Gilbert’s Reviews > Of Human Bondage > Status Update

For forty eight hours Hayward lived in an agony of indecision; he had talked of getting occupation of this sort so long that he had not the face to refuse outright but the thought of doing anything filled him with panic. At last, he declined the offer and breathed freely. ‘It would have interfered with my work,’ he told Philip — ‘What work?’ asked Philip brutally. ‘My inner life,’ he answered.