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TO THE LIGHTHOUSEcaught the salt cellar, which she had placed there toremind her, and she remembered that next morningshe would move the tree further towards the middle,and her spirits rose so high at the thought of paint-ing tomorrow that she laughed out loud at what Mr.Tansley was saying. Let him talk all night if heliked it.

"But how long do they leave men on a Light-house?" she asked. He told her. He was amazinglywell informed. And as he was grateful, and as heliked her, and as he was beginning to enjoy himself,so now, Mrs. Ramsay thought, she could return tothat dream land, that unreal but fascinating place,the Mannings’ drawing-room at Marlow twentyyears ago; where one moved about without haste oranxiety, for there was no future to worry about. Sheknew what had happened to them, what to her. It waslike reading a good book again, for she knew the endof that story, since it had happened twenty yearsago, and life, which shot down even from this dining-room table in cascades, heaven knows where, wassealed up there, and lay, like a lake, placidly be-tween its banks. He said they had built a billiardroom—was it possible? Would William go on talkingabout the Mannings? She wanted him to. But, no—for some reason he was no longer in the mood. She140