Miss Winchelsea's Heart by H.G. Wells
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Florence as_the brief time permitted; he met them in_the Pitti gallery and went round with_them, chatting brightly, and evidently very grateful for their recognition . he_knew a great deal about art, and all four enjoyed the morning immensely . it_was fine to_go round recognising old favourites and finding new beauties, especially while so_many people fumbled helplessly with Baedeker . nor was he a bit of aprig, miss Winchelsea said, and indeed she detested prigs . he had a distinct undertone of humour, and was funny, for example, without being vulgar, at_the expense of_the quaint work of Beato Angelico . he had a grave seriousness beneath it all, and was quick to seize the moral lessons of_the pictures .Fanny went softly among_these masterpieces; she admitted " she knew so little about_them," and she confessed that to her they were " all beautiful ." Fanny's " beautiful" inclined to_be a little monotonous, miss Winchelsea thought . she had_been quite glad when_the last sunny Alp had vanished, because of_the staccato of Fanny's admiration .Helen said little, but miss Winchelsea had found her a trifle wanting on_the aesthetic side in_the old days and was not surprised; sometimes she laughed at_the young man's hesitating, delicate jests and sometimes she didn't, and sometimes she seemed quite lost to_the art about_them in_the contemplation of_the dresses of_the other visitors .

at Rome the young man was with_them intermittently .a rather "touristy" friend of_his took him away at times . he complained comically to miss Winchelsea ." I_have only two short weeks in Rome," he_said, " and my friend Leonard wants to_spend a whole day at Tivoli looking at a waterfall ."

" what_is your friend Leonard ? " asked miss Winchelsea abruptly .

" he's the most enthusiastic pedestrian I ever met," the young man replied-- amusingly, but a little unsatisfactorily, miss Winchelsea thought .

they had some glorious times, and Fanny could_not think what they_would_have done without him . miss Winchelsea's interest and Fanny's enormous capacity for admiration were insatiable . they never flagged-- through pictures and sculpture galleries, immense crowded churches, ruins and museums, Judas trees and prickly pears, wine carts and palaces, they admired their way unflinchingly . they never saw a stone pine or a eucalyptus but they named and admired it; they never glimpsed Soracte but they exclaimed . their common ways were made wonderful by imaginative play ." here Caesar may_have walked," they_would say ."Raphael may_have seen Soracte from_this very point ." they happened on_the tomb of Bibulus ." old Bibulus," said the young man ." the oldest monument of republican Rome ! " said miss Winchelsea .

"I'm dreadfully stupid," said Fanny, " but who was Bibulus ? "

there_was a curious little pause .

"Wasn't he the person who built the wall ? " said Helen .

the young man glanced quickly at her and laughed ." that was Balbus," he_said .Helen reddened, but neither he nor miss Winchelsea threw any light upon Fanny's ignorance about Bibulus .

Helen was more taciturn than_the other three, but then she was always taciturn, and usually she took care of_the tram tickets and things like that, or kept her eye on them if_the young man took them, and told him where they were when he_wanted them . glorious times they had, these young people, in_that pale brown cleanly city of memories that was once the world . their only sorrow was_the shortness of_the time . they said indeed that_the electric trams and_the '70 buildings, and_that criminal advertisement that glares upon_the forum, outraged their aesthetic feelings unspeakably; but that was only part of_the fun . and indeed Rome is such a wonderful place that_it made miss Winchelsea forget some of her most carefully prepared enthusiasms at times, and Helen, taken unawares, would suddenly admit the beauty of unexpected things . yet Fanny and Helen would_have liked a shop window or so in_the English quarter if miss Winchelsea's uncompromising hostility to all other English visitors had_not rendered that district impossible .

the intellectual and aesthetic fellowship of miss Winchelsea and_the scholarly young man passed insensibly towards a deeper feeling . the exuberant Fanny did her best to_keep pace with their recondite admiration by playing her " beautiful" with vigour, and saying "Oh ! let's go," with enormous appetite whenever a new place of interest was mentioned . but Helen developed a certain want of sympathy towards the end that disappointed miss Winchelsea a little . she refused to_see " anything" in_the face of Beatrice Cenci--Shelley's Beatrice Cenci ! -- in_the Barberini gallery; and one day, when_they were deploring the electric trams, she said rather snappishly that " people must get about somehow, and it's better than torturing horses up these horrid little hills ." she spoke of_the Seven Hills of Rome as " horrid little hills " !

and_the day they went on_the palatine-- though miss Winchelsea did_not know of_this-- she remarked suddenly to Fanny, "Don't hurry like that, my dear; _they don't want us to overtake them . and we don't say the right things for_them when we_do get near ."

