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- 6. Big Data Application in Power Systems
- 7. Big Data Application in Power Systems Edited by Reza Arghandeh Assistant Prof. in Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Florida State University Yuxun Zhou PhD candidate, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley
- 8. Elsevier Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom 50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-12-811968-6 For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals Publisher: Joe Hayton Acquisition Editor: Lisa Reading Editorial Project Manager: Ana Claudia A. Garcia Production Project Manager: Vijayaraj Purushothaman Cover Designer: Mark Rogers Typeset by SPi Global, India
- 9. Contributors Reza Arghandeh UC Berkeley and Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States Mohammad Babakmehr Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, United States Ricardo J. Bessa INESC Technology and Science—INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal Saverio Bolognani Automatic Control Laboratory ETH Z€ urich, Z€ urich, Switzerland Angelo Cenedese University of Padova, Padova, Italy Michael Chertkov Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States Deepjyoti Deka Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States Roy Dong University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States Feng Gao Tsinghua University Energy Internet Research Institute, Beijing, China Madeleine Gibescu Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Bri-Mathias Hodge National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States Gabriela Hug ETH Zurich, Power Systems Laboratory, Zurich, Switzerland Jeffrey S. Katz IBM, Hartford, CT, United States Stephan Koch ETH Zurich; Adaptricity AG, c/o ETH Zurich, Power Systems Laboratory, Zurich, Switzerland Hanif Livani University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States Mehrdad Majidi University of Nevada, Reno, NV, United States John D. McDonald GE Energy Connections-Grid Solutions, Atlanta, GA, United States Sadaf Moaveninejad Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, Italy Elena Mocanu Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Ingo Nader Unbelievable Machine, Vienna, Austria Behzad Najafi Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, Italy Phuong H. Nguyen Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Lillian J. Ratliff University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States Fabio Rinaldi Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, Italy Marcelo G. Simoes Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, United States Matthias Stifter AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Center of Energy, Vienna, Austria Carol L. Stimmel Manifest Mind, LLC, Canaan, NY, United States Gian Antonio. Susto University of Padova, Padova, Italy Akin Tascikaraoglu Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Mugla, Turkey Matteo Terzi University of Padova, Padova, Italy Andreas Ulbig ETH Zurich; Adaptricity AG, c/o ETH Zurich, Power Systems Laboratory, Zurich, Switzerland xi
- 10. Yang Weng Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States Rui Yang National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States Yingchen Zhang National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States Jie Zhang University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States Yuxun Zhou UC Berkeley and Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States Thierry Zufferey ETH Zurich, Power Systems Laboratory, Zurich, Switzerland xii Contributors
- 11. About the Editors Reza Arghandeh is an Assistant Professor in the ECE Department in Florida State University. He is director of the Collaborative Intelligent Infrastructure Lab. He has been a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley’s California Institute for Energy and Environment 2013–15. He has 5 years industrial experience in power and energy systems. He completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in power systems at Virginia Tech. He holds Master’s degrees in Industrial and System Engineering from Virginia Tech 2013 and in Energy Systems from the University of Manchester 2008. From 2011 to 2013, he was a power system software designer at Electrical Distribution Design Inc. in Virginia. Dr. Arghandeh’s research interests include, but are not limited to, data analysis and decision support for smart grids and smart cities using statistical inference, machine learning, information theory, and operations research. He is a recipient of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Scholarship 2012, the UC Davis Green Tech Fellowship 2011, and the best paper award from the ASME 2012 Power Conference and IEEE PESGM 2015. He is the chair of the IEEE Task Force on Big Data Application for Power Distribution Network. Yuxun Zhou is currently a PhD candidate at Department of EECS, UC Berkeley. Prior to that, he obtained the Diplome d’Ingenieur in applied mathematics from Ecole Centrale Paris and a BS degree from Xi’an Jiaotong University. Yuxun has published more than 30 refereed articles, and has received several student awards. His research interest is on machine learning theories and algo- rithms for modern sensor rich, ubiquitously connected cyber-physical systems, including smart grid, power distribution networks, smart buildings, etc. xiii
- 12. Preface: Objective and Overview of the Book The term “big data” is fairly new in power systems. Yet, its application and methodologies applied to massive data sets were developed a long time ago for electricity load consumption forecasting. The recent developments in mon- itoring, sensor networks, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) dramat- ically increase the variety, volume, and velocity of measurement data in electricity transmission and distribution networks. Moreover, the progress in advanced statistics, machine learning (ML), database structure, and data min- ing methodologies marked by increasing the availability of open source plat- forms for data analytics is transforming the power system area and turning utilities into data-driven enterprises. In order to discuss the big data analytics applications for power systems, this book brings together experts from all organizations and institutions impacted including academia and industry. We focus on rapidly modernizing monitor- ing and analytical approaches to process the high dimensional, heterogeneous, and spatiotemporal data. This book discusses challenges, opportunities, success stories, and pathways for utilizing big data value in smart grids. The dramatic change in the field of scientific computing, microprocessors, and data commu- nications is a burden for electric utilities to understand, follow, and adopt the advanced statistics, computer science, and mathematics concepts. Today’s util- ity engineers need to be more informed of the basic concepts and applications for massive field data analysis. This book’s goal is to facilitate the transition to data-driven utilities by providing a comprehensive view on big data issues, methodologies, and their various applications in the power systems area. Much like the authorship of the chapters in this volume, the intended audience for this book extends from researchers, graduate students, and faculty working in electricity networks and smart grid area to industrial scientists, engineers, data analysis experts, and software developers who are working on electricity networks and advanced technologies for smart grids. This book is also useful for people with less technical expertise in scientific computing. We expect that the reader will have some proficiency in power systems fundamentals and that xv
- 13. he/she has had at least one elementary course in statistics. This book can also be useful for senior undergraduate students who have passed courses on power systems. This book has three sections as follows: I. Harness the Big Data From Power Sys- tems, II. Harness the Power of Big Data, and III. Put the Power of Big Data Into Power Systems. The opening section is an overview of the opportunities and challenges for data-driven utilities in the era of distributed technologies and resources such as Internet of Things (IoT), flexible demand, distributed generation, and energy storage. The second section reviews research trends on ML and artificial intel- ligence for the power system industry. The final section provides examples of the advanced data analytic applications for the grid operation. Taken together, these three book sections provide an overview of the entire cycle of data analysis in power systems. The book begins with the utility enterprise structure, business model, and privacy issues, then delves into research trends in advanced data analysis, and ends full circle with real-world examples of actual applications of data analytics used daily by utilities. SECTION ONE: HARNESS THE BIG DATA FROM POWER SYSTEMS To provide a big picture for electric utilities, this section describes the current and future trends for data mining and data processing in electric utilities. The move toward data-driven utility is possible by a fundamental shift in orga- nizational culture and business processes, as well as data-related technology and practices. Moreover, enriching electric utilities with data requires interop- erability across all operational and enterprise units and recognition that main- taining the data privacy, security, and the seamless data flow is highly challenging. The interoperability in holistic data-driven utilities expands to cus- tomers through their engagement and continues demand-side management for higher reliability, service quality, and efficiency. Aligning customers’ needs and expectations with utilities’ business drivers will shape the roadmap to generate, process, and access the data in utilities. The information and communication technology (ICT) platform is at the heart of the roadmap to data-driven utilities which supports the data flow from cus- tomers all the way to the transmission and generation operators. Utilities made aggressive steps toward smartness by adopting the distribution automation (DA) solutions followed by AMI platforms. DA and AMI made a revolution in grid operation. However, the data flood from DA and AMI has created a nightmare for the utilities’ ICT infrastructure. A holistic approach for data- driven utilities is needed to openly discuss and clarify the foundational ICT requirements to serve all functions of the electric grid. xvi Preface
