Howards End  Only connect  by E .  M .  Forster  Chapter 1  One may as well begin with Helen 'sletters to her sister .  Howards End , Tuesday . Dearest Meg , It is n't going to be what we expected . It is old and little , and altogether delightful — red brick . We can scarcely pack in as it is , and the dear knows what will happen when Paul ( younger son ) arrives tomorrow . From hall you go right or left into dining-room or drawing-room . Hall itself is practically a room . You open another door in it , and there are the stairs going up in a sort of tunnel to the first-floor . Three bedrooms in a row there , and three attics in a row above . That is n't all the house really , but it 'sall that one notices — nine windows as you look up from the front garden . Then there 'sa very big wych-elm — to the left as you look up — leaning a little over the house , and standing on the boundary between the garden and meadow . I quite love that tree already . Also ordinary elms , oaks — no nastier than ordinary oaks — pear-trees , apple-trees , and a vine . No silver birches , though . However , I must get on to my host and hostess . I only wanted to show that it is n't the least what we expected . Why did we settle that their house would be all gables and wiggles , and their garden all gamboge-coloured paths ? I believe simply because we associate them with expensive hotels — Mrs. Wilcox trailing in beautiful dresses down long corridors , Mr. Wilcox bullying porters , etc. We females are that unjust . I shall be back Saturday ; will let you know train later . They are as angry as I am that you did not come too ; really Tibby is too tiresome , he starts a new mortal disease every month . How could he have got hay fever in London ? and even if he could , it seems hard that you should give up a visit to hear a schoolboy sneeze . Tell him that Charles Wilcox ( the son who is here ) has hay fever too , but he 'sbrave , and gets quite cross when we inquire after it . Men like the Wilcoxes would do Tibby a power of good . But you wo n't agree , and I 'dbetter change the subject . This long letter is because I 'mwriting before breakfast . Oh , the beautiful vine leaves ! The house is covered with a vine . I looked out earlier , and Mrs. Wilcox was already in the garden . She evidently loves it . No wonder she sometimes looks tired . She was watching the large red poppies come out . Then she walked off the lawn to the meadow , whose corner to the right I can just see . Trail , trail , went her long dress over the sopping grass , and she came back with her hands full of the hay that was cut yesterday — I suppose for rabbits or something , as she kept on smelling it . The air here is delicious . Later on I heard the noise of croquet balls , and looked out again , and it was Charles Wilcox practising ; they are keen on all games . Presently he started sneezing and had to stop . Then I hear more clicketing , and it is Mr. Wilcox practising , and then , ' a-tissue , a-tissue ': he has to stop too . Then Evie comes out , and does some calisthenic exercises on a machine that is tacked on to a greengage-tree — they put everything to use — and then she says 'a-tissue , ' and in she goes . And finally Mrs. Wilcox reappears , trail , trail , still smelling hay and looking at the flowers . I inflict all this on you because once you said that life is sometimes life and sometimes only a drama , and one must learn to distinguish t'other from which , and up to now I have always put that down as 'Meg 'sclever nonsense . ' But this morning , it really does seem not life but a play , and it did amuse me enormously to watch the W 's. Now Mrs. Wilcox has come in . I am going to wear [ omission ] . Last night Mrs. Wilcox wore an [ omission ] , and Evie [ omission ] . So it is n't exactly a go-as-you-please place , and if you shut your eyes it still seems the wiggly hotel that we expected . Not if you open them . The dog-roses are too sweet . There is a great hedge of them over the lawn — magnificently tall , so that they fall down in garlands , and nice and thin at the bottom , so that you can see ducks through it and a cow . These belong to the farm , which is the only house near us . There goes the breakfast gong . Much love . Modified love to Tibby . Love to Aunt Juley ; how good of her to come and keep you company , but what a bore . Burn this . Will write again Thursday . Helen  Howards End , Friday . Dearest Meg , I am having a glorious time . I like them all . Mrs. Wilcox , if quieter than in Germany , is sweeter than ever , and I never saw anything like her steady unselfishness , and the best of it is that the others do not take advantage of her . They are the very happiest , jolliest family that you can imagine . I do really feel that we are making friends . The fun of it is that they think me a noodle , and say so — at least Mr. Wilcox does — and when that happens , and one does n't mind , it 'sa pretty sure test , is n't it ? He says the most horrid things about women 'ssuffrage so nicely , and when I said I believed in equality he just folded his arms and gave me such a setting down as I 'venever had . Meg , shall we ever learn to talk less ? I never felt so ashamed of myself in my life . I could n't point to a time when men had been equal , nor even to a time when the wish to be equal had made them happier in other ways . I could n't say a word . I had just picked up the notion that equality is good from some book — probably from poetry , or you . Anyhow , it 'sbeen knocked into pieces , and , like all people who are really strong , Mr. Wilcox did it without hurting me . On the other hand , I laugh at them for catching hay fever . We live like fighting-cocks , and Charles takes us out every day in the motor — a tomb with trees in it , a hermit 'shouse , a wonderful road that was made by the Kings of Mercia — tennis — a cricket match — bridge — and at night we squeeze up in this lovely house . The whole clan 'shere now — it 'slike a rabbit warren . Evie is a dear . They want me to stop over Sunday — I suppose it wo n't matter if I do . Marvellous weather and the view 'smarvellous — views westward to the high ground . Thank you for your letter . Burn this . Your affectionate Helen  Howards End , Sunday . Dearest , dearest Meg , — I do not know what you will say : Paul and I are in love — the younger son who only came here Wednesday .  Chapter 2  Margaret glanced at her sister 'snote and pushed it over the breakfast-table to her aunt .  There was a moment 'shush , and then the flood-gates opened .  " I can tell you nothing , Aunt Juley .  I know no more than you do .  We met — we only met the father and mother abroad last spring .  I know so little that I did n't even know their son 'sname .  It 'sall so — " She waved her hand and laughed a little .  " In that case it is far too sudden .  "  " Who knows , Aunt Juley , who knows ?  "  " But , Margaret dear , I mean we must n't be unpractical now that we 'vecome to facts .  It is too sudden , surely .  "  " Who knows !  "  " But Margaret dear — "  " I 'llgo for her other letters , " said Margaret .  " No , I wo n't , I 'llfinish my breakfast .  In fact , I have n't them .  We met the Wilcoxes on an awful expedition that we made from Heidelberg to Speyer .  Helen and I had got it into our heads that there was a grand old cathedral at Speyer — the Archbishop of Speyer was one of the seven electors — you know — ' Speyer , Maintz , and Köln .  ' Those three sees once commanded the Rhine Valley and got it the name of Priest Street .  "  " I still feel quite uneasy about this business , Margaret .  "  " The train crossed by a bridge of boats , and at first sight it looked quite fine .  But oh , in five minutes we had seen the whole thing .  The cathedral had been ruined , absolutely ruined , by restoration ; not an inch left of the original structure .  We wasted a whole day , and came across the Wilcoxes as we were eating our sandwiches in the public gardens .  They too , poor things , had been taken in — they were actually stopping at Speyer — and they rather liked Helen insisting that they must fly with us to Heidelberg .  As a matter of fact , they did come on next day .  We all took some drives together .  They knew us well enough to ask Helen to come and see them — at least , I was asked too , but Tibby 'sillness prevented me , so last Monday she went alone .  That 'sall .  You know as much as I do now .  It 'sa young man out the unknown .  She was to have come back Saturday , but put off till Monday , perhaps on account of — I do n't know .  She broke off , and listened to the sounds of a London morning .  Their house was in Wickham Place , and fairly quiet , for a lofty promontory of buildings separated it from the main thoroughfare .  One had the sense of a backwater , or rather of an estuary , whose waters flowed in from the invisible sea , and ebbed into a profound silence while the waves without were still beating .  Though the promontory consisted of flats — expensive , with cavernous entrance halls , full of concierges and palms — it fulfilled its purpose , and gained for the older houses opposite a certain measure of peace .  