He reflected for a moment, then rose and came over to the fireplace.

“Look here, Simon, you must let me go my own way in this.  In matters of politics and worldly wisdom and social affairs and honourable dealing and all that sort of thing I would follow you blindly.  You’re my chief, and a kind of elder brother as well.  I would do any mortal thing for you.  You know that.  But you’ve no right to try to guide me in this matter.  You know no more about it than my mother.  You’ve had no experience.  You’ve never let yourself go about a woman in your life.  Lord of Heaven, man, you have never begun to know what it means!”

Oh, dear me!  Here was the situation as old as the return of the Prodigal or the desertion of the trusting village maiden, or any other cliche in the melodrama of real life.  “You are making a fool of yourself,” says Mentor.  “Ah,” shrieks Telemachus, “but you never loved!  You don’t know what love is.”

I looked at him whimsically.

“Don’t I?”

My thoughts sped back down the years to a garden in France.  Her name was Clothilde.  We met in a manner outrageous to Gallic propriety, as I used to climb over the garden wall to the peril of my epidermis.  We loved.  We were parted by stern parents—­not mine—­and Clothilde was packed off to the good Sisters who had previously had care of her education.  Now she is fat and happy, and the wife of a banker and the mother of children.

But the romance was sad and bad and mad enough while it lasted; and when Clothilde was (figuratively) dragged from my arms I cursed and swore and out-Heroded Herod, played Termagant, and summoned the heavens to fall down and crush me miserable beneath their weight.  And then her brother challenged me to fight a duel, whereupon, as the most worshipped of all She’s had not received a ha’porth of harm at my hands, I called him a silly ass and threatened to break his head if he interfered any more in my legitimate despair.  I smile at it now; but it was real at two-and-twenty—­as real, I take it, as Dale’s consuming passion for the lady of the circus.

There was also, I remembered, a certain ——­ But this had nothing to do with Dale.  Neither had the tragedy of my lost Clothilde.  The memories, however, brought a wistful touch of sympathy into my voice.

“You soberly think, my dear old Dale,” said I, “that I know nothing of love and passion and the rest of the divine madness?”

“I’m sure you don’t,” he cried, with an impatient gesture.  “If you did, you wouldn’t—­”

He came to an abrupt and confused halt.

“I wouldn’t—­what?”

“Nothing.  I forgot what I was going to say.  Let us talk of something else.”

“It was on the tip of your impulsive tongue,” said I cheerfully, “to refer to my attitude towards Miss Faversham.”

“I’m desperately sorry,” said he, reddening.  “It was unpardonable.  But how did you guess?”