- 14. Becoming a data-driven utility is inevitable in the age of internet, cloud com- puting, smart phones, and distributed resources. The advanced data analytics make continuous innovation possible by unlocking insights never seen before. The ML, deep learning, and statistical inference are tools that help utilities to keep up with the torrent of data from different resources. Advanced big data analytics provide estimation, predication, diagnostics, and prognostics conclu- sions from historical and real-time data flows. As more data becomes available to utilities over time, the ML algorithms provide more refined insights on grid operation planning. However, the synergies between ICT networks, grid com- ponents, operators, and customers run the power system into a complex giant for ad hoc data-driven approaches and policies. This section of the book endeavors to deliver the message that a holistic approach based on a founda- tion of open architecture and standards will ensure the open flow of data and interoperability between devices, systems, databases, and people in order to make data-driven utilities. The all-inclusive approaches to generate, transfer, and handle data also bring tremendous opportunities to break traditional bar- riers in utility organizations for delivering safe, reliable, and affordable power to their customers. Chapter 1 by John McDonald introduces these concepts through three case studies. He explores the value of a data-driven utility in terms of asset manage- ment and safety, the fundamentals of standards and interoperability, and the enterprises of increased visibility into the transmission and distribution net- work. The chapter illustrates the holistic data-driven utility and its fundamental business drivers to establish information and communications technology foundation, human resource, customer relation, and data-oriented organiza- tional cultural data in the grid operation and planning. The data-driven utilities now face greater and more frequent risk of intrusion and/or interruption due to the fact that these networks are merging with cyber networks, resulting in sociotechnical and cyber-physical systems that are creat- ing an infrastructural IoT where all grid components can interact and collabo- rate. Integrating cyber components into the electric grid also means an incredible increase in security vulnerability and interdependencies among infrastructure components that create the risk of cascading effects after attacks. Moreover, the enhanced observability of the grid thanks to the smart meters’ high granular data is making more customers concerned and uncomfortable about data privacy. Carol L. Stimmel discusses state-of-the-art data privacy and security in Chapter 2. She lists a number of actual cases for cyber security attacks on the grid and explains the impact of data-driven approaches in enhancing the data security and privacy. Data-driven utilities function as much more than the operators of the physical grid; utilities are also responsible for massive enterprise systems with financial information, customer data, and a growing network of digital operations under human control. Thus, security xvii Preface
- 15. strategies must become more nuanced and complex, and should include pri- vacy and other internal information technology controls. The big data era is changing the utility workforce paradigm. Several major util- ities are adding more software developers and data scientists to their R&D and operating groups, as well as power system experts. The power of data in inno- vation is seen in more smart grid projects and AMI implementations. Some of these projects applied Big Data and Analytics even without adding any new sen- sors, demonstrating the power of knowing more about what information was already available to the utility through the SCADA systems. The utility innova- tion movement came from the foresight that discarded data may prove useful. This includes data discarded during the process of developing an analytics strat- egy, including predictive maintenance programs, thought to be valuable as the design phase began, even though there was no known need for all of the data at the time. Analytics has moved from replicating alarm limits already available, to deep learning for customer behavioral studies and cognitive computing for renewable adoption optimization, as well as numerical methodologies for dynamic electricity market forecasting. Jeffrey Katz from IBM contributes Chapter 3, “The Rule of Big Data and Analytics in Utilities Innovation” that explains how data analytics pave the ground for innovation in utilities by point- ing to a number of successful projects in different utilities. To harvest the advantages of big data, utilities need to employ platforms that can handle high volume, velocity, and volatility of the data. There are commer- cial and ready-to-use platforms that serve the big data community. It is time for utilities to take the lead in shaping power systems-specific data platforms. The in-memory calculation engine and parallel computing framework, Hadoop/ MapReduce and Spark, are ready for handling an extremely large scale of data- set; on the other hand, the stream processing engine, Storm, Streams, and Spark Streaming are built to analyze data in motion and act on information as it is happening. The architecture of big data platforms includes data integration, warehousing, analytics, and combining the demand of smart grids to put for- ward a set of frameworks such as the Apache Hadoop ecosystem which has excellent computing ability and can adapt to various business requirements. Chapter 4 “Frameworks for Big Data Integration, Warehousing, and Analytics” by Feng Gao discusses different tools and techniques to support the growth of smart grid and big data with high performance computing, with a focus on the platform, data integration, warehousing, and analytics that are particularly adaptive to handle a variety of characteristics of energy industry data within the data lifetime cycle. xviii Preface
- 16. SECTION TWO: HARNESS THE POWER OF BIG DATA This theory-oriented section focuses on big data analytics. In particular, it dis- cusses ML and data mining algorithms, methods, and implementation that are adaptable for data visualization, representation, exploratory analysis, regres- sion, and pattern recognition in power systems. The objectives of this section are twofold. On one hand, both classical and status quo ML paradigms are reviewed and discussed, motivating the proper usage of traditional super- vised/unsupervised learning tools and the recent developments of semi- supervised learning, multitask, multiview learning, sparse representation, deep learning, etc., for various tasks in power systems. The hope is that the dramatic progress in ML can be fully harnessed to reform the solution of power system state estimation, load forecasting, event detection, and structure identification. On the other hand, the reversed direction, i.e., the challenges and new prob- lems brought by power system data to ML, is discussed. Similarly to the impact of computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, or robot control on the advancement of ML, it is expected that the complexity of the interconnected system, the behavior-related data generating process, as well as the unique sensing and measurement techniques in power systems, would inspire novel theoretical and methodological results for ML. It is worth pointing out that in this section, the term ML is used in a broader sense, generally referring to a task to improve some performance metric, by exe- cuting a series of computation (algorithm) with some training experience (in the form of collected sensor measurement, expert knowledge, survey entries, etc.). Lying at the crossroads of statistics, computer sciences, artificial intelli- gence, and applied mathematics, the ML methods discussed in this section deserve a comprehensive description from diverse perspectives, including, but not limited to, their underlying probabilistic assumption, theoretical/ empirical generalization performance, model selection (hyper-parameter selec- tion), computational complexity, numerical implementation, etc. Although a mathematically rigorous treatment of the above topics is not the focus of this book, useful references are provided to interested readers. More often than not, the proper usage of the state-of-the-art ML algorithm, or a desire to advance ML driven by power system applications, would surprisingly progress both research fields. More specifically, Chapter 5 starts with a brief discussion of classical supervised and unsupervised learning paradigms. The focus is not to give an extensive review of the field, which is impossible due to its many ramifications, but rather to equip the readers with popular approaches for regression, classification, dimension reduction, among other fundamentals. The chapter then focuses on two important issues, feature engineering and model selection, in some depth to demonstrate the proper usage and systematic tuning of those xix Preface
- 17. off-the-shelf ML tools. The rest of this chapter is devoted to the introduction of some recent schemes of ML that seem promising for power system data analysis applications. The topics discussed include semi-supervised learning, multitask learning, transfer learning, multiview learning, information representation, etc. Following the discussion, Chapter 6 provides a case study on the use of the clus- tering algorithms for enhanced visibility of the electrical distribution system. Based on smart meter data of more than 30,000 loads in the city of Basel, Swit- zerland, the authors demonstrate the power of exploratory data analysis using unsupervised learning methods, which successfully reveals hidden structure, property, and geographical consistency from the measurement data. The rich information mined from this analysis can be leveraged by DSOs to support the grid operation. The rest of the chapters in this section discuss in detail several advanced ML methods for power system applications. Motivated by the unprecedented high volumes of data made available by the growth of home energy management systems and AMI, Dr. Mocanu et al. in Chapter 7 present the deep learning framework to automatically extract knowledge and use it to improve grid oper- ation. The chapter starts with a moderate introduction to the most well-known deep learning concepts, such as deep belief networks and high-order restricted Boltzmann machine, followed by a discussion on their theoretical advantages and limitations, such as computational requirements, convergence, and stabil- ity. As a concrete application, two case studies involving building energy pre- diction using supervised and unsupervised deep learning methods are presented. The chapter concludes with a glimpse into future trends highlighting some open questions as well as new possible applications. Chapter 8 “Compressive Sensing for Power System Data Analysis,” focuses on the applications of another state-of-the-art ML framework, namely compres- sive sensing-sparse recovery (CS-SR), which has enjoyed great success in other fields like bio-engineering, signal processing, and computer vision, among others. The adaptation of CS-SR in smart power networks monitoring, data analysis, security, and reliability should expect similar successes. The sparse nature of the electrical power grids, as well as electrical signals, can be exploited to introduce alternative mathematical formulations to address some of the most challenging system modeling, that of sparse identification prob- lems in power engineering. The chapter begins with a concise presentation on the theoretical and technical background of CS-SR. Next, the discussion moves to innovative CS-SR applications in smart grid technology. Finally, the CS-SR techniques are explored in depth to propose novel methods for dis- tribution system state estimation (DSSE), single and simultaneous fault loca- tion in smart distribution, and transmission networks, and partial discharge (PD) pattern recognition. xx Preface
