"Yes,"--I said half-aloud--"Say what philosophers will, the possession of money does insure satisfaction and power. It is all very well to talk about fame, but what is fame worth, if, like Carlyle, one is too poor to enjoy it! Besides, literature no longer holds its former high prestige,--there are too many in the field,--too many newspaper-scribblers, all believing they are geniuses,--too many ill-educated lady-paragraphists and 'new' women, who think they are as gifted as Georges Sand or Mavis Clare. With Sibyl and Willowsmere, I ought to be able to resign the idea of fame--literary fame--with a good grace." I knew I reasoned falsely with myself,--I knew that my hankering for a place among the truly great of the world, was as strong as ever,--I knew I craved for the intellectual distinction, force, and pride which make the Thinker a terror and a power in the land, and which so sever a great poet or great romancist from the commoner throng that even kings are glad to do him or her honour,--but I would not allow my thoughts to dwell on this rapidly vanishing point of unattainable desire. I settled my mind to enjoy the luscious flavour of the immediate present, as a bee settles in the cup of honey-flowers,--and, leaving my bedroom, I went downstairs to breakfast with Lucio in the best and gayest of humours. "Not a cloud on the day!" he said, meeting me with a smile, as I entered the bright morning-room, whose windows opened on the lawn--"The fête will be a brilliant success, Geoffrey." "Thanks to you!" I answered--"Personally I am quite in the dark as to your plans,--but I believe you can do nothing that is not well done." "You honour me!" he said with a light laugh--"You credit me then with better qualities than the Creator! For what He does, in the opinion of the present generation, is exceedingly ill done! Men have taken to grumbling at Him instead of praising Him,--and few have any patience with or liking for His laws." I laughed. "Well, you must admit those laws are very arbitrary!" "They are. I entirely acknowledge the fact!" We sat down to table, and were waited upon by admirably-trained servants who apparently had no idea of anything else but attendance on our needs. There was no trace of bustle or excitement in the household,--no sign whatever to denote that a great entertainment was about to take place that day. It was not until the close of our meal that I asked Lucio what time the musicians would arrive. He glanced at his watch.