tely to occur, for that matter, that whenever he had taken one
of his greater turns he came back to where she so faithfully awaited
him. None of these excursions had on the whole been livelier than the
pair of incidents--the fruit of the short interval since his previous
visit--on which he had now to report to her. He had seen Chad Newsome
late the night before, and he had had that morning, as a sequel to this
conversation, a second interview with Sarah. "But they're all off," he
said, "at last."

It puzzled her a moment. "All?--Mr. Newsome with them?"

"Ah not yet! Sarah and Jim and Mamie. But Waymarsh with them--for
Sarah. It's too beautiful," Strether continued; "I find I don't get
over that--it's always a fresh joy. But it's a fresh joy too," he
added, "that--well, what do you think? Little Bilham also goes. But he
of course goes for Mamie."

Miss Gostrey wondered. "'For' her? Do you mean they're already
engaged?"

"Well," said Strether, "say then for ME. He'll do anything for me;
just as I will, for that matter--anything I can--for him. Or for Mamie
either. SHE'LL do anything for me."

Miss Gostrey gave a comprehensive sigh. "The way you reduce people to
subjection!"

"It's certainly, on one side, wonderful. But it's quite equalled, on
another, by the way I don't. I haven't reduced Sarah, since yesterday;
though I've succeeded in seeing her again, as I'll presently tell you.
The others however are really all right. Mamie, by that blessed law of
ours, absolutely must have a young man."

"But what must poor Mr. Bilham have? Do you mean they'll MARRY for
you?"

"I mean that, by the same blessed law, it won't matter a grain if they
don't--I shan't have in the least to worry."

She saw as usual what he meant. "And Mr. Jim?--who goes for him?"

"Oh," Strether had to admit, "I couldn't manage THAT. He's thrown, as
usual, on the world; the world which, after all, by his account--for he
has prodigious adventures--seems very good to him. He
fortunately--'over here,' as he says--finds the world everywhere; and
his most prodigious adventure of all," he went on, "has been of course
of the last few days."

Miss Gostrey, already knowing, instantly made the connexion. "He has
seen Marie de Vionnet again?"

"He went, all by himself, the day after Chad's party--didn't I tell
you?--to tea with her. By her invitation--all alone."

"Quite like yourself!" Maria smiled.

"Oh but he's more wonderfu