"Here," said Mr. Perry, "you see us all, except my married daughter; and I hope you will like us." I liked them already, with one exception, and I thought it possible that I might even come to like Mr. Perry himself in time, for he showed to better advantage surrounded by his family and in his own beautiful home than he had done outside. "Mr. Howard," said Edward, "wants to live as we do while he is with us, and to study the conditions of wealth from the inside. He has even bought a great many clothes, and perhaps he would like to put some of them on before luncheon." This announcement, I could see, brought gratification to my hosts, but Tom looked rather disgusted. He was being educated at a day school, I learnt afterwards, where many of his companions were the sons of very poor men, and he was not yet of an age to sympathise deeply with the family taste for philanthropy. Edward took me up to my room, and apologised for its air of comfort. The footman was unpacking the parcels we had brought, and it was possibly for his benefit that Edward said: "We keep one or two barely furnished attics for people like yourself who come to see us; but I thought that as you wanted to live for a time as the rich do, you would put up with this. We can always move you." I said that certainly under the circumstances I preferred this room to an attic. It had a wide view of the largest slope of lawn and a well-wooded landscape beyond. There was a big bed in it, a well-furnished writing-table, and an easy chair by the window, through which the open flowers of the magnolia outside wafted a sweet perfume. "Well then, I will go and change my clothes," said Edward. "Lord Arthur will show you the bathroom, and where my room is, if you want to come in to me at any time." He went out, and I took a closer look at the footman, who seemed to have been indicated as Lord Arthur. He was a handsome, rather disdainful-looking young man, and when Edward had left the room he said familiarly: "Then you're one of us, eh? Why do you want to rig yourself out in this sort of kit! Which will you wear? I should recommend the white flannel, if you want to do the thing thoroughly." "The white flannel will do very well," I said. "I am studying social conditions, and, as you say, want to do it thoroughly." "Well, I think you're rather a fool," he said. "You can see all you want of the rich by taking service with them as I have done. You needn't live like them." "I rather like making myself comfortable," I said tentatively. His lip curled. "Is your mind comfortable when your body is comfortable?" he asked. "It is more likely to be so," I replied. "There are a good many people with low tastes in the world," he said, "but they don't generally acknowledge them in that unblushing way. If you want a life of comfort because you like it, why don't you say so? You'll find plenty of swabs[10] in your own class to join in with, who don't pretend to be social students."