Leightonopenedthedoor。Theysawalittleroom，bluewithtobacco—smoke。Flankingthefireweredeepsettleshidingallbutthelegsofthemenwholoungedinthem。Betweenthesettlesstoodatable，coveredwithmugsandglasses。Thescenewaspicturesque——fairerthanthecutglasspalacesofthetown。
\"Ohyes，he’sthere，\"hecalled，andafteramoment’shesitationcameout。
\"Wouldhecome？\"
\"No。Ishouldn’tsayso，\"repliedLeighton，withafurtiveglance。HeknewthatRickiewasamilksop。\"Firstnight，youknow，sir，amongoldfriends。\"
\"Yes，Iknow，\"saidRickie。\"Buthemightlikeaturndownthevillage。Itlooksstuffyinsidethere，andpoorfunprobablytowatchothersdrinking。\"
Leightonshutthedoor。
\"Whatwasthathecalledafteryou？\"
\"Oh，nothing。Amanwhenhe’sdrunk——hesaystheworsthe’severheard。Atleast，sotheysay。\"
\"Amanwhenhe’sdrunk？\"
\"Yes，Sir。\"
\"ButStephenisn’tdrinking？\"
\"No，no。\"
\"Hecouldn’tbe。Ifhebrokeapromise——Idon’tpretendhe’sasaint。Idon’twanthimone。Butitisn’tinhimtobreakapromise。\"
\"Yes，sir;Iunderstand。\"
\"Inthetrainhepromisedmenottodrink——nothingtheatrical:
justapromiseforthesefewdays。\"
\"No，sir。\"
\"’No，sir，’\"stampedRickie。\"’Yes！no！yes！’Can’tyouspeakout？Ishedrunkorisn’the？\"
Leighton，justlyexasperated，cried，\"Hecan’tstand，andI’vetoldyousoagainandagain。\"
\"Stephen！\"shoutedRickie，dartingupthesteps。Heatandthesmellofbeerawaitedhim，andhespokemorefuriouslythanhehadintended。\"Isthereanyoneherewho’ssober？\"hecried。Thelandlordlookedoverthebarangrily，andaskedhimwhathemeant。Hepointedtothedeepsettles。\"Insidetherehe’sdrunk。
Tellhimhe’sbrokenhisword，andIwillnotgowithhimtotheRings。\"
\"Verywell。Youwon’tgowithhimtotheRings，\"saidthelandlord，steppingforwardandslammingthedoorinhisface。
Intheroomhewasonlyangry，butoutinthecoolairherememberedthatStephenwasalawtohimself。Hehadchosentobreakhisword，andwouldbreakitagain。Nothingelseboundhim。
Toyieldtotemptationisnotfatalformostofus。Butitwastheendofeverythingforahero。
\"He’ssuddenlyruined！\"hecried，notyetrememberinghimself。
Foralittlehestoodbytheelm—tree，clutchingtheridgesofitsbark。Evensowouldhewrestletomorrow，andStephen，imperturbable，reply，\"Mybodyismyown。\"Orworsestill，hemightwrestlewithapliantStephenwhopromisedhimgliblyagain。Whileheprayedforamiracletoconverthisbrother，itstruckhimthathemustprayforhimself。Forhe，too，wasruined。
\"Why，what’sthematter？\"askedLeighton。\"Stephen’sonlybeingwithfriends。Mr。Elliot，sir，don’tbreakdown。Nothing’shappenedbad。Noone’sdiedyet，orevenhurtthemselves。\"Everkind，hetookholdofRickie’sarm，and，pityingsuchanervousfellow，setoutwithhimforhome。TheshouldersofOrionrosebehindthemoverthetopmostboughsoftheelm。Fromthebridgethewholeconstellationwasvisible，andRickiesaid，\"MayGodreceivemeandpardonmefortrustingtheearth。\"
\"But，Mr。Elliot，whathaveyoudonethat’swrong？\"
\"Gonebankrupt，Leighton，forthesecondtime。Pretendedagainthatpeoplewerereal。MayGodhavemercyonme！\"
Leightondroppedhisarm。Thoughhedidnotunderstand，achillofdisgustpassedoverhim，andhesaid，\"IwillgobacktoTheAntelope。IwillhelpthemputStephentobed。\"
