attending this judgement. St. George broke into a laugh to reply. "It's
the best thing you can do with her. She's a rare young lady! In point
of fact, however, I confess I hadn't read you this afternoon."

"Then you see how right I was in this particular case not to believe Miss
Fancourt."

"How right? how can I agree to that when I lost credit by it?"

"Do you wish to pass exactly for what she represents you? Certainly you
needn't be afraid," Paul said.

"Ah, my dear young man, don't talk about passing--for the likes of me!
I'm passing away--nothing else than that. She has a better use for her
young imagination (isn't it fine?) than in 'representing' in any way such
a weary wasted used-up animal!" The Master spoke with a sudden sadness
that produced a protest on Paul's part; but before the protest could be
uttered he went on, reverting to the latter's striking novel: "I had no
idea you were so good--one hears of so many things. But you're
surprisingly good."

"I'm going to be surprisingly better," Overt made bold to reply.

"I see that, and it's what fetches me. I don't see so much else--as one
looks about--that's going to be surprisingly better. They're going to be
consistently worse--most of the things. It's so much easier to be
worse--heaven knows I've found it so. I'm not in a great glow, you know,
about what's breaking out all over the place. But you _must_ be
better--you really must keep it up. I haven't of course. It's very
difficult--that's the devil of the whole thing, keeping it up. But I see