“‘Let me tell you a story of a modern lady of Pointview.’
“Then I told him of the Doctor’s call 44 on the pimpled queen at midnight, and added:
“‘Think of that! Think of the fathomless depths of vanity and selfishness that lie under that pimple. It’s a monument more sublime than the Matterhorn. Think of the poor fellow that has to marry that human millstone, and be the clerk of her charge-it department.’
“‘I can think of no worse luck, really,’ said he. ‘I wonder who it is!’
“‘Doctors never give names,’ I said. ‘But you might look for the little black square of court-plaster.”
“‘By Jove!’ he exclaimed. ‘I shall look with interest.’
“The ball came off, and Roger got there, and so did the lady and the square of black court-plaster; and that night Harry began a new stage in his career.
“After all, Harry was no dunce, but he was not yet convinced.”