“In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their twinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.  And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth:  and burning instead of beauty.”

And at that moment the door from the corridor was flung open, and Mary Magna came in.

XI

“My God, will you look who’s here!  Billy, wretched creature, I haven’t laid eyes on you for two months!  Do you have to desert me entirely, just because you’ve fallen in love with a society girl with the face of a Japanese doll-baby?  What’s the matter with me, that I lose my lovers faster than I get them?  Edgerton Rosythe, come in here—­you’ve got a good excuse, I admit—­I’m almost as much scared of your wife as you are yourself.  But still, I’d like a chance to get tired of some man first.  Hello, Planchet, how’s my old grannie making out in your scalping-shop?  Say, would you think it would take three days labor for half a dozen Sioux squaws to pull the skin off one old lady’s back?  And a week to tie up the corners of her mouth and give her a permanent smile!  ‘Why, grannie,’ I said, ’good God, it would be cheaper to hire Charlie Chaplin to walk round in front of you all the rest of your life!’ And—­why, what’s this?  For the love of Peter, somebody introduce me to this gentleman.  Is he a friend of yours, Billy?  Carpenter?  Excuse me, Mr. Carpenter, but we picture people learn to talk about our faces and our styles, and it isn’t every day I come on a million dollars walking round on two legs.  Who does the gentleman work for?”

The storm of Mary Magna stopped long enough for her to stare from one to another of us.  “What?  You mean nobody’s got him?  And you all standing round here, not signing any contracts?  You, Edgerton—­you haven’t run to the telephone to call up Eternal City?  Well, as it happens, T-S is going to be here in five minutes—­his wife is being made beautiful once again somewhere in this scalping-shop.  Take my advice, Mr. Carpenter, and don’t sign today—­the price will go up several hundred per week as long as you hold off.”

Mary stopped again; and this was most unusual, for as a general rule she never stopped until somebody or something stopped her.  But she was fascinated by the spectacle of Carpenter.  “My good God!  Where did he come from?  Why, it seems like—­I’m trying to think—­yes, it’s the very man!  Listen, Billy; you may not believe it, but I was in a church a couple of weeks ago.  I went to see Roxanna Riddle marry that grand duke fellow.  It was in a big church over by the park—­St. Bartholomew’s, they call it.  I sat looking at a stained glass window over the altar, and Billy, I swear I believe this Mr. Carpenter came down from that window!”