Mrs. Jack: "He hasn't offended me; I love him, but I think he is
too absent-minded lately."

Jack: "And is Egeria invited to join us in order that she may
bring his mind forcibly back to the present?"

Mrs. Jack: "Not at all; I consider Atlas as safe as a--as a
church, or a dictionary, or a guide-post, or anything; he is too
much interested in tenement-house reform to fall in love with a
woman."

Jack: "I think a sensible woman wouldn't be out of place in Atlas'
schemes for the regeneration of humanity."

Mrs. Jack: "No; but Egeria isn't a--yes, she is, too; I can't deny
it, but I don't believe she knows anything about the sweating
system, and she adores Ossian and Fiona Macleod, so she probably
won't appeal to Atlas in his present state, which, to my mind, is
unnecessarily intense. The service of humanity renders a young man
perfectly callous to feminine charms. It's the proverbial safety
of numbers, I suppose, for it's always the individual that leads a
man into temptation, if you notice, never the universal;--Woman,
not women. I have studied Atlas profoundly, and he is nearly as
blind as a bat. He paid no attention to my new travelling-dress
last week, and yesterday I wore four rings on my middle finger and
two on each thumb all day long, just to see if I could catch his
eye and hold his attention. I couldn't."

Jack: "That may all be; a man may be blind to the charms of all