- 18. The rapid advancement of sensing and measurement technology in power sys- tems has given researchers access to real-time records of system dynamic states. In particular, development of phasor measurement unit (PMU) tech- nology has allowed the continuous monitoring of the transmission line and the connected power systems, and can be complemented with utility monitoring devices, smart meters, and insulation monitoring units to build a thorough picture of the whole grid structure, health, and dynamic behavior. The data collected from these real-time measuring procedures is usually in the form of time series (TS). Hence, in Chapter 9 of this section, Dr. Gian Antonio Susto et al. present an overview about the most recent ML techniques used for TS pattern recognition. The chapter first summarizes existing methods of TS classification and highlights the issue of computational complexity, and then provides discourse on the various dimension reduction and numerosity reduc- tion techniques for a more parsimonious and informative representation of TS data. The chapter concludes with a comprehensive comparison of diverse clas- sification methods in terms of their underlying assumption, performance, computational complexity, flexibility for decentralized execution, and other categories. SECTION THREE: PUT THE POWER OF BIG DATA INTO POWER SYSTEMS This final section of the book presents the data-driven approaches unique to the design, operation, and planning of utilities. Moreover, data-driven utilities need new business models for knowledge extraction from data. Some examples are analysis of the demand response (DR) potential of grid users, big data pre- processing from grid sensors, large-scale simulation of electricity markets, and predictive maintenance of electrical equipment. Forecasting of real-time and day ahead market price, load, and renewable generation TS present huge busi- ness value for utilities’ stakeholders and customers. The big data applications in the distribution and transmission networks are mainly driven by two objec- tives: firstly, to increase the monitoring and situational awareness capability and develop fast decision-making methods for operators, and secondly, to implement predictive active management strategies that take advantage of flex- ibility from various technologies in the electricity supply and demand such dis- tributed energy resources, energy storage, and DR. However, exploiting the full potential of big data in utilities is challenged by lack of statistics and data analytics knowledge in utilities workforce. Moreover, the “ready-to-use” and industry-level ML tools and solutions are not wildly available to utilities which may increase the learning curve and utilities’ mod- ernization time. This section provides a collection of modern data-driven xxi Preface
- 19. solutions such as distributed learning and optimization, spatial-temporal modeling of TS, data reduction, assimilation, and visualization methods for classic power system problems including state estimation, topology detection, fault detection, and load disaggregation. The author hopes this book brings more interests in ML and deep learning applications in power system operation and planning. Chapter 10, “An Overview of Big Data Application in Power Transmission and Distribution Networks” provides a comprehensive overview of data-driven trends such as feature extraction/reduction and distributed learning to extract knowledge from the power system and market data. Furthermore, it describes the data-driven techniques for dynamic and steady-state analysis and control of distribution and transmission systems. In Chapter 11, “On Data-Driven Approaches for Demand Response,” Akin Tas- cikaraoglu presents a detailed investigation of the applications and benefits of big data analytics in demand-side management or DR and their roles in provid- ing higher saving potential for both system operators and end users. He also shows some examples of real-world implementations of DR. Chapters 12 and 13 are devoted to topology detection. Knowledge of the exact topology, the open or closed status of switches and circuit breakers throughout the network, is essential for all aspects of the power system operation. Chapter 12, “Topology Learning in Radial Distribution Grids” presents an acquis- itive algorithm to learn the grid topology using voltage measurements collected at a subset of the buses in power distribution networks. Chapter 13, “Grid Topology Identification via Distributed Statistical Hypothesis Testing,” proposes an algo- rithm based on the identification of Markov random fields (graphical models) and conditional correlation properties that characterize voltage measurements in power distribution networks. It shows the correlation of voltage magnitude measurements in a radial distribution feeder with the topology of the grid. In Chapter 14 entitled “Supervised Learning-Based Fault Location in Power Grid,” Dr. Livani, Hanif suggests an SVM network for the classification, identi- fication, and localization of faults in a complex power transmission grid. Based on the high-resolution/high-volume data made available by the proliferation of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) in smart grids, this method is able to achieve efficient and accurate fault diagnosis for system operators. The lesson learned from this chapter, in particular, is to combine the effort to modify exist- ing ML algorithms with signal processing, and to increase our knowledge about the system itself for handling new problems arising from the complex power system and grid. To introduce cutting edge tools, packages, and information technology for readers who are interested in developing real-world power system data analysis xxii Preface
- 20. platforms, the authors of Chapter 15 investigate the usage of recent big data tools and methods in the context of power distribution networks. This chapter illustrates the use of MapReduce functions within R or Java, which is combined with commercial distributed analytics database, the application of affinity graphs for representing collaborative filters, a performance comparison to con- ventional database concepts, and many other features. Being able to forecast energy resources, load patterns, and system state are key features of next-generation smart grid technology. An accurate predictive plat- form would greatly benefit the planning, scheduling, and unit commitment in terms of both efficiency and security. Chapter 16 entitled “Predictive Analytics for Comprehensive Energy System State Estimation” provides an overview and a thorough discussion on predictive ML methods for wind, solar energy fore- casting, load prediction, power system state estimation, etc. The ML tools included in the chapter range from classical regression, TS analysis, to kernel method such as support vector regression and Gaussian process. Finally, Chapters 17 and 18 are devoted to a particular yet important applica- tion of big data analytics method to smart grid, namely energy disaggregation or nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM). In essence, the goal is to estimate the power usage of individual appliances from an aggregate electricity consump- tion measurement. Provided with more precise information including itemized energy consumption profiles, both end users and grid managers can improve their utility in terms of energy consumption prediction, demand side manage- ment, and user segmentation. Chapter 17 surveys the existing literature for background, ML methods, and possible applications of energy disaggregation, while Chapter 18 discussed the issue of privacy in the energy disaggregation framework. Both chapters are witness to the combination of cutting edge ML methods and a deep understanding of the system characteristics for the advancement of smart grid technologies. xxiii Preface
- 21. Another Random Scribd Document with Unrelated Content
- 22. "Ethel says——" "I don't wish to hear what Ethel says. Fun, indeed! Why, child, I've had you." "Was that fun?" She spoke seriously, fixing her mother with a pair of clear, grey eyes. "Some girls love dolls. Dolls rather bored me. Is it fun to mess about with a baby, wash it and dress it, and take it out in a pram? I call hockey fun." "You'll lose a front tooth some fine day. That will be great fun." "Let's be perfectly calm. I love talking things out. You don't. I mean to say you try to hide your real self from me. Didn't you think and talk as I do when you were a girl?" "Most certainly not!" "You are an old-fashioned darling, and I love you for it! I shouldn't like you to talk as Mrs. Honeybun does. She says you and father spoil me. I wonder if that's true. She gives Ethel beans sometimes, and Ethel answers back as if they were equals. It would give Granny a fit to hear her!" Twice a year Posy paid a ceremonial visit to Mrs. Biddlecombe. The old lady was very fond of her, although she sniffed at her upbringing. Posy, indeed, had won a moral victory during her first visit, shortly after the Quinneys moved to London. At the end of three days Mrs. Biddlecombe had said majestically to the child: "I hope you're enjoying yourself, my dear!" "I'm not," said Posy, with shocking candour. "Why not?" demanded the astonished grandmother. "Because you've been so wonnerful peevish." "Bless my soul, what next! Well, well, you are a pert little maid, but I must try to be more agreeable."
