Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. I, 1889.djvu/53

 must and shall let me lend you something to go on with!"

"I dursn't, I dursn't, Sidney! John won't have it. He's always a-saying: 'Once begin that, an' it's all up; you never earn no more of your own.' It's one of his fancies, an' you know it is. You'll only make trouble, Sidney."

"Well, all I can say is, he's an unreasonable and selfish man!"

"No, no; John ain't selfish! Never say that! It's only his fancies, Sidney."

"Well, there's one trouble you'd better get rid of, at all events. Let Clara go to Mrs. Tubbs. You'll never have any peace till she does, I can see that. Why shouldn't she go, after all? She's seventeen; if she can't respect herself now, she never will, and there's no help for it. Tell John to let her go."

There was bitterness in the tone with which he gave this advice; he threw out his hands impatiently, and then flung himself back, so that the cranky chair creaked and tottered.