Between Carmarthen and Cardiff and some other places where this drab, hungry world seemed to stick its face into the window, I listened to much conversation about the joyous side of living in Paris, Monte Carlo, Ostend and elsewhere. I remember once I turned from the contemplation of a dark, sad, shabby world scuttling by in the night and rain to hear Miss E. telling of some Parisian music-hall favorite--I’ll call her Carmen--rivaling another Parisian music-hall favorite by the name of Diane, let us say, at Monte Carlo. Of course it is understood that they were women of loose virtue. Of course it is understood that they had fine, white, fascinating bodies and lovely faces and that they were physically ideal. Of course it is understood that they were marvelous mistresses and that money was flowing freely from some source or other--perhaps from factory worlds like these--to let them work their idle, sweet wills. Anyhow they were gambling, racing, disporting themselves at Monte Carlo and all at once they decided to rival each other in dress. Or perhaps it was that they didn’t decide to, but just began to, which is much more natural and human. As I caught it, with my nose pressed to the carriage window and the sight of rain and mist in my eyes, Carmen would come down one night in splendid white silk, perhaps, her bare arms and perfect neck and hair flashing priceless jewels; and then the fair Diane would arrive a little later with her body equally beautifully arrayed in some gorgeous material, her white arms and neck and hair equally resplendent. Then the next night the gowns would be of still more marvelous material and artistry, and more jewels--every night lovelier gowns and more costly jewels, until one of these women took all her jewels, to the extent of millions of francs, I presume, and, arraying her maid gorgeously, put all the jewels on her and sent her into the casino or the ballroom or the dining-room--wherever it was--and she herself followed, in--let us hope--plain, jewelless black silk, with her lovely flesh showing voluptuously against it. And the other lady was there, oh, much to her chagrin and despair now, of course, decked with all her own splendid jewels to the extent of an equally large number of millions of francs, and so the rivalry was ended.