These , too , would be swept away in time , and another promontory would rise upon their site , as humanity piled itself higher and higher on the precious soil of London .  Mrs. Munt had her own method of interpreting her nieces .  She decided that Margaret was a little hysterical , and was trying to gain time by a torrent of talk .  Feeling very diplomatic , she lamented the fate of Speyer , and declared that never , never should she be so misguided as to visit it , and added of her own accord that the principles of restoration were ill understood in Germany .  " The Germans , " she said , " are too thorough , and this is all very well sometimes , but at other times it does not do .  "  " Exactly , " said Margaret ; " Germans are too thorough .  " And her eyes began to shine .  " Of course I regard you Schlegels as English , " said Mrs. Munt hastily — " English to the backbone .  "  Margaret leaned forward and stroked her hand .  " And that reminds me — Helen 'sletter — "  " Oh , yes , Aunt Juley , I am thinking all right about Helen 'sletter .  I know — I must go down and see her .  I am thinking about her all right .  I am meaning to go down "  " But go with some plan , " said Mrs. Munt , admitting into her kindly voice a note of exasperation .  " Margaret , if I may interfere , do n't be taken by surprise .  What do you think of the Wilcoxes ?  Are they our sort ?  Are they likely people ?  Could they appreciate Helen , who is to my mind a very special sort of person ?  Do they care about Literature and Art ?  That is most important when you come to think of it .  Literature and Art .  Most important .  How old would the son be ?  She says ' younger son .  ' Would he be in a position to marry ?  Is he likely to make Helen happy ?  Did you gather — "  " I gathered nothing .  "  They began to talk at once .  " Then in that case — "  " In that case I can make no plans , do n't you see .  "  " On the contrary — "  " I hate plans .  I hate lines of action .  Helen is n't a baby .  "  " Then in that case , my dear , why go down ?  "  Margaret was silent .  If her aunt could not see why she must go down , she was not going to tell her .  She was not going to say " I love my dear sister ; I must be near her at this crisis of her life .  " The affections are more reticent than the passions , and their expression more subtle .  If she herself should ever fall in love with a man , she , like Helen , would proclaim it from the house-tops , but as she only loved a sister she used the voiceless language of sympathy .  " I consider you odd girls , " continued Mrs. Munt , " and very wonderful girls , and in many ways far older than your years .  But — you wo n't be offended ?  — frankly I feel you are not up to this business .  It requires an older person .  Dear , I have nothing to call me back to Swanage .  " She spread out her plump arms .  " I am all at your disposal .  Let me go down to this house whose name I forget instead of you .  "  " Aunt Juley " — she jumped up and kissed her — " I must , must go to Howards End myself .  You do n't exactly understand , though I can never thank you properly for offering .  "  " I do understand , " retorted Mrs. Munt , with immense confidence .  " I go down in no spirit of interference , but to make inquiries .  Inquiries are necessary .  Now , I am going to be rude .  You would say the wrong thing ; to a certainty you would .  In your anxiety for Helen 'shappiness you would offend the whole of these Wilcoxes by asking one of your impetuous questions — not that one minds offending them .  "  " I shall ask no questions .  I have it in Helen 'swriting that she and a man are in love .  There is no question to ask as long as she keeps to that .  All the rest is n't worth a straw .  A long engagement if you like , but inquiries , questions , plans , lines of action — no , Aunt Juley , no. "  Away she hurried , not beautiful , not supremely brilliant , but filled with something that took the place of both qualities — something best described as a profound vivacity , a continual and sincere response to all that she encountered in her path through life .  " If Helen had written the same to me about a shop-assistant or a penniless clerk — "  " Dear Margaret , do come into the library and shut the door .  Your good maids are dusting the banisters .  "  " — or if she had wanted to marry the man who calls for Carter Paterson , I should have said the same .  " Then , with one of those turns that convinced her aunt that she was not mad really and convinced observers of another type that she was not a barren theorist , she added : " Though in the case of Carter Paterson I should want it to be a very long engagement indeed , I must say .  "  " I should think so , " said Mrs. Munt ; " and , indeed , I can scarcely follow you .  Now , just imagine if you said anything of that sort to the Wilcoxes .  I understand it , but most good people would think you mad .  Imagine how disconcerting for Helen !  What is wanted is a person who will go slowly , slowly in this business , and see how things are and where they are likely to lead to .  "  Margaret was down on this .  " But you implied just now that the engagement must be broken off .  "  " I think probably it must ; but slowly .  "  " Can you break an engagement off slowly ?  " Her eyes lit up .  " What 'san engagement made of , do you suppose ?  I think it 'smade of some hard stuff , that may snap , but ca n't break .  It is different to the other ties of life .  They stretch or bend .  They admit of degree .  They 'redifferent .  "  " Exactly so .  But wo n't you let me just run down to Howards House , and save you all the discomfort ?  I will really not interfere , but I do so thoroughly understand the kind of thing you Schlegels want that one quiet look round will be enough for me .  "  Margaret again thanked her , again kissed her , and then ran upstairs to see her brother .  He was not so well .  The hay fever had worried him a good deal all night .  His head ached , his eyes were wet , his mucous membrane , he informed her , was in a most unsatisfactory condition .  The only thing that made life worth living was the thought of Walter Savage Landor , from whose Imaginary Conversations she had promised to read at frequent intervals during the day .  It was rather difficult .  Something must be done about Helen .  She must be assured that it is not a criminal offence to love at first sight .  A telegram to this effect would be cold and cryptic , a personal visit seemed each moment more impossible .  Now the doctor arrived , and said that Tibby was quite bad .  Might it really be best to accept Aunt Juley 'skind offer , and to send her down to Howards End with a note ?  Certainly Margaret was impulsive .  She did swing rapidly from one decision to another .  Running downstairs into the library , she cried — " Yes , I have changed my mind ; I do wish that you would go .  "  There was a train from King 'sCross at eleven .  At half-past ten Tibby , with rare self-effacement , fell asleep , and Margaret was able to drive her aunt to the station .  " You will remember , Aunt Juley , not to be drawn into discussing the engagement .  Give my letter to Helen , and say whatever you feel yourself , but do keep clear of the relatives .  We have scarcely got their names straight yet , and besides , that sort of thing is so uncivilized and wrong .  " So uncivilized ?  " queried Mrs. Munt , fearing that she was losing the point of some brilliant remark .  " Oh , I used an affected word .  I only meant would you please only talk the thing over with Helen .  "  " Only with Helen .  "  " Because — " But it was no moment to expound the personal nature of love .  Even Margaret shrank from it , and contented herself with stroking her good aunt 'shand , and with meditating , half sensibly and half poetically , on the journey that was about to begin from King 'sCross .  Like many others who have lived long in a great capital , she had strong feelings about the various railway termini .  They are our gates to the glorious and the unknown .  Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine , to them alas !  we return .  In Paddington all Cornwall is latent and the remoter west ; down the inclines of Liverpool Street lie fenlands and the illimitable Broads ; Scotland is through the pylons of Euston ; Wessex behind the poised chaos of Waterloo .  Italians realize this , as is natural ; those of them who are so unfortunate as to serve as waiters in Berlin call the Anhalt Bahnhof the Stazione d'Italia , because by it they must return to their homes .  And he is a chilly Londoner who does not endow his stations with some personality , and extend to them , however shyly , the emotions of fear and love .  To Margaret — I hope that it will not set the reader against her — the station of King 'sCross had always suggested Infinity .  Its very situation — withdrawn a little behind the facile splendours of St. Pancras — implied a comment on the materialism of life .  Those two great arches , colourless , indifferent , shouldering between them an unlovely clock , were fit portals for some eternal adventure , whose issue might be prosperous , but would certainly not be expressed in the ordinary language of prosperity .  