but you had to hear the truth for once."

"Then, Frank, you only cared for me in so far as I agreed with you?"

"Oh, that's not fair," I replied. "I have tried with all my strength to
prevent you committing soul-suicide, but if you are resolved on it, I
can't prevent you. I must draw away. I can do no good."

"Then you won't help me for the rest of the winter?"

"Of course I will," I replied, "I shall do all I promised and more; but
there's a limit now, and till now the only limit was my power, not my
will."

It was at Napoule a few days later that an incident occurred which gave
me to a certain extent a new sidelight on Oscar's nature by showing just
what he thought of me. I make no scruple of setting forth his opinion
here in its entirety, though the confession took place after a futile
evening when he had talked to M---- of great houses in England and the
great people he had met there. The talk had evidently impressed M----
as much as it had bored me. I must first say that Oscar's bedroom was
separated from mine by a large sitting-room we had in common. As a rule
I worked in my bedroom in the mornings and he spent a great deal of time
out of doors. On this especial morning, however, I had gone into the
sitting-room early to write some letters. I heard him get up and splash
about in his bath: shortly afterwards he must have gone into the next
room, which was M----'s, for suddenly he began talking to him in a loud
voice from one room to the other, as if he were carrying on a
conversation already begun, through the open door.

"Of course it's absurd of Frank talking of social position or the great
people of English society at all. He never had any social position to be
compared with mine!" (The petulant tone made me smile; but what Oscar
said was true: nor did I ever pretend to have such a position.)

"He had a house in Park Lane and owned _The Saturday Review_ and had a
certain power; but I was the centre of every party, the most honoured
guest everywhere, at Clieveden and Taplow Court and Clumber. The
difference was Frank was proud of meeting Balfour while Balfour was
proud of meeting me: d'ye see?" (I was so interested I was unconscious
of any indiscretion in listening: it made me smile to hear that I was
proud of meeting Arthur Balfour: it would never have occurred to me that
I should be proud of that: still no doubt Oscar was right in a general
way).

"When Frank talks of literature, he amuses me: he pret