. When I was very young I married the only man who did
not love me. I thought he ought to be converted. Every one who knew me
was astounded."

"If the world is surprised at good actions," Lady Locke said, "it is our
own fault. We have trained it."

"Nothing is more painful to me than to come across virtue in a person in
whom I have never previously suspected its existence," said Esme,
putting down his tea-cup with a graceful gesture of abnegation. "It is
like finding a needle in a bundle of hay. It pricks you. If we have
virtue we should warn people of it. I once knew a woman who fell down
dead because she found a live mouse in the pocket of her gown. A live
virtue is like a live mouse. Indeed the surprises of virtue are far
greater than the surprises of vice. We are never surprised when we hear
that a man has gone to the bad; but who can fathom our wonderment when
we are obliged to believe that he is gone to the good?"

"I hate a good man," Madame Valtesi said, with a certain dignity.

"Then you ought to lead one about with you in a string," said Esme. "It
is so splendid to have some one always near to hate. It is like spending
the day with a hurricane, or being born an orphan. I once knew a man who
had been born an orphan. He had been so fortunate as never to have
experienced the tender care of a mother, or the fostering anxiety of a
father. There was something great about him, the greatness of a man who
has never known trouble. Why are we not all born orphans?"

"I dare say it is a pity," Mrs. Windsor said rather sleepily. "It would
save our parents a lot of trouble."

"And our children a great deal of anxiety," said Esme. "I have two boys,
and their uneasiness about my past is as keen as my uneasiness about
their future. I am afraid they will be good boys. They are fond of
cricket, and loathe reading poetry. That is what Englishmen consider
goodness in boys."

"And what do they consider goodness in girls?" asked Lady Locke.

"Oh, girls are always good till they are married," said Madame Valtesi.
"And after that it isn't supposed to matter."

"English girls are like country butter," said Esme--"fresh. That is all
one can say about them."

"And that is saying a good deal," said Lady Locke.

"I don't think so," said Lord Reggie. "Nothing is really worth much till
it is a trifle stale. A soul that is fresh is hardly a soul at all.
Sensations give the grain to the wood, the depth and dignity to the
picture.