A Room with a View

her Fiasco come to a little garden-party in the neighbourhood, for naturall

ith Lucy, and his long, fair face responding when Lucy spoke to him. People congratulated Mrs. Honeychurch, which is, I

ce, her mother feigned nothing of the sort but dragged her indoors to have the frock treated by a sympathetic maid. Th

sort of thing?" he asked

said Lucy, who had r

cal of coun

o. Mother, w

eychurch, who was trying to rememb

were elsewhere, Cecil b

fectly appalling, di

y that you we

agement is regarded as public property-a kind of waste place where ever

I suppose. They won't not

g. An engagement-horrid word in the first place-is

gh them, rejoicing in the engagement of Cecil and Lucy because it promised the continuance of life on earth. To Cecil and Luc

aid. "Couldn't you ha

urhood is deprived of the romance of me being athletic. S

e Itali

ncarnato! You k

et winter in Rome with his mother. But Cecil, since his engagement, had ta

pprove of me. There are certain irremovable barrie

mitations, I suppos

said Cecil, who saw from her remark that

ow

we fully fence ourselves in, or whether w

and agreed that it d

lert. "I don't see any difference. Fences are fe

ves," said Cecil, on whom

case on her lap. "This is me. That's Windy Corner. The rest of the pattern

of real fences," s

ee, dear

ck. Cecil wondered wh

es,' as you call them," she

ss would mean a p

enough to detect what they meant. She missed Cecil

r. Beebe?" she as

bove the average. I only denied-" And he swept off

ave fences, and the most dreadful ones, is Mr. Eager, the English chaplain at Florence. He was truly insin

ort of

the Bertolini whom he sai

aps h

N

y '

a nice old ma

at her feminin

to the point. He prefers it vague-said the old man had 'pract

aid Mrs. Honeyc

ound spreading slander? It was, I believe, chiefly owing to him that the old m

an! What wa

said Luc

ris there warn't no sich

ded intel

parson of the cultu

im lecture on Giotto. I hate him. Nothi

. "You'll blow my head off! Whatever is there to shout

to hint to her that not here lay her vocation; that a woman's power and charm reside in mystery, not in muscular rant. But possibly rant is a sign of vitality: it mars the beautifu

hat spotted the hurt-bushes, the serviceable beauty of the turnpike road. The outdoor world was not very familiar to him, and occ

the sky are the most wonderful things in life, and that the people who live amongst them must be the best. It's true that in nine cases out of ten they don't seem to notice anything. The country gentleman and t

ecil, who was rather crushed on the front seat of the victoria, fe

ed furiously cross-the result, he concluded, of too much moral gymnasti

mountain height,'" he quoted, a

ain and said:

ht (the shepherd sang). In height and in the splendour of the hills?' Let us

course," said Lucy,

. Mr. Beebe's house was near the church. In height it scarcely exceeded the cottages. Some great mansions were at hand, but they were hidden in the trees. The scene suggested a Swiss Alp rather than the shrine and cent

cular curve of the entrance arch in block capitals. "Albert" was inhabited. His tortured garden was bright with geraniums and lobelias and polished shells. His little windows were chastely swathed in Nottingham lace. "C

ladies mechanically. "Summer Str

issie's" door opened, and

an with her parasol. "Here's Sir Harry. Now we shal

the carriage and said "Mrs. Honeychurch, I meant

before the contract was signed. Does she still

his voice. "An old lady, so ve

ut," said C

rs. Flack had laid the foundation stone, and the apparition of red and cream brick began to rise did he take alarm. He called on Mr. Flack, the local builder,-a most reasonable and respectful man-who agreed that tiles would have made more artistic roof, but pointed out that slates were cheaper. H

another approaching to the Ionian style, another introducing Mrs. Flack's initials-every one different." For he had read his Ruski

ailed in his duties to the country-side, and the country-side was laughing at him as well. He had spent money, and yet Summe

y landlord. But it is such an awkward size. It is too large for th

se the villas or despise Sir Harry for despising

" he said maliciously. "It would be

l attract the wrong type of people. The train service has improved-a fatal improvem

ous clerk it wou

ique of the lower middle classes was improving at a most appalling rate. She saw

d, "I have an idea. How w

ould be splendid. D

met them

?" he asked

-Miss Teresa and Miss Catharine Alan. I'm really not joking. They are quite t

alling people they have sent me! One woman, when I wrote-a tactful letter, you know-asking her to explain her social position to me, replied that she would pay the rent in advance. As if one cares about that! And several ref

no

e type. Preserve me from people who have seen better days, and bring heirlooms with them that make the house smell stuf

d Sir Harry; "but it is, as

an aren't that

t them but I should say they were a highly

o him, Sir Harr

es to young people. But really I am so worried, and Lady Otway will only

write to my

eas

ed when Mrs. Hone

anaries: they spit the seed out through the bars of the cages and

llantly, though he saw t

lie down comfortably and sleep it off. If they're vulgar, they somehow keep it t

tion. He suggested that Mrs. Honeychurch, if she had time, should descend from the carriage and inspect "Cissie" for herself. She was delighted. Nat

y back as she fo

said, "what if we two w

" was her c

them. He beamed at them knowingly, said, "Aha! young peo

aimed Cecil, almost before

Cec

would be wrong not

ver, but real

to a brainless club, and his wife would give brainless dinner parties. But down here he acts the little god

cy, though she felt discouraged. "I wonde

feel! How I do hope he'll get some vulgar tenant in that villa-some woman so really vulgar that

clever, nor subtle, nor beautiful, and what prevented Cecil from saying, any minute, "It would be wrong not to loathe Freddy"? And what would she reply? Further than Freddy she did not go, but he gave he

all we go?" s

em. Summer Street lay deep in the woods, and she had

ere two

s more sensible, as

oticed in him all the afternoon. "Why is it, Lucy, that you always say the road? Do you k

ueerness, but pretty sure that he would explain later; it

pines, and sure enough he did explai

y wrongly-that you feel more

echoed, hopele

arden, or on a road. Never in

ver felt anything of the sort. You talk as

you with a view-a certain type of view. W

moment, and then

st be a poetess after all. When I think of

rise, he se

oom, pray? W

o view, I fa

oachfully, "that you conne

"Oh, Cecil, what

at some particularly beautiful or familiar combination of the trees. She had known the wood between Summer Street and Windy Corner ever since she could

the pines-another tiny green alp, solitary this

ed, "The Sa

you call

am going through it? Well, a good deal of water comes down after heavy rains, and can't get away at once,

d y

nswered dreamily, "I bathed here, too, ti

sh air, he was delighted at her admirable simplicity. He looked at her as she stood by the pool's edge. She was got up smart, as she

ound y

. "She was stopping with

r gi

heme, from which hitherto he had

uc

e ought to be goi

mething of you that I h

s voice she stepped frank

t, C

that day on the lawn when

glancing round to see if they we

es

have never

if he had put the th

u have," sh

sk you-ma

l. You might before. I ca

gave such a business-like lift to her veil. As he approached her he found time to wish that he c

e. Above all, it should never ask for leave where there is a right of way. Why could he not do as any labourer or navvy-nay, as any young man behind the counter would have done? He recast the scene. Lucy was

waited for her to make some remark which should show him her

s the name,

t na

old m

old

ou about. The one Mr.

was the most intimate conv