ere she was going
to sit. On the same table lay a novel procured this afternoon from the
library. Whilst the water was boiling, Virginia made a slight change of
dress, conducive to bodily ease. Finally, having mixed a glass of gin
and water--one-third only of the diluent--she sat down with one of her
frequent sighs and began to enjoy the evening.

The last, the very last, of such enjoyment; so she assured herself.
Alice's presence in the house would render impossible what she had
hitherto succeeded in disguising from Monica. Her conscience welcomed
the restraint, which was coming none too soon, for her will could no
longer be depended upon. If she abstained from strong liquors for three
or four days it was now a great triumph; yet worthless, for even in
abstaining she knew that the hour of indulgence had only been
postponed. A fit of unendurable depression soon drove her to the only
resource which had immediate efficacy. The relief, she knew, was
another downward step; but presently she would find courage to climb
back again up to the sure ground. Save for her trouble on Monica's
account the temptation would already have been conquered. And now
Alice's arrival made courage a mere necessity.

Her bottle was all but empty; she would finish it to-night, and in the
morning, as her custom was, take it back to the grocer's in her little
hand-bag. How convenient that this kind of thing could be purchased at
the grocer's! In the beginning she had chiefly made use of railway
refreshment rooms. Only on rare occasions did she enter a public-house,
and always with the bitterest sense of degradation. To sit comfortably
at home, the bottle beside her, and a novel on her lap, was an
avoidance of the worst shame attaching to this vice; she went to bed,
and in the morning--ah, the morning brought its punishment, but she
incurred no risk of being detected.

Brandy had first of all been her drink, as is generally the case with
women of the educated class. There are so many plausible excuses for
taking a drop of brandy. But it cost too much. Whisky she had tried,
and did not like. Finally she had recourse to gin, which was palatable
and very cheap. The name, debased by such foul associations, still
confused her when she uttered it; as a rule, she wrote it down in a
list of groceries which she handed over the counter.

To-night she drank her first glass quickly; a consuming thirst was upon
her. By half-past eight the second was gently s