Sl’~~wepti~othedrawing-room，MrsMallowefollowedandputanarmroundherwaist。
　　“I’mnot！”saidMrsHauksbee，defiantly，rummagingforherhandkerchief“I’vebeendiningoutthelasttennights，andrehearsingintheafternoonYou’dbetiredyourselfIt’sonlybecauseI’mtired。”
　　MrsMallowedidnotofferMrsHauksbeeanypityorasknertoliedown，butgaveheranothercupoftea，andwentonwiththetalk。
　　“I’vebeenthroughthattoo，dear。”shesaid。
　　“Iremember。”saidMrsHauksbee，agleamoffunonherface“In’84wasn’tit？Youwentoutagreatdeallessnextseason。”
　　MrsMallowesmiledinasuperiorandSphinx4ikefashion。
　　“IbecameanInfluence。”saidshe。
　　“Goodgracious，child，youdidn’tjointheTheosophistsandkissBuddha’sbigtoe，didyou？I
　　triedtogetintotheirsetonce，buttheycastmeoutforaskeptic-withoutachanceofimprovingmypoorlittlemind，too。”
　　“No，Ididn’tTheosophilanderJacksays“-“NevermindJackWhatahusbandsaysisknownbeforeWhatdidyoudo？”
　　“Imadealastingimpression。”
　　“SohaveI-forfourmonthsButthatdidn’tconsolemeintheleast。
　　IhatedthemanWiflyoustopsmilinginthatinscrutablewayandtellmewhatyoumean？”
　　MrsMallowetold。
　　*
　　“And-you-mean~to~saythatitisabsolutelyPlatoniconbothsides？”
　　“Absolutely，orIshouldneverhavetakenitup。”
　　“Andhislastpromotionwasduetoyou？”
　　MrsMallowenodded。
　　“AndyouwarnedhimagainsttheTopshamgirl？”
　　Anothernod。
　　“AndtoldhimofSirDugaldDelane’sprivatememoabouthim？”
　　Athirdnod。
　　“Why？”
　　“Whataquestiontoaskawoman！BecauseitamusedmeatfirstI
　　amproudofmypropertynowIfIliveheshallcontinuetobesuccessfulYes，IwillputhimuponthestraightroadtoKnighthood，andeverythingelsethatamanvaluesTherestdependsuponhimself。”
　　“Polly，youareamostextraordinarywoman。”
　　“NotintheleastI’mconcentrated，that’sallYoudiffuseyourself，dear；andthoughallSimlaknowsyourskillinmanagingateam“-“Can’tyouchooseaprettierword？”“Team，ofhalfadozen，fromTheMussucktotheHawleyBoy，yougainnothingbyitNotevenamusement。”
　　“Andyou？”
　　“TrymyrecipeTakeaman，notaboy，mind，butanalmostmature，unattachedman，andbethisguide，philosopher，andfriendYou’llfinditthemostinterestingoccupationthatyoueverembarkedonItcanbedone-youneedn’tlooklikethat-becauseI’vedoneit。”
　　“There’sanelementofriskaboutitthatmakesthenotionattractiveI’llgetsuchamanandsaytohim，’Now，understandthattheremustbenoflirtaTHEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
　　193
　　tionDoexactlywhatItellyou，profitbyniyinstructionandcounsels，andallwillyetbewell。’Isthattheidea？”
　　“Moreorless。”saidMrsMallowewithanunfathomablesmile。
　　“Butbe~ureheunderstands。”
　　II
　　Dribhle-dribble-trickle~trickleWhatalotofrawdust！
　　Mydollie’shadanaccidentAndoutcameallthesawdust！-
　　NurseryRhyme。
　　SoMrsHauksbee，in“TheFoundry“whichoverlooksSimlaMall，satatthefeetofMrs。
　　MalloweandgatheredwisdomTheendoftheConferencewastheGreatIdeauponwhichMrs。
　　Hauksbeesoplumedherself。
　　“Iwarnyou。”saidMrsMallowe，beginningtorepentofhersuggestion，“thatthematterisnothalfsoeasyasitlooksAnywoman-eventheTop-shamgirl-cancatchaman，butvery，veryfewknowhowtomanagehimwhencaught。”
　　“Mychild。”wastheanswer，“I’vebeenafemaleStSimonStyliteslookmgdownuponmenforthes~theseyearspastAskTheMussuckwhetherIcanmanagethem。”
　　MrsHauksbeedepartedhumming，“I’llgotohimandsaytohiminmannermostironical。”
　　MrsMallowelaughedtoherselfThenshegrewsuddenlysober。
　　“IwonderwhetherI’vedonewellinadvisingthatamusement？Lucy’sacleverwoman，butathoughttoocareless。”
