what sort of social anomaly, in the light of such con
ventions as hers, such an education as mine makes
one pass for."

Kate said nothing for a little; but then, " Why
should you care? " she asked.

"Oh," he laughed, "I like her so much; and
then, for a man of my trade, her views, her spirit,
are essentially a thing to get hold of; they belong
to the great public mind that we meet at every turn
and that we must keep setting up codes with.
Besides," he added, " I want to please her person
ally."

"Ah, yes, we must please her personally! " his
companion echoed; and the words may represent
all their definite recognition, at the time, of Den-
sher's politic gain. They had in fact between this
and his start for New York many matters to han
dle, and the question he now touched upon came
up for Kate above all. She looked at him as if he
had really told her aunt more of his immediate per
sonal story than he had ever told herself. That,
if it were so, was an accident, and it put him, for
half an hour, on as much of the picture of his early
years abroad, his migratory parents, his Swiss
schools, his German university, as she had easy
attention for. A man, he intimated, a man of their
world, would have spotted him straight as to many
of these points; a man of their world, so far as
they had a world, would have been through the
English mill. But it was none the less charming

[[102]]

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