“Well, you see, I’d got a sort of tired feeling that I’d never find Jane⁠—and that it was all plumb foolishness anyway. And then⁠—oh, well, the French, for instance, are much more sensible in the way they look at things. They keep romance and marriage apart⁠—”

Tommy flushed.

“Well, I’m damned! If that’s⁠—”

Julius hastened to interrupt.

“Say now, don’t be hasty. I don’t mean what you mean. I take it Americans have a higher opinion of morality than you have even. What I meant was that the French set about marriage in a businesslike way⁠—find two people who are suited to one another, look after the money affairs, and see the whole thing practically, and in a businesslike spirit.”

“If you ask me,” said Tommy, “we’re all too damned businesslike nowadays. We’re always saying, ‘Will it pay?’ The men are bad enough, and the girls are worse!”