To Let by John Galsworthy (the beginning after the end novel read TXT) 📖
- Author: John Galsworthy
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With The Court. They Had All Had That Feeling In Differing
Measure--Soames Remembered. Swithin, Indeed, In His Most Expansive Days
Had Once Attended A Levee. He Had Come Away Saying He Shouldn't Go
Again--"All That Small Fry!" It Was Suspected That He Had Looked Too
Big In Knee-Breeches. Soames Remembered How His Own Mother Had Wished
To Be Presented Because Of The Fashionable Nature Of The Performance,
And How His Father Had Put His Foot Down With Unwonted Decision. What
Did She Want With Such Peacocking--Wasting Time And Money; There Was
Nothing In It!
The Instinct Which Had Made And Kept The British Commons The Chief
Power In The State, A Feeling That Their Own World Was Good Enough And
A Little Better Than Any Other Because It Was Their World, Had Kept The
Old Forsytes Singularly Free Of "Flummery," As Nicholas Had Been Wont
To Call It When He Had The Gout. Soames' Generation, More
Self-Conscious And Ironical, Had Been Saved By A Sense Of Swithin In
Knee-Breeches. While The Third And The Fourth Generation, As It Seemed
To Him, Laughed At Everything.
Part III IV (Soames Cogitates) Pg 81However, There Was No Harm In The Young Fellow's Being Heir To A Title
And Estate--A Thing One Couldn't Help. He Entered Quietly, As Mont
Missed His Shot. He Noted The Young Man's Eyes, Fixed On Fleur Bending
Over In Her Turn; And The Adoration In Them Almost Touched Him.
She Paused With The Cue Poised On The Bridge Of Her Slim Hand, And
Shook Her Crop Of Short Dark Chestnut Hair.
"I Shall Never Do It."
"'Nothing Venture!'"
"All Right!" The Cue Struck, The Ball Rolled. "There!"
"Bad Luck! Never Mind!"
Then They Saw Him, And Soames Said: "I'll Mark For You."
He Sat Down On The Raised Seat Beneath The Marker, Trim And Tired,
Furtively Studying Those Two Young Faces. When The Game Was Over Mont
Came Up To Him. "I've Started In, Sir. Rum Game, Business, Isn't It? I
Suppose You Saw A Lot Of Human Nature As A Solicitor."
"I Did."
"Shall I Tell You What I've Noticed: People Are Quite On The Wrong
Track In Offering Less Than They Can Afford To Give; They Ought To
Offer More, And Work Backward."
Soames Raised His Eyebrows.
Part III IV (Soames Cogitates) Pg 82"Suppose The More Is Accepted?"
"That Doesn't Matter A Little Bit," Said Mont; "It's Much More Paying
To Abate A Price Than To Increase It. For Instance, Say We Offer An
Author Good Terms--He Naturally Takes Them. Then We Go Into It, Find We
Can't Publish At A Decent Profit And Tell Him So. He's Got Confidence
In Us Because We've Been Generous To Him, And He Comes Down Like A
Lamb, And Bears Us No Malice. But If We Offer Him Poor Terms At The
Start, He Doesn't Take Them, So We Have To Advance Them To Get Him, And
He Thinks Us Damned Screws Into The Bargain."
"Try Buying Pictures On That System"; Said Soames, "An Offer Accepted
Is A Contract--Haven't You Learned That?"
Young Mont Turned His Head To Where Fleur Was Standing In The Window.
"No," He Said, "I Wish I Had. Then There's Another Thing. Always Let A
Man Off A Bargain If He Wants To Be Let Off."
"As Advertisement?" Said Soames Dryly.
"Of Course It Is; But I Meant On Principle."
"Does Your Firm Work On Those Lines?"
"Not Yet," Said Mont, "But It'll Come."
"And They Will Go."
"No, Really, Sir. I'm Making Any Number Of Observations, And They All
Confirm My Theory. Human Nature Is Consistently Underrated In Business,
People Do Themselves Out Of An Awful Lot Of Pleasure And Profit By
That.
Part III IV (Soames Cogitates) Pg 83Of Course, You Must Be Perfectly Genuine And Open, But That's
Easy If You Feel It. The More Human And Generous You Are The Better
Chance You've Got In Business."
