The same spirit often led him for a meal to
the poorest of eating-houses, places where he rubbed elbows with
ragged creatures who had somehow obtained the price of a cup of
coffee and a slice of bread and butter. He liked to contrast
himself with these comrades in misfortune. 'This is the rate at
which the world esteems me; I am worth no better provision than
this.' Or else, instead of emphasising the contrast, he defiantly
took a place among the miserables of the nether world, and nursed
hatred of all who were well-to-do.
One of these he desired to regard with gratitude, but found it
difficult to support that feeling. Carter, the vivacious, though
at first perfectly unembarrassed in his relations with the City
Road clerk, gradually exhibited a change of demeanour. Reardon
occasionally found the young man's eye fixed upon him with a
singular expression, and the secretary's talk, though still as a
rule genial, was wont to suffer curious interruptions, during
which he seemed to be musing on something Reardon had said, or on
some point of his behaviour. The explanation of this was that
Carter had begun to think there might be a foundation for Mrs
Yule's hypothesis--that the novelist was not altogether in his
sound senses.
Pages:
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621