e matter with them.
When Hannah de Lacey lost her mind three years ago I heard one of the
doctors telling Peter Vane that her talk was the most libidinous he had
ever listened to. And she was the most forbidding old maid in New
York. I know if I lose my mind it will be the same, and that alone is
enough to drive any decent woman mad. . . . I thought I'd get over it
in time--I used to pray--and fight with my will--but when the time came
when I should have been released I was afraid I would, and then I
deliberately did everything I could to keep it alive. I couldn't lose
my right---- It _was_ my right. I couldn't tell you all the things
I've---- Oh, I tell you that unless I can be young again and have some
man--any man--I don't care whether he'll marry me or not--I'll go
mad--mad!"

Her voice had risen to a shriek. She would be in hysterics in another
moment. Mary, who was on the point of nausea, went hastily into her
dressing-room and poured out a dose of sal-volatile. "Here!" she said
peremptorily. "Drink this. I'll not listen to another word. And I
don't wish to be obliged to call an ambulance."

Miss Trevor gulped it down, and then permitted herself to be led to a
sofa, where she lay sprawled, her immaculate hat on one side, giving
her the look of a debauched gerontic virgin. She lay panting for a few
moments, while Madame Zattiany paced up and down the room.

She turned as she heard a groan. Miss Trevor was sitting up,
straightening her hat. "Feel better?" she asked unsympathetically.

"Oh, yes--my nerves feel better! But what have I said? What must you
think of me? I never expected to give way like that when I came. I
thought I could put it all to you in a few delicate hints, knowing that
you would understand. _What_ have I said? I can hardly remember."

"Better not try! I'll promise to forget it myself." She sat down
beside the sofa. "Now, listen to me. It would not be wise for you to
go to Vienna. They would suspect, if not at once, then certainly when
you returned. It can be done here. The rejuvenescence is so gradual
that it would hardly be noticed. Fully a year. You do not have to go
into a hospital, nor even to bed. You are not spied on, so no one
would suspect that you were taking the treatment. At your age success
is practically assured. Take it, and don't be a fool. If you don't
it's only a question of time when that superb self-control you have
practised for so many