asked himself whether it would not now be advisable to make some mention of Fräulein Schleheim, who was by all means equal to any demands this side of the problem might make on him. But he reflected that the old bachelor who now sat facing him would probably be the last person in the world to evidence the proper comprehension of such an exceptional affair of the heart. Graesler knew all too well Boehlinger's peculiarity, that of speaking his mind about women at every opportunity in the most disparaging, even cynical terms; and he should never have been able to bring himself to put up quietly with any loose remarks about Sabine. To the friend of his youth Boehlinger had at the time made no secret of the experience through which he had become such a mocker of women. At a masquerade here in the city, where middle-class society had made it a habit once each year to foregather with the world of the theatre and also with certain elements of still more questionable morality, Boehlinger had, as it were in passing, won the favour of a lady whom no one, even in his most fantastic dreams, would have believed capable of such rashness and such indiscretion. Even at the height of her ecstasy she had retained her mask, and had thought herself unrecognized, then and for all time; but by a remarkable accident Boehlinger had discovered to a certainty who it was that had given herself to him that night. Of this adventure Boehlinger had, to be sure, told his friend, but as he had continued to suppress the name of his sweetheart there was hardly a woman in town, married or unmarried, whom Graesler had not at one time or another suspected; and the more immaculate the reputation and conduct of that particular woman appeared to the world, the more acute his suspicions became. This adventure had prevented Boehlinger from entering into more intimate relations—aiming, perhaps, ultimately even at marriage—with any of the women here. And thus it was that, in his position as an esteemed attorney in a medium-sized city, intent upon decorum and moral purity, he had been obliged to gather, on frequently repeated, short, and secretive vacation-trips, such further experiences as would serve only to confirm him in his bitter view of the female sex. On Graesler's part it would, therefore, have been unwise to draw Sabine's name into the conversation, even doubly unwise since he had actually released the pure, charming creature, who had to a certain extent thrown herself at him, but was perhaps already lost to him for ever. In the circum-
