The Odd Women

was glancing over the advertisement columns of a literary paper. His eye fell on an announcemen

would add a hope that it may somehow benefit you financially. I presume there are people who purchase such works. But of course the main point with you is to have delivered your soul on Trilinear Co-ordinates. Shall I run down to Sheffield to see you, or is there any chance of the holidays bringing

heffield. The answer, directed to

py to tell you that I have got a vastly better appointment. Let me know when and where to meet you; or if you like, come to these lodgings of mine

MICKLET

found the mathematician deep in study. Micklethwaite was a man of forty, bent in the shoulders, sallow, but not otherwise of unhealthy appearance; he had a merry countenance, a great deal of lank,

little back-parlour

se; but they go to business every morning at half-past eight, and are in bed by ten at night. Besides, it

cklethwaite assumed extraordinary positions, the result, presumably, of a need of physical exercise after hours spent over his work. Now he stretched himself at full length on the edge of his chair, his arms extended above him; now he drew up his legs, fixed hi

ve got?' he asked at length, dismis

ematical lecturer a

ndred, at least, I can count, and there are possibilities I won't venture to speak of,

I suppose,' sai

I must make a lit

spirit of avari

shrill, cackling laugh, a

hould be satisfied with three hundred,

worldling. Look at me! I am a man of the largest needs, spiritual and physical, yet I make my pittan

a man of enterprise you would double or treble i

mad or are going

cackled loud

ething that will supplant all the present books. Think! If Micklethwaite's Algebra got ac

new you so

age of sixteen I began to teach in a school, and ever since I have pegged away at it, school and privat

that to do wit

come of thousands-thousands! I would then cease to teach (resign my professorship-that is to say, for of course I should be professor), an

eration, but had never once heard him scheme for material advanceme

ot? You are goin

at the door, then said

eat together. I invite you to have dinner with me-or lunch, a

have lunch with me

nce! Am I not your fa

brush your hair. Ah, here is your Trilinear production.

rint in the Preface

same to me, my

indicated the error, and had talked for five

one is fortunate. I fancy a great deal of nonsense is talked about the world's enviousness. Now as soon as it got known that I was coming to this post in London, people behaved to me with surprising good nature all round. Old Bennet talked in quite an affectionate strain. "Of course," he said, "I have long known that you ought to be i

e it the chance. But, by-the

. It was a question in Probability-you wouldn't understand it. My answer was printed, and the Big Gun wrote privately to me-a very flattering l

ng did it take you to

tual composition. I never had much

mas. Go and equip yourse

ethwaite would talk of anything but that

on, 'things that can't be spoken of in the highway. When we have ea

nlarged upon the benevolence of mankind, and the admirable ordering of the world. From the club they drove to Bayswater, and made themselves comfortable in Barfoot

nd telling you that your conjecture

hed the age of discretion. I must supp

nor is my future wife. Now, you must know that when I was about twenty-th

y n

the infants in an elementary school connected with ours; her age was exactly the same as my own. Now, the remarkable t

enough? Why

thirty pounds, half of which had to go towards the support of my mother. What could possi

the monstro

er was dead-sanctioned our engagement. She had three sisters, one of them a governess, another keeping house, and the third a blind girl. Excellent people, all of them.

ly you

ing. Seven years went by; we were thirty years old, and no prospect whatever of our engagement coming to anything. I had worked pretty hard; I had taken my London degree; but not a penny had I saved, and all I could spare was still

put myself in such a position. It would

nything gross in

dy took

time to come, I cared to write to her again-After all these years, I can't speak of it without huskiness. It seemed to me that I had behaved more like a scound

cour

continued till this day. A month ago I was for

e paused on

she will come to live with us. Long, long ago we had both of us given up thought of marriage. I

Everard's face, an

rry?' cried Micklethwaite, wit

ably

who has sufficient means, to maintain a wife. The life of unmarried women is

male friends to hear you talk in that wa

course I have heard of that kind of

to a broad expres

not to grow up in the thought that they must marry or be blighted creatures. My own views are rather extreme, perhaps; strictly, I don't believe in marriage at all. And I haven't anything like the respect fo

u told me about

black-guardism; it didn't matter much. My cousin will never forgive me, though she has an air of friendliness once mo

ghed m

say, needs no prote

any kind of wooing. She is one of the grandly severe women; a terror, I imagine, to any young girl at their place who betrays weak thoughts of matrimony

aite shoo

t. Of course you couldn'

e one. If she were rich, I thin

d the mathematician, smiling, 'that this la

on for females. Now you shall hear the story; and bear in mind that you are the only person to whom I have ever told it. I never tried to defend myself when I was vilified on all hands. Pro

looked uneasy

nd went in for philanthropy. Mrs. Goodall always had a lot of Upchurch girls about her, educated and not; her idea was to civilize one class by means of the other, and to give a

served in a shop where I went two or three times to get a newspaper; we talked a little-with absolute propriety on my part, I assure you-and s

alked about the platform, Amy put herself in my way, so that I was obliged to begin talking with her. This behaviour rather surprised me. I wondered what Mrs. Goodall would think of it. But perhaps it was a sign of innocent freedom in the intercourse of men a

o make her; plainly, she was a reprobate of experience. This, you will say, doesn't alter the fact that I also behaved like a reprobate. No; from the moralist's point of v

owning uncomfortably,

y the girl forthwith. But of course I was determined to do no such thing. For the reasons I have explained, I let the storm break upon me. I had been a fool, to be sure, and couldn't help myself. No one would have believed my plea-no one would have allowed that the truth was an excuse. I was abused on all hands. And when, short

detestable women to be found. But you oughtn't to let this af

er child died, and the allowance ceased. I know nothing mor

n remains the same. You are in debt to some worthy woman to the extent

th a smile of indulgence, 'that I could

ns! Wh

ble to me; but marriage with poverty-I kno

mathematician. 'Four h

verty-for ma

loquence, and Everard sat listening