Sir Joseph was by now utterly bewildered. "We allow our daughters to exercise the most heartless rivalry one against the other in the matrimonial field--why?" Sir Joseph, who imagined that the young nobleman was growing impatient with him, did not venture to reply. "Because," continued Lord Henry, "we know perfectly well that they are too tame, too mild, too listless about life, ever to become homicidal in their hatred of one another. The moment two deep, eager and adorable girls, like these daughters of Mrs. Delarayne, walk on to our English boards, our whole fabric, our whole scenery, and stage machinery, is shown to be wrong to the last screw. God! How different this country must have been when Shakespeare was able to say that thing about one touch of nature! Now one touch of nature in England sets the whole world by the ears!" "Is Cleopatra very bad then?" Sir Joseph enquired anxiously. "So bad that she would have been suicidal if steps had not been taken immediately. You see it isn't everybody who is so lukewarm, so anaemic, as to make a cheerful old maid. Cheery old maids are the condemnation of modern English womanhood Their frequency in England shows the shallowness of the average modern woman's passion. Among all warm-blooded peoples old maids are known to be bitter, resentful, untractable and misanthropic." "Are they really?" exclaimed Sir Joseph. "I didn't know that." Mrs. Delarayne came towards them. "Lord Henry," she cried, "Cleopatra is coming to lunch. You have already done wonders with her. At least she wants to be well now. That's a great triumph." The remainder of the party now came up the garden towards the house. "Lord Henry!" Leonetta cried, skipping up to his side, bearing a kitten. "Do you like cats? Look at this little angel!" Lord Henry, without looking at her, raised a hand deprecatingly. "We are not out of the wood yet," he murmured in an aside to Mrs. Delarayne. "Oh, she's scratching,--do look at her, Lord Henry!" Leonetta exclaimed, a little over anxiously this time, as she was not used to having her self-advertising manoeuvres disregarded in this manner. "Yes," said Lord Henry with cold courtesy, glancing at the kitten only for a moment, and then quickly resuming his conversation with his hostess. Leonetta, swallowing something in her throat, skipped with a somewhat forced affectation of childish gaiety in the direction of the house. Lord Henry, Denis, and Vanessa, however, were the only three of the party who correctly interpreted her action, though they appeared to be engaged with other matters. * * * * *