LILIAN

A beautiful young girl, was a typist, though not a contented typist. She yearned after a high, impossible ideal, which involved all the more vulgar luxuries so easily obtainable in exchange for cash. The typewriting office at which she was employed had been started by Felix Grig, a middle-aged man of means, as a hobby for his spinster sister. Miss Grig suspected that Felix was more interested in Lilian than he ought to be ; therefore, she gave Lilian the sack. But this ruse was unsuccessful, for Felix invited Lilian to dine at the expensive restaurant of her dreams and suggested a little trip to the Continent. Lilian accepted with alacrity and off they went. Thereafter, chapters celebrating the delights of prosperous indolence on the Riviera. Unhappily, after a few days of this delicious existence Felix catches a cold and Lilian discovers that she is going to have a baby. Felix's cold becomes pneu- monia ; but pneumonia or not, he gets up, marries Lilian, makes a will leaving her everything, and dies. Lilian, having assisted at the usual ceremonies, returns to England and lives happily or unhappily ever afterwards in Felix's town house.

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was an English journalist, novelist, and writer. After working as a rent collector and solicitor's clerk, Bennett won a writing contest which convinced him to become a journalist. He later turned to the writing of novels, including his most famous Clayhanger and Anna of the five towns.