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115 admiration for Mr. Brooke personally. I once had the honour of meeting him at the house of my distinguished friend, Professor Strachan, F.R.S. I think that you are to be greatly congratulated on the results of your independent course of action in having faced the world so boldly on your own account' (about this point I woke up completely), 'and I have no doubt that you will always do credit to the name you bear. I have to regret and apologise for any little disagreeableness that may have arisen during our last interview, and to ask you to ascribe it to the very indifferent state of my health at the time. I am still, I believe, in rather a critical condition; but my doctors give me every hope of the ultimate recovery of my accustomed vigour. Thinking that perhaps you might require some small moneys, cash for your outfit, etc., I have directed that the sum of one hundred pounds shall be deposited to your account at my agents', Messrs. Milnes and Co., Axe Street, which you will do me a great pleasure by accepting as a small token of my personal regard.—I remain. Yours truly,.

'P.S.—The £100 will be handed over to you on personal application. I have to ask your indulgence for the indifferent composition of this letter, which you must please to ascribe to my present condition. I find any mental effort very painful to me.'

I lay back, with my head deep in the pillow, staring at the ceiling: 'Either the man is soft-brained,' I thought, 'or flunkey-hearted, or … I don't understand it! But I certainly shan't waste a quarter of another minute in trying to. What's the old hypochondriac to me? Of course, I won't take his money, damn him!'

Then a crowd of other thoughts came upon me. There was Rosy, and my books still at Glastonbury, and the general futility of existence, and particularly of my own.

A barrel-organ began playing some way off. I lay and listened to it in an arid disgust. At last it stopped. Then I got up, and proceeded to my toilet.—'This is what is generally known as getting, or having got, out of the wrong side of your bed this morning,' thought I, going downstairs.

Mr. Brooke seemed better. He talked to me quite naturally at breakfast about things. Then we parted: he to go I do not know where, I to see about some