"I wasn't trying to overtake them," said Fanny, slackening her excessive pace; "I wasn't indeed ." and for a minute she was short of breath .

but miss Winchelsea had come upon happiness . it_was only when she came to look back across an intervening tragedy that she quite realised how happy she had_been pacing among_the cypress- shadowed ruins, and exchanging the very highest class of information the human mind can possess, the most refined impressions it_is possible to convey .Insensibly emotion crept into their intercourse, sunning itself openly and pleasantly at last when Helen's modernity was not too near .Insensibly their interest drifted from_the wonderful associations about_them to_their more intimate and personal feelings . in a tentative way information was supplied; she spoke allusively of her school, of her examination successes, of her gladness that_the days of " cram" were over . he_made it quite clear that he also was a teacher . they spoke of_the greatness of_their calling, of_the necessity of sympathy to_face its irksome details, of a certain loneliness they sometimes felt .

that was in_the Colosseum, and it_was as far as_they got that day, because Helen returned with Fanny-- she had taken her into_the upper galleries . yet the private dreams of miss Winchelsea, already vivid and concrete enough, became now realistic in_the highest degree . she figured that pleasant young man lecturing in_the most edifying way to_his students, herself modestly prominent as his intellectual mate and helper; she figured a refined little home, with two bureaus, with white shelves of high- class books, and autotypes of_the pictures of Rossetti and Burne Jones, with Morris's wall-papers and flowers in pots of beaten copper . indeed she figured many things . on_the Pincio the two had a few precious moments together, while Helen marched Fanny off to_see the muro Torto_, and he spoke at once plainly . he_said he hoped their friendship was only beginning, that he already found her company very precious to him, that indeed it_was more than that .

he became nervous, thrusting at his glasses with trembling fingers as_though he fancied his emotions made them unstable ." i_should of_course," he_said, " tell you things about myself . I_know it_is rather unusual my speaking to_you like this . only our meeting has_been so accidental-- or providential-- and I_am snatching at things . I_came to Rome expecting a lonely tour .. . and I_have_been so very happy, so very happy . quite recently I_have found myself in_a_position-- I_have dared to_think----, and----"

he glanced over his shoulder and stopped . he_said "Demn ! " quite distinctly-- and she did_not condemn him for_that manly lapse into profanity . she looked and saw his friend Leonard advancing . he drew nearer; he raised his hat to miss Winchelsea, and_his smile was almost a grin ."I've been looking for_you everywhere, Snooks," he_said ." you promised to_be on_the piazza steps half- an- hour ago ."

Snooks ! the name struck miss Winchelsea like a blow in_the face . she did_not hear his reply . she thought afterwards that Leonard must_have considered her the vaguest- minded person . to_this day she_is_not sure whether she was introduced to Leonard or not, nor what she said to him .a sort of mental paralysis was upon her . of all offensive surnames--Snooks !

Helen and Fanny were returning, there were civilities, and_the young men were receding . by a great effort she controlled herself to_face the inquiring eyes of her friends . all that afternoon she lived the life of a heroine under the indescribable outrage of_that name, chatting, observing, with "Snooks" gnawing at her heart . from_the moment that_it first rang upon her ears, the dream of her happiness was prostrate in_the dust . all the refinement she had figured was ruined and defaced by_that cognomen's unavoidable vulgarity .

