The Great God Pan

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE INMOST LIGHT I One evening in autumn, when the deformities of London were veiled in faint blue mist, and its vistas and far - reaching streets seemed splendid, Mr. Charles Salisbury was slowly pacing down Rupert Street, drawing nearer to his favourite restaurant by slow degrees. His eyes were downcast in study of the pavement, and thus it was that as he passed in at the narrow door a man who had come up from the lower end of the street jostled against him. ' I beg your pardon—wasn't looking where I was going. Why, it's Dyson!' ' Yes, quite so. How are you, Salisbury ? ' ' Quite well. But where have you been, Dyson ? I don't think I can have seen you for the last five years ?' ' No; I daresay not. You remember I wasgetting rather hard up when you came to my place at Charlotte Street ?' ' Perfectly. I think I remember your telling me that you owed five weeks' rent, and that you had parted with your watch for a comparatively small sum.' ' My dear Salisbury, your memory is admirable. Yes, I was hard up. But the curious thing is that soon after you saw me I became harder up. My financial state was described by a friend as " stone broke." I don't approve of slang, mind you, but such was my condition. But suppose we go in; there might be other people who would like to dine—it's a human weakness, Salisbury.' ' Certainly; come along. I was wondering as I walked down whether the corner table were taken. It has a velvet back, you know.' ' I know the spot; it's vacant. Yes, as I was saying, I became even harder up.' 'What did you do then?' asked Salisbury, disposing of his hat, and settling down in the corner of the seat, with a glance of fond anticipation at the menu. 'What did I do? Why, I sat down and reflected. I had a good classical education,and a posi...