- 23. Posy eyed her reflectively. "I dare say," she murmured, "that I should be wonnerful peevish too, if I was very, very old." Quinney, against Susan's wishes and protests, insisted that the child should be brought up "as a little princess." She was given many so-called advantages. She was taught to play the piano indifferently well; she danced beautifully; she could chatter French, and was now struggling with German. "Spare no expense," said Quinney magnificently. IV His intimate relations with the growing girl remained constant. He would make the same remarks, pinch her blooming cheeks, pat her head, and kiss her smooth forehead. "How's my pet this morning?" "Quite all right, daddy, thank you." "Gettin' on nicely with your lessons?" "Oh yes." Once, when she was five years old, he had soundly smacked her. The sprite had discovered the efficacy of tears as a solvent of difficulties. Whenever her little will was crossed she howled. She howled as if she enjoyed it, and her father was shrewd enough to know this. One morning he caught her up, laid her across his knee, and spanked her till his hand ached. Next day Posy smiled very sweetly at him, and said reproachfully: "Daddy pank a Posy too hard." But she stopped howling.
- 24. He was well pleased when she began to make friends with people like the Honeybuns. Honeybun was an ubiquitous Socialist who slept at Clapham. Like Quinney, he had soared. The two men had nothing in common except this, but it was a bond between them. Mrs. Honeybun had been a governess in the family of a nobleman. She, too, had soared into an empyrean of advanced thinkers and workers. Familiarity with the titled classes had bred contempt for them. In and out of season she denounced the luxury and indolence of an effete aristocracy. Her own household was managed abominably. She preached and practised the virtues of an Edenic diet. Butcher's meat was spoken of scathingly as the source of most physical and moral infirmities. Apart from this prejudice against flesh-pots and aristocrats, she was a kindly woman, over- zealous as a reformer, displaying a too tempestuous petticoat, but burning with ardour to ameliorate the condition of the poor and oppressed. She exercised an enormous influence over Posy. And it is not easy to analyse this influence, which, however well meant, was not entirely for good. Mrs. Honeybun was clever enough to admit that there can be no great gain without an appreciable loss. The only thing that mattered was the satisfaction of being able to affirm that the gain outweighed the loss. Her favourite hobby, which she rode mercilessly, was the necessity of Self-expression, the revealing of the Ego, the essential Spirit loosed from the bondage of the flesh. Unhappily, to understand the Honeybun philosophy, a mosaic of all creeds, it became necessary to master the "patter." The word is perhaps offensive, but it describes exactly the amazing jargon
- 25. habitually in the mouths of the exponents of the New Revelation. It is rather dangerous, for example, to tell a young girl adored by her parents that she must begin by loving Herself. Properly assimilated, the injunction is Socratic. Posy accepted it literally. Mrs. Honeybun, of course, explained what she meant, but at such length, with such divagations and irrelevancies, that Posy soon became bored. She told herself that Ethel's mother was a dear, an understanding person, tremendously clever and modern, a twen-center! She could obey this kind and fluent teacher with hearty goodwill. It was so delightfully easy to begin with loving one's Ego. Susan, it may be imagined, heard too much and too often of the Honeybuns; and she smiled when she discovered that the meals were "skimpy." Posy had a healthy appetite not to be satisfied with nut cutlets or vegetable pie badly cooked and served at odd hours. No servant stayed long with the Honeybuns, because the remains of cold "vegy" pie were expected to be consumed at "elevenses." Susan commented slily on this. "Your friend, Mrs. Honeybun, seemingly, manages everything and everybody except her own house and her own servants." To this Posy fervently replied: "The spiritual food in that house is simply wonderful!" Before many weeks had passed Susan was given an opportunity of testing the truth of this statement. Mrs. Biddlecombe invited Posy to spend a fortnight in Melchester—a precious fortnight out of the mid-summer holidays. Ethel, some twenty-four hours later, entreated her friend to join the Honeybun family at Ramsgate. Much to Susan's dismay Posy announced her intention of going to Ramsgate.
- 26. "It's deadly dull at Melchester, mummie, and just think what a privilege it is, what an opportunity to spend a fortnight with Ethel's mother." To her astonishment, Ethel's mother placed a different interpretation upon the opportunity. "Of course, you will go to your grandmother, and I shall expect you to be charming to the old lady. In the nature of things, you can't pay her many more visits. Make this one a fragrant and imperishable memory. Express what is your true self by your devotion to an aged and apparently irritable grandmother." Posy obeyed, with a result which had special bearing on events duly to be chronicled. Mrs. Biddlecombe, captivated by the sweetness and dutifulness of one whom she had hitherto regarded as a spoiled child, altered her will, leaving everything she possessed to Posy. Susan, she was aware, would be adequately provided for. Perhaps it tickled an elementary sense of humour to make Posy independent of a too autocratic father. CHAPTER XIII RUCTIONS I If this veracious chronicle were to be considered as a novel written for a purpose, or even what critics term "a serious contribution to contemporary literature," it might be necessary to write at greater length concerning the Honeybun philosophy. Enough, however, has
- 27. been said to indicate the startling—startling, that is to say, to a young mind—contrast between the Quinney practices and the Honeybun precepts. Substantial meals, admirably cooked, were eaten at regular hours in Soho Square, and the table talk was as material as the roast and boiled. Quinney, before his young daughter, exulted honestly in his hard-won success. The gospel of work was preached in both houses—too insistently, perhaps—but an Atlantic roared between them. For some months Posy was shrewd enough to digest the Honeybun teaching in silence. She prattled away to her mother, well aware that her girlish confidence would not be repeated to her father. Susan, indeed, served as a lay figure upon which she could drape new ideas and confections. Susan was a born listener. In Lavender Gardens the art of talking was practised by every member of the family simultaneously. Nobody listened, except Posy, who hoped that the day would soon come when she might be considered worthy to join the magnificent chorus. For the moment her mind was expanding. Under her father's tutelage, she was acquiring a knowledge of beautiful things, masterpieces of handicraft; in Lavender Gardens, where no lavender grew, beautiful ideas, Utopian schemes for the regeneration of all woman-kind, were poured unstintingly into her brain-cells. So far, so good! Those of us who clamour for results, who yearn to tabulate and classify inevitable consequences, will have prepared themselves for ructions. Quinney was a fighter, a fighter for his own hand. The Honeybuns fought quite as aggressively on behalf of others. It is a nice point for moralists to consider whether or not a woman like Mrs.
