I deemed it wise to keep apart and let the others have their say:
And from my vantage-place upon the stairs,
Or in a corner, where I seemed to read, I listened for some word
That would make life seem sweeter, or cast light
Upon the goal toward which all footsteps wend: and this was what I
heard
Throughout each day and half of every night.
The men talked business, politics, and trade;
They told of safe investments, and great chances
For speculation. (One man who had made
Pleasure his art, described the newest dances
And dwelt upon each chasse, glide, and whirl
As lovers dwell upon the charms of some fair girl.)

They talked of war, and tried to find its cause,
And quite deplored the fact that wars must come.
But since this desperate condition was,
They carefully computed what the sum
Of profit might be to a land of peace,
And wondered if times would be harder should war cease.

They spoke of games and sports; told many a story
That made the listeners laugh; then back from these
Always they harked to money, or the gory
And savage drama playing overseas.
Then there were tales from club and smoking-room -
The submarines of gossip, bringing some name doom.

The women talked of fashions and of plays,
But more of players and their private lives;