　　Aweeklater，thetwometataMondayPop“Well？”sa。’dMrs。
　　Mallowe。
　　“I’vecaughthim！”saidMrsHauksbee；hereyesweredancingwithmerriment。
　　“Whoisit，madwoman？I’msorryIeverspoketoyouaboutit。”
　　“LookbetweenthepillarsInthethirdrow；fourthfromtheend。
　　Youcanseehisfacenow。
　　Look！”
　　“OtisYeere！Ofalltheimprobableandimpossiblepeople！Idon’tbeliev~you。”
　　“Hsh！WaittillMrsTarkassbeginsmurderingMiltonWellings；
　　andI’lltellyouallaboutit。
　　S-s-ss！Thatwoman5voicealwaysremindsmeofanUndergroundtraincomingintoEarl’sCourtwiththebreaksonNowlistenItisreallyOtisYeere。”
　　“SoIsee，butdoesitfollowthatheisyourproperty？”
　　“Heis！ByrightoftroveIfoundhim，lonelyandunbefriended，theverynextnightafterourtalk，attheDugaldDelane’sburra-khanaIlikedhiseyes，andItalkedtohimNextdayhecalled。
　　Nextdaywewentforaridetogether，andto-dayhe’stiedtomy’rickshaw-wheelshandandfoot。
　　You’llseewhentheconcert’soverHedoesn’tknowI’mhereyet。”
　　“Thankgoodnessyouhaven’tchosenaboyWhatareyougoingtodowithhim，assumingthatyou’vegothim？”
　　“Assuming，indeed！Doesawoman-doI-evermakeamistakeinthatsortofthing？First“-Mrs。
　　Hauksbeetickedofftheitemsostentatiouslyonherlittleglovedfingers-“First，mydear，IshalldresshimproperlyAtpresenthisraimentisadisgrace，andhewearsadressshirtlikeacrumpledsheetofthePioneerSecondly，afterIhavemadehimpresentable，~，~hallformhismanners-hismoralsareabovereproach。”
　　“Youseemto~a“ediscoveredagreatdealabouthimconsideringtheshortnessofyouracquaintance。”
　　“SurelyyououghttoknowthatthefirstproofamangivesofhisinterestinawomanisbytalkingtoherabouthisownsweetselfIfthewomanlistenswithoutyawning，hebeginstolikeherIfsheflatterstheanimal’svanity，heendsbyadoringher。”
　　“Insomecases。”
　　“NevermindtheexceptionsIknowwhichoneyouarethinkingof。
　　Thirdly，andlastly，afterheispolishedandmadepretty，Ishall，asyousaid，behisguide，philosopherandfriend，andheshallbecomeasuccess-asgreatasuccessasyourfriendIalwayswonderedhowthatmangotonDidTheMussuckcometoyouwiththeCivilListand，droppingononekne~no，twoknees，a’laGibbon-handittoyouandsay，’Adorableangel，chooseyourfriend’sa~pointment’？”
　　“Lucy，yourlongexperiencesoftheMilitaryDepartmentbavedemoralizedyouOnedoesn’tdothatsortofthingontheCivilSide。”
　　“NodisrespectmeanttoJack’sService，mydearIonlyaskedforinformationGivemethreemonths，andseewhatchangesIshallworkinmyprey。”
　　“GoyourownwaysinceyoumustButI’msorrythatIwasweakenough~osuggesttheamusement。”
　　’Iamalldiscretion，andmaybetrustedtoanin-fin4teextent，’“
　　quotedMrsHauksbeefromTheFallenAngel；d’ndtheconversationceasedwithMrsTarkass’slast，long-drawnwar-whoop。
　　Herbitterestenemies-andshehadmany-couldhardlyaccuseMrs。
　　Hauksbeeofwastinghertim~
　　OtisYzerewasoneofthosewandering“dumb’characters，foredoomedthroughlifetobenobody’sproperty。
　　TenyearsinHerMajesty’sBengalCivilService，spent，forthemostpart，inundesirableDistricts，hadgivenhimlittletobeproudof，andnothingtobringconfidenceOldenoughtohavelostthefirstfinecarelessrapturethatshowersontheimmature’StuntimaginaryCommissioner-shipsandStars，andsendshimintothecollarwithcoltishearnestnessandabandon；tooyoungtobeyetabletolookbackupontheprogresshehadmade，andthankProvidencethatundertheconditionsofthedayhehadcomeevensofar，hestooduponthedead-centreofhiscareerAndwhenamanstandsstill，hefeelstheslightestimpulsefromwithoutFortunehadruledthatOtisYeereshouldbe，forthefirstpartofhisservice，oneoftherankandfilewhoaregroundupinthewheelsoftheAdministration；losingheartandsoul，andmindandstrength，intheprocessUntilsteamreplacesmanualpowerintheworkingoftheEmpire，theremustalwaysbethispercentage-mustalwaysbethemenwhoareusedup，expended，inthemeremechanicalroutineForthesepromotionisfaroffandthemil？grindofeverydayveryinstantTheSecretariatsknowthemonlybyname；
