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。