ench, and he is in a very important position out
there.'

"It was clear she knew nothing. She had been brought up upon the
customary vague references to 'position,' and so on, with which young
people in the middle classes are inducted into the real world. One could
imagine her telling her school-chums how her father had 'an important
position out there,' and their subsequent awe and envy. I can remember a
boy at school saying his dad was 'on the Continent,' when his fond
parent had gone for a week-end at Boulogne. We were impressed. And I
wondered what old Macedoine's job might happen to be. So I said that I
had once been shipmates with a Captain Macedoine out in New Orleans. She
exclaimed: 'Were you really! How funny!' and suddenly dropped her voice
to a whisper. 'Were you friends, as you are with Captain Evans?' I said
no, not exactly, and looked up at the figure of young Siddons on the
bridge. He was looking at us, and paused in his walk to and fro trying
to make out who I might be. I was thinking of him and wondering, when I
heard her say that her father did not like America; he was never happy
there. He was misunderstood. Well, many a man has been unhappy and
misunderstood in America. Some men are so exacting in their ideals that
no country can hope to win their approbation. Captain Macedoine was
evidently still on a pilgrimage seeking a home for his wounded spirit. I
asked his daughter if he were happy and understood in Ipsilon. She
regarded me with attention for a moment, as though she suspected me of
irony. Then she said, in the grave tones that middle-class people
reserve for the vital themes of life, that he had a good position and
excellent prospects. And then she left me with a murmur about 'the kid'
and I began to walk to and fro. I was amused. I tried to figure out the
salient features of a 'position' which would meet with the approval of a
man with Macedoine's record. And the prospects! For mind you, he must
have experienced a severe blow when those Federal secret service men had
ferreted out his dealings in the opium traffic and his plan for
establishing himself in England had gone to smash. And in what way could
this young person assist him in his business? I was intrigued, as they
say, but I could form no theory which would adequately account for so
many disparate premises. After all, such musings are their own reward.
The event robs them of their early glamour. I did not even confide in
any one else o