- 28. Honeybun is justified in filling the mind of a young girl with more or less disturbing theories, thinly disguised as cardinal principles, which must sooner or later clash seriously with home teaching. Mrs. Honeybun had no qualms on the subject, being too ardent a propagandist to consider effects when causes were so dear to her. In her small hall, thick with dust from the feet of many pilgrims, hung a brilliantly illuminated text, purple and gold upon vellum: "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" She appropriated enthusiastically any text out of the New Testament which could serve her purpose. Texts from the same source, which might be used against that purpose, were triumphantly capped by convincing quotations from the Veda, or the Koran, or the writings of Confucius. The accomplished lady was armed cap-à-pie with the coagulated wisdom of the ages. Posy's first encounter with her father took place, by the luck of things, at a moment when the little man had just concluded a more than usually successful deal with a millionaire who collected things he did not understand. All big dealers have exceptional days and weeks when Fortune comes to them with both hands full. A clean sweep of many "gems" had been accomplished—what Quinney called a "mop up." His mind naturally was concentrated upon filling the gaps in the sanctuary with other gems of even purer ray serene. Posy confided to Ethel that at such moments her daddy "swanked." The temptation to make a swanker "sit up" under the process described in Lavender Gardens as "seeing things in their true proportion" was irresistible to a young and ardent acolyte. Posy
- 29. conceived it to be her duty, her mission, to lead her parents to the light. Admittedly, they wallowed in outer darkness. She tackled her father at breakfast, which, as a rule, he gobbled up in silence, thinking of the day's work ahead. A wiser than she would have selected the postprandial hour, when Nicotina clouds the air of controversy with beneficent and soothing vapours. Quinney had mentioned curtly that he was going to attend a sale at Christopher's. Whereupon Posy threw this bomb: "Daddy, dear, when are you going to retire from active business?" Quinney stared at his daughter. Her intelligent eyes were sparkling; in her delicately-cut nostrils titillated the dust of battle. "Retire from—business?" "Haven't you made enough?" Susan looked frightened, but she had anticipated a conflict between two strong wills, and was acutely sensible of her own impotence to prevent it. "Ho! Now, what do you call enough, my girl?" Posy was prepared to answer this. She riposted swiftly: "Haven't we enough to live on decently, and something to spare for others?" "We?" His voice took a sharper inflection. "How much have you laid by, missie?" The sharpness and veiled impatience of her tone matched his as she answered: "You know what I mean." "I don't. What I've made is mine—my very own. I can do what I like with it."
- 30. "Oh, father!" "Oh, father!" He mimicked her cleverly. "Do you have the sauce to sit there and tell me, your father, that what I've made isn't mine?" Posy quoted Mrs. Honeybun with overwhelming effect. "You are a trustee for what you hold, accountable for every penny." "Accountable—to you?" He leaned forward, forgetting his bacon, which he liked frizzlingly hot. "Accountable to Society and God." "Ho! Then suppose you leave me, my young chick, to account in my own way to Society and God?" Posy blushed. Let us not label her rashly as a prig. The nymph Echo must have repeated silly remarks in her time. Posy said slowly, speaking with conviction: "I am part of Society, and I am part of what we call, for want of a better word, God." Susan murmured warningly: "That will do, Posy." "No, it won't!" shouted Quinney. "We'll have this out here and now. What d'ye mean? What the devil d'ye mean? Are you dotty? Why do you spring this on me? What's the game? 'Ave you been a- listening to blasphemous agitators a-spoutin' rubbish in 'Yde Park?" "No." "Then where does she get it from?" He appealed to Susan with frantic gestures. "You hear her, mother. Where does she get this from? Answer me!"
- 31. "Such talk is in the air, Joe," Susan replied feebly. Explosions lacerated her ears. She had come to place an inordinate value upon peace and quiet. "In the air! By Gum! she's been breathing the wrong air." Inspiration gripped and shook him. "Gosh! You got this from that dirty Socialist, Honeybun. Don't deny it! These are his notions. But I never thought he'd poison your young mind with 'em." Posy said with dignity: "Mr. Honeybun is the best man I know. He practises what he preaches; he lives in and for others. He uses his talents, regardless of his own comfort and worldly prosperity, to ameliorate the lot of the poor and oppressed." Echo again. "Poor and oppressed! Ameliorate! What a talker! Now, look ye here, young Posy, I'm going to deal squarely by you. I'm square to the four winds of Heaven, I am! You and I have got to understand each other—see? You're as green as the grass, but you do 'ave some of my brains. I ain't a-goin' to argue with you for one minute. Don't think it! I've forgotten more than you ever knew. Talk is the cheapest thing in London, but knaves like Honeybun buy fools with it. Don't you toss your head! You've made your pore dear mother cry, and you've taken away father's appetite. A nice morning's work. Now, listen! No more Honeybunning! You hear me?" "Everybody in the house can hear you." "More sauce! You stand up, miss!" They rose together, confronting each other. Quinney's scrubby red hair was on end with rage; Posy's small bosom heaved tumultuously. Of late the girl had taken to the wearing of cheap
- 32. beads and blouses cut low in the neck. Ethel had lamentable taste, but, according to her mother, it was expedient that maidens should work out their own salvation in such matters without parental interference. Quinney scowled at the beads and the white, rounded neck. "Take off that rubbish!" "Ethel gave them to me." "Take 'em off quick! Mother, you see to it that she wears respectable collars!" Posy removed two strings of large amethystine beads. Quinney took them and hurled them into the fireplace. Tears rolled down Posy's blooming cheeks. She was unaccustomed to violence—a primitive weapon not to be despised by modern man. "Them beads," said Quinney, who reverted to the diction of his youth when excited, "is beastly—sinfully beastly! They stand for all that I despise; they stand for the cheap, trashy talk which you've been defilin' your mind with. What you need is a good spankin'. Now, mother, I leave Miss Impudence with you. Mark well what I say. No more Honeybunning!" II It is significant that Quinney neglected his business that memorable morning in the interests of a child who was beginning to believe that she occupied a back seat in her father's mind. After leaving the dining-room, he clapped on his hat, and betook himself straightway to St. James's Square. There was only one man in all London to
- 33. whom he could go for honest advice, and fortunately he happened to be in town for the season. Lord Mel received him graciously. Quinney stated his case quietly. During the course of the narrative Lord Mel smiled more than once, but his sympathies were entirely with the father, for he had endured, not too patiently, somewhat similar scenes with his own daughters. Moreover, he hated Honeybun, whom he had denounced in the Upper Chamber as a mischievous and unscrupulous demagogue. Quinney ended upon a high note of interrogation: "What shall I do with her, my lord?" Lord Mel considered the question, trying to stand upright in the shoes of his former tenant. It is a hopeful sign of the times that such magnates do descend from their pedestals, and attempt, with a certain measure of success, to see eye to eye with the groundlings. "I prescribe a change of diet, my dear fellow. We must both face the disconcerting fact that girls to-day need special treatment. Mrs. Honeybun is one of the Shrieking Sisterhood. I have heard her shriek—she does it effectively. Noise appeals to the very young. I suggest removing Posy from Orchard Street, and sending her to a carefully conducted boarding school, where plenty of fresh air and exercise will soon blow these ideas out of her pretty head. There are dozens of such schools scattered along our south coast." "Send her away from me and her mother?" "Drastic, I admit, but you have put it admirably. 'No more Honeybunning!' Keep her in London, and she may Honeybun on the sly. Will you entrust this little matter of finding a suitable school to me?"
