Page 794 - of-human-bondage-

ing things awake from their sleep, and there is a rustle in
the earth, a forerunner of spring, as it resumes its eternal
activities. Philip would have liked to drive on further, it was
distasteful to him to go back to his rooms, and he wanted
the air; but the desire to see the child clutched suddenly at
his heartstrings, and he smiled to himself as he thought of
her toddling towards him with a crow of delight. He was
surprised, when he reached the house and looked up me-
chanically at the windows, to see that there was no light. He
went upstairs and knocked, but got no answer. When Mil-
dred went out she left the key under the mat and he found it
there now. He let himself in and going into the sitting-room
struck a match. Something had happened, he did not at once
know what; he turned the gas on full and lit it; the room
was suddenly filled with the glare and he looked round. He
gasped. The whole place was wrecked. Everything in it had
been wilfully destroyed. Anger seized him, and he rushed
into Mildred’s room. It was dark and empty. When he had
got a light he saw that she had taken away all her things and
the baby’s (he had noticed on entering that the go-cart was
not in its usual place on the landing, but thought Mildred
had taken the baby out;) and all the things on the washing-
stand had been broken, a knife had been drawn cross-ways
through the seats of the two chairs, the pillow had been slit
open, there were large gashes in the sheets and the counter-
pane, the looking-glass appeared to have been broken with
a hammer. Philip was bewildered. He went into his own
room, and here too everything was in confusion. The ba-
sin and the ewer had been smashed, the looking-glass was