what_was that refined little home to her now, spite of autotypes, Morris papers, and bureaus ? athwart it in letters of fire ran an incredible inscription: " Mrs Snooks ." that_may seem a little thing to_the reader, but consider the delicate refinement of miss Winchelsea's mind . be as refined as_you_can and then think of writing yourself down:--"Snooks ." she conceived herself being addressed as Mrs Snooks by all the people she liked least, conceived the patronymic touched with a vague quality of insult . she figured a card of grey and silver bearing 'Winchelsea' triumphantly effaced by an arrow, Cupid's arrow, in favour of "Snooks ." Degrading confession of feminine weakness ! she imagined the terrible rejoicings of certain girl friends, of certain grocer cousins from whom her growing refinement had long since estranged her . how they_would make it sprawl across the envelope that_would bring their sarcastic congratulations . would even his pleasant company compensate her for_that ? " it_is impossible," she muttered; " impossible ! Snooks ! "

she was sorry for him, but not so sorry as she was for herself . for him she had a touch of indignation . to_be so nice, so refined, while all the time he_was "Snooks," to hide under a pretentious gentility of demeanour the badge sinister of_his surname seemed a sort of treachery . to_put it in_the language of sentimental science she felt he had "led her on ."

there were, of_course, moments of terrible vacillation, a period even when something almost like passion bid her throw refinement to_the winds . and there_was something in her, an unexpurgated vestige of vulgarity that made a strenuous attempt at proving that Snooks was not so very bad a name after all . any hovering hesitation flew before Fanny's manner, when Fanny came with an air of catastrophe to_tell that she also knew the horror .Fanny's voice fell to a whisper when she said Snooks . miss Winchelsea would_not give him any answer when at last, in_the Borghese, she could_have a minute with_him; but she promised him a note .

she handed him that note in_the little book of poetry he had lent her, the little book that had first drawn them together . her refusal was ambiguous, allusive . she_could no more tell him why she rejected him than she could_have told a cripple of_his hump . he too must feel something of_the unspeakable quality of_his name . indeed he had avoided a dozen chances of telling it, she now perceived . so she spoke of "obstacles she_could_not reveal"--"reasons why the thing he spoke of was impossible ." she addressed the note with a shiver, "E .K .Snooks ."

things were worse than she had dreaded; he asked her to explain . how _could she explain ? those last two days in Rome were dreadful . she was haunted by his air of astonished perplexity . she knew she had given him intimate hopes, she had_not the courage to examine her mind thoroughly for_the extent of her encouragement . she knew he_must think her the most changeable of beings . now that she was in full retreat, she_would not even perceive his hints of a possible correspondence . but in_that matter he_did a thing that seemed to her at once delicate and romantic . he_made a go- between of Fanny .Fanny could_not keep the secret, and came and told her that night under a transparent pretext of needed advice ." Mr Snooks," said Fanny, "wants to write to_me . fancy ! I had no idea . but should I let him ? " they talked it over long and earnestly, and miss Winchelsea was careful to_keep the veil over her heart . she was already repenting his disregarded hints . why should she not hear of him sometimes-- painful though his name must_be to her ? miss Winchelsea decided it might_be permitted, and Fanny kissed her good- night with unusual emotion . after she had gone miss Winchelsea sat for_a_long_time at_the window of her little room . it_was moonlight, and down the street a man sang "Santa Lucia" with almost heart-dissolving tenderness .. . she sat very still .

she breathed a word very softly to herself . the word was "_Snooks ." then she got up with a profound sigh, and went to bed . the next morning he_said to her meaningly, " I_shall hear of you through your friend ."

Mr Snooks saw them off from Rome with_that pathetic interrogative perplexity still on_his face, and if_it had_not_been for Helen he_would_have retained miss Winchelsea's hold- all in_his hand as a sort of encyclopaedic keepsake . on their way back to England miss Winchelsea on six separate occasions made Fanny promise to write to her the longest of long letters .Fanny, it seemed, would_be quite near Mr Snooks . her new school-- she was always going to new schools-- would_be only five miles from Steely bank, and it_was in_the Steely bank polytechnic, and one_or_two first- class schools, that Mr Snooks did his teaching . he might even see her at times . they_could_not talk much of him-- she and Fanny always spoke of " him," never of Mr Snooks-- because Helen was apt to_say unsympathetic things about him . her

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