Page 536 - of-human-bondage-

he was deeply touched by the feminine tenderness of this
strong young man. Philip grew better. Then Griffiths, sit-
ting idly in Philip’s room, amused him with gay stories of
amorous adventure. He was a flirtatious creature, capable of
carrying on three or four affairs at a time; and his account
of the devices he was forced to in order to keep out of dif-
ficulties made excellent hearing. He had a gift for throwing
a romantic glamour over everything that happened to him.
He was crippled with debts, everything he had of any value
was pawned, but he managed always to be cheerful, extrav-
agant, and generous. He was the adventurer by nature. He
loved people of doubtful occupations and shifty purposes;
and his acquaintance among the riff-raff that frequents the
bars of London was enormous. Loose women, treating him
as a friend, told him the troubles, difficulties, and successes
of their lives; and card-sharpers, respecting his impecuni-
osity, stood him dinners and lent him five-pound notes. He
was ploughed in his examinations time after time; but he
bore this cheerfully, and submitted with such a charming
grace to the parental expostulations that his father, a doctor
in practice at Leeds, had not the heart to be seriously angry
with him.
‘I’m an awful fool at books,’ he said cheerfully, ‘but I
CAN’T work.’
Life was much too jolly. But it was clear that when he had
got through the exuberance of his youth, and was at last
qualified, he would be a tremendous success in practice. He
would cure people by the sheer charm of his manner.
Philip worshipped him as at school he had worshipped