Living Alone

change 'buses seven times, going from Kensington, and you have to cross the river by means of a ferry. On

e meeting, that the address on the forsaken broomstick's c

t would seem more likely, and more consonant with precedent, that the individual might do it to the group. Without the smile of a Treasurer we cannot unloose our purse-strings; without the sanction of a Chairman we have no courage; without Minutes we have

ty for her earnestness. It is a sad thing to see any one of naturally healthy and rebellious tendency stray into the flat path of Charity. Gay heedless young people set their unwary feet between the flowery borders of that path, the thin air of resigned thanks breathed by the deserving poor mounts to their heads

attaining the vortex of her whirlpool of charity. To be in the vortex is

all the work which a committee euphemistically calls "organising work" was left to her. Organising work consists of sitting in 'buses bound for remote quarters of London, a

practical to call the s

e shop-lady was washing her hair, because it was Sunday, and this was a comparatively cheap amusement. She had no money. She had meant to go down to the offices of her employer after breakfast, to borrow some of the salary that would be due to her next week. But then she found that she had left her broomstick somewhere. As a rule Harold-for that was the broomstick's name-was fairly independent, and could find his way home alone, but when he got mislaid and left in strange hands, and particularly when kindly finders took him to Scotland Yard, he often lost his head. You, in your innocence, are suggesti

its manageress had hardly got her head well into the

h Brown, after a pause, during which she made her ch

haps you wouldn't mind lending me one-and-twopence to buy two chops for our luncheo

gh to take me home," answered Sarah

n and her hostess sat down on the counter without regret to a luncheon consisting of one orange, found by the guest in her bag and divided, and two thin captain biscuits from stock. They were both used to

lling me-are you a fairy, or a third-floor-back, or anything of that sort? I won't register it, or put

tch," said

commonplace, everything else is unknown, unguessed, and undespised. Magic people are always obvious-so obvious that we veteran souls can rarely understand them,-they are never subtle, and though they are new, they are never Modern. You may tell them in your cynical way that to-day is the only real day, and that there is nothing more unmentionable than yesterday except the day before. They will admire your cleverness very much, but the next moment you will find the witch sobbing over Tennyson, or the wizard smiling at the quaint fancies of Sir Edwin Landseer. You cannot really stir up magic people with ordinary human people. You and I have climbed over our thous

d for its sake, and from men who wrought other magic among lost causes and wars without gain, and fell and died, still surprised, still interested, with their faces

g to remember what broomsticks reminded me of. A witch, of

inute." She did not answer at all, and Sarah Brown, who was tired of proper answers, was not sorry. Nevertheless the pause seemed a littl

onscientiously with this remark for a minute. "Do tell me-do yo

and the witch added kindly: "I bet you t

h Brown, who was si

"I am connected with it officially. I undertook to manage it, ye

ecretary," suggested

he witch. "At least I know Peony

es

ace in the world of its kind. The name of this ho

any descendants of the Sword Excalibur-none but the appointed hand could draw it forth. The witch, after

said the witch. "And the f

the pr

his house is

nd nuns dedicated to unknown gods. Men and women who are tired of being laboriously kind to their bodies, who like to be a little uncomfortable and quite uncared for, who love to live from week to week without speaking, except to confide their destinations to 'bus-conductors, who are weary of woolly de

may bring into the house more than can be carried out again in one large suit-case. Carpets, rugs, mirrors, and any single garment costing more than three guineas, are prohibited. Any guest proved to have made use of a taxi, or to have travelled anywhere first class, or to have bought cigarettes

ighteen hours out of the twenty-four entirely alone. No guest may entertain or

, no hot water system, no attendance, and no modern comfort whatever. Trad

al place," admitted Sarah Bro

an swallow everything but the last clause.

engaged in this thundering endeavour, Sarah Brown noticed that the drawer was full of

o with your ma

, sometimes to remind people, and sometimes to make them forget.

ententiously, "that I always owe my

d to work in the City, I bought a little book about heaven to read in the Tube ev

meant to write a book some day, if she could find a really inspiring exercise-book to start in. She thought herself rather good at ideas-poor Sarah Brown,

luckily I have found the compensations for myself; I just had to find something. Men and women have given me everything that such as I could expect. I have never met with reasonless enmity, never met with meanness, never met with anything more unbearable than natural indifference, from any man or woman. I have been, I may say, a burden and a bore all over the world; I have been an ill and fretful

