that I'm accepting a new one every day. Now
this! " she smiled.

"This is very well so far as it goes. You can
depend on me," the great man said, " for unlimited
interest. But I'm only, after all, one element in
fifty. We must gather in plenty of others. Don't
mind who knows. Knows, I mean, that you and I
are friends."

"Ah, you do want to see some one! " she broke
out. " You want to get at some one who cares for
me." With which, however, as he simply met this
spontaniety in a manner to show that he had often
had it from young persons of her race, and that he
was familiar even with the possibilities of their
familiarity, she felt her freedom rendered vain by
his silence, and she immediately tried to think of the
most reasonable thing she could say. This would
be, precisely, on the subject of that freedom, which
she now quickly spoke of as complete. " That's of
course by itself a great boon; so please don't think
I don't know it. I can do exactly what I like any
thing in all the wide world. I haven't a creature to
ask there's not a finger to stop me. I can shake
about till I'm black and blue. That perhaps isn't all
joy; but lots of people, I know, would like to try it."
He had appeared about to put a question, but then
had let her go on, which she promptly did, for she
understood him the next moment as having thus
taken it from her that her means were as great as
might be. She had simply given it to him so, and

[[266]]

p265 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p266w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p267

v?