hought he held quite different views to the rest of
his countrymen, who placed their women on a pedestal above the whole
world. Then he blazed at me! "Don't you make any mistake about that.
I'm with them there; I think our women are ahead, taking them all
round, but that don't make them suited to old countries, any more than
new wine in old bottles or new patches in old garments;--breaks the
bottle and wears out the stuff."

I said I would not misunderstand him, but I was sure most of his own
country-women at the table would be offended to hear his views, and
again he said, "Maybe, maybe! Pretty empty heads; they can't reason;
they only see what they want to, but I see the straight truth."

I am not clever enough to have argued with him properly, but I did ask
him in his theorising if he did not think it was good for our old race
to have the mixture of new blood; and he said no, that by the rules of
breeding we wanted re-stocking from the primitive. "Your old families
should take a strong country lass now and then. Let 'em marry their
milk-maids and leave our hot-house plants alone. Have you read
Burbank's books?" he added. "No? Well, read 'em; you'll understand then
cause and effect; though his are all about plants. He's the greatest
giant we've got in America, in my opinion."

You will think I am being a frightful bore, Mamma, telling you all
this; and I can't give you the strange force and power of this man's
personality, which made him so interesting; but I had to write it all
because I am telling you everything which strikes me as American, and
different to us, and we have nothing like this man at home; and when
the lady at his other hand did claim his attention, Daniel Latour,
after reproaching me for my shoulder being turned to him for so long,
told me some of his history. Elias P. Arden, his name is, and he is a
senator. He has had a remarkable career, rising from nothing, and being
the bravest, coolest, hardest man in the mining camps. He is colossally
rich, and his daughter Lola is perfectly lovely, and married to a silly
young Vinerhorn, who has a country house close here.

It is so quaint how all the men stand in awe of their wives! Daniel
Latour, even though he knows Valerie is a great friend of mine, and
would not mind a bit, still kept glancing nervously across at her
whenever he said anything a little go-ahead.

After dinner, of course, the Vicomte immediately came to me. Here the
men leave the dini