Page:The Tragic Muse (London & New York, Macmillan & Co., 1890), Volume 3.djvu/74

66 literally had looked for the very greatest things from Nick. It was not quite easy to see why this had been the case—it had not been precisely Sherringham's own prefigurement. Nick appeared to have had the faculty of communicating that sort of faith to women; he had originally given Julia a tremendous dose of it, though she had since shaken off the effects.

"Do you really think he would have done such great things, politically speaking?" Peter inquired. "Do you consider that the root of the matter was in him?"

Lady Agnes hesitated a moment, looking rather hard at her visitor. "I only think what all his friends—all his father's friends—have thought. He was his father's son, after all. No young man ever had a finer training, and he gave, from the first, repeated proof of having the highest sort of ability, the highest sort of ambition. See how he got in everywhere. Look at his first seat—look at his second," Lady Agnes continued. "Look at what every one says at this moment."

"Look at all the papers!" said Grace. "Did you ever hear him speak?" she asked. And when Peter reminded her that he had spent his life in foreign lands she went on: "Well, you lost something."

"It was very charming," said Lady Agnes quietly.

"Of course he's charming, whatever he does," Peter conceded. "He'll be a charming artist."

"Oh, heaven!" groaned Lady Agnes, rising quickly.

"He won't—that's the worst," Grace amended. "It isn't as if he'd do things people would like. I've been to his place