sunk deep into George's heart; he had made up his mind that
whatever his friends might do, he, for one, would protect
himself.

That did not mean, of course, that he intended to live a virtuous
life; such was the custom among young men of his class, not had
it probably ever occurred to his father that it was possible for
a young man to do such a thing. The French have a phrase,
"l'homme moyen sensuel"--the average sensual man. And George was
such a man. He had no noble idealisms, no particular reverence
for women. The basis of his attitude was a purely selfish one;
he wanted to enjoy himself, and at the same time to keep out of
trouble.

He did not find any happiness in the renunciation which he
imposed upon himself; he had no religious ideas about it. On the
contrary, he suffered keenly, and was bitter because he had no
share in the amusements of his friends. He stuck to his work and
forced himself to keep regular hours, preparing for his law
examinations. But all the time he was longing for adventures.
And, of course, this could not go on forever, for the motive of
fear alone is not sufficient to subdue the sexual urge in a full-
blooded young man.

The affair with Lizette might have continued much longer had it
not been for the fact that his father died. He died quite
suddenly, while George was away on a trip. The son came back to
console his broken-hearted mother, and in the two week they spent
in the country together the mother broached a plan to him. The
last wish of the dying man had been that his son should be fixed