e had."

Howard set Jack down to prepare some further work by himself, and
attacked his own papers; and very soon it was time for lunch.

Mrs. Graves greeted Jack with much affectionateness, and asked what
they had arranged for the afternoon. Howard told her, and added that he
hoped she did not object to shooting.

"No, not at all," said Mrs. Graves, "if YOU can do it
conscientiously--I couldn't! As usual I am hopelessly inconsistent. I
couldn't kill things myself, but as long as I eat meat, I can't object.
It's no good arguing about these things. If one begins to argue about
destroying life, there are such excellent reasons for not eating
anything, or wearing anything, or even crossing the lawn! I have long
believed that plants are conscious, but we have got to exist somehow at
each other's expense. Instinct is the only guide for women; if they
begin to reason, they get run away with by reason; that is what makes
fanatics. I won't go so far as to wish you good sport, but you may as
well get all the rabbits you can; I'll send them round the village, and
try to salve my conscience so."

They talked a little about the books Howard had been recommending, but
Mrs. Graves was bent on making much of Jack.

"I don't get you here often by yourself," she said. "I daren't ask a
modern young man to come and see two old frumps--one old frump, I mean!
But I gather that you have views of your own, Jack, and some day I
shall try to get at them. I suppose that in a small place like this we
all know a great deal more about each other than we suspect each other
of knowing. What a comfort that we have tongues that we can hold! It
wouldn't be possible to live, if we knew that all the absurdities we
pride ourselves on concealing were all perfectly well known and
canvassed by all our friends. However, as long as we only enjoy each
other's faults, and don't go in for correcting them, we can get on. I
hope you don't DISAPPROVE of people, Jack! That's the hopeless
attitude."

"Well, I hate some people," said Jack, "but I hate them so much that it
is quite a pleasure to meet them and to think how infernal they are;
and when it's like that, I should be sorry if they improved."

"I won't go as far as that," said Howard. "The most I do is to be
thankful that their lack of improvement can still entertain me. One can
never be thankful enough for really grotesque people. But I confess I
don't enjoy seeing people spiteful and mean and vicious.