year’s season ticket should be taken for the Mammoth Circus.”

   “I don’t quite see,” said Mabel, “how it’s like a church.”

   “The circus has a ring. The ring is a circle. The circle is the symbol of eternity. Will anybody be able to see my highly-trained chimpanzee in the trapeze act without realizing as he has never realized before, the meaning of the word uplift? Think of the stars in their program. And by what strenuous discipline and self-denial they have reached their high position.”

   “‘Per ardua ad astra,’” quoted Luke.

   “Hold your jaw. Three more cutlets. Think of the clowns. They tumble over, they fall from horses, they fail to jump through the rings. They are lashed by the whip of the ring-master. What a lesson in reverence is here. People who jeer, people who make fun, people who parody great works of fiction always and invariably come to a bad end. It will be not only a

   mammoth circus but a moral circus. It will be the greatest ethical institution in this part of the world. Its work will be more subtle than that of any other. Its appeal will be to the unconscious rather than to the conscious mind. Freud never thought of that. I did it myself. I am a genius. Potatoes.”

   After lunch it was suggested that Mr. Doom Dagshaw should take Mabel up to the Garden Settlement to see the progress that was being made in the building of the Mammoth Circus.

   “You won’t care to come?” said Mabel to her husband. And it seemed less like a question than a command.

   “No, not in my line,” said Luke, still doing his best. “Hope you’ll enjoy yourselves.”

   When they had gone, Luke retired to his study-bedroom. There was a tap at the door. It was Dot who entered.

   “She’s out,” said Dot. “Boats?”

   “Right-o. Gorgeous,” said Luke.

   Normally dinner was at half-past seven. But Mabel did not get back till a quarter to eight. It was eight o’clock before they began. Mabel offered no explanation beyond saying that there really had been a great deal of architectural detail to examine. Luke had prepared a series of six pleasant and gratifying things to say about Mr. Doom Dagshaw and the Mammoth Circus. He found himself absolutely unable to say any

   of them. He could say other things. He could say “Windmill, 

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