ver; and she vowed that she would be
most reticent at dinner. Had she not promised to herself to try to be
ten times kinder to everybody?

And she very soon, at dinner, had an opportunity of displaying her
generosity. They were busy making havoc of the manner of a
distinguished person who was much talked of at that time, and whom they
had all chanced to meet. Now Nan ordinarily was very intolerant of
affectation; but had she not promised to be ten times kinder to
everybody? So she struck in in defence of this lady.

'But it is her nature to be affected,' said Nan. 'She is quite true to
herself. That is her disposition. It wouldn't be natural for her to
try not to be affected. She was born with that disposition. Look at
the idiotic grimaces that infants make when they try to show they are
pleased. And Mrs. ---- wouldn't be herself at all if she wasn't
affected. She might as well try to leave off her affectations as her
clothes. She couldn't go about without any.'

'She goes about with precious little,' said Mr. Tom, who strongly
disapproved of scanty ball-dresses. And then he added, 'But that's Nan
all over. She's always for making the best of everything and
everybody. It's always the best possible world with her.'

'And isn't that wise,' said Frank King, with a laugh, 'considering it's
the only one we've got to live in at present?'

Nan was very bright and cheerful during this dinner, and Captain Frank
King was most markedly attentive to her, and interested in her talking.
When Nan began to speak, he seemed to consider that the whole table
ought to listen; and his was the first look that approved, and the
first laugh that followed. Then he discovered that she knew all sorts
of out-of-the-way things that an ordinary young lady could by no
possibility have been expected to know. It was more than ever clear to
him that these solitary wanderings had taught her something. Where had
she acquired all this familiarity, for example, with details about his
own profession--or what had been his profession?

They went on to talk of the jeers of cabmen at each other, and how
sharp some of them were. Then again they began to talk about other
common sayings--the very origin of which had been forgotten; and Frank
King spoke of a taunt which was an infallible recipe for driving a
bargee mad--'_Who choked the boy with duff?_'--though nobody, not the
bargees themselves, now knew anything whatever about the tragic