The Black Spaniel [antikvár]

THE BLACK SPANIEL part i—the death I TN the big hall of the Grand Hotel at Rome I introduced Peter Deeming to Vernon Kersteven. The two men were friends of mine, and I wanted them to like one another; and, perhaps because they were both fond of me, I thought that they would get on well together, and that we should form a happy and lively trio at dinner. Was this the fancy of an egoist ? I have sometimes wondered since. At the time I speak of I had known Deeming for over two years, having met him first in London at a friend's house. Vernon was a comparatively recent acquaintance whom I had encountered when I was travelling in Algeria; but already in my heart I gave him the dearer title, for I had come to like him greatly, and I knew that my sympathy was returned. The two men were very different—in their appearance, their natures, their ways of life—but differences sometimes seem to make for pleasant intercourse, and even for intimacy. We often love ourselves; but do we generally love those who markedly resemble us?