tie, a particular favourite of mine, topping the fresh
linen. It seems absurd, but I recall few moments in my life of such
pure, heartfelt thanksgiving. The very colour of life seemed changed
for me. I wonder if we do well in despising these small thrills as we
do? Surely enough of them sedulously preserved in grateful memory must
equal in intensity those great, theoretical moments we all regard as
our due but so often pass through life, I am sure, without
experiencing.

However that may be, the little gratifications of that evening are
graven in my mind, undoubtedly, you will say, because of the startling
climax for which they were preparing me. The clean tingling of my
soapy scrub, the delicious coolness of the plunge, the leisurely,
fresh dressing all caressed my nerves delightfully. In the plunge a
pleasant enough fellow had accosted me and we had splashed together
contentedly. I expected to recall his name every moment, for his face
was vaguely familiar, but I could not, and when we met in the hall and
went down the steps together, it still escaped me. We hesitated a bit
on the pavement, and then before I realised it we were hailing a
hansom and bound for dinner together.

It was a pleasant drive up along the river, for a little breeze had
sprung up and the watered asphalt smelt cool. We were both comfortably
hungry and very placid after our bath and we chatted in a desultory
sort of way, I, amused at my utter inability to place the fellow, he
quite unconscious, of course, and perfectly certain of me. He asked
after Roger, sympathised with our failure to make connections,
remarked to my surprise that he had only been out of town for his
Sundays (America had not adopted the "week-end" at that time) and
asked me, I remember, if I knew anything about a game called
basket-ball. It seemed he was anxious to find someone who did. We drew
up at last to our white, glistening little table looking out over the
water, looked about for possible friends, nodded to the head-waiter
and ordered our dinner. It turned out that neither of us had yet
celebrated the oyster month, and leaving my unknown to bespeak the
blue points, for the more conservative among us clung to the smaller
oyster then, I telephoned the club to let Roger know where to find me
in case he should appear there.

Over the soup my companion got on to the subject--somehow--of
evolution, and talked about it very ably indeed. It is absurd, but I
shall never be abl