Vivie:  “If you mean that it is answerable for the same intense happiness and even more intense unhappiness, I suppose you’re right.  I’m miserable, mother, and it’s some relief to me to say so.  If I could become honourably the wife of Michael Rossiter I’m afraid I should let Suffrage have the go-by.  But as I can’t, why this struggle for the vote is the only thing that keeps me going.  I shall fight for it for another ten years, and by that time certain physiological changes may have taken place in me, and my feelings towards Rossiter will have calmed down.”

(Here Mrs. Warren proceeded to call out rather disharmoniously in Flemish to the poultry woman, and asked why the something-or-other she let the Houdans spoil the seed beds.)

Mrs. Warren resuming:  “Well it’s clear you’re your father’s daughter.  ’E’d ’ave gone on—­did go on—­in just such a way.  ’Im and me were jolly well suited to one another.  I’d got to reg’lar love ’im.  I’d ’a bin a true wife to him, and ’ave worked my fingers to the bone for ’im, and you bet I’d ‘ave made a livin’ somehow.  And he’d have written some jolly good books and ’ave made lots of money.  But no!  This beastly Religion comes in with its scare of Hell fire and back ’e goes to the priests and ’is prayers and ’is penances.  The last ten years or so ’e’s bin filled up with pride.  ’Is passions ’ave died down and ’e thinks ’imself an awful swell as the head of his Order.  And they do say as ’e’s got ’is fingers in several pies and is a reg’lar old conspirator, working up the Irish to do something against England.  Yer know since I’ve made my peace with you.... Ain’t it a rum go, by the bye?  Ten or twenty years ago it’d ’a bin ‘my peace with God.’  I dunno nothin’ about God—­can’t see ’im at the end of a telescope, anyways.  But I can see you, Vivie, and there’s no one livin’ I respect more” (speaks with real feeling)....  “Well, as I was sayin’, since I’d set myself right with you and wound up the business of the hotels I ain’t so easy cowed by ’is looks as I used to be.  So every now and then it amuses me to run over in my auto to Louvain and stroll about there and watch ’im as ’e comes out for ‘is promenade, pretendin’ to be readin’ a breviary or some holy book.  I know it riles ’im....

“Well, but for high principles, ’e and I might ’a bin as ’appy as ’appy and ‘ad a large family.  And there was nothin’ to stop ’im a-marryin’ me, if that was all he wanted to feel comfortable about it.  But jus’ see.  He’s had a life that seems to me downright sterile, and I—­well, I ain’t been really happy till we made it up three years ago” (leans over, and kisses Vivie a little timorously).