timid
children. There was the broad, dowager woman, preceded by a meek,
shrinking little man, whose whole appearance was an apology. There was a
modest young couple who looked exceedingly self-conscious and happy, and
another couple, not quite so young, who were not conscious of anybody,
the gentleman giving a curt order to the waiter, and falling at once
to reading a newspaper, while his wife took a listless attitude, which
seemed to have become second nature. There were two very tall, very
graceful, very high-bred girls in semi-mourning, accompanied by a
nice lad in tight clothes, a model of propriety and slender physical
resources, who perfectly reflected the gracious elevation of his
sisters. There was a preponderance of women, as is apt to be the case
in such resorts. A fact explicable not on the theory that women are more
delicate than men, but that American men are too busy to take this sort
of relaxation, and that the care of an establishment, with the demands
of society and the worry of servants, so draw upon the nervous energy of
women that they are glad to escape occasionally to the irresponsibility
of hotel life. Mr. King noticed that many of the women had the
unmistakable air of familiarity with this sort of life, both in the
dining-room and at the office, and were not nearly so timid as some of
the men. And this was very observable in the case of the girls, who were
chaperoning their mothers--shrinking women who seemed a little
confused by the bustle, and a little awed by the machinery of the great
caravansary.

At length Mr. King's eye fell upon the Benson group. Usually it is
unfortunate that a young lady should be observed for the first time
at table. The act of eating is apt to be disenchanting. It needs
considerable infatuation and perhaps true love on the part of a young
man to make him see anything agreeable in this performance. However
attractive a girl may be, the man may be sure that he is not in love
if his admiration cannot stand this test. It is saying a great deal
for Irene that she did stand this test even under the observation of
a stranger, and that she handled her fork, not to put too fine a point
upon it, in a manner to make the fastidious Mr. King desirous to see
more of her. I am aware that this is a very unromantic view to take of
one of the sweetest subjects in life, and I am free to confess that I
should prefer that Mr. King should first have seen Irene leaning on the
balustrade o