declared, as much as Mrs. Major
Moreton, and far, far nicer. The family was coming on. Only Morel remained
unchanged, or rather, lapsed slowly.
    Paul and his mother now had long discussions about life. Religion was fading
into the background. He had shovelled away all the beliefs that would hamper
him, had cleared the ground, and come more or less to the bedrock of belief that
one should feel inside oneself for right and wrong, and should have the patience
to gradually realise one's God. Now life interested him more.
    »You know,« he said to his mother, »I don't want to belong to the well-to-do
middle class. I like my common people best. I belong to the common people.«
    »But if anyone else said so, my son, wouldn't you be in a tear. You know you
consider yourself equal to any gentleman.«
    »In myself,« he answered, »not in my class or my education or my manners.
But in myself I am.«
    »Very well, then. Then why talk about the common people?«
    »Because - the difference between people isn't in their class, but in
themselves. Only from the middle classes one gets ideas, and from the common
people - life itself, warmth. You feel their hates and loves.«
    »It's all very well, my boy. But, then, why don't you go and talk to your
father's pals?«
    »But they're rather different.«
    »Not at all. They're the common people. After all, whom do you mix with now
- among the common people? Those that exchange ideas, like the middle classes.
The rest don't interest you.«
    »But - there's the life -«
    »I don't believe there's a jot more life from Miriam than you could get from
any educated girl - say Miss Moreton. It is you who are snobbish about class.«
    She frankly wanted him to climb into the middle classes, a thing not very
difficult, she knew. And she wanted him in the end to marry a lady.
    Now she began to combat him in his restless fretting. He still kept up his
connection with Miriam, could neither break free nor go the whole length of
engagement. And this indecision seemed to bleed him of his energy. Moreover, his
mother suspected him of an unrecognised leaning towards Clara, and, since the
latter was a