusedthepostofhouse—masterforhimself，sayingtoMr。Jackson，whotaughtthesixth，\"Youkeeptoomuchinthebackground。Hereisachanceforyou。\"Butthiswasafailure。
Mr。Jackson，ascholarandastudent，neitherfeltnorconveyedanyenthusiasm，andwhenconfrontedwithhisHouse，wouldsay，\"Well，Idon’tknowwhatwe’reallherefor。NowIshouldthinkyou’dbettergohometoyourmothers。\"Hereturnedtohisbackground，andnexttermMr。Pembrokewastotakehisplace。
SuchwerethethemesonwhichMr。PembrokediscoursedtoRickie’scivilear。Heshowedhimtheschool，andthelibrary，andthesubterraneanhallwheretheday—boysmightleavetheircoatsandcaps，andwhere，onfestaloccasions，theysupped。HeshowedhimMr。Jackson’sprettyhouse，andwhispered，\"Wereitnotforhisbrilliantintellect，itwouldbeacaseofOuickmarch！\"Heshowedhimtheracquet—court，happilycompleted，andthechapel，unhappilystillinneedoffunds。Rickiewasimpressed，butthenhewasimpressedbyeverything。OfcourseaHouseofday—boysseemedalittleshadowyafterAgnesandGerald，butheimpartedsomerealityeventothat。
\"Theracquet—court，\"saidMr。Pembroke，\"ismostgratifying。Weneverexpectedtomanageitthisyear。ButbeforetheEasterholidayseveryboyreceivedasubscriptioncard，andwasgiventounderstandthathemustcollectthirtyshillings。Youwillscarcelybelieveme，buttheynearlyallresponded。Nexttermtherewasadinnerinthegreatschool，andallwhohadcollected，notthirtyshillings，butasmuchasapound，wereinvitedtoit——fornaturallyonewasnotpreciseforafewshillings，theresponsebeingthereallyvaluablething。
Practicallythewholeschoolhadtocome。\"
\"Theymustenjoythecourttremendously。\"
\"Ah，itisn’tusedverymuch。Racquets，asIdaresayyouknow，isratheranexpensivegame。Onlythewealthierboysplay——andI’msorrytosaythatitisnotofourwealthierboysthatwearealwaystheproudest。Butthepointisthatnopublicschoolcanbecalledfirst—classuntilithasone。Theyarebuildingthemrightandleft。\"
\"Andnowyoumustfinishthechapel？\"
\"Nowwemustcompletethechapel。\"Hepausedreverently，andsaid，\"Andhereisafragmentoftheoriginalbuilding。\"
Rickieatoncehadarushofsympathy。He，too，lookedwithreverenceatthemorselofJacobeanbrickwork，ruddyandbeautifulamidstthemachine—squaredstonesofthemodernapse。
Thetwomen，whohadsolittleincommon，werethrilledwithpatriotism。Theyrejoicedthattheircountrywasgreat，noble，andold。
\"ThankGodI’mEnglish，\"saidRickiesuddenly。
\"ThankHimindeed，\"saidMr。Pembroke，layingahandonhisback。
\"We’vebeennearlyasgreatastheGreeks，Idobelieve。Greater，I’msure，thantheItalians，thoughtheydidgetclosertobeauty。GreaterthantheFrench，thoughwedotakealltheirideas。Ican’thelpthinkingthatEnglandisimmense。Englishliteraturecertainly。\"
Mr。Pembrokeremovedhishand。Hefoundsuchpatriotismsomewhatcraven。Genuinepatriotismcomesonlyfromtheheart。Itknowsnoparleyingwithreason。EnglishladieswilldeclareabroadthattherearenofogsinLondon，andMr。Pembroke，thoughhewouldnotgotothis，wasonlyrestrainedbythecertaintyofbeingfoundout。OnthisoccasionheremarkedthattheGreekslackedspiritualinsight，andhadalowconceptionofwoman。
