128 GARRYOWEN 



feel as if I was in a Sunday School, though she 

 wasn't pious in the least. As a matter of fact, she 

 didn't believe in reUgion — that is to say, church 

 and all that — but she was a SociaHst. Awfully 

 strong on dividing up everyone's money so that 

 everyone would have five pounds a week. I used 

 to fight her over that, for she had three hundred a 

 year of her own and stuck to it ; besides, I didn't 

 see the force of making all the rotters in the world 

 happy, and drunk, with five quid a week out of my 

 pocket ; but she never would give in — always had 

 some card up her sleeve to trump me with. You 

 see, I'm not a political Johnny, and hadn't studied 

 up the question. But we never fought really over 

 that. Men and women don't ever really fight 

 over those sort of things ; and I'd always give in 

 for a quiet life, and we'd go off and have tea at the 

 British Museum, and look at the mummies and the 

 marbles and things, and after six months or so I 

 got quite fond of her in a way, and I began to look 

 forward to marrying her. I used to mug up 

 Herbert Spencer and a chap called Marx, and I 

 never looked at another woman, and scarcely ever 

 made a bet; and it might have gone on to us 

 getting two latch-keys, only — " Mr Dash wood 

 stopped. 



" Only, I met another girl," he went on. " That 

 put me in a beastly position, and the long and the 

 short of it is I went on the razzle-dazzle from the 

 botheration of it all. Miss H. found out, and she 

 cut the knot herself. I'm glad to be free," 