If you think this ridiculous , remember that it is not Margaret who is telling you about it ; and let me hasten to add that they were in plenty of time for the train ; that Mrs. Munt , though she took a second-class ticket , was put by the guard into a first ( only two seconds on the train , one smoking and the other babies — one cannot be expected to travel with babies ) ; and that Margaret , on her return to Wickham Place , was confronted with the following telegram :  All over . Wish I had never written . Tell no one . — Helen  But Aunt Juley was gone — gone irrevocably , and no power on earth could stop her .  Chapter 3  Most complacently did Mrs. Munt rehearse her mission .  Her nieces were independent young women , and it was not often that she was able to help them .  Emily 'sdaughters had never been quite like other girls .  They had been left motherless when Tibby was born , when Helen was five and Margaret herself but thirteen .  It was before the passing of the Deceased Wife 'sSister Bill , so Mrs. Munt could without impropriety offer to go and keep house at Wickham Place .  But her brother-in-law , who was peculiar and a German , had referred the question to Margaret , who with the crudity of youth had answered , " No , they could manage much better alone .  " Five years later Mr. Schlegel had died too , and Mrs. Munt had repeated her offer .  Margaret , crude no longer , had been grateful and extremely nice , but the substance of her answer had been the same .  " I must not interfere a third time , " thought Mrs. Munt .  However , of course she did .  She learnt , to her horror , that Margaret , now of age , was taking her money out of the old safe investments and putting it into Foreign Things , which always smash .  Silence would have been criminal .  Her own fortune was invested in Home Rails , and most ardently did she beg her niece to imitate her .  " Then we should be together , dear .  " Margaret , out of politeness , invested a few hundreds in the Nottingham and Derby Railway , and though the Foreign Things did admirably and the Nottingham and Derby declined with the steady dignity of which only Home Rails are capable , Mrs. Munt never ceased to rejoice , and to say , " I did manage that , at all events .  When the smash comes poor Margaret will have a nest-egg to fall back upon .  " This year Helen came of age , and exactly the same thing happened in Helen 'scase ; she also would shift her money out of Consols , but she , too , almost without being pressed , consecrated a fraction of it to the Nottingham and Derby Railway .  So far so good , but in social matters their aunt had accomplished nothing .  Sooner or later the girls would enter on the process known as throwing themselves away , and if they had delayed hitherto , it was only that they might throw themselves more vehemently in the future .  They saw too many people at Wickham Place — unshaven musicians , an actress even , German cousins ( one knows what foreigners are ) , acquaintances picked up at Continental hotels ( one knows what they are too ) .  It was interesting , and down at Swanage no one appreciated culture more than Mrs. Munt ; but it was dangerous , and disaster was bound to come .  How right she was , and how lucky to be on the spot when the disaster came !  The train sped northward , under innumerable tunnels .  It was only an hour 'sjourney , but Mrs. Munt had to raise and lower the window again and again .  She passed through the South Welwyn Tunnel , saw light for a moment , and entered the North Welwyn Tunnel , of tragic fame .  She traversed the immense viaduct , whose arches span untroubled meadows and the dreamy flow of Tewin Water .  She skirted the parks of politicians .  At times the Great North Road accompanied her , more suggestive of infinity than any railway , awakening , after a nap of a hundred years , to such life as is conferred by the stench of motor-cars , and to such culture as is implied by the advertisements of antibilious pills .  To history , to tragedy , to the past , to the future , Mrs. Munt remained equally indifferent ; hers but to concentrate on the end of her journey , and to rescue poor Helen from this dreadful mess .  The station for Howards End was at Hilton , one of the large villages that are strung so frequently along the North Road , and that owe their size to the traffic of coaching and pre-coaching days .  Being near London , it had not shared in the rural decay , and its long High Street had budded out right and left into residential estates .  For about a mile a series of tiled and slated houses passed before Mrs. Munt 'sinattentive eyes , a series broken at one point by six Danish tumuli that stood shoulder to shoulder along the highroad , tombs of soldiers .  Beyond these tumuli habitations thickened , and the train came to a standstill in a tangle that was almost a town .  The station , like the scenery , like Helen 'sletters , struck an indeterminate note .  Into which country will it lead , England or Suburbia ?  It was new , it had island platforms and a subway , and the superficial comfort exacted by business men .  But it held hints of local life , personal intercourse , as even Mrs. Munt was to discover .  " I want a house , " she confided to the ticket boy .  " Its name is Howards Lodge .  Do you know where it is ?  "  " Mr. Wilcox !  " the boy called .  A young man in front of them turned round .  " She 'swanting Howards End .  "  There was nothing for it but to go forward , though Mrs. Munt was too much agitated even to stare at the stranger .  But remembering that there were two brothers , she had the sense to say to him , " Excuse me asking , but are you the younger Mr. Wilcox or the elder ?  "  " The younger .  Can I do anything for you ?  "  " Oh , well " — she controlled herself with difficulty .  " Really .  Are you ?  I — " She moved away from the ticket boy and lowered her voice .  " I am Miss Schlegels aunt .  I ought to introduce myself , ought n't I ?  My name is Mrs. Munt .  "  She was conscious that he raised his cap and said quite coolly , " Oh , rather ; Miss Schlegel is stopping with us .  Did you want to see her ?  "  " Possibly — "  " I 'llcall you a cab .  No ; wait a mo — " He thought .  " Our motor 'shere .  I 'llrun you up in it .  "  " That is very kind — "  " Not at all , if you 'lljust wait till they bring out a parcel from the office .  This way .  "  " My niece is not with you by any chance ?  "  " No ; I came over with my father .  He has gone on north in your train .  You 'llsee Miss Schlegel at lunch .  You 'recoming up to lunch , I hope ?  "  " I should like to come up , " said Mrs. Munt , not committing herself to nourishment until she had studied Helen 'slover a little more .  He seemed a gentleman , but had so rattled her round that her powers of observation were numbed .  She glanced at him stealthily .  To a feminine eye there was nothing amiss in the sharp depressions at the corners of his mouth , nor in the rather box-like construction of his forehead .  He was dark , clean-shaven and seemed accustomed to command .  " In front or behind ?  Which do you prefer ?  It may be windy in front .  "  " In front if I may ; then we can talk .  "  " But excuse me one moment — I ca n't think what they 'redoing with that parcel .  " He strode into the booking-office and called with a new voice : " Hi !  hi , you there !  Are you going to keep me waiting all day ?  Parcel for Wilcox , Howards End .  Just look sharp !  " Emerging , he said in quieter tones : " This station 'sabominably organized ; if I had my way , the whole lot of ' em should get the sack .  May I help you in ?  "  " This is very good of you , " said Mrs. Munt , as she settled herself into a luxurious cavern of red leather , and suffered her person to be padded with rugs and shawls .  She was more civil than she had intended , but really this young man was very kind .  Moreover , she was a little afraid of him : his self-possession was extraordinary .  " Very good indeed , " she repeated , adding : " It is just what I should have wished .  "  " Very good of you to say so , " he replied , with a slight look of surprise , which , like most slight looks , escaped Mrs. Munt 'sattention .  " I was just tooling my father over to catch the down train .  "  " You see , we heard from Helen this morning .  "  Young Wilcox was pouring in petrol , starting his engine , and performing other actions with which this story has no concern .  The great car began to rock , and the form of Mrs. Munt , trying to explain things , sprang agreeably up and down among the red cushions .  " The mater will be very glad to see you , " he mumbled .  " Hi !  I say .  Parcel for Howards End .  Bring it out .  Hi !  "  A bearded porter emerged with the parcel in one hand and an entry book in the other .  With the gathering whir of the motor these ejaculations mingled : " Sign , must I ?  Why the — should I sign after all this bother ?  Not even got a pencil on you ?  Remember next time I report you to the station-master .  My time 'sof value , though yours may n't be .  Here " — here being a tip .  " Extremely sorry , Mrs. Munt .  "  " Not at all , Mr. Wilcox .  "  " And do you object to going through the village ?  It is rather a longer spin , but I have one or two commissions .  "  " I should love going through the village .  Naturally I am very anxious to talk things over with you .  "  As she said this she felt ashamed , for she was disobeying Margaret 'sinstructions .  Only disobeying them in the letter , surely .  Margaret had only warned her against discussing the incident with outsiders .  Surely it was not " uncivilized or wrong " to discuss it with the young man himself , since chance had thrown them together .  A reticent fellow , he made no reply .  Mounting by her side , he put on gloves and spectacles , and off they drove , the bearded porter — life is a mysterious business — looking after them with admiration .  The wind was in their faces down the station road , blowing the dust into Mrs. Munt 'seyes .  But as soon as they turned into the Great North Road she opened fire .  " You can well imagine , " she said , " that the news was a great shock to us .  "  " What news ?  "  " Mr. Wilcox , " she said frankly .  " Margaret has told me everything — everything .  I have seen Helen 'sletter .  "  He could not look her in the face , as his eyes were fixed on his work ; he was travelling as quickly as he dared down the High Street .  But he inclined his head in her direction , and said , " I beg your pardon ; I did n't catch .  "  " About Helen .  Helen , of course .  Helen is a very exceptional person — I am sure you will let me say this , feeling towards her as you do — indeed , all the Schlegels are exceptional .  I come in no spirit of interference , but it was a great shock .  "  They drew up opposite a draper 's.  Without replying , he turned round in his seat , and contemplated the cloud of dust that they had raised in their passage through the village .  It was settling again , but not all into the road from which he had taken it .  Some of it had percolated through the open windows , some had whitened the roses and gooseberries of the wayside gardens , while a certain proportion had entered the lungs of the villagers .  " I wonder when they 'lllearn wisdom and tar the roads , " was his comment .  Then a man ran out of the draper 'swith a roll of oilcloth , and off they went again .  " Margaret could not come herself , on account of poor Tibby , so I am here to represent her and to have a good talk .  "  " I 'msorry to be so dense , " said the young man , again drawing up outside a shop .  " But I still have n't quite understood .  "  " Helen , Mr. Wilcox — my niece and you .  "  He pushed up his goggles and gazed at her , absolutely bewildered .  Horror smote her to the heart , for even she began to suspect that they were at cross-purposes , and that she had commenced her mission by some hideous blunder .  " Miss Schlegel and myself .  " he asked , compressing his lips .  " I trust there has been no misunderstanding , " quavered Mrs. Munt .  " Her letter certainly read that way .  "  " What way ?  "  " That you and she — " She paused , then drooped her eyelids .  " I think I catch your meaning , " he said stickily .  " What an extraordinary mistake !  "  " Then you did n't the least — " she stammered , getting blood-red in the face , and wishing she had never been born .  " Scarcely , as I am already engaged to another lady .  " There was a moment 'ssilence , and then he caught his breath and exploded with , " Oh , good God !  Do n't tell me it 'ssome silliness of Paul 's.  "  " But you are Paul .  "  " I 'mnot .  "  " Then why did you say so at the station ?  "  " I said nothing of the sort .  "  " I beg your pardon , you did .  "  " I beg your pardon , I did not .  My name is Charles .  "  " Younger " may mean son as opposed to father , or second brother as opposed to first .  There is much to be said for either view , and later on they said it .  But they had other questions before them now .  " Do you mean to tell me that Paul — "  But she did not like his voice .  He sounded as if he was talking to a porter , and , certain that he had deceived her at the station , she too grew angry .  " Do you mean to tell me that Paul and your niece — "  Mrs. Munt — such is human nature — determined that she would champion the lovers .  She was not going to be bullied by a severe young man .  " Yes , they care for one another very much indeed , " she said .  " I dare say they will tell you about it by-and-by .  We heard this morning .  "  And Charles clenched his fist and cried , " The idiot , the idiot , the little fool !  "  Mrs. Munt tried to divest herself of her rugs .  " If that is your attitude , Mr. Wilcox , I prefer to walk .  "  " I beg you will do no such thing .  I 'lltake you up this moment to the house .  Let me tell you the thing 'simpossible , and must be stopped .  "  Mrs. Munt did not often lose her temper , and when she did it was only to protect those whom she loved .  On this occasion she blazed out .  " I quite agree , sir .  The thing is impossible , and I will come up and stop it .  My niece is a very exceptional person , and I am not inclined to sit still while she throws herself away on those who will not appreciate her .  "  Charles worked his jaws .  " Considering she has only known your brother since Wednesday , and only met your father and mother at a stray hotel — "  " Could you possibly lower your voice ?  The shopman will overhear .  "  " Esprit de classe " — if one may coin the phrase — was strong in Mrs. Munt .  She sat quivering while a member of the lower orders deposited a metal funnel , a saucepan , and a garden squirt beside the roll of oilcloth .  " Right behind ?  "  " Yes , sir .  " And the lower orders vanished in a cloud of dust .  " I warn you : Paul has n't a penny ; it 'suseless .  "  " No need to warn us , Mr. Wilcox , I assure you .  The warning is all the other way .  My niece has been very foolish , and I shall give her a good scolding and take her back to London with me .  "  " He has to make his way out in Nigeria .  He could n't think of marrying for years and when he does it must be a woman who can stand the climate , and is in other ways — Why has n't he told us ?  Of course he 'sashamed .  He knows he 'sbeen a fool .  And so he has — a damned fool .  "  She grew furious .  " Whereas Miss Schlegel has lost no time in publishing the news .  "  " If I were a man , Mr. Wilcox , for that last remark I 'dbox your ears .  You 'renot fit to clean my niece 'sboots , to sit in the same room with her , and you dare — you actually dare — I decline to argue with such a person .  "  " All I know is , she 'sspread the thing and he has n't , and my father 'saway and I — "  " And all that I know is — "  " Might I finish my sentence , please ?  "  " No. "  Charles clenched his teeth and sent the motor swerving all over the lane .  She screamed .  So they played the game of Capping Families , a round of which is always played when love would unite two members of our race .  But they played it with unusual vigour , stating in so many words that Schlegels were better than Wilcoxes , Wilcoxes better than Schlegels .  They flung decency aside .  The man was young , the woman deeply stirred ; in both a vein of coarseness was latent .  Their quarrel was no more surprising than are most quarrels — inevitable at the time , incredible afterwards .  But it was more than usually futile .  A few minutes , and they were enlightened .  The motor drew up at Howards End , and Helen , looking very pale , ran out to meet her aunt .  " Aunt Juley , I have just had a telegram from Margaret ; I — I meant to stop your coming .  It is n't — it 'sover .  "  The climax was too much for Mrs. Munt .  She burst into tears .  " Aunt Juley dear , do n't .  Do n't let them know I 'vebeen so silly .  It was n't anything .  Do bear up for my sake .  "  " Paul , " cried Charles Wilcox , pulling his gloves off .  " Do n't let them know .  They are never to know .  "  " Oh , my darling Helen — "  " Paul !  Paul !  "  A very young man came out of the house .  " Paul , is there any truth in this ?  "  " I did n't — I do n't — "  " Yes or no , man ; plain question , plain answer .  Did or did n't Miss Schlegel — "  " Charles dear , " said a voice from the garden .  " Charles , dear Charles , one does n't ask plain questions .  There are n't such things .  "  They were all silent .  It was Mrs. Wilcox .  She approached just as Helen 'sletter had described her , trailing noiselessly over the lawn , and there was actually a wisp of hay in her hands .  She seemed to belong not to the young people and their motor , but to the house , and to the tree that overshadowed it .  One knew that she worshipped the past , and that the instinctive wisdom the past can alone bestow had descended upon her — that wisdom to which we give the clumsy name of aristocracy .  High born she might not be .  But assuredly she cared about her ancestors , and let them help her .  When she saw Charles angry , Paul frightened , and Mrs. Munt in tears , she heard her ancestors say , " Separate those human beings who will hurt each other most .  The rest can wait .  " So she did not ask questions .  Still less did she pretend that nothing had happened , as a competent society hostess would have done .  She said , " Miss Schlegel , would you take your aunt up to your room or to my room , whichever you think best .  Paul , do find Evie , and tell her lunch for six , but I 'mnot sure whether we shall all be downstairs for it .  " And when they had obeyed her , she turned to her elder son , who still stood in the throbbing stinking car , and smiled at him with tenderness , and without a word , turned away from him towards her flowers .  " Mother , " he called , " are you aware that Paul has been playing the fool again ?  "  " It 'sall right , dear .  They have broken off the engagement .  "  " Engagement — !  "  " They do not love any longer , if you prefer it put that way , " said Mrs. Wilcox , stooping down to smell a rose .  Chapter 4  Helen and her aunt returned to Wickham Place in a state of collapse , and for a little time Margaret had three invalids on her hands .  Mrs. Munt soon recovered .  She possessed to a remarkable degree the power of distorting the past , and before many days were over she had forgotten the part played by her own imprudence in the catastrophe .  Even at the crisis she had cried , " Thank goodness , poor Margaret is saved this !  " which during the journey to London evolved into , " It had to be gone through by someone , " which in its turn ripened into the permanent form of " The one time I really did help Emily 'sgirls was over the Wilcox business .  " But Helen was a more serious patient .  New ideas had burst upon her like a thunder clap , and by them and by her reverberations she had been stunned .  The truth was that she had fallen in love , not with an individual , but with a family .  Before Paul arrived she had , as it were , been tuned up into his key .  The energy of the Wilcoxes had fascinated her , had created new images of beauty in her responsive mind .  To be all day with them in the open air , to sleep at night under their roof , had seemed the supreme joy of life , and had led to that abandonment of personality that is a possible prelude to love .  She had liked giving in to Mr. Wilcox , or Evie , or Charles ; she had liked being told that her notions of life were sheltered or academic ; that Equality was nonsense , Votes for Women nonsense , Socialism nonsense , Art and Literature , except when conducive to strengthening the character , nonsense .  One by one the Schlegel fetiches had been overthrown , and , though professing to defend them , she had rejoiced .  When Mr. Wilcox said that one sound man of business did more good to the world than a dozen of your social reformers , she had swallowed the curious assertion without a gasp , and had leant back luxuriously among the cushions of his motor-car .  When Charles said , " Why be so polite to servants ?  they do n't understand it , " she had not given the Schlegel retort of , " If they do n't understand it , I do .  " No ; she had vowed to be less polite to servants in the future .  " I am swathed in cant , " she thought , " and it is good for me to be stripped of it .  " And all that she thought or did or breathed was a quiet preparation for Paul .  Paul was inevitable .  Charles was taken up with another girl , Mr. Wilcox was so old , Evie so young , Mrs. Wilcox so different .  Round the absent brother she began to throw the halo of Romance , to irradiate him with all the splendour of those happy days , to feel that in him she should draw nearest to the robust ideal .  He and she were about the same age , Evie said .  Most people thought Paul handsomer than his brother .  He was certainly a better shot , though not so good at golf .  And when Paul appeared , flushed with the triumph of getting through an examination , and ready to flirt with any pretty girl , Helen met him halfway , or more than halfway , and turned towards him on the Sunday evening .  He had been talking of his approaching exile in Nigeria , and he should have continued to talk of it , and allowed their guest to recover .  But the heave of her bosom flattered him .  Passion was possible , and he became passionate .  Deep down in him something whispered , " This girl would let you kiss her ; you might not have such a chance again .  "  That was " how it happened , " or , rather , how Helen described it to her sister , using words even more unsympathetic than my own .  But the poetry of that kiss , the wonder of it , the magic that there was in life for hours after it — who can describe that ?  It is so easy for an Englishman to sneer at these chance collisions of human beings .  To the insular cynic and the insular moralist they offer an equal opportunity .  It is so easy to talk of " passing emotion , " and how to forget how vivid the emotion was ere it passed .  Our impulse to sneer , to forget , is at root a good one .  We recognize that emotion is not enough , and that men and women are personalities capable of sustained relations , not mere opportunities for an electrical discharge .  Yet we rate the impulse too highly .  We do not admit that by collisions of this trivial sort the doors of heaven may be shaken open .  To Helen , at all events , her life was to bring nothing more intense than the embrace of this boy who played no part in it .  He had drawn her out of the house , where there was danger of surprise and light ; he had led her by a path he knew , until they stood under the column of the vast wych-elm .  A man in the darkness , he had whispered " I love you " when she was desiring love .  In time his slender personality faded , the scene that he had evoked endured .  In all the variable years that followed she never saw the like of it again .  " I understand , " said Margaret — " at least , I understand as much as ever is understood of these things .  Tell me now what happened on the Monday morning .  "  " It was over at once .  "  " How , Helen ?  "  " I was still happy while I dressed , but as I came downstairs I got nervous , and when I went into the dining-room I knew it was no good .  There was Evie — I ca n't explain — managing the tea-urn , and Mr. Wilcox reading the Times .  "  " Was Paul there ?  "  " Yes ; and Charles was talking to him about Stocks and Shares , and he looked frightened .  "  By slight indications the sisters could convey much to each other .  Margaret saw horror latent in the scene , and Helen 'snext remark did not surprise her .  " Somehow , when that kind of man looks frightened it is too awful .  It is all right for us to be frightened , or for men of another sort — father , for instance ; but for men like that !  When I saw all the others so placid , and Paul mad with terror in case I said the wrong thing , I felt for a moment that the whole Wilcox family was a fraud , just a wall of newspapers and motor-cars and golf-clubs , and that if it fell I should find nothing behind it but panic and emptiness .  "  " I do n't think that .  The Wilcoxes struck me as being genuine people , particularly the wife .  "  " No , I do n't really think that .  But Paul was so broad-shouldered ; all kinds of extraordinary things made it worse , and I knew that it would never do — never .  I said to him after breakfast , when the others were practising strokes , ' We rather lost our heads , ' and he looked better at once , though frightfully ashamed .  He began a speech about having no money to marry on , but it hurt him to make it , and I — stopped him .  Then he said , ' I must beg your pardon over this , Miss Schlegel ; I ca n't think what came over me last night .  ' And I said , ' Nor what over me ; never mind .  ' And then we parted — at least , until I remembered that I had written straight off to tell you the night before , and that frightened him again .  I asked him to send a telegram for me , for he knew you would be coming or something ; and he tried to get hold of the motor , but Charles and Mr. Wilcox wanted it to go to the station ; and Charles offered to send the telegram for me , and then I had to say that the telegram was of no consequence , for Paul said Charles might read it , and though I wrote it out several times , he always said people would suspect something .  He took it himself at last , pretending that he must walk down to get cartridges , and , what with one thing and the other , it was not handed in at the Post Office until too late .  It was the most terrible morning .  Paul disliked me more and more , and Evie talked cricket averages till I nearly screamed .  I cannot think how I stood her all the other days .  At last Charles and his father started for the station , and then came your telegram warning me that Aunt Juley was coming by that train , and Paul — oh , rather horrible — said that I had muddled it .  But Mrs. Wilcox knew .  "  " Knew what ?  "  " Everything ; though we neither of us told her a word , and had known all along , I think .  "  " Oh , she must have overheard you .  "  " I suppose so , but it seemed wonderful .  When Charles and Aunt Juley drove up , calling each other names , Mrs. Wilcox stepped in from the garden and made everything less terrible .  Ugh !  but it has been a disgusting business .  