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written to say that he was passing through London and had
asked him to dinner; but Philip, unwilling to be bothered,
had refused. He was coming back for the season, and Philip
made up his mind to write to him.
He was thankful when eight o’clock struck and he could
get up. He was pale and weary. But when he had bathed,
dressed, and had breakfast, he felt himself joined up again
with the world at large; and his pain was a little easier to
bear. He did not feel like going to lectures that morning,
but went instead to the Army and Navy Stores to buy Mil-
dred a wedding-present. After much wavering he settled
on a dressing-bag. It cost twenty pounds, which was much
more than he could afford, but it was showy and vulgar: he
knew she would be aware exactly how much it cost; he got a
melancholy satisfaction in choosing a gift which would give
her pleasure and at the same time indicate for himself the
contempt he had for her.
Philip had looked forward with apprehension to the day
on which Mildred was to be married; he was expecting an
intolerable anguish; and it was with relief that he got a let-
ter from Hayward on Saturday morning to say that he was
coming up early on that very day and would fetch Philip
to help him to find rooms. Philip, anxious to be distracted,
looked up a time-table and discovered the only train Hay-
ward was likely to come by; he went to meet him, and the
reunion of the friends was enthusiastic. They left the luggage
at the station, and set off gaily. Hayward characteristically
proposed that first of all they should go for an hour to the
National Gallery; he had not seen pictures for some time,

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