cost you thought, and some sharing of your life with them, and some time—­real time, not just scraps that you can’t use for business?’

She made the same appeal once to her husband in regard to their own lives.  She wanted to see and know more of him, his business, his inner life, and this was her cry:  ’Paul, I’m sure there’s something the matter with the way we live—­I don’t like it!  I don’t see that it helps us a bit—­or anyone else—­you’re just killing yourself to make money that goes to get things we don’t need nearly as much as we need more of each other!  We’re not getting a bit nearer to each other—­actually further away, for we’re both getting different from what we were without the other’s knowing how!  And we’re not getting nicer—­and what’s the use of living if we don’t do that?  We’re just getting more and more set on scrambling ahead of other people.  And we’re not even having a good time out of it!  And here is Ariadne—­and another one coming—­and we’ve nothing to give them but just this—­this—­this—­

Paul laughed a little impatiently, irritated and uneasy, as he always was at any attempt to examine too closely the foundations of existing ideas.  ’Why, Lydia, what’s the matter with you?  You sound as though you’d been reading some fool socialist literature or something.’

You know I don’t read anything, Paul.  I never hear about anything but novels.  I never have time for anything else, and very likely I couldn’t understand it if I read it, not having any education.  That’s one thing I want you to help me with.  All I want is a chance for us to live together a little more, to have a few more thoughts in common, and oh! to be trying to be making something better out of ourselves for our children’s sake.  I can’t see that we’re learning to be anything but—­you, to be an efficient machine for making money, I to think of how to entertain as though we had more money than we really have.  I don’t seem really to know you or live with you any more than if we were two guests stopping at the same hotel.  If socialists are trying to fix things better, why shouldn’t we have time—­both of us—­to read their books; and you could help me know what they mean?’

Paul laughed again, a scornful, hateful laugh, which brought the color up to Lydia’s pale face like a blow.  ’I gather, then, Lydia, that what you’re asking me to do is to neglect my business in order to read socialistic literature with you?’

His wife’s rare resentment rose.  She spoke with dignity:  ’I begged you to be serious, Paul, and to try to understand what I mean, although I’m so fumbling, and say it so badly.  As for its being impossible to change things, I’ve heard you say a great many times that there are no conditions that can’t be changed if people would really try—­’

    ‘Good heavens!  I said that of business conditions!’ shouted
    Paul, outraged at being so misquoted.