"I suppose she hasn't as good a memory as yours."
"Oh, as for that, it wasn't a matter of memory. Nobody was permitted to forget her—she was quite notorious."
"I've always heard that in Paris the mere possession of beauty is enough to keep any one in the public eye."
"It wasn't beauty alone—if she has beauty; though for my part I can't see it."
"It is of rather an elusive quality."
"It must be. But if it exists at all, I can tell you that it's of a dangerous quality."
"Hasn't that always been the peculiarity of beauty ever since the days of Helen of Troy?"
"I'm sure I can't say. I've always tried to steer clear of that sort of thing—"
"That must be an excellent plan; only it deprives one of the power of speaking as an authority, doesn't it?"
"I don't pretend to speak as an authority. If I say anything at all, it's what everybody knows."