Aaron's Rod

m was high up, a fair size, and stood at the corner of one of the streets and the market itself, looking down on the stalls and the carts and the arcade. Lilly would climb out of the window and s

very poor diminutive ass that came with a coster’s barrow. Another great horse could not endure standing. It would shake it

disastrously. Then the drivers cursed and swore and dismounted and stared at their jeopardised loads: till a thin fellow was persuaded to scramble up

uld stop to give them cheek. One afternoon a giant lunged after him: the boy darted gracefully among the heaps of vegetables, still bearing aloft his tea-tray, like some young blue-buttoned acolyte fleeing before a false god. T

hy. But at last, a taxi, and a very expensive female, in a sort of silver brocade gown and a great fur shawl and ospreys in her bonne

mp air. For some reason he lingered to watch the figure. The man was walking east. He stepped rather insecurely off the pavement, and wavered across the setts between the wh

down,” said L

ses, and out into the market. A little crowd had gathered, and a large policeman was just rowing into the centre of th

aid, to a rather s

: except that, in unblushing co

back on the edge

want to go?” he heard the he

all right,” came the

right, and then some,— co

ight! I’m

granite setts, being hauled up by a burly policeman, he saw our a

u? You won’t believe you’re right in the way of traffic, will you now, in Covent Garden Ma

the affair, unobtrusive like a shad

ill you?” he said to the c

dulity. Lilly could not have borne it if the policeman had uttered any of this cockney suspicion, so he watched hi

said the polic

ckly round. Then

ee me, Sisson? You’ll

. Lilly took it off again, and carried it for him. He turned and the crowd eased. He watched Aaron sharply, and saw that it was with

ort of thing these day

opportunity

Coming back to the old days, l

at the stairs.

n, steering his charge. There was a curious bre

ntidy with cushions and papers. Books and papers covered the big writing desk. Beyond the screen made by the bookshe

n looked rou

han in the lock-u

e was hastily cl

sofa, Siss

lowered his ch

we are,

half a crown. But he was watching Aaron, who sat

ll, Sisson?” h

m with heavy eyes, and

re,” said Lilly,

this flu, you know,

re is there a doctor?”

iceman. And he told him. “L

ress on a card, the

und myself if ne

oliceman

Lilly to Aaron, when the door was

stay here till you’re all right.

he gas stove, the little kettle on the fire. Then he hovered in front of the

he kneeled and unfastened his visitor’s boots. Meanwhile the

ed man. “Come along.” And with coaxing and pulling and

him tea. With a dim kind of obedience he took the cu

her, else I should ha’

m?” sai

d the children. I felt my heart break, you know. And that’s what

m?” sai

one myself. And I had. Everything came back on me. If

now. Get war

ide me, the minute I gave in t

still. Be still, and you’ll

pt myself back, my liver wouldn’t have broken insid

drunk your tea? Lie down.

hrust his hands under the bedclothes and felt his feet — still cold

hat was not healthy. For some time Lilly went about stealthily, g

breathing and a fretful stirring in the bed. He we

le hot milk,

s head faintly

tle Bo

e faint

ame landing, and got a clerk, who would be leaving in a few minutes,

y yourself?” as

ife’s gone

r g

ths or so. She’ll come back here: unless

still fo

e with her,” he

adly — and I didn’t want very badly to go. Why should I?

hing the other man wit

wo in one — stuck together like

hate ’em myse

omen as well. They can come together, in the second place, if they like

though I’m not very bad. I s’ll be all right in the morning. But I did myself in when I w

duced you?” l

d Aaron grimly. “She won’t

less I

t ask her

f you don’

don

And he knew he was being unlike himself, he knew that he was

night then, if you d

“I’ve sent for the doctor. I

e?” said Aar

cared,” lau

at the window looking at the darkeni

the hospital, if I hav

r a fortnight’s business, you can stop

ou to saddle yourself with

our lodging — if you wish to,” said Lilly. “You can mak

ack to my lodgi

m to your wife if yo

t, dead silent,

th, in a decided voice

of semi- sleep, motionless and abandoned. The darkness ha

ch a heavy jaw and rather coarse mouth. Aaron half-opened his eyes, and writhed feverishly, as if his limbs could not be in the right place. Lilly mended the fire, and sat down to write. Then he g

ht eat the same. Lilly cooked another egg and took it to the sick man. Aaron looked

g this for somebody who is

ic to me,” said Lilly. “As it is, it

time i

eight

Lord, th

n the bedside he knew he could not safely get

t to let them kn

misery, sat huddled there on

d Lilly. “I suppose others have

side of the bed, wearing old flannel pyjamas of Lil

“And keep still while I’m gone.

e if I die,”

y la

m dying,” said he, “or

er, far-off, haggard eyes, something lik

gently into the bed. “You won’t impr

nd was quite still. Lilly quie

il ten o’clock: and worn ou

said, as he groped his way up the stone stairs.

