I always make a vow never to go to

"It makes me sick," he declared. "The whole thing makes me sick. 　　. . . Consider the minds of those people--their feelings. 　　Don't you agree?""I always make a vow never to go to another party of any description,"Helen replied, "and I always break it."She leant back in her chair and looked laughingly at the young man. 　　She could see that he was genuinely cross, if at the same timeslightly excited. 　　"However," he said, resuming his jaunty tone, "I suppose one mustjust make up one's mind to it.""To what?""There never will be more than five people in the world worthtalking to."Slowly the flush and sparkle in Helen's face died away, and shelooked as quiet and as observant as usual. 　　"Five people?" she remarked. "I should say there were more than five.""You've been very fortunate, then," said Hirst. "Or perhaps I'vebeen very unfortunate." He became silent. 　　"Should you say I was a difficult kind of person to get on with?"he asked sharply. 　　"Most clever people are when they're young," Helen replied. 　　"And of course I am--immensely clever," said Hirst. "I'm infinitelycleverer than Hewet. It's quite possible," he continued in hiscuriously impersonal manner, "that I'm going to be one of the peoplewho really matter. That's utterly different from being clever,though one can't expect one's family to see it," he added bitterly. 　　Helen thought herself justified in asking, "Do you find your familydifficult to get on with?""Intolerable. . . . They want me to be a peer and a privy councillor.