of the day surpassed his comprehension.
He abandoned himself to misery voluptuously. The afternoon and evening
stretched before him, an arid and appalling Sahara. The Benbows, and
their babes, and Auntie Hamps were coming for dinner and tea, to cheer
up grandfather. He pictured the repasts with savage gloating
detestation--burnt ox, and more burnt ox, and the false odious
brightness of a family determined to be mutually helpful and inspiring.
Since his refusal to abet the project of a loan to Albert, Clara had
been secretly hostile under her superficial sisterliness, and Auntie
Hamps had often assured him, in a manner extraordinarily exasperating,
that she was convinced he had acted conscientiously for the best.
Strange thought, that after eight hours of these people and of his
father, he would be still alive!

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TEN.

MRS. HAMPS AS A YOUNG MAN.

On the Saturday afternoon of the week following the Jubilee, Edwin and
Mrs Hamps were sunning themselves in the garden, when Janet's face and
shoulders appeared suddenly at the other side of the wall. At the sight
of Mrs Hamps she seemed startled and intimidated, and she bowed
somewhat more ceremoniously than usual.

"Good afternoon!"

Then Mrs Hamps returned the bow with superb extravagance, like an
Oriental monarch who is determined to outvie magnificently the gifts of
another. Mrs Hamps became conscious of the whole of her body and of
every article of her summer apparel, and nothing of it all was allowed
to escape from contributing to the completeness of the bow. She
bridled. She tossed proudly as it were against the bit. And the rich
ruins of her handsomeness adopted new and softer lines in the
overpowering sickly blandishment of a smile. Thus she always greeted
any merely formal acquaintance whom she considered to be above herself
in status--provided, of course, that the acquaintance had done nothing
to offend her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Orgreave!"

Reluctantly she permitted her features to relax from the full effort of
the smile; but they might not abandon it entirely.

"I thought Maggie was there," said Janet.

"She was, a minute ago," Edwin answered. "She's just gone in to father.
She'll be out directly. Do you want her?"

"I only wanted to tell her something," said Janet, and then paused.

She was obviously very excited. She had the little quick movements of a
girl. In her cream-tinted frock she looked like a mere gir