He made no answer, though he was not one who often let an epigram go by without a counter-thrust; but he could see that the girl was struggling towards a sincerity of expression much as a frightened horse crosses a bridge which spans a roaring waterfall, ready to bolt at the first thing that affrights it. 'Mr. Selwyn,' she said--and for the first time her words had something of a lilt and less incision--'do you think women are living the life intended for them?' 'Why not?' he fenced. 'Well, it seems to me that when any living creature is placed in the world it is given certain powers to use. You saw this morning how our horses wanted to race, and couldn't understand our holding them back. A mosquito bites because that's apparently its job in the world, and it doesn't know anything else. I was once told that if animals do not use some faculty they possess, in time Nature takes it away from them.' 'You are quite a student of natural history, Miss Durwent.' 'No--but every now and then mother unearths a man who teaches us something, like last night.' He acknowledged the compliment with a slight inclination of his head. The waiter leant expectantly beside him. 'To descend from the metaphysical to the purely physical,' he said, glancing in some perplexity at the terrific nomenclature of Monsieur Beauchamp's dishes, 'do you think we might take a chance on this _Poulet reine aux primeurs; salade lorette_? I gather that it has something to do with chicken.' 'It's rather artful of Monsieur Beauchamp to word it so we poor English can get that much, isn't it?' 'Yes. He apparently acts on the principle that a little learning is a common thing.' V. As Selwyn gave the necessary order to the waiter, a noisy hubbub of laughter from an adjoining _cabinet particulier_ almost drowned his words. There was one woman's voice that was rasping and sustained with an abandon of vulgarity released by the potency of champagne. Elise Durwent looked across the table at her companion. 'Are you bored with all my talk?' she said. 'You Americans aren't nearly so candid about such things as Englishmen.' 'On the contrary, Miss Durwent, I am deeply interested. Only, I am a little puzzled as to how you connect the usual functions of animals with woman's place in the world.'