d his intense composure with a great effort.

"Not long vas ven I see ze Lady Hilton drive past mit ze ozzer Lady Hilton
and vun old lady. I raise my hat--no bow from zem. 'Pairhaps,' I zink, 'zey
see me not.' Zey stop by ze side to speak viz a gentleman. I gomed up and
again I raise my hat and I say, 'How do you do, Lady Hilton? I hope you
are regovered from ze dance.' Zat was gorrect, vas it not?"

"Perfectly," replied Mr Bunker, with great gravity.

"Zen vy did ze Lady Hilton schream and ze ozzer Lady Hilton cry, 'Ach, zat
German man!' And vy did ze old lady schream to ze gentleman, 'Send him
avay! How dare you? Insolence!' and suchlike vords?"

"What remarkable conduct, my dear Baron!" said Mr Bunker.

"Remargable!" roared the justly incensed Baron. "Is it not more zan
_remargable?_ Donner und blitzen! Mon Dieu! Blood! I know not ze English
vord so bad enoff for soch conduct."

"It must have been a joke," his friend suggested, soothingly.

"Vun dashed bad joke, zen! Ze gentleman said to me, 'Get out of zis, you
rasgal!' 'Vat mean you, sare?' say I. 'You know quite vell,' said he.
'Glear out!' So I gave him my card and tell him I would be glad to see his
frient zat he should send, for zat I vas not used to be called zo. Zen I
raise my hat to ze Lady Hilton and say, 'Adieu, madame, I know now ze
English lady,' and I valk on. Himmel!"

"What a very extraordinary affair, Baron!"

The Baron grunted with inarticulate indignation and nearly pulled his
moustache out by the roots. Abruptly he broke out again, "English ladies?
I do not believe zey are ladies! Never haf I been treated zo! Vat do you
mean, Bonker, by taking me among soch peoples?"

"_I_, my dear Baron? It was not I who introduced you to the Hiltons. I
never saw them before."

The difficulty of attaching any blame to his friend seemed to have
anything but a soothing effect on the Baron. You could almost fancy that
you heard his tail lash the floor.

"Zat vas not all," he continued, after a short struggle with his wrath. "I
valked on, and soon I see two of ze frients I made last night at supper."

"Which two?"

"Ze yong man zat spoke to you ven you rise from ze table, and vun of ze
ladies. Again I raise my hat and say, 'How do you do? I hope zat you are
regovered from ze dance.' Zat is gorrect, you say?"

"Under most circumstances."

"Ze man stared at me, and ze voman--I vill not say lady--says to him zo zat
I can hear, 'Zat awful German!' Ze ma