of extreme relevance, " And what can you? " She
only, at this, hesitated, and he took up her silence.
"You can describe yourself to yourself as, in a
fine flight, giving up your aunt for me; but what
good, I should like to know, would your fine flight
do me?" As she still said nothing he developed a
little. " We re not possessed of so much, at this
charming pass, please to remember, as that we can
afford not to take hold of any perch held out to
us. I like the way you talk, my dear, about giv
ing up! One doesn't give up the use of a spoon
because one's reduced to living on broth. And your
spoon, that is your aunt, please consider, is partly
mine as well." She rose now, as if in sight of the
term of her effort, in sight of the futility and the
weariness of many things, and moved back to the
poor little glass with which she had communed be
fore. She retouched here again the poise of her hat,
and this brought to her father's lips another re
mark in which impatience, however, had already
been replaced by a funny flare of appreciation. " Oh,
you re all right! Don't muddle yourself up with
me!"

His daughter turned round to him. " The con
dition Aunt Maud makes is that I shall have abso
lutely nothing to do with you; never see you, nor
speak, nor write to you, never go near you nor make
you a sign, nor hold any sort of communication with
you. What she requires is that you shall simply
cease to exist for me."

[[17]]

p016 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p017w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p018

v?