urse of that kind in one of the rooms. It would
appeal far more to the Lambeth men than what I am able to offer.'

This project passed under review, then Egremont himself led the talk to
widely different things, and thereafter resisted any tendency it showed
to return upon his special affairs. Annabel was rather silent.

An hour after dinner, Egremont had to depart to catch his train. He
took leave of his friends very quietly.

'We shall come and see the library as soon as it is open,' said Mr.
Newthorpe.

Egremont smiled merely.

Mr. Newthorpe remarked that Egremont seemed disappointed with the
results of his work.

'I should uncommonly like to hear one of these new lectures,' he said.
'I expect there's plenty of sound matter in them. My fear is lest they
are over the heads of his audience.'

'I fear,' said Mrs. Ormonde, 'it is waste both of his time and that of
the men. But the library will cheer him; there is something solid, at
all events.'

'Yes, that can scarcely fail of results.'

'I think most of Mr. Grail,' put in Annabel.

'A true woman,' said Mrs. Ormonde, with a smile. 'Certainly, let the
individual come before the crowd.'

And all agreed that in Gilbert Grail was the best result hitherto of
Egremont's work.

CHAPTER XV

A SECOND VISIT TO WALNUT TREE WALK

The man of reserve betrays happiness by disposition for companionship.
Surprised that the world all at once looks so bright to his own eyes,
he desires to learn how others view it. The unhappy man is intensely
subjective; his own impressions are so inburnt that those of others
seem to him unimportant--nay, impertinent. And what is so bitter as the
spectacle of alien joy when one's own heart is waste!

Gilbert Grail was no longer the silent and lonely man that he had been.
The one with whom he had formed something like a friendship had gone
apart; in the nature of things Ackroyd and he could never again
associate as formerly, though when need was they spoke without show of
estrangement; but others whom he had been wont to hold at a distance by
his irresponsiveness were now of interest to him, and, after the first
surprise at the change in him, they met his quiet advances in a
friendly way. Among his acquaintances there were, of course, few fitted
to be in any sense his associates. Two, however, he induced to attend
Egremont's lectures, thus raising the number of the audience to eight.
These recruits were not enthusiastic over 'Th