d than open
to interpretation. It had never indeed, before that evening, come up as
during the passage at the official party, and he had for the first
time at those moments, a little disappointedly, got the impression of a
certain failure, on the dear woman's part, of something he was aware of
having always rather freely taken for granted in her. Of what exactly
the failure consisted he would still perhaps have felt it a little harsh
to try to say; and if she had in fact, as by Charlotte's observation,
"broken down," the details of the collapse would be comparatively
unimportant. They came to the same thing, all such collapses--the
failure of courage, the failure of friendship, or the failure just
simply of tact; for didn't any one of them by itself amount really to
the failure of wit?--which was the last thing he had expected of her
and which would be but another name for the triumph of stupidity. It had
been Charlotte's remark that they were at last "beyond" her; whereas he
had ever enjoyed believing that a certain easy imagination in her would
keep up with him to the end. He shrank from affixing a label to Mrs.
Assingham's want of faith; but when he thought, at his ease, of the
way persons who were capable really entertained--or at least with any
refinement--the passion of personal loyalty, he figured for them a play
of fancy neither timorous nor scrupulous. So would his personal loyalty,
if need be, have accepted the adventure for the good creature herself;
to that definite degree that he had positively almost missed the luxury
of some such call from her. That was what it all came back to again with
these people among whom he was married--that one found one used one's
imagination mainly for wondering how they contrived so little to appeal
to it. He felt at moments as if there were never anything to do for them
that was worthy--to call worthy--of the personal relation; never any
charming charge to take of any confidence deeply reposed. He might
vulgarly have put it that one had never to plot or to lie for them;
he might humourously have put it that one had never, as by the higher
conformity, to lie in wait with the dagger or to prepare, insidiously,
the cup. These were the services that, by all romantic tradition, were
consecrated to affection quite as much as to hate. But he could amuse
himself with saying--so far as the amusement went--that they were what
he had once for all turned his back on.

Fanny was meanwhile