\"Do。Iwillwaitforyouhere。\"Thenheleantagainsttheparapetandprayedpassionately，forheknewthattheconventionswouldclaimhimsoon。Godwasbeyondthem，butah，howfarbeyond，andtobereachedafterwhatdegradation！Attheendofthischildishdetourhiswifeawaitedhim，notlesssurelybecauseshewasonlyhiswifeinname。Hewastooweak。Booksandfriendswerenotenough。Littlebylittleshewouldclaimhimandcorrupthimandmakehimwhathehadbeen;andthewomanhelovedwoulddieout，indrunkenness，indebauchery，andherstrengthwouldbedissipatedbyaman，herbeautydefiledinaman。Shewouldnotcontinue。Thatmysticroseandthefaceitilluminedmeantnothing。Thestream——hewasaboveitnow——meantnothing，thoughitburstfromthepureturfandranforevertothesea。Thebather，theshouldersofOrion—theyallmeantnothing，andweregoingnowhere。Thewholeaffairwasaridiculousdream。
Leightonreturned，saying，\"Haven’tyouseenStephen？Theysayhefollowedus:hecanstillwalk:Itoldyouhewasn’tsobad。\"
\"Idon’tthinkhepassedme。Oughtonetolook？\"HewanderedalittlealongtheRomanroad。Againnothingmattered。Atthelevel—crossingheleantonthegatetowatchaslowgoodstrainpass。Intheglareoftheenginehesawthathisbrotherhadcomethisway，perhapsthroughsomesoddenmemoryoftheRings，andnowlaydrunkovertherails。Wearilyhedidaman’sduty。Therewastimetoraisehimupandpushhimintosafety。Itisalsoaman’sdutytosavehisownlife，andthereforehetried。Thetrainwentoverhisknees。HediedupinCadover，whispering，\"Youhavebeenright，\"toMrs。Failing。
ShewroteofhimtoMrs。Lewinafterwardsas\"onewhohasfailedinallheundertook;oneofthethousandswhosedustreturnstothedust，accomplishingnothingintheinterval。AgnesandI
buriedhimtothesoundofourcrackedbell，andpretendedthathehadoncebeenalive。Theother，whowasalwayshonest，keptaway。\"
XXXV
>Fromthewindowtheylookedoverasobervalley，whosesideswerenottooslopingtobeploughed，andwhosetrendwasfollowedbyagrass—growntrack。ItwaslateonSundayafternoon，andthevalleywasdesertedexceptforonelabourer，whowascoastingslowlydownwardonarosybicycle。Theairwasveryquiet。Ajayscreamedupinthewoodsbehind，butthering—doves，whoroostearly，werealreadysilent。Sincethewindowopenedwestward，theroomwasfloodedwithlight，andStephen，findingithot，wasworkinginhisshirtsleeves。
\"Youguaranteethey’llsell？\"heasked，withapenbetweenhisteeth。Hewastidyingupapileofmanuscripts。
\"Iguaranteethattheworldwillbethegainer，\"saidMr。
Pembroke，nowaclergyman，whosatbesidehimatthetablewithanexpressionofrefineddisapprovalonhisface。
\"I’dgottheideathatthelongstoryhaditspoints，butthattheseshorterthingsdidn’t——what’stheword？\"
\"’Convince’isprobablythewordyouwant。Butthattypeofcriticismisquiteathingofthepast。HaveyouseentheillustratedAmericanedition？\"
\"Idon’tremember。\"
\"MightIsendyouacopy？Ithinkyououghttopossessone。\"
\"Thankyou。\"Hiseyewandered。Thebicyclehaddisappearedintosometrees，andthither，throughacloudlesssky，thesunwasalsodescending。
\"Isallquiteplain？\"saidMr。Pembroke。\"Submitthesetenstoriestothemagazines，andmakeyourowntermswiththeeditors。Then——Ihaveyourwordforit——youwilljoinforceswithme;andthefourstoriesinmypossession，togetherwithyours，shouldmakeupavolume，whichwemightwellcall’PanPipes。’\"
\"Areyousure`PanPipes’haven’tbeenusedupalready？\"
Mr。Pembrokeclenchedhisteeth。Hehadbeenbearingwiththissortofthingfornearlyanhour。\"Ifthatisthecase，wecanselectanother。Atitleiseasytocomeby。Butthatistheideaitmustsuggest。Thestories，asIhavetwiceexplainedtoyou，allcentreroundaNaturetheme。Pan，beingthegodof——\"
\"Iknowthat，\"saidStephenimpatiently。
\"——Beingthegodof——\"
\"Allright。Let’sgetfurrard。I’velearntthat。\"