\"Astowomen——oh！theretheyweredreadful，\"saidRickie，leaninghishandonthechapel。\"Irealizethatmoreandmore。Butastospiritualinsight，Idon’tquiteliketosay;andIfindPlatotoodifficult，butIknowmenwhodon’t，andIfancytheymightn’tagreewithyou。\"
\"FarbeitfrommetodisparagePlato。AndforphilosophyasawholeIhavethegreatestrespect。Butitisthecrownofaman’seducation，notthefoundation。Myself，Ireaditwiththeutmostprofit，butIhaveknownendlesstroubleresultfromboyswhoattemptittoosoon，beforetheywereset。\"
\"Butifthoseboyshaddiedfirst，\"criedRickiewithsuddenvehemence，\"withoutknowingwhatthereistoknow——\"
\"Orisn’ttoknow！\"saidMr。Pembrokesarcastically。
\"Orwhatthereisn’ttoknow。Exactly。That’sit。\"
\"MydearRickie，whatdoyoumean？Ifanoldfriendmaybefrank，youaretalkinggreatrubbish。\"And，withafewwell—wornformulae，heproppeduptheyoungman’sorthodoxy。Thepropswereunnecessary。Rickiehadhisownequilibrium。NeithertheRevivalismthatassailsaboyatabouttheageoffifteen，northescepticismthatmeetshimfiveyearslater，couldswayhimfromhisallegiancetothechurchintowhichhehadbeenborn。
Buthisequilibriumwaspersonal，andthesecretofituselesstoothers。Hedesiredthateachmanshouldfindhisown。
\"Whatdoesphilosophydo？\"theproppercontinued。\"Doesitmakeamanhappierinlife？Doesitmakehimdiemorepeacefully？I
fancythatinthelong—runHerbertSpencerwillgetnofurtherthantherestofus。Ah，Rickie！Iwishyoucouldmoveamongtheschoolboys，andseetheirhealthycontemptforalltheycannottouch！\"Herehewasgoingtoofar，andhadtoadd，\"Theirspiritualcapacities，ofcourse，areanothermatter。\"ThenherememberedtheGreeks，andsaid，\"Whichprovesmyoriginalstatement。\"
Submissivesigns，asofonepropped，appearedinRickie’sface。
Mr。PembrokethenquestionedhimaboutthemenwhofoundPlatonotdifficult。Butherehekeptsilence，pattingtheschoolchapelgently，andpresentlytheconversationturnedtotopicswithwhichtheywerebothmorecompetenttodeal。
\"DoesAgnestakemuchinterestintheschool？\"
\"Notasmuchasshedid。Itistheresultofherengagement。Ifournaughtysoldierhadnotcarriedheroff，shemighthavemadeanidealschoolmaster’swife。Ioftenchaffhimaboutit，forhealittledespisestheintellectualprofessions。Natural，perfectlynatural。Howcanamanwhofacesdeathfeelaswedotowardsmensaortupto？\"
\"Perfectlytrue。Absolutelytrue。\"
Mr。PembrokeremarkedtohimselfthatFrederickwasimproving。
\"Ifamanshootsstraightandhitsstraightandspeaksstraight，ifhisheartisintherightplace，ifhehastheinstinctsofaChristianandagentleman——thenI，atallevents，asknobetterhusbandformysister。\"
\"Howcouldyougetabetter？\"hecried。\"Doyourememberthethingin’TheClouds’？\"Andhequoted，aswellashecould，fromtheinvitationoftheDikaiosLogos，thedescriptionoftheyoungAthenian，perfectinbody，placidinmind，whoneglectshisworkattheBarandtrainsalldayamongthewoodsandmeadows，withagarlandonhisheadandafriendtosetthepace;thescentofnewleavesisuponthem;theyrejoiceinthefreshnessofspring;overtheirheadstheplane—treewhisperstotheelm，perhapsthemostgloriousinvitationtothebrainlesslifethathaseverbeengiven。
