The Card | Page 2

in geography, and saw
seven marks against his name, in the geographical column, out of a
possible thirty. The figures had been written in pencil. The pencil lay
on the desk. He picked it up, glanced at the door and at the rows of
empty desks, and a neat "2" in front of the 7; then he strolled innocently
forth and came back late. His trick ought to have been found out--the
odds were against him--but it was not found out. Of course it was
dishonest. Yes, but I will not agree that Denry was uncommonly
vicious. Every schoolboy is dishonest, by the adult standard. If I knew
an honest schoolboy I would begin to count my silver spoons as he
grew up. All is fair between schoolboys and schoolmasters.
This dazzling feat seemed to influence not only Denry's career but also

his character. He gradually came to believe that he had won the
scholarship by genuine merit, and that he was a remarkable boy and
destined to great ends. His new companions, whose mothers employed
Denry's mother, also believed that he was a remarkable boy; but they
did not forget, in their gentlemanly way, to call him "washer-woman."
Happily Denry did not mind.
He had a thick skin, and fair hair and bright eyes and broad shoulders,
and the jolly gaiety of his disposition developed daily. He did not shine
at the school; he failed to fulfil the rosy promise of the scholarship; but
he was not stupider than the majority; and his opinion of himself,
having once risen, remained at "set fair." It was inconceivable that he
should work in clay with his hands.
II
When he was sixteen his mother, by operations [**words missing in
original] a yard and a half of Brussels point lace, put [**words missing
in original] Emery under an obligation. Mrs Emery [**words missing
in original] the sister of Mr Duncalf. Mr Duncalf was town Clerk of
Bursley, and a solicitor. It is well known that all bureaucracies are
honey-combed with intrigue. Denry Machin left school to be clerk to
Mr Duncalf, on the condition that within a year he should be able to
write shorthand at the rate of a hundred and fifty words a minute. In
those days mediocre and incorrect shorthand was not a drug on the
market. He complied (more or less, and decidedly less than more) with
the condition. And for several years he really thought that he had
nothing further to hope for. Then he met the Countess.
The Countess of Chell was born of poor but picturesque parents, and
she could put her finger on her great-grandfather's grandfather. Her
mother gained her livelihood and her daughter's by allowing herself to
be seen a great deal with humbler but richer people's daughters. The
Countess was brought up to matrimony. She was aimed and timed to
hit a given mark at a given moment. She succeeded. She married the
Earl of Chell. She also married about twenty thousand acres in England,
about a fifth of Scotland, a house in Piccadilly, seven country seats
(including Sneyd), a steam yacht, and five hundred thousand pounds'

worth of shares in the Midland Railway. She was young and pretty. She
had travelled in China and written a book about China. She sang at
charity concerts and acted in private theatricals. She sketched from
nature. She was one of the great hostesses of London. And she had not
the slightest tendency to stoutness. All this did not satisfy her. She was
ambitious! She wanted to be taken seriously. She wanted to enter into
the life of the people. She saw in the quarter of a million souls that
constitute the Five Towns a unique means to her end, an unrivalled toy.
And she determined to be identified with all that was most serious in
the social progress of the Five Towns. Hence some fifteen thousand
pounds were spent in refurbishing Sneyd Hall, which lies on the edge
of the Five Towns, and the Earl and Countess passed four months of
the year there. Hence the Earl, a mild, retiring man, when invited by the
Town Council to be the ornamental Mayor of Bursley, accepted the
invitation. Hence the Mayor and Mayoress gave an immense afternoon
reception to practically the entire roll of burgesses. And hence, a little
later, the Mayoress let it be known that she meant to give a municipal
ball. The news of the ball thrilled Bursley more than anything had
thrilled Bursley since the signing of Magna Charta. Nevertheless, balls
had been offered by previous mayoresses. One can only suppose that in
Bursley there remains a peculiar respect for land, railway stock, steam
yachts, and great-grandfathers' grandfathers.
Now, everybody of account had been asked to the reception. But
everybody could not be