f unself-consciousness.
Eating an egg, cutting down a tree, sitting on a Tribunal, making up his
accounts, planting potatoes, looking at the moon, riding his cob, reading
the Lessons--no part of him stood aside to see how he was doing it, or
wonder why he was doing it, or not doing it better. He grew like a
cork-tree, and acted like a sturdy and well-natured dog. His griefs,
angers, and enjoyments were simple as a child's, or as his somewhat noisy
slumbers. They were notably well-suited, for Thirza had the same secret
of happiness, though her, absorption in the moment did not--as became a
woman--prevent her being conscious of others; indeed, such formed the
chief subject of her absorptions. One might say that they neither of
them had philosophy yet were as philosophic a couple as one could meet on
this earth of the self-conscious. Daily life to these two was still of
simple savour. To be absorbed in life--the queer endless tissue of
moments and things felt and done and said and made, the odd inspiriting
conjunctions of countless people--was natural to them; but they never
thought whether they were absorbed or not, or had any particular attitude
to Life or Death--a great blessing at the epoch in which they were
living.

Bob Pierson, then, paced the room, so absorbed in his dismay and concern,
that he was almost happy.

"By Jove!" he said, "what a ghastly thing!

"Nollie, of all people! I feel perfectly wretched, Thirza; wretched
beyond words." But with each repetition his voice grew cheerier, and
Thirza felt that he was already over the worst.

"Your coffee's getting cold!" she said.

"What do you advise? Shall I go up, heh?"

"I think you'll be a godsend to poor Ted; you'll keep his spirits up. Eve
won't get any leave till Easter; and I can be quite alone, and see to
Nollie here. The servants can have a holiday--, Nurse and I will run the
house together. I shall enjoy it."

"You're a good woman, Thirza!" Taking his wife's hand, he put it to his
lips. "There isn't another woman like you in the world."

Thirza's eyes smiled. "Pass me your cup; I'll give you some fresh
coffee."

It was decided to put the plan into operation at mid-month, and she bent
all her wits to instilling into her husband the thought that a baby more
or less was no great matter in a world which already contained twelve
hundred million people. With a man's keener sense of family propriety,
he could not see that this baby woul