d in large quantities from
one country to another by bankers, whereas I, a private individual, need
only send a cheque to pay my modest debts. I learned what is meant by
a bill drawn on London. It took me nearly half an hour to grasp that.
Gorman pretended to see it sooner than I did, but when he tried to
supplement Ascher's explanation with one of his own he floundered
hopelessly.

It was while we were at tea that afternoon that Mrs. Ascher put in an
appearance for the first time. She was a tall, lean woman, with dark red
hair--Gorman called it bronze--and narrow eyes which never seemed quite
open. Her face was nearly colourless. I was inclined to attribute this
to her long suffering from seasickness, but when I got to know her
better I found out that she is never anything but pallid, even when she
has lived for months on land and has been able to eat all she wants. The
first thing she did after we were introduced to her was to put her hands
up to her ears and give a low moan, expressive of great anguish. Ascher
explained to us that she was very musical and suffered acutely from the
ship's band. I made up my mind definitely that she was not the sort of
woman I like. Gorman, on the other hand, took to her at once. He could
not stop the band, but he led the lady away to a distant corner of the
writing room.

For the rest of the voyage Gorman devoted himself to her. I do not mean
to suggest that he flirted with her either frivolously, or with yearning
artistic seriousness. Gorman enjoys the society of women and is never
long happy without it, but I do not think he cares for love-making in
any form. Besides he spent most of his time in her company watching her
playing Patience. Owen Meredith wrote a poem in which he glorified the
game of chess as an aid to quiet conjugal love-making. But so far as I
know no one has suggested that Canfield--it was Mrs. Ascher's favourite
kind of Patience--has ever been used as an excuse for flirtation. No
woman, not even if she has eyes of Japanese shape, can look tenderly at
a man when she has just buried a valuable two under a pile of kings and
queens in her rubbish heap.

The result of Gorman's devotion to the lady was that I was left to
improve my acquaintance with her husband. The more I talked to Ascher
the better I liked him. His admiration for his wife's sensitiveness to
sound was very touching. I am convinced that he knew a great deal
more about music than she did and appreciate