To think that — " She sighed .  " To think that because you and a young man meet for a moment , there must be all these telegrams and anger , " supplied Margaret .  Helen nodded .  " I 'veoften thought about it , Helen .  It 'sone of the most interesting things in the world .  The truth is that there is a great outer life that you and I have never touched — a life in which telegrams and anger count .  Personal relations , that we think supreme , are not supreme there .  There love means marriage settlements , death , death duties .  So far I 'mclear .  But here my difficulty .  This outer life , though obviously horrid , often seems the real one — there 'sgrit in it .  It does breed character .  Do personal relations lead to sloppiness in the end ?  "  " Oh , Meg , that 'swhat I felt , only not so clearly , when the Wilcoxes were so competent , and seemed to have their hands on all the ropes .  "  " Do n't you feel it now ?  "  " I remember Paul at breakfast , " said Helen quietly .  " I shall never forget him .  He had nothing to fall back upon .  I know that personal relations are the real life , for ever and ever .  " Amen !  "  So the Wilcox episode fell into the background , leaving behind it memories of sweetness and horror that mingled , and the sisters pursued the life that Helen had commended .  They talked to each other and to other people , they filled the tall thin house at Wickham Place with those whom they liked or could befriend .  They even attended public meetings .  In their own fashion they cared deeply about politics , though not as politicians would have us care ; they desired that public life should mirror whatever is good in the life within .  Temperance , tolerance , and sexual equality were intelligible cries to them ; whereas they did not follow our Forward Policy in Thibet with the keen attention that it merits , and would at times dismiss the whole British Empire with a puzzled , if reverent , sigh .  Not out of them are the shows of history erected : the world would be a grey , bloodless place were it entirely composed of Miss Schlegels .  But the world being what it is , perhaps they shine out in it like stars .  A word on their origin .  They were not " English to the backbone , " as their aunt had piously asserted .  But , on the other band , they were not " Germans of the dreadful sort .  " Their father had belonged to a type that was more prominent in Germany fifty years ago than now .  He was not the aggressive German , so dear to the English journalist , nor the domestic German , so dear to the English wit .  If one classed him at all it would be as the countryman of Hegel and Kant , as the idealist , inclined to be dreamy , whose Imperialism was the Imperialism of the air .  Not that his life had been inactive .  He had fought like blazes against Denmark , Austria , France .  But he had fought without visualizing the results of victory .  A hint of the truth broke on him after Sedan , when he saw the dyed moustaches of Napoleon going grey ; another when he entered Paris , and saw the smashed windows of the Tuileries .  Peace came — it was all very immense , one had turned into an Empire — but he knew that some quality had vanished for which not all Alsace-Lorraine could compensate him .  Germany a commercial Power , Germany a naval Power , Germany with colonies here and a Forward Policy there , and legitimate aspirations in the other place , might appeal to others , and be fitly served by them ; for his own part , he abstained from the fruits of victory , and naturalized himself in England .  The more earnest members of his family never forgave him , and knew that his children , though scarcely English of the dreadful sort , would never be German to the backbone .  He had obtained work in one of our provincial Universities , and there married Poor Emily ( or Die Engländerin as the case may be ) , and as she had money , they proceeded to London , and came to know a good many people .  But his gaze was always fixed beyond the sea .  It was his hope that the clouds of materialism obscuring the Fatherland would part in time , and the mild intellectual light re-emerge .  " Do you imply that we Germans are stupid , Uncle Ernst ?  " exclaimed a haughty and magnificent nephew .  Uncle Ernst replied , " To my mind .  You use the intellect , but you no longer care about it .  That I call stupidity .  " As the haughty nephew did not follow , he continued , " You only care about the ' things that you can use , and therefore arrange them in the following order : Money , supremely useful ; intellect , rather useful ; imagination , of no use at all .  No " — for the other had protested — " your Pan-Germanism is no more imaginative than is our Imperialism over here .  It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness , to think that a thousand square miles are a thousand times more wonderful than one square mile , and that a million square miles are almost the same as heaven .  That is not imagination .  No , it kills it .  When their poets over here try to celebrate bigness they are dead at once , and naturally .  Your poets too are dying , your philosophers , your musicians , to whom Europe has listened for two hundred years .  Gone .  Gone with the little courts that nurtured them — gone with Esterhaz and Weimar .  What ?  What 'sthat ?  Your Universities ?  Oh , yes , you have learned men , who collect more facts than do the learned men of England .  They collect facts , and facts , and empires of facts .  But which of them will rekindle the light within ?  "  To all this Margaret listened , sitting on the haughty nephew 'sknee .  It was a unique education for the little girls .  The haughty nephew would be at Wickham Place one day , bringing with him an even haughtier wife , both convinced that Germany was appointed by God to govern the world .  Aunt Juley would come the next day , convinced that Great Britain had been appointed to the same post by the same authority .  Were both these loud-voiced parties right ?  On one occasion they had met , and Margaret with clasped hands had implored them to argue the subject out in her presence .  Whereat they blushed , and began to talk about the weather .  " Papa " she cried — she was a most offensive child — " why will they not discuss this most clear question ?  " Her father , surveying the parties grimly , replied that he did not know .  Putting her head on one side , Margaret then remarked , " To me one of two things is very clear ; either God does not know his own mind about England and Germany , or else these do not know the mind of God .  " A hateful little girl , but at thirteen she had grasped a dilemma that most people travel through life without perceiving .  Her brain darted up and down ; it grew pliant and strong .  Her conclusion was , that any human being lies nearer to the unseen than any organization , and from this she never varied .  Helen advanced along the same lines , though with a more irresponsible tread .  In character she resembled her sister , but she was pretty , and so apt to have a more amusing time .  People gathered round her more readily , especially when they were new acquaintances , and she did enjoy a little homage very much .  When their father died and they ruled alone at Wickham Place , she often absorbed the whole of the company , while Margaret — both were tremendous talkers — fell flat .  Neither sister bothered about this .  Helen never apologized afterwards , Margaret did not feel the slightest rancour .  But looks have their influence upon character .  The sisters were alike as little girls , but at the time of the Wilcox episode their methods were beginning to diverge ; the younger was rather apt to entice people , and , in enticing them , to be herself enticed ; the elder went straight ahead , and accepted an occasional failure as part of the game .  Little need be premised about Tibby .  He was now an intelligent man of sixteen , but dyspeptic and difficile .  Chapter 5  It will be generally admitted that Beethoven 'sFifth Symphony is the most sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man .  All sorts and conditions are satisfied by it .  Whether you are like Mrs. Munt , and tap surreptitiously when the tunes come — of course , not so as to disturb the others — ; or like Helen , who can see heroes and shipwrecks in the music 'sflood ; or like Margaret , who can only see the music ; or like Tibby , who is profoundly versed in counterpoint , and holds the full score open on his knee ; or like their cousin , Fräulein Mosebach , who remembers all the time that Beethoven is " echt Deutsch " ; or like Fräulein Mosebach 'syoung man , who can remember nothing but Fräulein Mosebach : in any case , the passion of your life becomes more vivid , and you are bound to admit that such a noise is cheap at two shillings .  It is cheap , even if you hear it in the Queen 'sHall , dreariest music-room in London , though not as dreary as the Free Trade Hall , Manchester ; and even if you sit on the extreme left of that hall , so that the brass bumps at you before the rest of the orchestra arrives , it is still cheap .  " Who is Margaret talking to ?  " said Mrs. Munt , at the conclusion of the first movement .  She was again in London on a visit to Wickham Place .  Helen looked down the long line of their party , and said that she did not know .  " Would it be some young man or other whom she takes an interest in ?  "  " I expect so , " Helen replied .  Music enwrapped her , and she could not enter into the distinction that divides young men whom one takes an interest in from young men whom one knows .  " You girls are so wonderful in always having — Oh dear !  one must n't talk .  "  For the Andante had begun — very beautiful , but bearing a family likeness to all the other beautiful Andantes that Beethoven had written , and , to Helen 'smind , rather disconnecting the heroes and shipwrecks of the first movement from the heroes and goblins of the third .  She heard the tune through once , and then her attention wandered , and she gazed at the audience , or the organ , or the architecture .  Much did she censure the attenuated Cupids who encircle the ceiling of the Queen 'sHall , inclining each to each with vapid gesture , and clad in sallow pantaloons , on which the October sunlight struck .  " How awful to marry a man like those Cupids !  " thought Helen .  Here Beethoven started decorating his tune , so she heard him through once more , and then she smiled at her cousin Frieda .  But Frieda , listening to Classical Music , could not respond .  Herr Liesecke , too , looked as if wild horses could not make him inattentive ; there were lines across his forehead , his lips were parted , his pince-nez at right angles to his nose , and he had laid a thick , white hand on either knee .  And next to her was Aunt Juley , so British , and wanting to tap .  How interesting that row of people was !  What diverse influences had gone to the making !  Here Beethoven , after humming and hawing with great sweetness , said " Heigho , " and the Andante came to an end .  Applause , and a round of " wunderschöning " and " prachtvolleying " from the German contingent .  Margaret started talking to her new young man ; Helen said to her aunt : " Now comes the wonderful movement : first of all the goblins , and then a trio of elephants dancing ; " and Tibby implored the company generally to look out for the transitional passage on the drum .  " On the what , dear ?  "  " On the drum , Aunt Juley .  "  " No ; look out for the part where you think you have done with the goblins and they come back , " breathed Helen , as the music started with a goblin walking quietly over the universe , from end to end .  Others followed him .  They were not aggressive creatures ; it was that that made them so terrible to Helen .  They merely observed in passing that there was no such thing as splendour or heroism in the world .  After the interlude of elephants dancing , they returned and made the observation for the second time .  Helen could not contradict them , for , once at all events , she had felt the same , and had seen the reliable walls of youth collapse .  Panic and emptiness !  Panic and emptiness !  The goblins were right .  Her brother raised his finger : it was the transitional passage on the drum .  For , as if things were going too far , Beethoven took hold of the goblins and made them do what he wanted .  He appeared in person .  He gave them a little push , and they began to walk in major key instead of in a minor , and then — he blew with his mouth and they were scattered !  Gusts of splendour , gods and demigods contending with vast swords , colour and fragrance broadcast on the field of battle , magnificent victory , magnificent death !  Oh , it all burst before the girl , and she even stretched out her gloved hands as if it was tangible .  Any fate was titanic ; any contest desirable ; conqueror and conquered would alike be applauded by the angels of the utmost stars .  And the goblins — they had not really been there at all ?  They were only the phantoms of cowardice and unbelief ?  One healthy human impulse would dispel them ?  Men like the Wilcoxes , or President Roosevelt , would say yes .  Beethoven knew better .  The goblins really had been there .  They might return — and they did .  It was as if the splendour of life might boil over — and waste to steam and froth .  In its dissolution one heard the terrible , ominous note , and a goblin , with increased malignity , walked quietly over the universe from end to end .  Panic and emptiness !  Panic and emptiness !  Even the flaming ramparts of the world might fall .  Beethoven chose to make all right in the end .  He built the ramparts up .  He blew with his mouth for the second time , and again the goblins were scattered .  He brought back the gusts of splendour , the heroism , the youth , the magnificence of life and of death , and , amid vast roarings of a superhuman joy , he led his Fifth Symphony to its conclusion .  But the goblins were there .  They could return .  He had said so bravely , and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things .  Helen pushed her way out during the applause .  She desired to be alone .  The music summed up to her all that had happened or could happen in her career .  She read it as a tangible statement , which could never be superseded .  The notes meant this and that to her , and they could have no other meaning , and life could have no other meaning .  She pushed right out of the building , and walked slowly down the outside staircase , breathing the autumnal air , and then she strolled home .  " Margaret , " called Mrs. Munt , " is Helen all right ?  "  " Oh yes .  "  " She is always going away in the middle of a programme , " said Tibby .  " The music has evidently moved her deeply , " said Fräulein Mosebach .  " Excuse me , " said Margaret 'syoung man , who had for some time been preparing a sentence , " but that lady has , quite inadvertently , taken my umbrella .  "  " Oh , good gracious me !  — I am so sorry .  Tibby , run after Helen .  "  " I shall miss the Four Serious Songs if I do .  "  " Tibby love , you must go .  "  " It is n't of any consequence , " said the young man , in truth a little uneasy about his umbrella .  " But of course it is .  Tibby !  Tibby !  "  Tibby rose to his feet , and wilfully caught his person on the backs of the chairs .  By the time he had tipped up the seat and had found his hat , and had deposited his full score in safety , it was " too late " to go after Helen .  The Four Serious Songs had begun , and one could not move during their performance .  " My sister is so careless , " whispered Margaret .  " Not at all , " replied the young man ; but his voice was dead and cold .  " If you would give me your address — "  " Oh , not at all , not at all ; " and he wrapped his greatcoat over his knees .  Then the Four Serious Songs rang shallow in Margaret 'sears .  Brahms , for all his grumbling and grizzling , had never guessed what it felt like to be suspected of stealing an umbrella .  For this fool of a young man thought that she and Helen and Tibby had been playing the confidence trick on him , and that if he gave his address they would break into his rooms some midnight or other and steal his walkingstick too .  Most ladies would have laughed , but Margaret really minded , for it gave her a glimpse into squalor .  To trust people is a luxury in which only the wealthy can indulge ; the poor cannot afford it .  As soon as Brahms had grunted himself out , she gave him her card and said , " That is where we live ; if you preferred , you could call for the umbrella after the concert , but I did n't like to trouble you when it has all been our fault .  "  His face brightened a little when he saw that Wickham Place was W .  It was sad to see him corroded with suspicion , and yet not daring to be impolite , in case these well-dressed people were honest after all .  She took it as a good sign that he said to her , " It 'sa fine programme this afternoon , is it not ?  " for this was the remark with which he had originally opened , before the umbrella intervened .  " The Beethoven 'sfine , " said Margaret , who was not a female of the encouraging type .  " I do n't like the Brahms , though , nor the Mendelssohn that came first — and ugh !  I do n't like this Elgar that 'scoming .  "  " What , what ?  " called Herr Liesecke , overhearing .  " The Pomp and Circumstance will not be fine ?  "  " Oh , Margaret , you tiresome girl !  " cried her aunt .  " Here have I been persuading Herr Liesecke to stop for Pomp and Circumstance , and you are undoing all my work .  I am so anxious for him to hear what we are doing in music .  Oh , you must n't run down our English composers , Margaret .  "  " For my part , I have heard the composition at Stettin , " said Fräulein Mosebach .  " On two occasions .  It is dramatic , a little .  "  " Frieda , you despise English music .  You know you do .  And English art .  And English Literature , except Shakespeare and he 'sa German .  Very well , Frieda , you may go .  "  The lovers laughed and glanced at each other .  Moved by a common impulse , they rose to their feet and fled from Pomp and Circumstance .  " We have this call to play in Finsbury Circus , it is true , " said Herr Liesecke , as he edged past her and reached the gangway just as the music started .  " Margaret — " loudly whispered by Aunt Juley .  " Margaret , Margaret !  Fräulein Mosebach has left her beautiful little bag behind her on the seat .  "  Sure enough , there was Frieda 'sreticule , containing her address book , her pocket dictionary , her map of London , and her money .  " Oh , what a bother — what a family we are !  Fr-Frieda !  "  " Hush !  " said all those who thought the music fine .  " But it 'sthe number they want in Finsbury Circus — "  " Might I — could n't I — " said the suspicious young man , and got very red .  " Oh , I would be so grateful .  "  He took the bag — money clinking inside it — and slipped up the gangway with it .  He was just in time to catch them at the swing-door , and he received a pretty smile from the German girl and a fine bow from her cavalier .  He returned to his seat up-sides with the world .  The trust that they had reposed in him was trivial , but he felt that it cancelled his mistrust for them , and that probably he would not be " had " over his umbrella .  This young man had been " had " in the past — badly , perhaps overwhelmingly — and now most of his energies went in defending himself against the unknown .  But this afternoon — perhaps on account of music — he perceived that one must slack off occasionally , or what is the good of being alive ?  Wickham Place , W .  , though a risk , was as safe as most things , and he would risk it .  So when the concert was over and Margaret said , " We live quite near ; I am going there now .  Could you walk around with me , and we 'llfind your umbrella ?  " he said , " Thank you , " peaceably , and followed her out of the Queen 'sHall .  She wished that he was not so anxious to hand a lady downstairs , or to carry a lady 'sprogramme for her — his class was near enough her own for its manners to vex her .  But she found him interesting on the whole — every one interested the Schlegels on the whole at that time — and while her lips talked culture , her heart was planning to invite him to tea .  " How tired one gets after music !  " she began .  " Do you find the atmosphere of Queen 'sHall oppressive ?  "  " Yes , horribly .  "  " But surely the atmosphere of Covent Garden is even more oppressive .  "  " Do you go there much ?  "  " When my work permits , I attend the gallery for , the Royal Opera .  "  Helen would have exclaimed , " So do I .  I love the gallery , " and thus have endeared herself to the young man .  Helen could do these things .  But Margaret had an almost morbid horror of " drawing people out , " of " making things go .  " She had been to the gallery at Covent Garden , but she did not " attend " it , preferring the more expensive seats ; still less did she love it .  So she made no reply .  " This year I have been three times — to Faust , Tosca , and — " Was it " Tannhouser " or " Tannhoyser " ?  Better not risk the word .  Margaret disliked Tosca and Faust .  And so , for one reason and another , they walked on in silence , chaperoned by the voice of Mrs. Munt , who was getting into difficulties with her nephew .  " I do in a way remember the passage , Tibby , but when every instrument is so beautiful , it is difficult to pick out one thing rather than another .  I am sure that you and Helen take me to the very nicest concerts .  Not a dull note from beginning to end .  I only wish that our German friends would have stayed till it finished .  "  " But surely you have n't forgotten the drum steadily beating on the low C , Aunt Juley ?  " came Tibby 'svoice .  " No one could .  It 'sunmistakable .  "  " A specially loud part ?  " hazarded Mrs. Munt .  " Of course I do not go in for being musical , " she added , the shot failing .  " I only care for music — a very different thing .  But still I will say this for myself — I do know when I like a thing and when I do n't .  Some people are the same about pictures .  They can go into a picture gallery — Miss Conder can — and say straight off what they feel , all round the wall .  I never could do that .  But music is so different to pictures , to my mind .  When it comes to music I am as safe as houses , and I assure you , Tibby , I am by no means pleased by everything .  There was a thing — something about a faun in French — which Helen went into ecstasies over , but I thought it most tinkling and superficial , and said so , and I held to my opinion too .  "  " Do you agree ?  " asked Margaret .  " Do you think music is so different to pictures ?  "  " I — I should have thought so , kind of , " he said .  " So should I .  Now , my sister declares they 'rejust the same .  We have great arguments over it .  She says I 'mdense ; I say she 'ssloppy .  " Getting under way , she cried : " Now , does n't it seem absurd to you ?  What is the good of the Arts if they are interchangeable ?  What is the good of the ear if it tells you the same as the eye ?  Helen 'sone aim is to translate tunes into the language of painting , and pictures into the language of music .  It 'svery ingenious , and she says several pretty things in the process , but what 'sgained , I 'dlike to know ?  Oh , it 'sall rubbish , radically false .  If Monet 'sreally Debussy , and Debussy 'sreally Monet , neither gentleman is worth his salt — that 'smy opinion .  Evidently these sisters quarrelled .  " Now , this very symphony that we 'vejust been having — she wo n't let it alone .  She labels it with meanings from start to finish ; turns it into literature .  I wonder if the day will ever return when music will be treated as music .  Yet I do n't know .  There 'smy brother — behind us .  He treats music as music , and oh , my goodness !  He makes me angrier than anyone , simply furious .  With him I dare n't even argue .  "  An unhappy family , if talented .  " But , of course , the real villain is Wagner .  He has done more than any man in the nineteenth century towards the muddling of arts .  I do feel that music is in a very serious state just now , though extraordinarily interesting .  Every now and then in history there do come these terrible geniuses , like Wagner , who stir up all the wells of thought at once .  For a moment it 'ssplendid .  Such a splash as never was .  But afterwards — such a lot of mud ; and the wells — as it were , they communicate with each other too easily now , and not one of them will run quite clear .  That 'swhat Wagner 'sdone .  "  Her speeches fluttered away from the young man like birds .  If only he could talk like this , he would have caught the world .  Oh to acquire culture !  Oh , to pronounce foreign names correctly !  Oh , to be well informed , discoursing at ease on every subject that a lady started !  But it would take one years .  With an hour at lunch and a few shattered hours in the evening , how was it possible to catch up with leisured women , who had been reading steadily from childhood ?  His brain might be full of names , he might have even heard of Monet and Debussy ; the trouble was that he could not string them together into a sentence , he could not make them " tell , " he could not quite forget about his stolen umbrella .  Yes , the umbrella was the real trouble .  Behind Monet and Debussy the umbrella persisted , with the steady beat of a drum .  " I suppose my umbrella will be all right , " he was thinking .  " I do n't really mind about it .  I will think about music instead .  I suppose my umbrella will be all right .  " Earlier in the afternoon he had worried about seats .  Ought he to have paid as much as two shillings ?  Earlier still he had wondered , " Shall I try to do without a programme ?  " There had always been something to worry him ever since he could remember , always something that distracted him in the pursuit of beauty .  For he did pursue beauty , and therefore , Margaret 'sspeeches did flutter away from him like birds .  Margaret talked ahead , occasionally saying , " Do n't you think so ?  do n't you feel the same ?  " And once she stopped , and said " Oh , do interrupt me !  " which terrified him .  She did not attract him , though she filled him with awe .  Her figure was meagre , her face seemed all teeth and eyes , her references to her sister and brother were uncharitable .  For all her cleverness and culture , she was probably one of those soulless , atheistical women who have been so shown up by Miss Corelli .  It was surprising ( and alarming ) that she should suddenly say , " I do hope that you 'llcome in and have some tea .  "  " I do hope that you 'llcome in and have some tea .  We should be so glad .  I have dragged you so far out of your way .  "  They had arrived at Wickham Place .  The sun had set , and the backwater , in deep shadow , was filling with a gentle haze .  To the right of the fantastic skyline of the flats towered black against the hues of evening ; to the left the older houses raised a square-cut , irregular parapet against the grey .  Margaret fumbled for her latchkey .  Of course she had forgotten it .  So , grasping her umbrella by its ferrule , she leant over the area and tapped at the dining-room window .  " Helen !  Let us in !