tongue and felt the pulse. Then he asked a few

d and not move, and take plenty of milk and liquid nourishment. I’ll come

I have to be in

nds. A wee

sick man was like a dog that is ill but which growls from a deep corner, a

y, pained limbs, the night through, and slept and had bad dreams. Lilly got up to give

e. The doctor gave him inj

me to wire to you

can send me to the hospital. I’m

” said Li

t. I feel

sort of nauseated fee

underground, and made an en

y, grey look of

that,” said Lilly. “It poisons the sys

s still high. Yet there were no complicat

you hadn’t better be moved out of the noise of the

ifference to m

pill. It was rather strong, and Aaron had a bad time. His burning, parched, poisoned inside was twisted and torn. Meanwhile carts bang

now,” said Lilly, “a

ully. “Send me to the hospital, or you

t better. Damn it, you’re

e went the ghastly gri

gone rotten

ly. “Only toxi

. He rested badly. So far, Lilly had got a fair night’s rest. N

man,” said the doctor s

him blackly, and

as if drowning, struggling to move, mentally shouting aloud, yet making no sound for some moments, mentally shouting in fren

ion, his eyes gloomy and terrified, more than ever like a criminal who

n’t,” said Lilly. Aaron frowned curiously on his nurse. “Min

won’t l

er and pulling Aaron on to his side, when

od which poisoned the heart. There was no pneumonia. And yet Aaron was clea

sharply to his patient. “You give way! You

n to be really troubled. He got a friend to sit with the patient in the afternoon,

e bed. Nurse had had to lift him up and hold him up again. And now Aaron lay in a sort of semi

with the nurse, and wrote another prescri

irit? He seems to be sulking himself out of life. He’ll drop out quit

owels won’t work. It frightens him. He’s ne

animal dying of the sulks,” said the doctor impatiently. “He

and the sun was shining into the room. There were daffodils and anemones in a jar, and free

e country, don’t you? As soon as you are better we’ll go. It’s been a terrible co

said

loved it. Never in his life had

d get better,

?” sai

e. Or perhaps you’d lik

ill, and did

don’t want to,” said Lilly. “Y

te out of the sick man — his soul se

se and went to th

id. “I’m going to rub you as mothers d

glanced at the dark, self-pos

?” he said irritably. “I

you wo

then went over the whole of the lower body, mindless, as if in a sort of incantation. He rubbed every speck of the man’s lower body — the abdomen, the buttocks, the thighs and knees, down to the feet, rubb

trace of a smile, faintly luminous, into the face. Aaron was regaining hims

him. And Tanny would say, he was quite right to do it. She says I want power over them. What if I do? They don’t care how much power the mob has over them, the nation, Lloyd George and Northcliffe and the police and money. They’ll yield themselves up to that sort of power quickly e

is she opposes: just me myself. She thinks I want her to submit to me. So I do, in a measure natural to our two selves. Somewhere, she ought to submit to me. But they all prefer to kick agai

’ll be another Jim: he WILL like me, if he can knock the wind out of me. A lot

rest. I’ll be damned for ever if I see their Jims and Roberts and Julias and S

r. I would have loved the Aztecs and the Red Indians. I KNOW they hold the element in life which I am looking for — they had living pride. Not like the flea-bitten Asiatics — even niggers are better than Asiatics, though they are wallowers — the American races — and the South Sea Islanders —

oln gets shot. A Jesus makes a Judas inevitable. A man should remain himself, n

oil to rub the life into him. And I KNOW he’ll bite me, like a warmed snake, the moment he recovers. And Tanny will s

to this little system, and Jim is waiting to be psychoa

bread for anybody, this is. So get bet

take their hook into death. They might have staye

ake som

s peeped out at him from an adjoining office and nodded. He nodded, and disappeared from their sight as quickly as possible, with his kettle. His

btrusive a housewife as any woman. While the kettle boiled, he sat darning the socks which he had taken off Aaron’s feet when the flautist arrived, and which he had

full brow was knitted slightly, there was a tension. At the same time, there was an indomitable stillness about him, as it

he tea he saw Aaro

round to look what the other man was doing. And the sight of

“You’ve slept for

I have,”

like a li

d a bit

have solid food. Let m

spite of the doctor, gave Aaron a piece of toast with

ing the two

g for yourself, t

I pref

living a

alone. Tanny and I have been very much alone

iss he

n she’d first gone. I felt my heart was broken. But here,

me back,”

ather meet her abroad than here —

hy

mething with marriage altoget

s that

egoism. Marriage is a self- consci

no children?

en badly. I don’t. I’m

hy

of children in the world. And we know well enough what sort of millions and billions of peopl

aron, with a cu

nks the world wags only for them and her. Nothing else. The whole

DAMNED true,

ture things like kittens and half-grown dogs, nuisances, sometimes very charming. But I’ll be hanged if I can see anything high

give themselves a

sacred motherhood, I’m absolutely fed stiff by it. That’s why I’

, she’s a bitch in the manger. You can starve while s

es

ment to get and rear children. If you have anything to do with a woman, she thinks it’s because you want t

!” said Lilly. “And if you just don’t want to

my life given me for nothing but to get children, and work to bring them up? See them all i

more important than manhood, then why live t

importances,” cried Aaron. “They want to get y

— and then force women to admit it,” said Lilly. “But the rotten whiners

d at Lilly oddly, as if suspiciously. An

why, there isn’t a blooming father and lover among them but will do his best to ge

e curling; he wa

hat,” said Aaron,

ld. Men can’t move an inch unless they ca

watching with keen

tick together and fight for it. Because once a woman has climbed up with her children, she’ll find plenty of grovellers ready to support her and suffoca

that,” s

, and without betraying one another? You can’t. One is sure to go fawning round some female

said

ch Lilly