Arnold Bennett

Hilda Lessways Arnold Bennett

Why had she not used her force of character to obtain more books? One reason layin the excessive difficulty to be faced. Birthdays are infrequent; and besides, theenterprise of purchasing Maud had proved so complicated and tedious that Mrs. Lessways, with that curious stiffness which marked her sometimes, had swornnever to attempt to buy another book. Turnhill, a town of fifteen thousand persons, had no bookseller; the only bookseller that Mrs. Lessways had ever heard of didbusiness at Oldcastle. Mrs. Lessways had journeyed twice over the Hillport ridge toOldcastle, in the odd quest of a book called Maud by "Tennyson--the poet laureate";the book had had to be sent from London; and on her second excursion toOldcastle Mrs. Lessways had been caught by the rain in the middle of HillportMarsh. No! Hilda could not easily demand the gift of another book, when all sorts ofnice, really useful presents could be bought in the High Street. Nor was there inTurnhill a Municipal Library, nor any public lending-library