Indeed, it is good to see you again, Hyacinth, for it has been very lonely while you were away.

I have not been able to do very much lately or to go out to the seashore, as I used to.

Perhaps it is only that I have not cared to.

But I have tried hard to get everything ready for your coming.' He looked round the room with evident pride as he spoke.

Hyacinth followed his gaze, and it was with a sense of deep shame that he found himself noticing the squalor of his home.