not a scrap more brutally
self-indulgent and inconsiderate of everybody else than the ruck of my
fellow-ganders, and now look at me!"

"Well--I'm looking at you!"

"Am I showing the slightest consideration for you? Am I not showing the
most cynical disregard of your welfare in life?"

"How?"

"By allowing you to throw yourself away upon me."

"It is no concern of yours what I do with myself. I do not intend you to
have any voice in the matter. Besides--just be good enough to tell me,
please!--suppose you made up your mind _not_ to allow me, how would you
set about it?"

This was a poser, and the gentleman was practically obliged to
acknowledge it. "I couldn't say off-hand," said he. "I should have to
consult materfamiliases in Good Society, and look up precedents. Several
will occur at once to the student of Lempriere, some of which might be
more to the point than anything Holy Writ offers in illustration. But
all the cases I can recall at a moment's notice are vitiated by the
motives of their male actors. These motives were pure--they were pure
self-indulgence. In fact, their attitude towards their would-be charmers
had the character of a _sauve-qui-peut_. It was founded on strong
personal dislike, and has lent itself to Composition in the hands of the
Old Masters...."

"Now I don't know what you are talking about. Answer my question and
don't prevaricate. How would you set about it?"

"How indeed?" There was a note of seriousness in Adrian's voice, and
Gwen welcomed it, saying:--"That's right!--stop talking nonsense and
tell me." It became more audible as he continued:--"You are only asking
me because you know I cannot answer. Was ever a case known of a man who
cried off because the lady's relatives thought she didn't care about
him? What did he do? Did he write her a letter, asking her to consider
everything at an end between them until she could produce satisfactory
evidence of an unequivocal _sehnsucht_ of the exactly right
quality--_premier cru_--when her restatement of the case would receive
careful consideration? Rubbish!"

"Not rubbish at all! He wrote her that letter and she wrote back
requesting him to look out for another young woman at his earliest
convenience, because she wasn't his sort. She did, indeed! But she
certainly was rather an unfortunate young woman, to be trothplight to
such a very good and conscientious young man."

"_Rem tetigisti acu_," said Adrian. "Never mind what that means.