- 34. "Your lordship is a real friend." "I will speak to my lady." "Expense don't matter," said Quinney earnestly. "I want my daughter to have the best, because, my lord, as a young feller, I had the worst. No education at all! Posy's a wonderful talker! She'd have downed me this morning if I'd let her. She talks like—like——" "Like Honeybun, eh?" "If I wasn't sittin' in your lordship's library, I should damn that dirty dog!" "Such fellows thrive on abuse. That is their weapon. We must use others—ridicule, for example. How old is your girl?" "Nearly sixteen." "Good! You have nipped a cankered bud in time. You shall hear from me within twenty-four hours, Let me show you an interesting bit of Crown Derby bisque." He paused, and added derisively: "You know, Quinney, there are moments when my things appeal to me tremendously. Persons are disappointing, but every day I discover fresh beauties in my china cabinets." "Same here," said Quinney, with enthusiasm. III Accordingly, Posy was dispatched to a boarding school at Bexhill-on- Sea, kept by two gentlewomen of the right sort, sensible, up-to- date, highly-trained teachers, who ruled well and wisely over some twenty girls, the daughters, for the most part, of hard-working, professional men. Here we will leave Posy in good company. She was feeling sore and humiliated after an unconditional surrender; but her
- 35. sense of impotence soon passed away. She loved her whimsical father and desired to please him, although she writhed—as he had writhed—under the heel of parental discipline. She began to study with assiduity, and was highly commended. IV Meanwhile, Susan and Quinney were left alone for the first time since Posy's birth. Susan rejoiced in secret. She had her Joe to herself. Posy was in the habit of dusting the more valuable bits of china in the sanctuary, and cleaning the old glass. Susan undertook these small duties, and pottered in and out of the sanctuary at all hours. Quinney threw crumbs of talk to her, but he refused emphatically her timid request to serve him once more as a saleswoman. At his wish, she rarely entered the shop below. James Miggott was in charge of that. Quinney was engrossed with the buying and selling of "stuff"; he attended to an immense correspondence, writing all his letters in the sanctuary, where he could pause from his labours to suck fresh energy from the contemplation of his treasures. The prices he paid for some of them terrified Susan, although she knew that he made few mistakes and immense profits. She remarked that his reluctance to part with the finest specimens had become almost a monomania. There was a lacquer cabinet; in particular, standing upon a richly gilded Charles the Second stand. Quinney had paid eight hundred pounds for it, and he had been offered a thousand guineas within six months. He confessed to Susan that he couldn't live without it. The cabinet was flanked by an incised lacquer screen, a miracle of Chinese
- 36. workmanship. He refused a handsome profit on that. Susan asked herself: "Does he worship these false gods? Would he miss that cabinet more than he would miss me?" She noticed, too, that he was overworked. During his many absences from home letters would accumulate. To answer them he rose earlier and went to bed later, deaf to her remonstrance. He promised to engage a typist and stenographer—some day. Nevertheless, this was a pleasant time, but it lasted only a few months. Mrs. Biddlecombe took to her bed again. Susan was summoned to Melchester. The old lady was really dying, but she took her time about it. Susan ministered to her till the end. After the funeral, when she returned to Soho Square, a surprise awaited her. Quinney had fulfilled his promise. In the sanctuary, at a beautiful Carlton desk, sat Miss Mabel Dredge, a young and attractive woman, the typist and stenographer. Poor Susan experienced tearing pangs of jealousy when she beheld her, but Quinney's treatment of the stranger was reassuring. Obviously, he regarded Miss Dredge as a machine. And his unaffected delight over Susan's return home was positively rejuvenating. CHAPTER XIV JAMES MIGGOTT I
- 37. In common with other great men who have achieved success, Quinney was endowed with a Napoleonic faculty of picking the right men to serve him. Having done so, he treated them generously, so that they remained in his service, loath to risk a change for the worse. He paid good wages, and was complaisant in the matter of holidays. James Miggott had been his most fortunate discovery. James was "brainy" (we quote Quinney), ambitious, healthy, and an artist in his line: the repairing of valuable old furniture. Also he was good- looking, which counted with his employer. A few weeks after joining the establishment it had been arranged that he should sleep in a comfortable room in the basement, and take his meals at a restaurant in Old Compton Street. During his provincial circuits Quinney liked to know that a man was in charge of the house at night. James's habits, apparently, were as regular as his features. By this time he had come to be regarded as foreman. Bit by bit he had won Quinney's entire confidence. The master talked to the man more freely than he talked to Susan about everything connected with his business. James listened attentively, made occasionally some happy suggestion, and betrayed no signs of a swollen head. A natural inflation might have been expected. Quinney's eyes failed to detect it. Moreover, Susan liked him, and respected him. He attended Divine service on Sundays; he ate and drank in moderation; he was scrupulously neat in appearance; he had received a sound education, and expressed himself well in good English. Truly a paragon! Quinney had secured Miss Mabel Dredge after his own fashion. Hitherto his typewriting had been done by a firm which employed a
- 38. score of typists. The head of that firm happened to be a lady of great intelligence and energy, the widow of a stockbroker who had died bankrupt. Quinney knew about her, liked and admired her, and told her so in his whimsical way. She liked and respected Quinney. Also, by an odd coincidence, Mrs. Frankland had begun her struggle for existence in London at the time when Quinney left Melchester. They had compared notes; each had undergone thwackings. When Mrs. Frankland began to make money she spent most of it at Quinneys'. Amongst other bits, she had bought a spinet—cheap. Accordingly, when Quinney entreated her to find a competent young woman, she generously offered him the pick of her establishment. Mabel Dredge went with alacrity, glad to escape from a small table in a large room, not too well ventilated. She intended, from the first, to give satisfaction, to "hold down" the new job. She was tall and dark, with a clear, colourless skin, and a rather full-lipped mouth, which indicated appreciation of the good things in life. Mrs. Frankland had said to her: "You will earn a bigger salary, Mabel, and Mr. Quinney won't make love to you." Mabel Dredge smiled pensively. She could take care of herself, and she had no reason to suppose that she was susceptible. Men had made love to her, but they were the wrong men. She had refused kind invitations to lunch or dine at smart restaurants. When she walked home after the day's work she encountered smiles upon the faces of well-dressed loafers. No answering smile on her lips encouraged these dear-stalkers to address her. But, deep down in her heart, was a joyous and thrilling conviction that she was desirable. The male passers-by who did not smile aroused unhappy
