"Judging by Mr. Gresham, one would answer with an emphatic negative," he said. "But he is an exception to the rule. He is only grave when he is in the House--and not always then. I have known him crack a joke--and laugh at it--at the very moment the fate of his ministry swung in the balance. Some men are born boys, and remain so all their lives, and some----" He stopped and involuntarily looked at his host, who sat at the end of the table, his tall, thin figure bolt upright, his face with a kind of courteous gravity. He had heard the anecdote and paid it the tribute of a smile, but the smile had passed quickly, and his countenance had resumed its wonted seriousness in a moment. "I always regard Lord Wolfer as a model of what a statesman should seem," said Sir Charles. "I mean that he, more than any man I know, comes up to the popular idea of a great statesman--that is, in manner and bearing." Nell remained silent. It was not befitting that she should discuss her host and employer; and she wondered whether the clever undersecretary beside her knew who she was and the position she held in the house. She did not know enough of the world to be aware that nowadays one discusses one's friends--even at their own tables--with a freedom which would have shocked an earlier generation. "I often think," he continued, "that Lord Wolfer would have served the moralists as an instance of the vanity of human wishes." "Why?" Nell could not help asking. "Think of it!" he said, with a slight laugh. "He is the bearer of an old and honored title, he is passing rich, he is a cabinet minister, he is married to an extremely clever and charming lady--we agreed that she is pretty, too, didn't we?--and----" He paused a moment. "Should you say that Lord Wolfer is a happy man?" As he put this significant question, which explained his remark about the vanity of human wishes, Nell looked at the earl. He was apparently listening to the duchess by his side; but his eyes, under their straight, dark brows, were fixed upon his wife, who, leaning forward slightly, was listening with downcast eyes and a smile to Sir Archie, a few chairs from her. Nell flushed. "N-o, I don't know," she said, rather confusedly. "Lord Wolfer has so much on his mind--politics, and----He is nearly always at work; he is often in his study writing until early morning." Sir Charles looked at her quickly. "You know them very well. You are staying here?" he asked. "I live here," said Nell simply. "I am what Sir Archie Walbrooke calls 'general utility.' Lady Wolfer has so much to do, and I help her keep house, or try and persuade myself that I do." Sir Charles was too much a man of the world to be discomfited; but he laughed a little ruefully as he said: "That serves me right for discussing people with a lady with whom I haven't the honor and pleasure of an acquaintance. It reminds me of that very old story of the man at the evening party, which you no doubt remember."