God! What an offence! Yet they can do nothing else, and have nothing else to do; and the terrible feature of it all is to see sometimes very young, poor, and innocent maidens haunted solely by such ideas.

If only, I repeat, it were done frankly; but it is always accompanied with lies and babble of this sort:-- "'Ah, the descent of species! How interesting it is!' "'Oh, Lily is much interested in painting.' "'Shall you go to the Exposition?
How charming it is!' "'And the troika, and the plays, and the symphony.

Ah, how adorable!' "'My Lise is passionately fond of music.' "'And you, why do you not share these convictions ?' "And through all this verbiage, all have but one single idea: 'Take me, take my Lise.

No, me! Only try!"'.