Soames Rose.
"Are You A Partner?"
"Not For Six Months, Yet."
"The Rest Of The Firm Had Better Make Haste And Retire."
Mont Laughed.
"You'll See," He Said. "There's Going To Be A Big Change. The
Possessive Principle Has Got Its Shutters Up."
"What?" Said Soames.
"The House Is To Let! Good-Bye, Sir; I'm Off Now."
Soames Watched His Daughter Give Her Hand, Saw Her Wince At The Squeeze
It Received, And Distinctly Heard The Young Man's Sigh As He Passed
Out. Then She Came From The Window, Trailing Her Finger Along The
Mahogany Edge Of The Billiard-Table. Watching Her, Soames Knew That She
Was Going To Ask Him Something. Her Finger Felt Round The Last Pocket,
And She Looked Up.
Part III IV (Soames Cogitates) Pg 84"Have You Done Anything To Stop Jon Writing To Me, Father?"
Soames Shook His Head.
"You Haven't Seen, Then?" He Said. "His Father Died Just A Week Ago
To-Day."
"Oh!"
In Her Startled, Frowning Face, He Saw The Instant Struggle To
Apprehend What This Would Mean.
"Poor Jon! Why Didn't You Tell Me, Father?"
"I Never Know!" Said Soames Slowly; "You Don't Confide In Me."
"I Would, If You'd Help Me, Dear."
"Perhaps I Shall."
Fleur Clasped Her Hands. "Oh! Darling--When One Wants A Thing
Fearfully, One Doesn't Think Of Other People. Don't Be Angry With Me."
Soames Put Out His Hand, As If Pushing Away An Aspersion.
"I'm Cogitating," He Said. What On Earth Had Made Him Use A Word Like
That! "Has Young Mont Been Bothering You Again?"
Fleur Smiled. "Oh! Michael! He's Always Bothering; But He's Such A Good
Sort--I Don't Mind Him."
Part III IV (Soames Cogitates) Pg 85"Well," Said Soames, "I'm Tired; I Shall Go And Have A Nap Before
Dinner."
He Went Up To His Picture-Gallery, Lay Down On The Couch There, And
Closed His Eyes. A Terrible Responsibility This Girl Of His--Whose
Mother Was--Ah! What Was She? A Terrible Responsibility! Help Her--How
Could He Help Her? He Could Not Alter The Fact That He Was Her Father.
Or That Irene--! What Was It Young Mont Had Said--Some Nonsense About
The Possessive Instinct--Shutters Up--To Let? Silly!
The Sultry Air, Charged With A Scent Of Meadow-Sweet, Of River And
Roses, Closed On His Senses, Drowsing Them.
Part III V (The Fixed Idea) Pg 86
"The Fixed Idea," Which Has Outrun More Constables Than Any Other Form
Of Human Disorder, Has Never More Speed And Stamina Than When It Takes
The Avid Guise Of Love. To Hedges And Ditches, And Doors, To Humans
Without Ideas Fixed Or Otherwise, To Perambulators And The Contents
Sucking Their Fixed Ideas, Even To The Other Sufferers From This Fast
Malady--The Fixed Idea Of Love Pays No Attention. It Runs With Eyes
Turned Inward To Its Own Light, Oblivious Of All Other Stars. Those
With The Fixed Ideas That Human Happiness Depends On Their Art, On
Vivisecting Dogs, On Hating Foreigners, On Paying Supertax, On
Remaining Ministers, On Making Wheels Go Round, On Preventing Their
Neighbours From Being Divorced, On Conscientious Objection, Greek
Roots, Church Dogma, Paradox And Superiority To Everybody Else, With
Other Forms Of Ego-Mania--All Are Unstable Compared With Him Or Her
Whose Fixed Idea Is The Possession Of Some Her Or Him.
Part III V (The Fixed Idea) Pg 87And Though
Fleur, Those Chilly Summer Days, Pursued The Scattered Life Of A Little
Forsyte Whose Frocks Are Paid For, And Whose Business Is Pleasure, She
Was--As Winifred Would Have Said In The Latest Fashion Of
Speech--'Honest-To-God' Indifferent To It All. She Wished And Wished
For
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