　　theyarenotthepickedmenoftheDistrictswithDivisionsandCollectoratesawaitingthem。
　　Theyaresimplytherankandfile-thefoodforfever-sharingwiththeryotandtheplough-bullockthehonorofbeingtheplinthonwhichtheStaterestsTheolderoneshavelosttheiraspirations；theyoungerareputtingtheirsasidewithasighBothlearntoendurepatientlyuntiltheTHEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
　　l0-~
　　learnedwhatmanner0？lifehehadledinwhatshevaguelycalled“thoseawfulcholeradistricts“；learnedtoo，butthisknowledgecamelater，whatmanneroflifehehadpurposedtoleadandwhatdreamshehaddreameditheyearofgrace’77，beforetherealityhadknockedtheheartoutofhimVerypleasantaretheshadybridle-pathsroundProspectHillforthetellingofsuchconfidences。
　　“Notyet。”saidMrsHauksbcetoMrsMallowe“NotyetImustwaituntilthemanisproperlydressed，atleastGreatHeavens，isitpossiblethathedoesn’tknowwhatanhonoritistobetakenupbyMe！”
　　MrsHauksbeedidnotreckonfalsemodestyasoneofherfailings。
　　“AlwayswithMrsHauksbee！”murmuredMrsMallowe，withhersweetestsmile，toOtis“Ohyoumen，youmen！HereareourPunjabisgrowlingbecauseyou’vemonopolizedthenicestwomaninSimlaThey’lltearyoutopiecesontheMall，someday，MrYeere。”
　　MrsMallowerattleddown-hill，havingsatisfiedherself，byaglancethroughthefringeofhersunshade，oftheeffectofherwords。
　　TheshotwenthomeOfasuretyOtisYeerewassomebodyinthisbewilderingwhirlofSimla-hadmonopolixedthenicestwomaninitandthePunjabisweregrowlingThenotionjustifiedamildglowofvanityHehadneverlookeduponhisacquaintancewithMrsHauksbeeasamatterforgeneralinterest。
　　Theknowledgeofenvywasapleas-antfeelingtothemanofnoaccountItwasintensifiedlaterinthedaywhenaluncherattheClubsaid，spitetully，“~Vell，foradebilitatedDitcher，Yecre，“udufthedayTwelveyearsintherankandfile，mensay，willsaptheheartsofthebravestanddullthewitsofthemostkeen。
　　OutofthislifeOtisYeerehadfledforafewmonths；drifting，inthehopeofalittlemasculinesociety，intoSimlaWhenhisleavewasoverhewouldreturntohisswampy，sour-green，undermannedBengaldistrict；tothenativeAssistant，thenativeDoctor，thenativeMagistrate，thesteaming，swelteringStation，theill-kemptCity，andtheundisguisedinsolenceoftheMunicipalitythatbabbledawaythelivesofmenLifewascheaphoweverThesoilspawnedhumanity，asitbredfrogsintheRains，andthegapofthesicknessofoneseasonwasfilledtooverflowingbythefecundityofthenextOtiswas’infeignedlythankfultolaydownhisworkforalittlewhileandescapefromtheseething，whining，weaklyhive，impotenttohelpitself，butstronginitspowertocripple，thwart，andannoythesunken~eyedmanwho，byofficialironywassaidtobe“incharge“ofit。
　　“Iknewtherewerewomen-dowdiesinBengalTheycomeupheresometimesButIdidn’tknowthatthereweremen-dowds，too。”
　　Then，forthefirsttime，itoccurredtoOtisYeerethathisclothesworethemarkoftheagesItwillbeseenthathisfriendshipwithMrsHauksbeehadmadegreatstrides。
　　Asthatladytruthfullysays，amanisneversohappyaswhenheistalkingabouthimselfFromOtisYeere’slipsMrsHauksbee，beforelong，learnedeverythingthatshewishedtoknowaboutthesubjectofherexperiment：