“Good God,” I cried, “Curzon a poet.  It’s like Kitchener being taken for a great captain, or Salisbury for a statesman.”

“He writes verses, Frank, but of course there is not a line of poetry in him:  his verses are good enough though, well-turned, I mean, and sharp, if not witty.  Well, Curzon had to make this speech about me after dinner.  We had a delightful dinner, quite perfect, and then Curzon got up.  He had evidently prepared his speech carefully, it was bristling with innuendoes; sneering side-hits at strange sins.  Everyone looked at his fellow and thought the speech the height of bad taste.

“Mediocrity always detests ability, and loathes genius; Curzon wanted to prove to himself that at any rate in the moralities he was my superior.

“When he sat down I had to answer him.  That was the programme.  Of course I had not prepared a speech, had not thought about Curzon, or what he might say, but I got up, Frank, and told the kindliest truth about him, and everyone took it for the bitterest sarcasm, and cheered and cheered me, though what I said was merely the truth.  I told how difficult it was for Curzon to work and study at Oxford.  Everyone wanted to know him because of his position, because he was going into Parliament, and certain to make a great figure there; and everyone tried to make up to him, but he knew that he must not yield to such seduction, so he sat in his room with a wet towel about his head, and worked and worked without ceasing.

“In the earlier examinations, which demand only memory, he won first honours.  But even success could not induce him to relax his efforts; he lived laborious days and took every college examination seriously; he made out dates in red ink, and hung them on his wall, and learnt pages of uninteresting events and put them in blue ink in his memory, and at last came out of the ‘Final Schools’ with second honours.  And now, I concluded, ’this model youth is going into life, and he is certain to treat it seriously, certain to win at any rate second honours in it, and have a great and praiseworthy career.’

“Frank, they roared with laughter, and, to do Curzon justice, at the end he came up to me and apologised, and was charming.  Indeed, they all made much of me and we had a great night.

“I remember we talked all the night through, or rather I talked and everyone else listened, for the great principle of the division of labour is beginning to be understood in English Society.  The host gives excellent food, excellent wine, excellent cigarettes, and super-excellent coffee, that’s his part, and all the men listen, that’s theirs:  while I talk and the stars twinkle their delight.

“Wyndham was there, too; you know George Wyndham, with his beautiful face and fine figure:  he is infinitely cleverer than Curzon but he has not Curzon’s push and force, or perhaps, as you say, he is not in such close touch with the average man as Curzon; he was charming to me.