with them, those two faces of the question between
which there was so little to choose for inspiration.
It was perhaps superficially more striking that one
could live if one would; but it was more appealing,
insinuating, irresistible, in short, that one would live
if one could.

She found after this, for the day or two, more
amusement than she had ventured to count on in
the fact, if it were not a mere fancy, of deceiving
Susie; and she presently felt that what made the
difference was the mere fancy as this was one
of a countermove to her great man. His taking on
himself should he do so to get at her companion
made her suddenly, she held, irresponsible, made any
notion of her own all right for her; though indeed
at the very moment she invited herself to enjoy this
impunity she became aware of new matter for sur
prise, or at least for speculation. Her idea would
rather have been that Mrs. Stringham would have
looked at her hard her sketch of the grounds of
her long, independent excursion showing, she could
feel, as almost cynically superficial. Yet the dear
woman so failed, in the event, to avail herself of any
right of criticism that it was sensibly tempting, for
an hour, to wonder if Kate Croy had been playing
perfectly fair. Hadn't she possibly, from motives
of the highest benevolence, promptings of the finest
anxiety, just given poor Susie what she would have
called the straight tip? It must immediately be
mentioned, however, that, quite apart from a remem-

[[278]]

p277 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p278w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p279

v?