Itwasyearssincetheschoolmasterhadbeeninterrupted，andhecouldnotstandit。\"Verywell，\"hesaid。\"Ibowtoyoursuperiorknowledgeoftheclassics。Letusproceed。\"
\"Ohyestheintroduction。Theremustbeone。Itwastheintroductionwithallthosewrongdetailsthatsoldtheotherbook。\"
\"Youoverwhelmme。Ineverpennedthememoirwiththatintention。\"
\"Ifyouwon’tdoone，Mrs。Keynesmust！\"
\"Mysisterleadsabusylife。Icouldnotaskher。Iwilldoitmyselfsinceyouinsist。\"
\"Andthebinding？\"
\"Thebinding，\"saidMr。Pembrokecoldly，\"mustreallybelefttothediscretionofthepublisher。Wecannotbeconcernedwithsuchdetails。Ourtaskispurelyliterary。\"Hisattentionwandered。Hebegantofidget，andfinallybentdownandlookedunderthetable。\"Whathavewehere？\"heasked。
Stephenlookedalso，andforamomenttheysmiledateachotherovertheprostratefigureofachild，whowascuddlingMr。
Pembroke’sboots。\"She’saftertheblacking，\"heexplained。\"Ifweleftherthere，she’dlickthembrown。\"
\"Indeed。Isthatsoverysafe？\"
\"Itneverdidmeanyharm。Comeup！Yourtongue’sdirty。\"
\"CanI——\"Shewasunderstoodtoaskwhethershecouldcleanhertongueonalollie。
\"No，no！\"saidMr。Pembroke。\"Lollipopsdon’tcleanlittlegirls’
tongues。\"
\"Yes，theydo，\"heretorted。\"Butshewon’tgetone。\"Heliftedheronhisknee，andraspedhertonguewithhishandkerchief。
\"Dearlittlething，\"saidthevisitorperfunctorily。Thechildbegantosquall，andkickedherfatherinthestomach。
Stephenregardedherquietly。\"Youtriedtohurtme，\"hesaid。
\"Hurtingdoesn’tcount。Tryingtohurtcounts。Goandcleanyourtongueyourself。Getoffmyknee。\"Tearsofanothersortcameintohereyes，butsheobeyedhim。\"How’sthegreatBertie？\"heasked。
\"Thankyou。Mynephewisperfectlywell。Howcameyoutohearofhisexistence？\"
\"ThroughtheSilts，ofcourse。Itisn’tfivemilestoCadover。\"
Mr。Pembrokeraisedhiseyesmournfully。\"IcannotconceivehowthepoorSiltsgooninthatgreathouse。Whateversheintended，itcouldnothavebeenthat。Thehouse，thefarm，themoney，——
everythingdowntothepersonalarticlesthatbelongtoMr。
Failing，andshouldhaverevertedtohisfamily！\"
\"It’slegal。Interstatesuccession。\"
\"Idonotdisputeit。Butitisalessontoonetomakeawill。
Mrs。Keynesandmyselfwereelectrified。\"
\"They’lldothere。Theyofferedmetheagency，but——\"Helookeddownthecultivatedslopes。Hismannersweregrowingrough，forhesawfewgentlemennow，andhewaseitherincoherentorelsealarminglydirect。\"However，ifLawrieSilt’saCockneylikehisfather，andifmynextisaboyandlikeme——\"Ashybeautifullookcameintohiseyes，andpassedunnoticed。\"They’lldo，\"herepeated。\"TheyturnedoutWilbrahamandbuiltnewcottages，andbridgedtherailway，andmadeothernecessaryalterations。\"Therewasamoment’ssilence。
Mr。Pembroketookouthiswatch。\"IwonderifImighthavethetrap？Imustn’tmissmytrain，mustI？Itisgoodofyoutohavegrantedmeaninterview。Itisallquiteplain？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Acaseofhalfandhalf—divisionofprofits。\"
\"Halfandhalf？\"saidtheyoungfarmerslowly。\"Whatdoyoutakemefor？Halfandhalf，whenIprovidetenofthestoriesandyouonlyfour？\"
\"I——I——\"stammeredMr。Pembroke。
\"Iconsideryoudidmeoverthelongstory，andI’mdamnedifyoudomeovertheshortones！\"
\"Hush！ifyouplease，hush！——ifonlyforyourlittlegirl’ssake。\"
Heliftedaclericalpalm。
\"Youdidme，\"hisvoicedrove，\"andallthethirty—nineArticleswon’tstopmesayingso。Thatlongstorywasmeanttobemine。I
