“And what do you think we are building now?  And what do you think you are building over here?”

“What are we building now?  I believe we have almost grown up.  I believe it is time we began to build in earnest.  For good....”

“But are we building anything at all?”

“A new world.”

“Show it me,” she said.

“We’re still only at the foundations,” said Sir Richmond.  “Nothing shows as yet.”

“I wish I could believe they were foundations.”

“But can you doubt we are scrapping the old?...”

It was too late in the afternoon to go into the cathedral, so they strolled to and fro round and about the west end and along the path under the trees towards the river, exchanging their ideas very frankly and freely about the things that had recently happened to the world and what they thought they ought to be doing in it.

Section 5

After dinner our four tourists sat late and talked in a corner of the smoking-room.  The two ladies had vanished hastily at the first dinner gong and reappeared at the second, mysteriously and pleasantly changed from tweedy pedestrians to indoor company.  They were quietly but definitely dressed, pretty alterations had happened to their coiffure, a silver band and deep red stones lit the dusk of Miss Grammont’s hair and a necklace of the same colourings kept the peace between her jolly sun-burnt cheek and her soft untanned neck.  It was evident her recent uniform had included a collar of great severity.  Miss Seyffert had revealed a plump forearm and proclaimed it with a clash of bangles.  Dr. Martineau thought her evening throat much too confidential.

The conversation drifted from topic to topic.  It had none of the steady continuity of Sir Richmond’s duologue with Miss Grammont.  Miss Seyffert’s methods were too discursive and exclamatory.  She broke every thread that appeared.  The Old George at Salisbury is really old; it shows it, and Miss Seyffert laced the entire evening with her recognition of the fact.  “Just look at that old beam!” she would cry suddenly.  “To think it was exactly where it is before there was a Cabot in America!”

Miss Grammont let her companion pull the talk about as she chose.  After the animation of the afternoon a sort of lazy contentment had taken possession of the younger lady.  She sat deep in a basket chair and spoke now and then.  Miss Seyffert gave her impressions of France and Italy.  She talked of the cabmen of Naples and the beggars of Amalfi.

Apropos of beggars, Miss Grammont from the depths of her chair threw out the statement that Italy was frightfully overpopulated.  “In some parts of Italy it is like mites on a cheese.  Nobody seems to be living.  Everyone is too busy keeping alive.”

“Poor old women carrying loads big enough for mules,” said Miss Seyffert.

“Little children working like slaves,” said Miss Grammont.