Page 708 - of-human-bondage-

reminded Philip a good deal of Cronshaw. He appeared to
have the same independence of thought, the same bohemi-
anism, but he had an infinitely more vivacious temperament;
his mind was coarser, and he had not that interest in the ab-
stract which made Cronshaw’s conversation so captivating.
Athelny was very proud of the county family to which he
belonged; he showed Philip photographs of an Elizabethan
mansion, and told him:
‘The Athelnys have lived there for seven centuries, my
boy. Ah, if you saw the chimney-pieces and the ceilings!’
There was a cupboard in the wainscoting and from this
he took a family tree. He showed it to Philip with child-like
satisfaction. It was indeed imposing.
‘You see how the family names recur, Thorpe, Athelstan,
Harold, Edward; I’ve used the family names for my sons.
And the girls, you see, I’ve given Spanish names to.’
An uneasy feeling came to Philip that possibly the whole
story was an elaborate imposture, not told with any base mo-
tive, but merely from a wish to impress, startle, and amaze.
Athelny had told him that he was at Winchester; but Philip,
sensitive to differences of manner, did not feel that his host
had the characteristics of a man educated at a great public
school. While he pointed out the great alliances which his
ancestors had formed, Philip amused himself by wonder-
ing whether Athelny was not the son of some tradesman
in Winchester, auctioneer or coal-merchant, and whether a
similarity of surname was not his only connection with the
ancient family whose tree he was displaying.

0