In the third carriage a disjointed conversation was carried on in the intervals of looking out to see how far they had got, George remarking, āWell, it was really time that the poor old lady went.ā He didnāt believe in people living beyond seventy. Young Nicholas replied mildly that the rule didnāt seem to apply to the Forsytes. George said he himself intended to commit suicide at sixty. Young Nicholas, smiling and stroking a long chin, didnāt think his father would like that theory; he had made a lot of money since he was sixty. Well, seventy was the outside limit; it was then time, George said, for them to go and leave their money to their children. Soames, hitherto silent, here joined in; he had not forgotten the remark about the āundertaking,ā and, lifting his eyelids almost imperceptibly, said it was all very well for people who never made money to talk. He himself intended to live as long as he could. This was a hit at George, who was notoriously hard up. Bosinney muttered abstractedly, āHear, hear!ā and, George yawning, the conversation dropped.
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