his shoulders.

'On the contrary, I approve. It is foolish, but that is no reason why
you should not do it. After all, folly is the great attribute of man. No
judge is as grave as an owl; no soldier fighting for his country flies
as rapidly as the hare. You may be strong, but you are not so strong as
a horse; you may be gluttonous, but you cannot eat like a
boa-constrictor. But there is no beast that can be as foolish as man.
And since one should always do what one can do best--be foolish. Strive
for folly above all things. Let the height of your ambition be the
pointed cap with the golden bells. So, _bon voyage!_ I will come and see
you off to-morrow.'

The painter arrived at the station with a box of sweets, which he handed
to Valentia with a smile. He shook Ferdinand's hand warmly and muttered
under his breath,--

'Silly fool! he's thinking of friendship, too!'

Then, as the train steamed out, he waved his hand and cried,--

'Be foolish! Be foolish!'

He walked slowly out of the station, and sat down at a _cafe_. He lit a
cigarette, and, sipping his absinthe, said,--

'Imbeciles!'

III

They arrived at Amsterdam in the evening, and, after dinner, gathered
together their belongings and crossed the Ij as the moon shone over the
waters; then they got into the little steam tram and started for
Monnickendam. They stood side by side on the platform of the carriage
and watched the broad meadows bathed in moonlight, the formless shapes
of the cattle lying on the grass, and the black outlines of the mills;
they passed by a long, sleeping canal, and they stopped at little,
silent villages. At last they entered the dead town, and the tram put
them down at the hotel door.

Next morning, when she was half dressed, Valentia threw open the window
of her room, and looked out into the garden. Ferdinand was walking
about, dressed as befitted the place and season--in flannels--with a
huge white hat on his head. She could not help thinking him very
handsome--and she took off the blue skirt she had intended to work in,
and put on a dress of muslin all bespattered with coloured flowers, and
she took in her hand a flat straw hat with red ribbons.

'You look like a Dresden shepherdess,' he said, as they met.

They had breakfast in the garden beneath the trees; and as she poured
out his tea, she laughed, and with the American accent which he was
beginning to think made English so harmonious, said,--

'I reckon this about