Page 298 - of-human-bondage-

he could not draw nearly as well as he thought. He glanced
enviously at one or two sketches of men who sat near him,
and wondered whether he would ever be able to use the
charcoal with that mastery. The hour passed quickly. Not
wishing to press himself upon Miss Price he sat down at
some distance from her, and at the end, as he passed her on
his way out, she asked him brusquely how he had got on.
‘Not very well,’ he smiled.
‘If you’d condescended to come and sit near me I could
have given you some hints. I suppose you thought yourself
too grand.’
‘No, it wasn’t that. I was afraid you’d think me a nui-
sance.’
‘When I do that I’ll tell you sharp enough.’
Philip saw that in her uncouth way she was offering him
help.
‘Well, tomorrow I’ll just force myself upon you.’
‘I don’t mind,’ she answered.
Philip went out and wondered what he should do with
himself till dinner. He was eager to do something char-
acteristic. Absinthe! of course it was indicated, and so,
sauntering towards the station, he seated himself outside a
cafe and ordered it. He drank with nausea and satisfaction.
He found the taste disgusting, but the moral effect magnifi-
cent; he felt every inch an art-student; and since he drank
on an empty stomach his spirits presently grew very high.
He watched the crowds, and felt all men were his brothers.
He was happy. When he reached Gravier’s the table at which
Clutton sat was full, but as soon as he saw Philip limping