New Grub Street

There was Hinks, for instance, whom, though in anger he spoke of him as a bore, Alfred held in some genuine regard. Hinks made perhaps a

his wife, who was both parsimonious and vain. Making no secret of it, Mrs Gorbutt rued the day on which she had wedded a man of letters, when by waiting so short a time she would have been enabled to aim at a prosperous tradesman, who kept his gig and had everything handsome about him. Mrs Yule suspected, not without reason, that this lady had an inclination to strong liquors. Thirdly came Mr and Mrs Christopherson, who were poor as church mice. Even in a friend's house they wrangled incessantly, and made tragi-comical revelations of their home life. The husband worked casually at irresponsible journalism, but his chosen study was metaphysics; for many years he had had

ir failure to fulfil youthful promise was largely explained by the unpresentable wife. They s

tant over men who, as he phrased it, had noosed themselves. He made

and intellectual authority which he could not help relishing. On such occasions he threw off his habitual gloom and talked vigorously, making natural display of his learning and critical ability. The topic, sooner or later, was that which is inevitable in such a circle - the demerits, t

ction of The Study, with the necessary consequence that Yule found himself an object of affectionate interest to a great many people of whom he knew little or nothing. At the same time the genuine old friends pressed warmly about him, with congratulatio

been quietly working as a sub-editor in the provinces, and who had neither friendships nor enmities among the people of the London literary press. A young man, comparatively

rusted. He tried to persuade himself that he was not disappointed. But when Mr Quarmby approached him with blan

a veteran even to hold the little grazing-plot he had won by hard fighting. Still, Quarmby's story had not been without foundation; it was true that the proprietor of The Study had for a moment thought of

go beyond necessary questions and remarks on topics of business. His face became so strange a colour that one would have thought him suffering from an attack of jaundice; bilious headaches exasperated his savage mood. Mrs Yule knew from long experience how worse than useless it was for her to attempt consolation; in silence was her only safety. Nor did

ends and influence. But for that he would never have been editor of The Study, a place for which he wasn't in the least fit. But he was able to give dinners; he and his wife went into society; everybody knew him and talked of him. How has it been with me? I live here like an animal in its hole, and go blinking about if by chance I find myself among the people with whom I ought naturally to associate. If I had been able to come in direct contact wi

her that he should allow himself to speak thus. Her silence seemed to remind him how painful it mus

e lanes about Finden, there had come to her a vision of joy such as fate owed her youth; but it had faded, and she could no longer hope for its return. She was not a woman

in replying to them she could not give a true account of herself. Impossible, to them. From what she wrote they would imagine her contentedly busy

ound no second opportunity of speaking to her husband about Jasper Milvain, and purposely s

mong the other toilers. Perhaps once a week she allowed herself to stray about the alleys of the Reading-room,

ven maintain the pretence of study; heedless whether anyone observed her, she let her hands fall and her head droop. She kept asking herself what was the use and purpose of such a life as she was condemned to lead. When already there was more good literature in the world than any mortal could

age; he had abandoned all thought of origin

ey save to make new books out of those already existing, that yet newer books might in turn be made out of theirs? This huge lib

, headed 'Literary Machine'; had it then been invented at last, some automaton to supply the place of such poor creatures as herself to turn out books and articles? Alas! the machine was only one for holding volumes conveniently, that the work of literary manufacture might

likened him to a black, lost soul, doomed to wander in an eternity of vain research along endless shelves. Or again, the readers who sat here at these radiating lines of desks, what were they but hapless flies caught in a huge web, its nucle

she had done to-day; she must, she must force herself to think of the task in hand. A machine has no business to refuse its duty. But the pages were blue and green an

ntered Jasper Milvain. Face to face;

such wish. His countenance light

ou with those volumes, which won't even let you shake hands. How do y

very

ht, but not for yourself. How glad I

es

e half-a-dozen times sinc

are writi

enius, and my stores of obser

volumes, and turned to face Jasper

,' Milvain went on.

rom Tottenham

p yonder, you know. I have only just come in to waste half an hour, and afte

not qui

k, either. What weather! What a place to live in, this Lon

e weather were bad, it would be bad in a n

late I have been in remarkably good spirits. I'm doing a

very

ngs? I think there's a ladies'

ye

r you in the hall. But, by-the-bye, I am taki

quite

d excessive; it m

hat I shall not annoy yo

uld it a

oo

impertinence as unintentional as that occasionally noticeable in his speech - and smiled approval. T

m the girls, I thin

they have been so ki

ey have sent me will do very well indeed. I knew they had it in them to put sentences together. No

heard

y that she would have to give my sisters something to do. It's the only way to get on; one has to take i

o hear it,'

you? I am going to write for t

dee

y that ma

es

s no affection

ason to have,

he likes; and I fancy he very often does l

orse of me becaus

an't exercise choi

that you regard me as a Fadge-lik

n lau

anger of my t

Road they were both thoroughly uncomfortable. The 'bus had to be waited for, and in the meantime they talked

to Marian's. 'I wish to goodness we were back in those quiet fields - you remember

ly don'

