le for whom the great
make-believe game of English social life has been invented; she spent
most of her time in pretending to herself and her neighbors that she
was a dignified, important, much-occupied person, of considerable social
standing and sufficient wealth. In view of the actual state of things
this game needed a great deal of skill; and, perhaps, at the age she had
reached--she was over sixty--she played far more to deceive herself
than to deceive any one else. Moreover, the armor was wearing thin; she
forgot to keep up appearances more and more.

The worn patches in the carpets, and the pallor of the drawing-room,
where no chair or cover had been renewed for some years, were due
not only to the miserable pension, but to the wear and tear of twelve
children, eight of whom were sons. As often happens in these large
families, a distinct dividing-line could be traced, about half-way in
the succession, where the money for educational purposes had run short,
and the six younger children had grown up far more economically than
the elder. If the boys were clever, they won scholarships, and went to
school; if they were not clever, they took what the family connection
had to offer them. The girls accepted situations occasionally, but there
were always one or two at home, nursing sick animals, tending silkworms,
or playing the flute in their bedrooms. The distinction between the
elder children and the younger corresponded almost to the distinction
between a higher class and a lower one, for with only a haphazard
education and insufficient allowances, the younger children had picked
up accomplishments, friends, and points of view which were not to be
found within the walls of a public school or of a Government office.
Between the two divisions there was considerable hostility, the elder
trying to patronize the younger, the younger refusing to respect the
elder; but one feeling united them and instantly closed any risk of a
breach--their common belief in the superiority of their own family to
all others. Henry was the eldest of the younger group, and their leader;
he bought strange books and joined odd societies; he went without a tie
for a whole year, and had six shirts made of black flannel. He had
long refused to take a seat either in a shipping office or in a
tea-merchant's warehouse; and persisted, in spite of the disapproval of
uncles and aunts, in practicing both violin and piano, with the result
that he could not p