, whose attention had been frankly wandering. "You a

ery one, so constantly ill. The first thing I get to know about a new hostess or a land

twopence I've got something in the shop that would make you

worst of all. My ears are failin

what I say," s

a prisoner locked up; and every day there are more and more locked

not lack a key to your prison. Sometimes it's better not to hear the

my Dog and Humphrey my Su

de of the ferry, and the ferryman's voice was heard shout

h. "I get so tired of expelling guests. She's been

lis

eta Mostyn Ford asking the ferryman: "Do you know anything about a you

yesterday, you may remember. I'll ask the ferryman to get half-a-dozen halfpenny bun

a little gathering of friends on the other side of the river, and I

er committee voice: "I had noted your address, because I never

head and begun to hide under the counter. But the biscuit-tins

er do, except now and then by mistake. And even then I only stay when there are grassy sandwiches to eat. Once there were grassy sand

for their food, but for th

as gliding to

for your Dog David and your Suit-case Humphrey. He is an excellent packer and very clean in his person and wo

" said Miss Ford, with dignity. "I repeat, I only

ing, pushing vigorously aside the thickets of the crowded sky. A crack across the corner of the glass was lig

nown that she was talking by mistake, that she was possessed by some distressingly Anti-Ford sp

ou spoke of an April sea-clashing of cymbals was the expression you used, wasn't it? You spoke of a shore of brown diam

said t

... whether you knew of nice lodgings there ... plain w

aded away p

oor burst open, and a dog and a suit-ca

ut scarlet.-"I am so sorry if I have talked nonsense. I am rather run down, I think, too much work, four

committees in private life, especially if one is in a mood for having nerve-storms. P

voice difficult. She was on her knees asking her dog David what it h

te a personal and special interest in your case. I had a great friend, now in the trenches, alas, who possessed Power. He used to come to my Wednesdays-at least I used to invite him to come, but he was dreamy like you and

asked the witch. "Do you

The question is-power to what extent? Miss Watkins, I want you to come to one of my Wednesdays to meet one or two people who might possibly help you to a job-lecturing, you kno

I am awfully worried by problems. The world seems to be ruled by posters now. People look to the hoardings for informatio

Ivy MacBee, who founded the Aspiration Club, and Frere, the editor of I Wonder, and several other reg

. "If I was occult last night-I'm awfully sorry, but it must have been a fluke. I seem t

e in her eyes, but she added, chang

e a perfect hermit. I hardly ever have visitors in my

he nerve-storms you speak of. Or rather I could help you to have nerve-storms all the time, without any stagnant grown-upness in betwee

wearing the brisk acute expression that deceived her into claiming a sense of humour. "But why all those uncomfortable rules? And why that dis

ho are content to be average are lowering the general standard. I wish you could have met Peony, the only gue

ord, who was always interested in

llotment. Un

ate statement from the surface of the conversation. "And how do you make y

tairs, under license from me. Harold the Broomstick is apt to shirk cleaning the stairs, but as it happens, he is keeping company with an O-Cedar Mop in Kentish

hat when you come to my Wednesdays. Most of my friends are utter Socialists, and believe in bridgi

as a heavy foot alighted on the landing-stage. The ferryman was heard saying: "I don'

Higgins ente

your address yesterday, and then lost the note-too dretfully like me. So I rang up the Mayor, and he said he also

rah Brown. "I'll just nip across to the Brown

ee in the dark. I don't know why she addressed her remarks particularly at me, but as she did so, there is no secret in the matter. Of course, just at

t and bit it absent-mindedly. It

plaining.... Do you know, I have only once seen him with other boys, doing the same as other boys, and that was when I saw him marching with hundreds of real boys ... in 1914.... It was the happiest day I ever had, I thought after all that I had borne a real boy. Well, then, as you know, he couldn't get a commission, couldn't even get hi

he Rockies. Pinehurst couldn't stand that, we pushed west-so tahsome. We climbed a little narrow track up a mountain, in a light buggy that a goldminer lent us. Oh, of course, you'll think us mad, Meta, but, do you know, we actually found the world's edge, a place with no horizon; we looked between ragged pine trees, and saw over the shoulders of great old violet mountains-we saw right down into the stars for ever.... There was a tower of rocks-rose-red rocks in sloping layers-sunny hot by day, my dears, and a great shelter by night. You know, the little dark clouds walk alone upon the mountain tops at sunset-as you said, Angela-they are like trees, and sometimes like faces, and sometimes like the shadows of little bent gipsies.... I used to look at the mountains an

epay Pinehurst,"

ng to her Dog David. You must excuse her, and remember that she lived most utterly alone. She was locked

tell you that Rrchud came back on leave unexpe

ling Miss Watkins about his Power, and how strongly she remi

mistake, said to the witch: "Will y

s a stranger to her, so she added: "I will bring Sarah Brown t

she did not understand. Her magic escapades often left her in this position. However, she winked back hopefully. But