A Room With a View E. M. Forster (romantic books to read .txt) đ
- Author: E. M. Forster
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Mr. Flack replied that all the columns had been ordered, adding, âand all the capitals differentâ âone with dragons in the foliage, another approaching to the Ionian style, another introducing Mrs. Flackâs initialsâ âevery one different.â For he had read his Ruskin. He built his villas according to his desire; and not until he had inserted an immovable aunt into one of them did Sir Harry buy.
This futile and unprofitable transaction filled the knight with sadness as he leant on Mrs. Honeychurchâs carriage. He had failed in his duties to the countryside, and the countryside was laughing at him as well. He had spent money, and yet Summer Street was spoilt as much as ever. All he could do now was to find a desirable tenant for Cissieâ âsomeone really desirable.
âThe rent is absurdly low,â he told them, âand perhaps I am an easy landlord. But it is such an awkward size. It is too large for the peasant class and too small for anyone the least like ourselves.â
Cecil had been hesitating whether he should despise the villas or despise Sir Harry for despising them. The latter impulse seemed the more fruitful.
âYou ought to find a tenant at once,â he said maliciously. âIt would be a perfect paradise for a bank clerk.â
âExactly!â said Sir Harry excitedly. âThat is exactly what I fear, Mr. Vyse. It will attract the wrong type of people. The train service has improvedâ âa fatal improvement, to my mind. And what are five miles from a station in these days of bicycles?â
âRather a strenuous clerk it would be,â said Lucy.
Cecil, who had his full share of medieval mischievousness, replied that the physique of the lower middle classes was improving at a most appalling rate. She saw that he was laughing at their harmless neighbour, and roused herself to stop him.
âSir Harry!â she exclaimed, âI have an idea. How would you like spinsters?â
âMy dear Lucy, it would be splendid. Do you know any such?â
âYes; I met them abroad.â
âGentlewomen?â he asked tentatively.
âYes, indeed, and at the present moment homeless. I heard from them last weekâ âMiss Teresa and Miss Catharine Alan. Iâm really not joking. They are quite the right people. Mr. Beebe knows them, too. May I tell them to write to you?â
âIndeed you may!â he cried. âHere we are with the difficulty solved already. How delightful it is! Extra facilitiesâ âplease tell them they shall have extra facilities, for I shall have no agentsâ fees. Oh, the agents! The appalling people they have sent me! One woman, when I wroteâ âa tactful letter, you knowâ âasking her to explain her social position to me, replied that she would pay the rent in advance. As if one cares about that! And several references I took up were most unsatisfactoryâ âpeople swindlers, or not respectable. And oh, the deceit! I have seen a good deal of the seamy side this last week. The deceit of the most promising people. My dear Lucy, the deceit!â
She nodded.
âMy advice,â put in Mrs. Honeychurch, âis to have nothing to do with Lucy and her decayed gentlewomen at all. I know the type. Preserve me from people who have seen better days, and bring heirlooms with them that make the house smell stuffy. Itâs a sad thing, but Iâd far rather let to someone who is going up in the world than to someone who has come down.â
âI think I follow you,â said Sir Harry; âbut it is, as you say, a very sad thing.â
âThe Misses Alan arenât that!â cried Lucy.
âYes, they are!â said Cecil. âI havenât met them, but I should say they were a highly unsuitable addition to the neighbourhood.â
âDonât listen to him, Sir Harryâ âheâs tiresome.â
âItâs I who am tiresome,â he replied. âI oughtnât to come with my troubles to young people. But really I am so worried, and Lady Otway will only say that I cannot be too careful, which is quite true, but no real help.â
âThen may I write to my Misses Alan?â
âPlease!â
But his eye wavered when Mrs. Honeychurch exclaimed:
âBeware! They are certain to have canaries. Sir Harry, beware of canaries: they spit the seed out through the bars of the cages and then the mice come. Beware of women altogether. Only let to a man.â
âReallyâ ââ he murmured gallantly, though he saw the wisdom of her remark.
âMen donât gossip over teacups. If they get drunk, thereâs an end of themâ âthey lie down comfortably and sleep it off. If theyâre vulgar, they somehow keep it to themselves. It doesnât spread so. Give me a manâ âof course, provided heâs clean.â
Sir Harry blushed. Neither he nor Cecil enjoyed these open compliments to their sex. Even the exclusion of the dirty did not leave them much distinction. He suggested that Mrs. Honeychurch, if she had time, should descend from the carriage and inspect Cissie for herself. She was delighted. Nature had intended her to be poor and to live in such a house. Domestic arrangements always attracted her, especially when they were on a small scale.
Cecil pulled Lucy back as she followed her mother.
âMrs. Honeychurch,â he said, âwhat if we two walk home and leave you?â
âCertainly!â was her cordial reply.
Sir Harry likewise seemed almost too glad to get rid of them. He beamed at them knowingly, said, âAha! young people, young people!â and then hastened to unlock
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