- 39. qualms. Was she losing her looks? Was she growing old? Could it be possible that she might die an old maid? Upon the morning when she appeared in Soho Square Quinney sent for James. He said abruptly: "James Miggott will show you round. If you want to know anything, go to him. Don't ask me foolish questions, because that makes me lose my hair; and I ain't got any to lose that way. See?" "Certainly, sir." "Dessay he'll tell you where you can get a plate of roast beef in the middle of the day, between one and two. You have an hour off then. What did Mrs. Frankland allow you?" "Forty minutes." "Just so. You'll find me easy to get along with, if you do your duty. James will tell you that I'm a remarkable man. I call him James, and I shall call you Mabel. It saves time, and time's money. You can scoot off with James." The pair disappeared. Quinney's eyes twinkled. He was thinking of Susan, and recalling that memorable afternoon when he kissed her for the first time behind the parlour-door in Laburnum Row. II We have mentioned James Miggott's almost magical powers of transforming eighteenth-century spinets into desks and dressing- tables. These useful and ornamental pieces of furniture were sold as converted spinets, and they commanded a handsome price because the transformation was achieved with such consummate art. Even experts were at a loss to point out the difference between what was
- 40. originally old and what had been added. James had access to Quinney's collection of mahogany—the broken chairs, tables, beds, doors, and bureaux which the little man had bought for a song of sixpence before mahogany leapt again into fashion. The collection had begun in Melchester, and Quinney was always adding to it. In it might be found exquisitely carved splats and rails and ball-and-claw legs, many of them by the hand of the great craftsmen— Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Adam. One cellar and two attics were full of these interesting relics. Shortly after James's appearance in Soho Square Quinney succumbed to the temptation of doctoring "cripples," which besets most honest dealers in antique furniture. He had, as we know, pledged himself not to sell faked specimens of china or faked old oak, except as such. And he had stuck to the strict letter of this promise, thereby securing many customers, and winning their confidence. It had paid him to be honest. With sorrowful reluctance we must give some account of his divagations from the straight and narrow way. The temptation assailed Quinney with especial virulence, because "cripples" of high degree appealed to him quite as strongly as, let us say, a desperately injured sprig of nobility, battered to bits in a motor accident, may appeal to the skill and patience of a famous surgeon. When Quinney found a genuine Chippendale chair in articulo mortis, he could sit down and weep beside it. To restore it to health and beauty became a labour of love, almost a duty. He had not, of course, the technical skill for such work; and he had not found any cabinet-maker who was absolutely the equal of the Minihy man till he discovered James Miggott. The first important task
- 41. assigned to James was the mending of an elaborately carved Chippendale settee, a museum piece. James threw his heart and his head into the job; and, within the year, that settee was sold at Christopher's, after examination by experts, as an untouched and perfect specimen. Quinney was no party to this fraud, for the settee had never belonged to him, but it opened his eyes to the possibilities of patching "cripples." And every week he was being offered these "cripples." The finest specimens, by the best craftsmen, are rare; the full sets of eight incomparable chairs, for instance, come but seldom into the open market. But the "cripples" may be found in any cottage in the kingdom, fallen from the high estate of some stately saloon to the attic of a servant. Tom Tomlin was one of the very few who saw the Chippendale settee after James had restored it. Within a few days he attempted to lure the young man from Soho Square, but James refused an offer of a larger salary, and elected to stay with Quinney. Possibly he mistrusted Tomlin, whose general appearance was far from prepossessing. Tomlin, however, was not easily baffled. He seized an early opportunity of speaking privately to Quinney. "Joe," he said, "this young feller is the goods. He can do the trick." "Do what trick?" Tomlin winked. "Any trick, I take it, known to our trade. The very finest faker of old furniture I ever came across. Now, as between man and man, are you going to make a right and proper use of him?" "What d'ye mean, Tom?"
- 42. "Tchah! You know well enough what I mean. Why beat about the bush with an old friend? Are you going to turn this young man loose amongst that old stuff you've collected?" Quinney laughed, shaking his head. "Am I going to let James Miggott fake up all that old stuff? No, by Gum! No!" "But, damn it! Why not?" "Several reasons. One'll do. I've sworn solemn not to sell fakes unless they're labelled as such." "Of all the silly rot——" "There it is." Tomlin went away, but he returned next day, and asked for a glass of brown sherry. Quinney had one, too. "I've a proposition to make," said Tomlin. "You've got a small gold mine in this Miggott, but you don't mean to work him properly. Well, let me do it." "How?" "Suppose I send you 'cripples' to be mended. Any objections to that?" "None." "This young Miggott mends 'em, and puts in his best licks on 'em too. Then you send 'em back to me." "That all?" Tomlin winked. "Do you want to know any more? Is it your business to inquire what becomes of the stuff after you've doctored it? And, mind you, I shall pay high for the doctorin'. You leave that to me. You won't be disappointed with my cheques."
- 43. Let it be remembered, although we hold no brief for Quinney, that this subtle temptation assailed him shortly after his bludgeonings, when he was tingling with impatience to "get even" with the Londoners who had "downed" him. In fine, he accepted Tomlin's offer. Quinney has since confessed that at first he was very uneasy, honesty having become a pleasant and profitable habit. There were moments when he envied moral idiots like Tomlin, stout, smiling, red-faced sinners, who positively wallowed and gloried in sinfulness. Tomlin pursued pleasure upon any and every path. He went racing, attended football matches, was a patron of the Drama and the Ring, ate and drank immoderately, made no pretence of being faithful to Mrs. Tomlin, or honest with the majority of his customers. His amazing knowledge of Oriental porcelain had given him an international reputation. He never attempted to deceive the experts, and, in consequence, was quoted as a high authority in such papers as The Collector and Curios. He knew exactly what his customers needed, and was the cleverest salesman in the kingdom. Less successful dealers affirmed that the devil took especial care of Tom Tomlin. III Quinney had no reason to complain of Tomlin's cheques. He knew that his old friend was being scrupulously square, and sharing big profits with him. Tomlin had customers from the Argentine, from the Brazils, from all parts of the earth where fortunes are made and spent swiftly. The "cripples" disappeared mysteriously, and were
- 44. never heard of again. By this time Tomlin had moved to his famous premises in Bond Street. He had not achieved the position of Mr. Lark, because he lacked that great man's education and polish, but he was quite the equal of Mr. Bundy. It is important to mention that Tomlin sent very few cripples to Soho Square. Nor were they delivered by his vans. They arrived unexpectedly from provincial towns; they were invariably authentic specimens, the finest "stuff." No understrapper beheld them. James carried them tenderly to his operating theatre, whence they emerged pale of complexion, but sound in limb. Daily massage followed, innumerable rubbings. Then Tomlin would drop in, and nudge Quinney, and chuckle. The two dealers would pull out their glasses and examine the patient with meticulous zeal. James would watch them with a slightly derisive smile upon his handsome face. At the end of his three years' engagement Quinney raised his salary to three pounds a week. The little man expected an extravagant expression of gratitude, but he didn't get it. At times James's smile puzzled him. IV Posy remained at Bexhill-on-Sea till she was eighteen. Her friendship for the Honeybuns had been slowly extinguished. Mrs. Honeybun, who mortified everything in her thin body except pride, refused peremptorily to see Posy against the expressed wish of her father. Posy wrote to Ethel long screeds answered with enthusiasm at first and then perfunctorily. At the end of the year the girls drifted apart.
