bly awakened him, made him aware that the servant was already up.

He drew up the blind. There seemed to be a frost, for the moisture
of last night had all disappeared, and the yard upon which the window
looked was unusually clean. With a glance at the black grate he
extinguished his lamp, and went out into the passage. A few minutes'
groping for his overcoat and hat, and he left the house.

His purpose was to warm himself with a vigorous walk, and at the
same time to shake off if possible, the nightmare of his rage and
hopelessness. He had no distinct feeling with regard to his behaviour of
the past evening; he neither justified nor condemned himself; he did not
ask himself whether Marian would to-day leave her home, or if her mother
would take him at his word and also depart. These seemed to be details
which his brain was too weary to consider. But he wished to be away from
the wretchedness of his house, and to let things go as they would
whilst he was absent. As he closed the front door he felt as if he were
escaping from an atmosphere that threatened to stifle him.

His steps directing themselves more by habit than with any deliberate
choice, he walked towards Camden Road. When he had reached Camden Town
railway-station he was attracted by a coffee-stall; a draught of
the steaming liquid, no matter its quality, would help his blood to
circulate. He laid down his penny, and first warmed his hands by holding
them round the cup. Whilst standing thus he noticed that the objects at
which he looked had a blurred appearance; his eyesight seemed to have
become worse this morning. Only a result of his insufficient sleep
perhaps. He took up a scrap of newspaper that lay on the stall; he could
read it, but one of his eyes was certainly weaker than the other; trying
to see with that one alone, he found that everything became misty.

He laughed, as if the threat of new calamity were an amusement in his
present state of mind. And at the same moment his look encountered that
of a man who had drawn near to him, a shabbily-dressed man of middle
age, whose face did not correspond with his attire.

'Will you give me a cup of coffee?' asked the stranger, in a low voice
and with shamefaced manner. 'It would be a great kindness.'

The accent was that of good breeding. Yule hesitated in surprise for a
moment, then said:

'Have one by all means. Would you care for anything to eat?'

'I am much obliged to you. I think I should be non