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self (he had often asked himself before but had never put
it into words) what it was in her that filled him with such
extravagant delight; he did not know; he knew only that
when she was with him he was happy, and when she was
away from him the world was on a sudden cold and gray;
he knew only that when he thought of her his heart seemed
to grow big in his body so that it was difficult to breathe (as
if it pressed against his lungs) and it throbbed, so that the
delight of her presence was almost pain; his knees shook,
and he felt strangely weak as though, not having eaten, he
were tremulous from want of food. He looked forward ea-
gerly to her answers. He did not expect her to write often,
for he knew that letter-writing came difficultly to her; and
he was quite content with the clumsy little note that arrived
in reply to four of his. She spoke of the boarding-house in
which she had taken a room, of the weather and the baby,
told him she had been for a walk on the front with a lady-
friend whom she had met in the boarding-house and who
had taken such a fancy to baby, she was going to the theatre
on Saturday night, and Brighton was filling up. It touched
Philip because it was so matter-of-fact. The crabbed style,
the formality of the matter, gave him a queer desire to laugh
and to take her in his arms and kiss her.
He went into the examination with happy confidence.
There was nothing in either of the papers that gave him
trouble. He knew that he had done well, and though the sec-
ond part of the examination was viva voce and he was more
nervous, he managed to answer the questions adequately.
He sent a triumphant telegram to Mildred when the result

Of Human Bondage