\"Yes，yes，\"saidMr。Pembroke，whodidnotwantabrother—in—lawoutofAristophanes。Norhadhegotone，forMr。Daweswouldnothavebotheredoverthegarlandornoticedthespring，andwouldhavecomplainedthatthefriendrantooslowlyortoofast。
\"Andasforher——！\"ButhecouldthinkofnoclassicalparallelforAgnes。Sheslippedbetweenexamples。AkindlyMedea，aCleopatrawithasenseofduty——thesesuggestedheralittle。ShewasnotborninGreece，butcameoverseastoit——adark，intelligentprincess。Withallhersplendour，therewerehintsofsplendourstillhidden——hintsofanolder，richer，andmoremysteriousland。Hesmiledattheideaofherbeing\"notthere。\"
Ansell，cleverashewas，hadmadeabadblunder。Shehadmorerealitythananyotherwomanintheworld。
Mr。Pembrokelookedpleasedatthisboyishenthusiasm。Hewasfondofhissister，thoughheknewhertobefulloffaults。
\"Yes，Ienvyher，\"hesaid。\"Shehasfoundaworthyhelpmeetforlife’sjourney，Idobelieve。Andthoughtheychafeatthelongengagement，itisablessingindisguise。Theylearntoknoweachotherthoroughlybeforecontractingmoreintimateties。\"
Rickiedidnotassent。Thelengthoftheengagementseemedtohimunspeakablycruel。Hereweretwopeoplewholovedeachother，andtheycouldnotmarryforyearsbecausetheyhadnobeastlymoney。
NotallHerbert’spiousskillcouldmakethisoutablessing。Itwasbadenoughbeing\"sorich\"attheSilts;herehewasmoreashamedofitthanever。Inafewweekshewouldcomeofageandhismoneybehisown。Whatapitythingsweresocrookedlyarranged。Hedidnotwantmoney，oratalleventshedidnotwantsomuch。
\"Suppose，\"hemeditated，forhebecamemuchworriedoverthis，——
\"supposeIhadahundredpoundsayearlessthanIshallhave。
Well，Ishouldstillhaveenough。Idon’twantanythingbutfood，lodging，clothes，andnowandthenarailwayfare。Ihaven’tanytastes。Idon’tcollectanythingorplaygames。Booksarenicetohave，butafterallthereisMudie’s，orifitcomestothat，theFreeLibrary。Oh，myprofession！IforgotIshallhaveaprofession。Well，thatwillleavemewithmoretosparethanever。\"Andhesupposedawaytillhelosttouchwiththeworldandwithwhatitpermits，andcommittedanunpardonablesin。
Ithappenedtowardstheendofhisvisit——anotherairlessdayofthatmildJanuary。Mr。Daweswasplayingagainstascratchteamofcads，andhadtogodowntothegroundinthemorningtosettlesomething。Rickieproposedtocometoo。
Hithertohehadbeennonuisance。\"Youwillbefrightfullybored，\"saidAgnes，observingthecloudonherlover’sface。\"AndGeraldwalkslikeamaniac。\"
\"IhadalittlethoughtoftheMuseumthismorning，\"saidMr。
Pembroke。\"Itisverystronginflintarrow—heads。\"
\"Ah，that’syourline，Rickie。IdoenvyyouandHerbertthewayyouenjoythepast。\"
\"IalmostthinkI’llgowithDawes，ifhe’llhaveme。Icanwalkquitefastjusttothegroundandback。Arrowheadsarewonderful，butIdon’treallyenjoythemyet，thoughIhopeIshallintime。\"
Mr。Pembrokewasoffended，butRickieheldfirm。
Inaquarterofanhourhewasbackatthehousealone，nearlycrying。
\"Oh，didthewretchgotoofast？\"calledMissPembrokefromherbedroomwindow。
\"Iwenttoofastforhim。\"Hespokequitesharply，andbeforehehadtimetosayhewassorryanddidn’tmeanexactlythat，thewindowhadshut。
