Oscar objected.

He hated walking; it was a form of penal servitude to the animal in man, he declared; but he consented, nevertheless, under protest, laughing.

When we were going up the steps to the Strand he again objected, and quoted Dante's famous lines: "Tu proverai si come sa di sale Lo pane altrui; e com' e duro calle Lo scendere e 'l salir per l'altrui scale." The impression made by Oscar that evening was not only of self-indulgence but of over-confidence.

I could not imagine what had given him this insolent self-complacence.

I wanted to get by myself and think.