'It's Alright, Said Grandis

H.O. Dauppen had been sent by Mrs Ashgrove to meet with Mr Grandis about a matter of personal importance. He was served coffee and cigars in the library as he waited for his appointment, but soon began to feel sick at being kept waiting so long. The lawyer's attempts at self-destruction were as futile as his snatches at fame. It was not any recovered pleasure in life that he fell, but only a deeper withdrawal into himself. And that was why he had sent for H.O.Dauppen.