ourney across the broad terrace.

"It's a burning' shame, Dolly," said Miss Phaeton. "I wouldn't do it if
I were him."

"Oh, yes, you would, dear," said Dolly. "The pots looked atrocious on
that side."

I took a long sip from my glass, and observed in a meditative tone:

"There but for the grace of woman, goes Samuel Travers Carter."

Dolly's lazy lids half lifted. Miss Phaeton mumbled (Her mouth was full
of twine):

"What DO you mean?"

"Nemo omnibus horis sapit," said I apologetically.

"I don't know what that means either."

"Nemo--everybody," I translated, "sapit--has been in
love--omnibus--once--horis--at least."

"Oh, and you mean she wouldn't have you?" asked Nellie, with blunt
directness.

"Not quite that," said I. "They--"

"THEY?" murmured Dolly, with half-lifted lids.

"THEY," I pursued, "regretfully recognized my impossibility. Hence I am
not carrying pots across a broad terrace under a hot sun."

"Why did they think you impossible?" asked Miss Phaeton, who takes much
interest in this sort of question.

"A variety of reasons: for one, I was too clever, for another, too
stupid; for others, too good--or too bad; too serious--or too frivolous;
too poor or--"

"Well, no one objected to your money, I suppose?" interrupted Nellie.

"Pardon me. I was about to say 'or not rich enough.'"

"But that's the same thing."

"The antithesis is certainly imperfect," I admitted.

"Mr. Gay," said Nellie, introducing the name with some timidity, "you
know who I mean?--the poet--once said to me that man was essentially
imperfect until he was married."

"It is true," I agreed. "And woman until she is dead."

"I don't think he meant it quite in that sense," said Nellie, rather
puzzled.

"I don't think he meant it in any sense," murmured Dolly, a little
unkindly.

We might have gone on talking in this way for ever so long had not
Archie at this point dropped a large flower pot and smashed it to bits.
He stood looking at the bits for a moment, and then came towards us and
sank into a chair.

"I'm off!" he announced.

"And half are on one side, and half on the other," said Dolly,
regretfully.

A sudden impulse seized me. I got up, put on my straw hat, took off my
coat, walked out into the sun, and began to move flower pots across the
broad terrace. I heard a laugh from Archie, a little cry from Dolly,
and from Nellie Phaeton, "Goodness, what's he doing that for?" I was not
turned from my purpose.