\"They’vequarrelled，\"shethought。\"Whateverabout？\"
Shesoonheard。Geraldreturnedinacoldstormytemper。Rickiehadofferedhimmoney。
\"Mydearfellowdon’tbesocross。Thechild’smad。\"
\"Ifitwas，I’dforgivethat。ButIcan’tstandunhealthiness。\"
\"Now，Gerald，that’swhereIhateyou。Youdon’tknowwhatitistopitytheweak。\"
\"Woman’sjob。SoyouwishI’dtakenahundredpoundsayearfromhim。Didyoueverhearsuchblastedcheek？Marryus——he，you，andme——ahundredpoundsdownandasmuchannual——he，ofcourse，topryintoallwedid，andwetokowtowandeatdirt—pietohim。Ifthat’sMr。RicketyElliot’sideaofasoldierandanEnglishman，itisn’tmine，andIwishI’dhadahorse—whip。\"
Shewasroaringwithlaughter。\"You’rebabies，apairofyou，andyou’retheworst。Whycouldn’tyouletthelittlesillydowngently？Therehewaspuffingandsniffingundermywindow，andI
thoughthe’dinsultedyou。Whydidn’tyouaccept？\"
\"Accept？\"hethundered。
\"Itwouldhavetakenthenonsenseoutofhimforever。Why，hewasonlytalkingoutofabook。\"
\"Morefoolhe。\"
\"Well，don’tbeangrywithafool。Hemeansnoharm。Hemuddlesalldaywithpoetryandolddeadpeople，andthentriestobringitintolife。It’stoofunnyforwords。\"
Geraldrepeatedthathecouldnotstandunhealthiness。
\"Idon’tcallthatexactlyunhealthy。\"
\"Ido。Andwhyhecouldgivethemoney’sworse。\"
\"Whatdoyoumean？\"
Hebecameshy。\"Ihadn’tmeanttotellyou。It’snotquiteforalady。\"For，likemostmenwhoareratheranimal，hewasintellectuallyaprude。\"Hesayshecan’tevermarry，owingtohisfoot。Itwouldn’tbefairtoposterity。Hisgrandfatherwascrocked，hisfathertoo，andhe’sasbad。Hethinksthatit’shereditary，andmaygetworsenextgeneration。He’sdiscusseditalloverwithotherUndergrads。Abrightlottheymustbe。Hedaren’triskhavinganychildren。Hencethehundredquid。\"
Shestoppedlaughing。\"Oh，littlebeast，ifhesaidallthat！\"
Hewasencouragedtoproceed。Hithertohehadnottalkedabouttheirschooldays。Nowhetoldhereverything，——the\"barley—sugar，\"ashecalledit，thepinsinchapel，andhowoneafternoonhehadtiedhimhead—downwardontoatreetrunkandthenranaway——ofcourseonlyforamoment。
Forthisshescoldedhimwell。Butshehadathrillofjoywhenshethoughtoftheweakboyintheclutchesofthestrongone。
V
Geralddiedthatafternoon。Hewasbrokenupinthefootballmatch。RickieandMr。Pembrokewereonthegroundwhentheaccidenttookplace。Itwasnogoodtorturinghimbyadrivetothehospital，andhewasmerelycarriedtothelittlepavilionandlaiduponthefloor。Adoctorcame，andsodidaclergyman，butitseemedbettertoleavehimforthelastfewminuteswithAgnes，whohadriddendownonherbicycle。
Itwasastrangelamentableinterview。Thegirlwassoaccustomedtohealth，thatforatimeshecouldnotunderstand。Itmustbeajokethathechosetoliethereinthedust，witharugoverhimandhiskneesbentuptowardshischin。Hisarmswereassheknewthem，andtheiradmirablemusclesshowedclearandcleanbeneaththejersey。Theface，too，thoughalittleflushed，wasuninjured:itmustbesomecuriousjoke。
\"Gerald，whathaveyoubeendoing？\"
Hereplied，\"Ican’tseeyou。It’stoodark。\"
