ow he aptly described Nelson). He could bear
it no more, and intended to cut me from his heart, and throw it at the
feet of Mercedes. I said I thought it was an excellent place for it, and
would please everyone, and he had my kindest blessing. He was so hurt.
"Could I but have seen you minded!" he said, "my felicity would be
greater," so I promised I would bring tears somehow to my eyes, if that
would satisfy him. Then, as he has really a sense of humour, Mamma, even
if he is in an awkward position, between two loves, we both burst into
peals of laughter; and he caught and kissed my hand, and said we would
ever be friends and he adored me. So I said, "Bless you, my children,"
and saw he sat by Mercedes at dinner, and all is smooth and happy, and
Gaston is placed; and now I can really amuse myself with Nelson, who is
more attractive than ever, to say nothing of a new one who had a roguish
eye, and teeth as white as Harry's, who peeped at me from across the
table. But I must get on with the evening. Octavia and I wanted to see
everything, gambling saloons, dance halls, fights, whatever was going,
and as Lola has done it all before, she said she would stay with the
girls, and have a little mild flutter in the saloon of the hotel at
roulette while our stalwart cavaliers escorted us "around." Gaston, too,
remained behind with them; the Senator manoeuvred this, because he said,
it was not wise to be with people who were quarrelsome, and Gaston is
that now and then with his Latin blood.

We went first to a gambling saloon. Think of a huge room with no carpet
and a horseshoe kind of bar up the middle, with every sort of drink on
it; and up at the end and round the sides gambling tables of all kinds
of weird games that I did not understand, and can't explain--except
roulette. There were hundreds of men in there, of all sorts, miners in
their miners' dress; team drivers, superintendents--every species. If
one said "gambling hell" in Europe it would sound as if it meant a most
desperate place, with people drunk, and impossible to go into, but here
not at all! Naturally, Octavia and I looked remarkable, although we were
dressed in the plainest clothes, and yet not a soul stared or was the
least rude. The only thing that was horrid was their spitting on the
floor, but we tried not to see that. Otherwise not a soul was drunk
or rude or anything but courteous. And such interesting types! Massed
together one could judge of them, and the