e thing."

"The whole thing?"

"Your existence in this little, remote, independent corner of the great
city. The disinterestedness of your attitude, the persistence of your
effort, the piety, the beauty, in short the edification, of the whole
spectacle."

Nick laughed a little ruefully. "How near to having had enough of me you
must be when you speak of me as edifying!" Nash changed colour slightly
at this; it was the first time in his friend's remembrance that he had
given a sign of embarrassment. "_Vous allez me lacher_, I see it coming;
and who can blame you?--for I've ceased to be in the least spectacular.
I had my little hour; it was a great deal, for some people don't even
have that. I've given you your curious case and I've been generous; I
made the drama last for you as long as I could. You'll 'slope,' my dear
fellow--you'll quietly slope; and it will be all right and inevitable,
though I shall miss you greatly at first. Who knows whether without you
I shouldn't still have been 'representing' Harsh, heaven help me? You
rescued me; you converted me from a representative into an
example--that's a shade better. But don't I know where you must be when
you're reduced to praising my piety?"

"Don't turn me away," said Nash plaintively; "give me a cigarette."

"I shall never dream of turning you away; I shall cherish you till the
latest possible hour. I'm only trying to keep myself in tune with the
logic of things. The proof of how I cling is that precisely I want you
to sit to me."

"To sit to you?" With which Nick could fancy his visitor a little blank.

"Certainly, for after all it isn't much to ask. Here we are and the
hour's peculiarly propitious--long light days with no one coming near
me, so that I've plenty of time. I had a hope I should have some orders:
my younger sister, whom you know and who's a great optimist, plied me
with that vision. In fact we invented together a charming little sordid
theory that there might be rather a 'run' on me from the chatter (such
as it was) produced by my taking up this line. My sister struck out the
idea that a good many of the pretty ladies would think me interesting
and would want to be done. Perhaps they do, but they've controlled
themselves, for I can't say the run has commenced. They haven't even
come to look, but I daresay they don't yet quite take it in. Of course
it's a bad time--with every one out of town; though you know they might
send for me to come and do