l ordinary London? Michael
felt very strongly that the balance of life was heavily weighted in
favour of girls and he deplored the blindness of grown-up people unable
to realize the greater attractiveness of boys. It was useless for
Michael to protest, although he wasted an evening of Henty in arguing
the point with Miss Carthew. Stella became primed with her own
importance before she left England, and Michael tried to discourage her
as much as he could by pointing out that in Germany her piano-playing
would be laughed at and by warning her that her so evident inclination
to show off would prejudice against her the bulk of Teutonic opinion.
However, Michael's well-meant discouragement did not at all abash
Stella, who under his most lugubrious prophecies trilled exasperatingly
cheerful scales or ostentatiously folded unimportant articles of
clothing with an exaggerated carefulness, the while she fussed with her
hair and threw conceited glances over her shoulder into the mirror.
Then, one day, the bonnet of a pink and yellow Fraulein bobbed from a
cab-window, and, after a finale of affectation and condescension on the
front-door steps for the benefit of passers-by, Stella set out for
Germany and Michael turned back into the house with pessimistic fears
for her future. The arrangements for Stella's transportation had caused
some delay in Michael's holidays, and as a reward for having been forced
to endure the sight of Stella going abroad, he was told that he might
invite a friend to stay with him at Eastbourne during the remainder of
the time. Such an unexpected benefaction made Michael incredulous at
first.

"Anyone I like?" he said. "For the whole of the hols? Good Lord, how
ripping."

Forthwith he set out to consider the personal advantages of all his
friends in turn. The Macalisters as twins were ruled out; besides, of
late the old intimacy was wearing thin, and Michael felt there were
other chaps with more claim upon him. Norton was ruled out, because it
would be the worst of bad form to invite him without the Macalisters and
also because Norton was no longer on the Classical side of St. James'.
Suddenly the idea of asking Merivale to stay with him occurred like an
inspiration. Merivale was not at present a friend with anything like the
pretensions of Norton or the Macalisters. Merivale could not be
visualized in earliest Randell days, indeed he had been at a different
private school, and it was only during this las