incursion of a whimsical old woman, though tiresome enough,
was no rational excuse for those curious hours of meditation in which
his thoughts seemed to have dressed themselves in unfamiliar, fantastic
habits, and to parley with him in a strange speech, and yet a speech
that he had understood.

With such arguments he perplexed his mind on the long, accustomed ride
up the steep ascent of Holland Park, past the incongruous hustle of
Notting Hill Gate, where in one direction a road shows the way to the
snug, somewhat faded bowers and retreats of Bayswater, and in another
one sees the portal of the murky region of the slums. The customary
companions of his morning's journey were in the seats about him; he
heard the hum of their talk, as they disputed concerning politics, and
the man next to him, who came from Acton, asked him what he thought of
the Government now. There was a discussion, and a loud and excited one,
just in front, as to whether rhubarb was a fruit or vegetable, and in
his ear he heard Redman, who was a near neighbour, praising the economy
of 'the wife.'

'I don't know how she does it. Look here; what do you think we had
yesterday? Breakfast: fish-cakes, beautifully fried--rich, you know,
lots of herbs, it's a receipt of her aunt's; you should just taste 'em.
Coffee, bread, butter, marmalade, and, of course, all the usual
etceteras. Dinner: roast beef, Yorkshire, potatoes, greens, and
horse-radish sauce, plum tart, cheese. And where will you get a better
dinner than that? Well, I call it wonderful, I really do.'

But in spite of these distractions he fell into a dream as the 'bus
rolled and tossed on its way Citywards, and still he strove to solve the
enigma of his vigil of the night before, and as the shapes of trees and
green lawns and houses passed before his eyes, and as he saw the
procession moving on the pavement, and while the murmur of the streets
sounded in his ears, all was to him strange and unaccustomed, as if he
moved through the avenues of some city in a foreign land. It was,
perhaps, on these mornings, as he rode to his mechanical work, that
vague and floating fancies that must have long haunted his brain began
to shape themselves, and to put on the form of definite conclusions,
from which he could no longer escape, even if he had wished it. Darnell
had received what is called a sound commercial education, and would
therefore have found very great difficulty in putting into articulate
speech