“And pray, why not?” I asked, somewhat nettled.
“Because you are that dear, impossible, lovable thing known as Marcus Ordeyne.”
This was exceedingly pretty of Judith. But really woman is the Eternal Philistine, as Matthew Arnold has defined the term. Her supreme characteristic is inconvincibility. I had simply wasted my breath.
CHAPTER XII
August 3d.
Etretat, Seine-Injerieure:—A young fellow on the Casino terrace this evening caught my eye, looked at me queerly, and passed on. His face, though unfamiliar, stirred some dormant association. What was it? The profitless question pestered me for hours. At last, during the performance at the theatre, I slapped my knee and said aloud,
“I’ve got it!”
“What?” asked Carlotta in alarm.
“A fly,” I answered. Whereat Carlotta laughed, and bent forward to get a view of the victim. I austerely directed her attention to the stage. It was a metaphorical fly whose buzzing I had stopped.