s never man was loved yet." He
addressed himself again to Cristel. "Still out of spirits? I dare say you
are tired of waiting for your tea. No? You have had tea already? It's
Gloody's fault; he ought to have told me that seven o'clock was too late
for you. The poor devil deserved that you should take no notice of him
when he looked at you just now. Are you one of the few women who dislike
an ugly man? Women in general, I can tell you, prefer ugly men. A
handsome man matches them on their own ground, and they don't like that.
'We are so fond of our ugly husbands; they set us off to such advantage.'
Oh, I don't report what they say; I speak the language in which they
think.--Mr. Roylake, does it strike you that the Cur is a sad cynic?
By-the-by, do you call me 'the Cur' (as I suggested) when you speak of me
to other people--to Miss Cristel, for instance? My charming young
friends, you both look shocked; you both shake your heads. Perhaps I am
in one of my tolerant humors to-day; I see nothing disgraceful in being a
Cur. He is a dog who represents different breeds. Very well, the English
are a people who represent different breeds: Saxons, Normans, Danes. The
consequence, in one case, is a great nation. The consequence, in the
other case, is the cleverest member of the whole dog family--as you may
find out for yourself if you will only teach him. Ha--how I am running
on. My guests try to slip in a word or two, and can't find their
opportunity. Enjoyment, Miss Cristel. Excitement, Mr. Roylake. For more
than a year past, I have not luxuriated in the pleasures of society. I
feel the social glow; I love the human family; I never, never, never was
such a good man as I am now. Let vile slang express my emotions: isn't it
jolly?"

Cristel and I stopped him, at the same moment. We instinctively lifted
our hands to our ears.

In his delirium of high spirits, he had burst through the invariable
monotony of his articulation. Without the slightest gradation of sound,
his voice broke suddenly into a screech, prolonged in its own discord
until it became perfectly unendurable to hear. The effect that he had
produced upon us was not lost on him. His head sank on his breast; horrid
shudderings shook him without mercy; he said to himself not to us:

"I had forgotten I was deaf."

There was a whole world of misery in those simple words. Cristel kept her
place, unmoved. I rose, and put my hand kindly on his shoulder. It was
the best way I