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 ing and ill-temper. Now, when you attempt to magnify the incident

. I understand it rather thoroughly; I have talked it over with my wife. If we had been willing to submit to humiliation, of course this never would have happened. We should have had no difficulty whatever.

. What do you mean?

. An influential person has been paying court to my wife. I do not know who he is, I do not care to know…

. [To ] There you are

. I cannot continue with dignity in my present position. Nobody comes forward to indemnify me for my loss of time, for the expenses of removing to Madrid, where I had understood that my position was to be permanent. As my wife says, I am ruined. I expected stable employment, now we are obliged—how do you put it?

. To saddle yourselves.

. Exactly. It is a mistake. We came prepared, but we have been defrauded. We find ourselves saddled with an establishment.

. If you have suffered loss, or been inconvenienced in any way

. I offered him the necessary relief, but he said that his dignity had been offended. Was that what you said?

. Yes, but I was excited at the time. I have cooled off and thought it over. Suppose I had not had any dignity, I might have retained my position, I might have been promoted and have made a great deal of money, like other men without brains, who have never done anything, and nobody can explain it either, except their wives; yet they are the ones who gossip and criticise everybody.

. What is that? What are you talking about?