WhenMr。Townlinsonaccompaniedhisvisitortohercarriagewithdignifiedpolitenesshefeltsomewhatlikeanelderlysolicitorwhohadfoundhimselfdrawnintotheatmosphereofasortofintenselymodernfairytale。Hesawtwoofhisunderclerks，withtheimproprietyofmiddle—classyouth，lookingoutofanofficewindowatthedarkbluebroughamandthetallyounglady，whosebeautybloomedinthesunshine。Hedidnot，onthewhole，wonderat，thoughhedeplored，theconductoftheyoungmen。Butthey，ofcourse，sawonlywhattheycolloquiallydescribedtoeachotherasa\"rippin’handsomegirl。\"Theyknewnothingoftheinterestinginterview。
Hehimselfreturnedtohisprivateroominamusingmoodandthoughtitallover，hisminddwellingonvariousfeaturesoftheinternationalsituation，andmorethanoncehesaidaloud：
\"Mostremarkable。Veryremarkable，indeed。\"
CHAPTERXVIII
THEFIFTEENTHEARLOFMOUNTDUNSTAN