s." He flung himself to his feet indignantly. "This merely
illustrates how easy it is to find plausible complaints against any
man, and also that even-handed justice is the last thing one should
look for in the world."

The president rose also. They were standing almost in darkness, but
the afterglow of the sunset, streaming through the western windows and
an intervening door, illumined the old man's face. His expression was
one of concern, tempered by an humorous appreciation of the
youthfulness of Leigh's last remark.

"Young man," he said, putting his hand on Leigh's shoulder, much as if
he were admonishing a student, "I beg you not to allow this experience
to colour your views with cynicism, for cynicism hurts only the cynic,
and fails to take account of all the facts of life. As you have
intimated, even-handed justice, inasmuch as it implies omniscience, is
an attribute of God alone, but we have not been consciously unjust to
you, according to our light. Personally I regret your departure, and I
wish to assure you of my confidence in your future. You will doubtless
one day look back upon this apparent contretemps as a blessing in
disguise."

Leigh was far from being mollified by this platitudinous commiseration,
though he credited the kindness of heart that gave it birth; and he
took leave of the president without further remark. Then he went out
into the twilight, more deeply humiliated than ever before in his life.

His loss of Felicity had been sweetened by love's triumph. There was
in it the sustaining exaltation of tragedy, and a lingering ray of
unreasonable hope; but this reverse was harder to bear, in that he
suffered injustice without the possibility of appeal, and was deprived
of professional importance in the eyes of the woman he loved, of the
position which, slight as it must seem to her, was yet all he had to
offset her wealth and social consequence.

There are times when even the stoutest hearts are appalled by the cruel
handicap of poverty, when they are tempted to throw over their ideal,
to rush into the market-place and make money by fair means or foul,
that they may return and shake it in the faces of their foes. Leigh
knew well that the possession of means would have made him immune from
this attack, would have won him consideration instead of contumely,
compliments instead of complaints. The Roman satirist, eating out his
soul with bitterness against the insolence of wealth, said