fail to satisfy myself, or should any further faults appear when we begin
to rehearse the piece, I shall dismiss my people, pack up my traps, and
return to Ashwood. There I shall have quiet; here, people are continually
knocking at my door, and I cannot deny my friends the pleasure of seeing
me, if that is a pleasure. But at Ashwood, as I say, I shall be sure of
quiet, and can easily finish the play this autumn, and February is a better
time than September to produce a play."'

'Then he goes on,' said Julia, 'to explain the alterations he contemplates
making. There's no use reading you all that.'

'I suppose you think I should not understand.'

'My dear Emily, if you want to read the letter, there it is.'

'I don't want to see your letter.'

'What do you mean, Emily?'

'Nothing, only I think it rather strange that he didn't write to me.'

Some days after, Emily took up the book that Julia had laid down.
'"Shakespeare's Plays." I suppose you are reading them so that you'll be
able to talk to him better.'

'I never thought of such a thing, Emily.' At the end of a long silence
Emily said--

'Do you think clever men like clever women?'