had no door, that I was a
nomad. He bowed ironically till his nose nearly touched his plate but
begged me to remember that to his personal knowledge I had four houses of
my own about the world. And you know this made me feel a homeless
outcast more than ever--like a little dog lost in the street--not knowing
where to go. I was ready to cry and there the creature sat in front of
me with an imbecile smile as much as to say 'here is a poser for you.
. . .' I gnashed my teeth at him. Quietly, you know . . . I suppose you two
think that I am stupid."

She paused as if expecting an answer but we made no sound and she
continued with a remark.

"I have days like that. Often one must listen to false protestations,
empty words, strings of lies all day long, so that in the evening one is
not fit for anything, not even for truth if it comes in one's way. That
idiot treated me to a piece of brazen sincerity which I couldn't stand.
First of all he began to take me into his confidence; he boasted of his
great affairs, then started groaning about his overstrained life which
left him no time for the amenities of existence, for beauty, or
sentiment, or any sort of ease of heart. His heart! He wanted me to
sympathize with his sorrows. Of course I ought to have listened. One
must pay for service. Only I was nervous and tired. He bored me. I
told him at last that I was surprised that a man of such immense wealth
should still keep on going like this reaching for more and more. I
suppose he must have been sipping a good deal of wine while we talked and
all at once he let out an atrocity which was too much for me. He had
been moaning and sentimentalizing but then suddenly he showed me his
fangs. 'No,' he cries, 'you can't imagine what a satisfaction it is to
feel all that penniless, beggarly lot of the dear, honest, meritorious
poor wriggling and slobbering under one's boots.' You may tell me that
he is a contemptible animal anyhow, but you should have heard the tone!
I felt my bare arms go cold like ice. A moment before I had been hot and
faint with sheer boredom. I jumped up from the table, rang for Rose, and
told her to bring me my fur cloak. He remained in his chair leering at
me curiously. When I had the fur on my shoulders and the girl had gone
out of the room I gave him the surprise of his life. 'Take yourself off
instantly,' I said. 'Go trample on the poor if you like but never dare
speak to me again.' At thi