he had lost, but she was far too womanly not to miss something very
essential in what he said and in his way of saying it. A woman may love
flattery ever so much and have ever so strong a moral absorbent system
with which to digest it; she does not hate banality the less. There is
no such word as banality in the English tongue, but there might be, and
if there were, it would mean that peculiarly tasteless and saltless
nature of actions and speeches done and delivered by persons who are
born dull, or who are mentally exhausted, or are absent-minded, or very
shy, but who, in spite of natural or accidental disadvantages are
determined to make themselves agreeable. The standard of banality
differs indeed for every woman, and with every woman for almost every
hour of the day, and men of the world who husband their worldly
resources are aware of the fact. Angelina at three in the afternoon,
fresh from rest and luncheon--if both agree with her--is wreathed in
smiles at a little speech of Edwin's which would taste like sweet
camomile tea after dry champagne, at three in the morning, when the
Hungarian music is ringing madly in her ears and there are only two more
waltzes on the programme. Music, dancing, lights and heat are to a woman
of the world what strong drinks are to a normal man; they may not
intoxicate, but they change the humour. Fortunately for San Miniato the
young lady whom he wished to marry was not just at present exposed to
the action of those stimulants, and her moods were tolerably even. If he
had been at all eloquent, the same style of eloquence would have done
almost as well after dinner as after breakfast. But the secret springs
of love speech were dried up in his brain by the haunting consciousness
that much was expected of him. He had never before thought of marrying
and had not yet in his life found himself for any length of time
constantly face to face in conversation with a young girl, with
limitations of propriety and the fear of failure before his eyes. The
situation was new and uncomfortable. He felt like a man who has got a