ill mere thought seems a mighty
bloodless affair.

Lenox moved back to the doorway, leaned against the woodwork, and
folding his arms, surveyed the scene before him with the apathetic
interest of the large and mystified. The long room was crowded with
jumbled atoms of colour, like a damaged kaleidoscope; with talk and
laughter; with the whisper of sweeping skirts, and the clink of spurs.
Then the first provocative bars set every foot in motion; and the
kaleidoscope effect was complete.

Lenox,--towering isolated, amid a world of light-hearted couples,--was
aware that beneath his surface indifference there lurked a certain
shamefaced envy of these bewildering mortals who could shuffle off the
years, and revert, unabashed, to the entrancing follies of childhood;
and who could yet, in lucid intervals, grapple undismayed with
intricacies of Indian legislation, lead a forlorn hope, love and suffer
and die, if need be, with a stiff lip, and an obstinate faith in 'the
ultimate decency of things.' For of a truth, the earth holds no more
fantastic farrago of folly and heroism than your average human being;
and musing on these things, Lenox decided that there must have been
some radical flaw in his own education.

Not twenty feet away, the General himself--the host-in-chief of the
evening--condemned, despite increasing years and girth, to the Eton
jacket of boyhood, pranced and glided with elaborate precision, and
took every opportunity of twirling plump little Mrs Mayhew almost off
her feet. Both laughed inordinately at each repetition of the mild
joke: and if the C.B. blazing on the General's mess-jacket, and the
little lady's full-grown daughter contrasted oddly with their passing
display of childishness, both were serenely blind to the fact.

But among a hundred dancers, not one plunged more whole-heartedly into
the folly of the moment than Quita. She had stationed herself opposite
the door where Lenox stood, and the very spirit of devilry seemed to
have entered into her, driving her to italicise every trait in herself
that must needs grate on his fastidiousness where a woman's conduct was
concerned. Her effervescent gaiety dominated the 'set,' which speedily
degenerated into a romp till, in the third figure, an incident occurred
which partially brought her to her senses.

The room reeled and hummed with spinning circles, like living
Katherine-wheels, when Quita,--losing her precarious hold upon her
partner's coat-