gotitwritten。You’vedonemeoutofeverypennyitfetched。
It’sdedicatedtome——flatout——andyouevencrossedoutthededicationandtidiedmeoutoftheintroduction。Listentome，Pembroke。You’vedonepeopleallyourlife——Ithinkwithoutknowingit，butthatwon’tcomfortus。Awretcheddevilatyourschooloncewrotetome，andhe’dbeendone。Shamfood，shamreligion，shamstraighttalks——andwhenhebrokedown，yousaiditwastheworldinminiature。\"Hesnatchedathimroughly。\"ButI’llshowyoutheworld。\"Hetwistedhimroundlikeababy，andthroughtheopendoortheysawonlythequietvalley，butinitarivuletthatwouldintimebringitswaterstothesea。\"Lookevenatthat——andupbehindwherethePlainbeginsandyougetonthesolidchalk——thinkofusridingsomenightwhenyou’reorderingyourhotbottle——that’stheworld，andthere’snominiatureworld。There’soneworld，Pembroke，andyoucan’ttidymenoutofit。Theyansweryoubackdoyouhear？——theyanswerbackifyoudothem。Ifyoutellamanthiswaythatfoursheepequalten，heanswersbackyou’realiar。\"
Mr。Pembrokewasspeechless，and——suchishumannature——hechieflyresentedtheallusiontothehotbottle;anunmanlyluxuryinwhichheneverindulged;contentinghimselfwithnightsocks。\"Enough——
thereisnowitnesspresent——asyouhavedoubtlessobserved。\"Buttherewas。Foralittlevoicecried，\"Oh，mummy，they’refighting——
suchfun——\"andfeetwentpatteringupthestairs。\"Enough。Youtalkof’doing，’butwhataboutthemoneyoutofwhichyou’did’mysister？Whataboutthispicture\"——hepointedtoafadedphotographofStockholm——\"whichyoucausedtobefilchedfromthewallsofmyhouse？Whatabout——enough！Letusconcludethisdishearteningscene。Youobjecttomyterms。Nameyours。Ishallacceptthem。
Itisfutiletoreasonwithonewhoistheworsefordrink。\"
Stephenwasquietatonce。\"Steadyon！\"hesaidgently。\"Steadyoninthatdirection。Takeone—thirdforyourfourstoriesandtheintroduction，andIwillkeeptwo—thirdsformyself。\"Thenhewenttoharnessthehorse，whileMr。Pembroke，watchinghisbroadback，desiredtoburyaknifeinit。Thedesirepassed，partlybecauseitwasunclerical，partlybecausehehadnoknife，andpartlybecausehesoonblurredoverwhathadhappened。Tohimallcriticismwas\"rudeness\":heneverheededit，forheneverneededit:hewasneverwrong。Allhislifehehadorderedlittlehumanbeingsabout，andnowhewasequallymagisterialtobigones:Stephenwasafifth—formloutwhom，owingtosomeflawintheregulations，hecouldnotsenduptotheheadmastertobecaned。
Thisattitudemakesfortranquillity。Beforelonghefeltmerelyaninjuredmartyr。Hisbraincleared。Hestooddeepinthoughtbeforetheonlyotherpicturethatthebareroomboasted——theDemeterofCnidus。Outsidethesunwassinking，anditslastraysfellupontheimmortalfeaturesandtheshatteredknees。Sweet—
peasofferedtheirfragrance，andwithitthereenteredthosemoremysteriousscentsthatcomefromnooneflowerorclodofearth，butfromthewholebosomofevening。
Hetriednottobecynical。Butinhishearthecouldnotregretthattragedy，alreadyhalf—forgotten，conventionalized，indistinct。Ofcoursedeathisaterriblething。Yetdeathismercifulwhenitweedsoutafailure。Ifwelookdeepenough，itisallforthebest。Hestaredatthepictureandnodded。
Stephen，whohadmethisvisitoratthestation，hadintendedtodrivehimbackthere。Butaftertheirspurtoftemperhesenthimwiththeboy。Heremainedinthedoorway，gladthathewasgoingtomakemoney，gladthathehadbeenangry;whiletheglowoftheclearskydeepened，andthesilencewasperfected，andthescentsofthenightgrewstronger。Oldvagranciesawoke，andheresolvedthat，dearlyashelovedhishouse，hewouldnotenteritagaintilldawn。\"Goodnight！\"hecalled，andthenthechildcamerunning，andhewhispered，\"Quick，then！Bringmearug。\"