ll. In any case I must go at Christmas, bu

d Road he offered h

rts of things. But perhaps I s

nd waved his hat

e Current. Yule had once or twice referred to the forthcoming maga

arked, a day or two later, at breakfast. 'They say his paper i

municati

there's any personal co

ilvain has been invited

he ought to

thing to me; no

nd Yule's affection for his daughter caused him to feel uneasy in the thought that perhaps he had deprived her of a chance of happiness. His conscience readily took hold of an excuse for justifying the course he had followed. Milvain had gone over to the enemy. Whether or not the young man understood how relentless the hostility was between Yule and Fadge mattered little; the probability was that he knew all about it. In any case intimate relations with him could not have survived this all

ed very unlikely indeed that Marian would continue to think of him with any special and personal interest. The fact of

matter with his

an heard from those g

ter one aftern

ee these

was in them at first

oken to you ag

a w

confident air of one who doesn't wish to remember that he had e

ll care for. If she ever says anything - y

be no two opinions; it drew the attention of the public, and all notices of the new magazine made special reference to this articl

t the 'Child's History of the English Parliament' would be published very shortly; it told her, too, that Mrs Milvain had be

e news that Mrs Milv

te the nature of its contents that at the first sight of the words she uttered an exclamation of pain. Her fath

ied the day be

dee

eemed disposed to say no more.

r daughters

ve no

ything of their

ill have to depen

ule made a few sympathetic inquiries, b

knock of a visitor at the front door. Yule was out, and there was no likelihood of the visitor's wishing to see anyon

s presented themselves. 'He asked for Mr Yule, and when I said he was out, then he asked for Mi

the study,' said Maria

m there?' asked her moth

ld prefer that to

ose father comes bac

You forget that he a

Then do

n her mother, was just leaving the

u will tell him before

, I

d intended it to go out; small economies of this kind, unintelligible to people who have always lived at ease, had been the life-long rule with him. With a sensation of gladness at having free time before h

- ' Marian began

knew for the last month that it must come before long, tho

her went out not long ago, and I don

e had been at home I should have spoken with him about what I have in mi

mingled with an anxious doubt whether it was not too late to put on fresh coals; alre

Jasper asked, understand

d it has g

has made me skilful at this kin

rt with a feeling of shame and annoyance. But it is so seldom that situations in life arrange themselves wi

asper at length, as little tongues o

ng, but seated he

rrow has been very kind indeed to the girls; so have several of our old friends in Wattleborough. It was necess

ence, with a face of

It's a bold step; I'm by no means sure that the result will jus

o on with li

ke this. They have a trifling sum of money, on which, at a pinch, they could live in London for perhaps a year and a half. In that time they may find t

this sum had at length been paid and the remainder was promised in a year's time, greatly to Jasper's astonishment. In addition, there would be

a good beginni

it might bring about a most important change in her life; she could scarcely imagine the happiness of having two such fr

. 'And the way they knocked that trifle together promises well. They did it very

ey share you

re booksellers' work; they are both very young, you know. I think they may be able to write something that'll do for The English Girl, and no doubt I can hi

iends in the cou

hat; they'd rather do almost anything. We talked over all the aspects of the situation seriously enough - it is desperately serious, no doubt of that. I told them fairly all the hardships they would have t

ope bette

ll probably hear from one or both of them. Perhaps it would have been better if I had left them to tell you all this, but I felt I should like to see you and -

hat! I shall be so very

was not her habit; it only needed that she should put off her ordinary reserve, utter quietly the

ed full int

oking about. I should like to find rooms for them somewhere near my own place; it's a decent neighbourhood, and the park is at hand, and then they

penses if we live apart. Besides, there's no harm in saying that I don't think we should get along very

ed and look

you have th

o signs of qua

onscience? Maud is perhaps the hardest to get along with. She has a sort of arrogance, an

ink not. You have

I feel pretty sure that the girls won't seem quarrelsome to you; th

nue to be frien

eyes wander a

our father

es

begun to talk to him about these purely private affairs. He know

mbarrassment

ry natural wish to speak of these

agazine, she must wait for distinct permission before offering the young man encouragement to repeat his visit. Perhaps there was complicated trouble in store for her; impossible to say how her father's deep-rooted and rankling antipathies might affect her interco

r sisters arri

ll return with me as soon as we can get the house emptied. It's rather miserable selling things one has live

ery sad,' Mar

ly, 'that it's my fault the girls

startled eyes. His tone wa

g, and I have spent more than was strictly necessary. Well, I didn't live like that in mere recklessness; I knew I was preparing myself for remunerative work. But it seems too bad now.

kept her eyes

have hinted it to

N

es me. If I were rich, I should be a generous and good man; I know I should. So would many another poor fellow whose

ould say

thoughts. Just because you are one of the few people I regard with sincere respect. I don't know you very well, but quite well enough to respect you. My sisters think of you in the same way. I shall

up at him w

o live unworthily don't

n of saying such things. It means I am rather overs

run his eye along the

I will go,

d up as he

in the hope that they may earn a living; but suppose I can't even do it

ry reason to

months before I could support myself. Now I am forced to do it. And I don't like work; my nature is lazy. I shall never write for writing's sake,

said Marian, without looking

much like good-bye. I trust we a

I hope we

ent towards the door. But

at thing of mine

, I

't bad,

to me ver

a thing half done for the April number, but I've felt too heavy-hearte

opened the front door. When it had closed, she went back i