en values quite new to me. The alphabet I am accustomed to is
incapable of representing that man's name.

"I daresay you know him," said Mrs. Ascher.

I strongly suspected that she was trying to entrap me. I have never
been quite sure of Mrs. Ascher since the day she discovered that I was
talking nonsense about the statuette of Psyche. Sometimes she appears to
be the kind of foolish woman to whom anything may be said without fear.
Sometimes she displays most unexpected intelligence. I looked at her
before I answered. Her narrow, pale-green eyes expressed nothing but
innocent inquiry. She might conceivably think that I had already made
a careful study of the music of the new Russian composer. On the other
hand, she might be luring me on to say that I knew music which was to be
played in her house that night for the first time. I made up my mind to
be safe.

"No," I said, "I never even heard of him."

Then Ascher began to talk about the man and his music. He became more
animated than I had ever seen him. It was evident that Russian music
interested Ascher far more than finance did; that it was a subject which
was capable of wakening real enthusiasm in him. I listened, eating from
time to time the delicate morsels of food offered to me and sipping the
delicious wine. I did not understand anything Ascher said, and all the
names he mentioned were new to me; but for a time I was content to sit
in a kind of half-conscious state, hypnotised by the sound of his voice
and the feeling that Mrs. Ascher's eyes were fixed on me.

Not until dinner was nearly over did I make an effort to assert myself.

"I was talking to Gorman the other day," I said, "about Irish affairs
and especially about the Ulster situation. I have also been hearing
Malcolmson's views. Malcolmson is a colonel and an Ulsterman. You know
the sort of views an Ulster Colonel would have."

Ascher smiled faintly. He seemed no more than slightly amused at the
turn Irish affairs were taking. After all neither international finance
nor Russian music was likely to be profoundly affected by the Ulster
rebellion. (Malcolmson will not use the word rebellion, but I must.
There is no other word to describe the actions he contemplates.) No
wonder Ascher takes small interest in the matter. On the other hand,
Mrs. Ascher was profoundly moved by the mention of Ulster. I could see
genuine passion in her eyes.

"Belfast," she said, "stands for all that is vilest and most hate