squandering your birthright."
Mrs. Chester looked at him, slightly taken
aback.
"What are the years from twenty to forty?
Fettered and bound by personal and emotional
relationships. That's bound to be. That's living.
But later there's a new stage. You can think,
observe life, discover something about other
people and the truth about yourself. Life becomes
real--significant. You see it as a whole. Not just
one scene--the scene you, as an actor, are playing.
No man or woman is actually himself (or herselO
till after forty-five. That's when individuality has
a chance."
Mrs. Chester said:
"I've been wrapped up in Basil. He's been everything to me."
"Well, he shouldn't have been. That's what you're paying for now. Love him as much as you
likewbut you're Adela Chester, remember, a per-son--not
just Basil's mother."
"It will break my heart if Basil's life is ruined,"
said Basil's xnother.
He looked at the delicate lines of her face, the
wistful droop of her mouth. She was, somehow, a
lovable woman. He did not want her to be hurt.
He said:
I'll see what I can do."
He found Basil Chester only too ready to talk,
eager to urge his point of view.
"This business is being just hellish. Mother's
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