\"Good—night，\"herepeated，andapleasantvoicecalledthroughanupperwindow，\"Whygood—night？\"Hedidnotansweruntilthechildwaswrappedupinhisarms。
\"Itistimethatshelearnttosleepout，\"hecried。\"Ifyouwantme，we’reoutonthehillside，whereIusedtobe。\"
Thevoiceprotested，sayingthisandthat。
\"Stewart’sinthehouse，\"saidtheman，\"anditcannotmatter，andIamgoinganyway。\"
\"Stephen，Iwishyouwouldn’t。Iwishyouwouldn’ttakeher。
Promiseyouwon’tsayfoolishthingstoher。Don’t——Iwishyou’dcomeupforaminute——\"
Thechild，whosefacewaslaidagainsthis，feltthemusclesinitharden。
\"Don’ttellherfoolishthingsaboutyourself——thingsthataren’tanylongertrue。Don’tworryherwitholddeaddreadfulness。Topleaseme——don’t。\"
\"JusttonightIwon’t，then。\"
\"Stevie，dear，pleasememore——don’ttakeherwithyou。\"
Atthishelaughedimpertinently。\"IsupposeI’mbeingkeptinline，\"shecalled，and，thoughhecouldnotseeher，shestretchedherarmstowardshim。Foratimehestoodmotionless，underherwindow，musingonhishappytangiblelife。Thenhisbreathquickened，andhewonderedwhyhewashere，andwhyheshouldholdawarmchildinhisarms。\"It’stimewewerestarting，\"hewhispered，andshowedthesky，whoseorangewasalreadyfadingintogreen。\"Wisheverythinggoodnight。\"
\"Good—night，dearmummy，\"shesaidsleepily。\"Goodnight，dearhouse。Good—night，youpictures——longpicture——stonelady。Iseeyouthroughthewindow——yourfacesarepink。\"
Thetwilightdescended。Herestedhislipsonherhair，andcarriedher，withoutspeaking，untilhereachedtheopendown。Hehadoftensleptherehimself，alone，andonhiswedding—night，andheknewthattheturfwasdry，andthatifyoulaidyourfacetoityouwouldsmellthethyme。Foramomenttheeartharousedher，andshebegantochatter。\"Myprayers——\"shesaidanxiously。
Hegaveheronehand，andshewasasleepbeforeherfingershadnestledinitspalm。Theirtouchmadehimpensive，andagainhemarvelledwhyhe，theaccident，washere。Hewasaliveandhadcreatedlife。Bywhoseauthority？Thoughhecouldnotphraseit，hebelievedthatheguidedthefutureofourrace，andthat，centuryaftercentury，histhoughtsandhispassionswouldtriumphinEngland。Thedeadwhohadevokedhim，theunbornwhomhewouldevokehegovernedthepathsbetweenthem。Bywhoseauthority？
OutinthewestlayCadoverandthefieldsofhisearlieryouth，andoverthemdescendedthecrescentmoon。Hiseyesfollowedherdecline，andagainstherfinalradiancehesaw，orthoughthesaw，theoutlineoftheRings。Hehadalwaysbeengrateful，aspeoplewhounderstoodhimknew。Butthiseveninghisgratitudeseemedagiftofsmallaccount。Theearwasdeaf，andwhatthanksofhiscouldreachit？Thebodywasdust，andinwhatecstasyofhiscoulditshare？Thespirithadfled，inagonyandloneliness，nevertoknowthatitbequeathedhimsalvation。
Hefilledhispipe，andthensatpressingtheunlittobaccowithhisthumb。\"WhatamItodo？\"hethought。\"Canhenoticethethingshegaveme？Aparsonwouldknow。Butwhat’samanlikemetodo，whoworksallhislifeoutofdoors？\"Ashewondered，thesilenceofthenightwasbroken。ThewhistleofMr。Pembroke’straincamefaintly，andaluridspotpassedovertheland——
passed，andthesilencereturned。Onethingremainedthatamanofhissortmightdo。Hebentdownreverentlyandsalutedthechild;towhomhehadgiventhenameoftheirmother。