Alice: An Adultery

quarter of the city, which is, after all, Yama, and equally handy for the consul, the chaplain, and the doctor, readers of Rossetti will expect no ex- cuse ; for their sakes I may frankly admit that I was actuated by other motives than interest and solicitude for my companion, a youth still blindly groping for Romance, beneath the skirts of tawdry and painted Vice. Perhaps I may have hoped to save him from what men call the graver and angels the lesser consequences of his folly. This for the others. As to the character of the mansion at which we arrived, after a journey no less dubious than winding, I will say that, despite its outward seem- ing, it was, in reality, a most respectable place ; the main occupation of its inhabitants seemed to be the sale of as much “ champagne ” as possible ; in which inspiring preface my friend was soon deeply immersed. . . . Golden-haired, a profound linguist, swearing in five Western and three Oriental languages, and comparable rather to the accomplished courtesans ii