\"Oh，I’llsoonalterthat，\"shesaidinheroldbriskway。Sheopenedthepaviliondoor。Thepeoplewhowerestandingbyitmovedaside。Shesawadesertedmeadow，steamingandgrey，andbeyonditslateroofedcottages，rowbesiderow，climbingashapelesshill。TowardsLondontheskywasyellow。\"There。That’sbetter。\"Shesatdownbyhimagain，anddrewhishandintoherown。\"Nowweareallright，aren’twe？\"
\"Whereareyou？\"
Thistimeshecouldnotreply。
\"Whatisit？WhereamIgoing？\"
\"Wasn’ttherectorhere？\"saidsheafterasilence。
\"Heexplainedheaven，andthinksthatI——but——Icouldn’ttellaparson;butIdon’tseemtohaveanyuseforanyofthethingsthere。\"
\"WeareChristians，\"saidAgnesshyly。\"Dearlove，wedon’ttalkaboutthesethings，butwebelievethem。Ithinkthatyouwillgetwellandbeasstrongagainasever;but，inanycase，thereisaspirituallife，andweknowthatsomedayyouandI——\"
\"Ishan’tdoasaspirit，\"heinterrupted，sighingpitifully。\"I
wantyouasIam，anditcannotbemanaged。Therectorhadtosayso。Iwant——Idon’twanttotalk。Ican’tseeyou。Shutthatdoor。\"
Sheobeyed，andcreptintohisarms。Onlythistimehergraspwasthestronger。Herheartbeatlouderandlouderasthesoundofhisgrewmorefaint。Hewascryinglikealittlefrightenedchild，andherlipswerewetwithhistears。\"Bearitbravely，\"
shetoldhim。
\"Ican’t，\"hewhispered。\"Itisn’ttobedone。Ican’tseeyou，\"
andpassedfromhertremblingwithopeneyes。
Sherodehomeonherbicycle，leavingtheotherstofollow。Someladieswhodidnotknowwhathadhappenedbowedandsmiledasshepassed，andshereturnedtheirsalute。
\"Oh，miss，isittrue？\"criedthecook，herfacestreamingwithtears。
Agnesnodded。Presumablyitwastrue。Lettershadjustarrived:
onewasforGeraldfromhismother。Life，whichhadgiventhemnowarning，seemedtomakenocommentnow。Theincidentwasoutsidenature，andwouldsurelypassawaylikeadream。Shefeltslightlyirritable，andthegriefoftheservantsannoyedher。
Theysobbed。\"Ah，lookathismarks！Ah，littlehethought——
littlehethought！\"Inthebrownhollandstripbythefrontdooraheavyfootballboothadleftitsimpress。TheyhadnotlikedGerald，buthewasaman，theywerewomen，hehaddied。Theirmistressorderedthemtoleaveher。
Formanyminutesshesatatthefootofthestairs，rubbinghereyes。Anobscurespiritualcrisiswasgoingon。
Shouldsheweepliketheservants？OrshouldshebearupandtrustintheconsolerTime？Wasthedeathofamansoterribleafterall？Assheinvitedherselftoapathytherewerestepsonthegravel，andRickieElliotburstin。Hewassplashedwithmud，hisbreathwasgone，andhishairfellwildlyoverhismeagreface。Shethought，\"Thesearethepeoplewhoareleftalive！\"
>Fromthebottomofhersoulshehatedhim。
\"Icametoseewhatyou’redoing，\"hecried。
\"Resting。\"
Hekneltbesideher，andshesaid，\"Wouldyoupleasegoaway？\"
\"Yes，dearAgnes，ofcourse;butImustseefirstthatyoumind。\"
Herbreathcaught。Herevesmovedtothetreads，goingoutwards，sofirmly，soirretrievably。
Hepanted，\"It’stheworstthingthatcaneverhappentoyouinallyourlife，andyou’vegottomindityou’vegottomindit。
They’llcomesaying，’Bearuptrusttotime。’No，no;they’rewrong。Mindit。\"
Throughallhermiserysheknewthatthisboywasgreaterthantheysupposed。Herosetohisfeet，andwithintenseconvictioncried:\"ButIknow——Iunderstand。It’syourdeathaswellashis。
