He had other work before him, other efforts to make, and after he had made them he returned to his carriage fatigued and overwrought. He had walked through the great corridors, from wing to wing, in pursuit of men who seemed to elude him like will-o'-the-wisps; he had been driven to standing among motley groups, who sent in cards which did not always intercede for them; he had had interviews with men who were outwardly suave and pliable, with men who were ill-mannered and impatient, with men who were obstinate and distrustful, and with men who were too much occupied with their own affairs to be other than openly indifferent; if he had met with a shade of encouragement at one point, he had found it amply balanced by discouragement at the next; he had seen himself regarded as an applicant for favor, and a person to be disposed of as speedily as possible, and, when his work was at an end, his physical condition was one of exhaustion, and his mental attitude marked chiefly by disgust and weariness of spirit. This being the state of affairs he made a call upon Miss Varien, who always exhilarated and entertained him. He found her in her bower, and was received with the unvarying tact which characterized her manner upon all occasions. He poured forth his woes, as far as they could be told, and was very picturesque about them as he reclined in the easiest of easy-chairs. "It is my opinion that nothing can be done without money," he said, "which is disgraceful!" "It is, indeed," acknowledged Miss Varien, with a gleam of beautiful little teeth. She had lived in Washington with her exceptional father and entirely satisfactory mother from her earliest infancy, and had gained from observation--at which she was brilliant, as at all else--a fund of valuable information. She had seen many things, and had not seen them in vain. It may be even suspected that Richard, in his character of amateur, was aware of this. There was a suggestion of watchfulness in his glance at her. "Things ought to be better or worse to simplify the system," she said. "That is in effect what I heard said this morning," answered Richard. "I am sorry it is not entirely new," she returned. "Was it suggested, also, that since we cannot have incorruptibility we might alter our moral standards and remove corruption by making all transactions mere matters of business? If there was no longer any penalty attached to the sale and barter of public privileges, such sale and barter would cease to be dishonor and crime. We should be better if we were infinitely worse. The theory may appear bold at first blush,--no, not at first blush, for blushes are to be done away with,--at first sight, I will say in preference; it may appear bold, but after much reflection I have decided that it is the only practicable one."