CHAPTER 1 had settled early to morning 's work in what called .
was .
, quite twelve feet wide , ran -- Australian fashion -- along the front of , except for the two closed-in ends forming , one and the other a kind of .
Being raised a few feet above the ground , was enclosed by a wooden railing , and this and the supporting posts were twined with creepers that must have been planted at least thirty years .
One of these , a stephanotis , showed masses of white bloom , which casually reflected would have fetched a pretty sum in , and , joining in with a fine-growing asparagus fern , formed an arch over the entrance steps .
The end of , where had established with type-writer and paraphernalia of literary work , was screened by a thick-stemmed grape-vine , which made a dapple of shadow and sunshine upon the boarded floor .
Some bunches of late grapes -- it was the very beginning of March -- hung upon the vine , and , at the other end of , grew a passion creeper , its great purple fruit looking like huge plums amidst its vivid green leaves .
The roof of was low , with projecting eaves , below which a bunch of yellowing bananas hung to ripen .
In fact , and beyond would have been paradise to a fruitarian .
Against the wall of , stood a large tin dish piled with melons , pine-apples and miscellaneous garden produce , while , between the posts , could be seen a guava-tree , an elderly fig and a loquat all in full bearing .
seemed a tangle of all manner of vegetation -- an oleander in bloom , a poinsettia , a yucca , lifting its spike of waxen white blossoms , a narrow flower-border in which the gardenias had become tall shrubs and the scented verbena shrubs almost trees .
As for the blend of perfume , it was dreamily intoxicating .
Two bamboos , guarding the side entrance gate , made a soft whispering that heightened the dream-sense .
The bottom of looked an inchoate mass of greenery topped by the upper boughs of tall straggling gum trees , growing outside where the ground fell gradually to .
From where sat , had a view of almost the whole reach of where circles .
For , as is known to all who know , the winds in two great loops girdling two low points , so that , in striking a bee-line across , business and residential , one must cross three times .
could see the plan of in and the roofs of shops and offices .
-- familiarly , the -- lay opposite on right , while leftward , across , could trace , as far as the grape-vine would allow , the boundary of and get a sight of the white stone and grey slate end of .
The heat-haze over and the brilliant sun-sparkles on suggested a cruel glare outside and .
, if a bit distracting from plenitude of associations to .
typewriter stood on a bamboo table before .
A pile of Australian Hansards for reference sat on a chair at convenient distance .
A large table with a green cloth , at elbow , had at one end a tray with the remains of breakfast of tea , scones and fruit .
The end nearest was littered with sheaves of manuscript , newspaper-cuttings , photographs and sepia sketches -- obviously for purposes of illustration : gum-bottle , stylographs and the rest , with , also , several note-books held open by bananas , recently plucked from the ripening bunch , to serve as paper-weights .
had meant to be very busy that morning .
There was weekly letter for THE IMPERIALIST to send off by to-morrow 's mail , and , moreover , had to digest the reasons of the eminent journal for returning to an article that had not met with 's approval -- : in the British policy of the day .
It had been an immense honour when had chosen from amongst for a roving commission to report upon the political , financial , economic and social aspects of , and upon Imperial interests generally , as represented in various sideshows on route .
But it happened that was now suffering from a change at the last moment in that route -- a substitution of the commplace P. & O. for the more exciting Canadian Pacific , having suddenly decided that Imperialism in demanded special correspondent 's immediate attention .
For this story dates back to the time when was in office ; when Imperialism , Free Trade and Yellow Labour were the catch words of a party , and before the great had become an historical fact .
looked worried .
was wondering whether the English mail expected to-day would bring troublesome editorial instructions .
examined some of the photographs and drawings with a dissatisfied air .
A running inarticulate commentary might have been put into words like this : ' No good ... can manage the letterpress all right once get the hang of things .
But when it comes to illustrations , ca n't make even a gum-tree look as if it was growing ... .
And hates having amateur snapshots to work up ... .
Hopeless to try for ... .
wonder if could give an idea .... .
Why to goodness did n't join !
... .
If 'd only had the decency to let know in time WHY could n't ... .
Money , suppose -- or !
... .
Well , 'll write and tell never to expect a literary leg-up from again ... ' pulled the sheet had been typing out of the machine , inserted another , altered the notch to single spacing and rattled off at top speed till the page was covered .
The appended signature and wrote this address : To , Care of , , , W. on an envelope , into which slipped letter -- a letter never to be sent .
A snap of the gate between the bamboos added a metallic note to the tree 's reedy whimperings , and tramped along and up .
' Morning , ... a heavy mail for ! '
planked down the usual editorial packet -- two or three rolls of proofs , a collection of newspapers , a bulky parcel of private correspondence sent on by , some local letters and , finally , two square envelopes , with the remark , as turned away on round .
' word !
, those letters seem to have done a bit of globe-trotting on their own , do n't they ! '
For the envelopes were covered with directions , some in Japanese and Chinese hieroglyphics , some in official red ink from , a few with the distinctive markings of British Legations and where should have stayed , but did not -- Only own name showing through the obliterations , and a final re-addressing by .
recognised the impulsive , untidy but characteristic handwriting of .
' From at last ! '
exclaimed , tore the flap of number one letter , paused and laid it aside .
' Business first . '
So went carefully through the editorial communication .
was not quite so tiresome as had feared would be .
After , the packet from was inspected and its contents laid aside for future perusal .
Next , tackled the local letters .
One was embossed with stamp and contained a cablegram originally despatched from , which had been received at and , thence , had pursued -- first along the route originally designed , afterwards , with zigzagging , retrogression and much delay , along the one had taken .
That it had reached at all , said a good deal for 's fame as .
The telegram was phrased thus : SORRY IMPOSSIBLE NO FUNDS OTHER REASONS WRITING 's illuminative ' H 'm ! '
implied that two inductions had been correct .
No funds -- and other reasons -- meaning -- .
scented instantly another of 's tempestuous love-affairs .
Had it been merely a question of lack of money with inclination goading , felt pretty certain that would have contrived to beg , borrow or steal -- on a hazardous promissory note , after the happy-go-lucky financial morals of .
Or , failing these means , that would have threatened some mad enterprise and so have frightened Countess of into writing a cheque for three figures .
Of course , less would have been of no account .
opened the two envelopes and sorted the pages in order of their dates .
The first had the address of a house in , where lived and -- .
's letters were type-written , most carelessly , with the mistakes corrected down the margin of the flimsy sheets in the manner of author 's proof -- the whole appearance of them suggesting literary ' copy ' .
Likewise , the slapdash epistolary style of the MS. , which had a certain vividness of its own .
CHAPTER 2 ' , 'll have got wire .
was right , suppose .
sent it from .
Since then have been at with and , and since came back to with , 've been in too chaotic a state of mind to write letters .
Really , and 's atmosphere of struggling to keep in the swim on next to nothing a year and of eking out a precarious income by visits to and cadging on gets on nerves to such an extent that and 's established " Colonial Office " sort of respectability is quite refreshing by contrast .