He’sgone，Agnes，andhisarmswillneverholdyouagain。InGod’sname，mindsuchathing，anddon’tsitfencingwithyoursoul。Don’tstopbeinggreat;that’stheonecrimehe’llneverforgiveyou。\"
Shefaltered，\"Who——whoforgives？\"
\"Gerald。\"
Atthesoundofhisnamesheslidforward，andallherdishonestylefther。Sheacknowledgedthatlife’smeaninghadvanished。
Bendingdown，shekissedthefootprint。\"Howcanheforgiveme？\"
shesobbed。\"Wherehashegoneto？Youcouldneverdreamsuchanawfulthing。Hecouldn’tseemethoughIopenedthedoor——wide——
plentyoflight;andthenhecouldnotrememberthethingsthatshouldcomforthim。Hewasn’ta——hewasn’teveragreatreader，andhecouldn’trememberthethings。Therectortried，andhecouldn’t——Icame，andIcouldn’t——\"Shecouldnotspeakfortears。Rickiedidnotcheckher。Heletheraccuseherself，andfate，andHerbert，whohadpostponedtheirmarriage。Shemighthavebeenawifesixmonths;butHerberthadspokenofself—controlandofalllifebeforethem。Heletherkissthefootprintstilltheirmarksgavewaytothemarksofherlips。
Shemoaned。\"Heisgone——whereishe？\"andthenherepliedquitequietly，\"Heisinheaven。\"
Shebeggedhimnottocomforther;shecouldnotbearit。
\"Ididnotcometocomfortyou。Icametoseethatyoumind。Heisinheaven，Agnes。Thegreatestthingisover。\"
Herhatredwaslulled。Shemurmured，\"DearRickie！\"andheldupherhandtohim。Throughhertearshismeagrefaceshowedasaseraph’swhospokethetruthandforbadehertojugglewithhersoul。\"DearRickie——butfortherestofmylifewhatamItodo？\"
\"Anything——ifyourememberthatthegreatestthingisover。\"
\"Idon’tknowyou，\"shesaidtremulously。\"Youhavegrownupinamoment。Younevertalkedtous，andyetyouunderstanditall。
Tellmeagain——Icanonlytrustyou——whereheis。\"
\"Heisinheaven。\"
\"Youaresure？\"
ItpuzzledherthatRickie，whocouldscarcelytellyouthetimewithoutasavingclause，shouldbesocertainaboutimmortality。
VI
Hedidnotstopforthefuneral。Mr。PembrokethoughtthathehadabadeffectonAgnes，andpreventedherfromacquiescinginthetragedyasrapidlyasshemighthavedone。Asheexpressedit，\"onemustnotcourtsorrow，\"andhehintedtotheyoungmanthattheydesiredtobealone。
RickiewentbacktotheSilts。
Hewasonlythereafewdays。AssoonastermopenedhereturnedtoCambridge，forwhichhelongedpassionately。Thejourneythitherwasnowfamiliartohim，andhetookpleasureineachlandmark。ThefairvalleyofTewinWater，thecuttingintoHitchinwherethetraintraversesthechalk，BaldockChurch，Roystonwithitspromiseofdowns，werenothinginthemselves，butdearasstagesinthepilgrimagetowardstheabodeofpeace。
Ontheplatformhemetfriends。Theyhadallhadpleasantvacations:itwasahappyworld。Theatmospherealters。
Cambridge，accordingtohercustom，welcomedhersonswithopendrains。Pettycurywasup，sowasTrinityStreet，andnavviespeepedoutofKing’sParade。Hereitwasgas，thereelectriclight，buteverywheresomething，andalwaysasmell。Itwasalsothedaythatthewheelsfelloffthestationtram，andRickie，whowasnaturallyinside，wasamongthepassengerswho\"sustainednoinjurybutashock，andhadasheartyalaughoverthemishapafterwardsasanyone。\"