The Clean HeartHutchinson, A. S. M. (Arthur Stuart-Menteth)
Science
The Clean Heart
Hutchinson, A. S. M. (Arthur Stuart-Menteth)
Authors -- Fiction; Happiness -- Fiction
Why not! Is he aware that they were awaiting his arrival this very
week-end to tell him what it had become useless to suppose he would
ever see for himself? Why not! Does he realise that the expenses of
feeding and clothing and above all of educating Bill's children are
increasing beyond endurance month by month as they grow up? Why not!
Has he ever taken the trouble to look at the boys' clothes, at their
boots, and to realise how his brother's children have to be dressed
in rags while he lives in luxury in London? Has he ever taken the
trouble to do that? Perhaps his lordship who can afford to throw up
a good position will condescend to do so now; and Mrs. Filmer takes
breath from her raving and rushes to the door and bawls up the
stairs: "Harold! Fred! Dicky! Come and show your clothes to your
kind uncle! Come and hear what your kind uncle has done! Harold!
Freddie--!"
Young Wriford, seated at the table, his head in his hands: "Oh,
don't! Oh, for God's sake, don't!"
"Don't!" cries Mrs. Filmer. "No, don't let you be troubled by it!
It's what our poor devoted Alice has to see day after day. It's what
Mr. Filmer and I have to screw ourselves to death to try to prevent."
"And their schooling," says Mr. Filmer. "And their schooling, h'm,
ha."
Schooling! This settles their schooling, Mrs. Filmer cries. They'll
have to leave their day-schools now. He'll have the pleasure of
seeing his brother's children attending the board-school. Three
miserable guineas a week he's been contributing to the expenses, and
was to be told to-day it was insufficient, and here he is with the
news that he has left Gamber's! Here he is--
"Good God!" cries Young Wriford. "Good God, why didn't you tell me
all this before?" and then, as at this the storm breaks upon him
again, gets to his feet and cries distractedly: "Stop it! Stop it!"
and then breaks down and says: "I'm sorry--I'm sorry. I didn't mean
that. It's come all of a blow at me, all this. I never knew. I
never dreamt it. It'll be all right. If you'll let me alone, I
swear it'll be all right. The three guineas won't stop. I've
arranged to do two weekly articles for Gamber's for three guineas on
purpose to keep Alice going. I can get other work. There's other
work I've heard of--only I wanted to do better--of course that
doesn't matter now. Look here, if the worst comes to the worst, I'll
go back to Gamber's. They'll take me back if I promise to give up
the work I want to do. I'm sorry. I never realised. I never
thought about all that. I'm sorry."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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