influence of Byzantine worship on modern liturgy, and all those sort of
things. Perhaps he is just a little bit heavy and immersed in one
range of subjects, but it takes all sorts to make a good house-party,
you know. You don't find him TOO dull, do you?"

"Dullness I could overlook," said the aunt of Clovis; "what I cannot
forgive is his making love to my maid."

"My dear Mrs. Troyle," gasped the hostess, "what an extraordinary idea!
I assure you Mr. Brope would not dream of doing such a thing."

"His dreams are a matter of indifference to me; for all I care his
slumbers may be one long indiscretion of unsuitable erotic advances, in
which the entire servants' hall may be involved. But in his waking
hours he shall not make love to my maid. It's no use arguing about it,
I'm firm on the point."

"But you must be mistaken," persisted Mrs. Riversedge; "Mr. Brope would
be the last person to do such a thing."

"He is the first person to do such a thing, as far as my information
goes, and if I have any voice in the matter he certainly shall be the
last. Of course, I am not referring to respectably-intentioned lovers."

"I simply cannot think that a man who writes so charmingly and
informingly about transepts and Byzantine influences would behave in
such an unprincipled manner," said Mrs. Riversedge; "what evidence have
you that he's doing anything of the sort? I don't want to doubt your
word, of course, but we mustn't be too ready to condemn him unheard,
must we?"

"Whether we condemn him or not, he has certainly not been unheard. He
has the room next to my dressing-room, and on two occasions, when I
dare say he thought I was absent, I have plainly heard him announcing
through the wall, 'I love you, Florrie.' Those partition walls
upstairs are very thin; one can almost hear a watch ticking in the next
room."

"Is your maid called Florence?"

"Her name is Florinda."

"What an extraordinary name to give a maid!"

"I did not give it to her; she arrived in my service already
christened."

"What I mean is," said Mrs. Riversedge, "that when I get maids with
unsuitable names I call them Jane; they soon get used to it."

"An excellent plan," said the aunt of Clovis coldly; "unfortunately I
have got used to being called Jane myself. It happens to be my name."

She cut short Mrs. Riversedge's flood of apologies by abruptly
remarking:

"The question is not whether I'm to call my maid Florinda, but whether
Mr