- 45. Posy, however, made other friends. When she came home for her first holidays, Quinney and Susan conspired together to make things pleasant for her. She had plenty of pocket money. Susan and she went to many plays, many concerts, all the good shows. Quinney rubbed his hands and chuckled, but he declined to accompany them. The two years of school passed with astonishing swiftness; and the improvement to Posy quickened a lively gratitude in Quinney to Lord Mel. She developed into a charming young woman, irresponsible as yet, but a joyous creature, easy to please and be pleased. Quinney was delighted with her. He told her solemnly: "My poppet, you're a perfect lady; yes, you are." Posy went into peals of laughter. "Daddy, how funny you are!" This talk took place upon the day that Posy said good-bye to her school-fellows, and returned home as a more or less finished product of the boarding-school system. "Funny? Me? I don't feel funny, my pretty, when I look at you. I feel proud. One way and t'other I suppose you've cost me nigh upon four thousand pounds!" "Daddy, dear! Not as much as that, surely?" Quinney cocked his head at a sharp angle, while he computed certain sums. "I figure it out in this way," he said slowly. "In hard cash you stand me in about fifteen hundred spread over the last ten years. Now, if I'd stuffed that amount into Waterford glass, I could have cleaned up five thousand at least. See?" "I see," said Posy, and laughed again.
- 46. "The question now is," continued Quinney, absorbed in admiration of her delicate colouring, "what the 'ell am I going to do with such a fancy piece?" "Father!" exclaimed Susan. "Do please try to remember that you're not talking to Mr. Tomlin." "When I feel strongly," replied Quinney simply, "I just have to use strong language. Posy has come home to what?" "She's come home, Joe. That's enough. Why bother about anything else?" "Because I'm the bothering sort, old dear—that's why. I look ahead. I count my chickens before they're hatched." Susan said slily: "Yes, you made sure that this chicken was going to be hatched a boy." The three laughed. It was a pleasant moment of compensation for long years of anxiety and toil. Each had worked for it. Posy had submitted, not without kickings and prickings, to strict discipline; Quinney, from the child's birth, had determined that the stream must rise higher than its source; Susan, serenely hopeful about the future, had worried unceasingly over the present, concerned about petty ailments, the putting on and off of suitable under-linen, and so forth. "Don't bother about me, daddy; I'm all right." "By Gum, you are! That's why I bother. In my experience it's the right bits that get smashed!" V
- 47. Perhaps nobody was more surprised at the change in Posy than James Miggott. Hitherto the young lady, home for the holidays, had ignored him, not purposely—she was too kindhearted for that—but with a genuine unconsciousness of giving offence. He was part and parcel of what she least liked in her father's house, the shop. Not for an instant was she ashamed of being the daughter of a dealer in antiques, who owned a shop; what exasperated her was the conviction that the shop owned him, that he had become the slave of his business. The Honeybuns had rubbed into her plastic mind that the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost, the root- cause of ruin to nations and individuals, began and ended with the lust of accumulating material things. Nothing moved Mrs. Honeybun to more fervent and eloquent speech than the text: "Lay not up treasures upon earth!" At Bexhill-on-Sea Posy had heard this same injunction upon the lips of a local Chrysostom, to whom she listened enthusiastically every Sunday morning. The text had a personal application, because she never heard it, or a variant on it, without thinking of the sanctuary and her father's "gems," apostrophized by Susan as "sticks and stones." Posy admired beautiful things, but if they were very costly she seemed to have a curious fear of them. Before she was born, Susan had experienced strongly the same fear of her Joe's idols. She was, however, discreet enough to conceal this from her father. He took her to Christopher's, where a miraculous piece of reticulated K'ang He was on exhibition, prior to sale. It was an incense-box decorated with figures of the eight Immortals in brilliant enamels. Metaphorically, Quinney went down on his knees before it.
- 48. Next day he told Posy that it had fetched seven thousand guineas! He stared at her sharply, because she showed no enthusiasm. James Miggott beheld her as Aphrodite fresh from the sea. Poor Mabel Dredge appeared sallow beside her, tired and spent after a hot July. Posy glowed. She was not insensible to the homage of admiring glances, and James, by the luck of things, happened to be the first good-looking man with whom she was thrown into intimate contact. Propinquity! What follies are committed in thy company! She wondered why James's handsome face and manly figure had never impressed her before. She spoke to Susan about him with nonchalant vivacity: "James is a power in this house." "Yes, dear; your father thinks the world of him. He is a very good young man." "Good? Now what do you mean by that?" "Gracious! I hope you haven't inherited father's trick of asking questions." "Is James pious?" "Pious? He goes to church; he does his duty; he is to be trusted; he's a hard worker, and from what your father tells me, a real artist." "An artist? Does he work for the love of his work?" "I think he does." Then and there Posy decided to cultivate James Miggott. He had excited the curiosity of an intelligent maiden. She found herself wondering what he did with himself when his work was done. Did he read? Had he any real friends? Was Miss Dredge a friend of his? What were his ambitions? The more she thought of him, the sorrier
- 49. she became for him. Possibly he perceived this. Upon the rare occasions when they met, he was careful to assume a captivating air of melancholy, preserving conscientiously the right distance between them, scrupulously polite but somewhat indifferent to her advances, thereby piquing her to bolder efforts to bridge the distance. A woman of experience might have been justified in assuming that a man who could play so careful a game was no tyro at it. This preliminary sparring lasted nearly two months. CHAPTER XV AT WEYMOUTH I Only lookers-on at the human comedy can be consistently philosophical. The drama is too exciting, too distracting to the players. When a man is chasing his hat along a gusty thoroughfare, he takes little heed of the headgear of others. Till now Posy's outlook had been girlishly critical. Her ideas and ideals were coloured or discoloured by the persons with whom she came in contact, but she was modest and sensible enough to realize that her experience of the big things of life was negligible. She had never suffered sharp pain either of mind or body. The death of her grandmother affected her subjectively. A familiar figure had been removed from her small circle. A landmark had vanished for ever. It was awful to reflect that her own mother might have been taken. She remembered an incident at school, the summoning of a girl
- 50. about her own age, a chum, to the presence of the headmistress. The girl, to the wonder of all, had not returned to the class-room, but Posy saw her an hour later putting her things together for a long journey. The girl's face had changed terribly. In answer to the first eager question, she had said, drearily: "My mother is dead." Posy burst into tears; the girl's eyes were dry. Then Posy stammered out: "Did you love her very much?" and the other laughed, actually laughed, as she replied: "Love her? She was all I had in the world!" This glimpse of a grief beyond tears was a unique experience, something which transcended imagination, and something, therefore, not fully absorbed. For many nights Posy was haunted by the vision of that white, drawn face, with its hungry, despairing expression; then it slowly faded away. By this time, also, she had almost forgotten the Honeybun stories of the submerged tenth. Bexhill breezes had blown them out of her mind. Somewhere in festering slums and alleys, men and women and children were fighting desperately against disease, poverty, and vice. Teachers had pointed out, with kindly common sense, that it would be morbid and futile to allow the mind to dwell upon conditions which, for the moment, a schoolgirl was powerless to ameliorate. With relief, Posy had purged her thoughts of such horrors. And now her father raised the question—What was to be done with this fancy piece? Posy answered that question after her own fashion. The Chrysostom aforesaid—excellent, practical parson!—had indicated a task. Under his teaching and preaching Posy had returned gladly enough to the fold of the Church of England. She no longer thought of Omnipotence as a vague essence permeating the universe. The
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