heless of a clear and delicate cut, and his
nostrils of extreme sensitiveness. On the whole, it was a pleasant,
open, and enthusiastic face,--a face in which there was no guile. By
the side of his robust and stalwart friend, Cranbrook looked almost
frail, and it was evident that Vincent, who felt the advantages of his
superior avoirdupois, was in the habit of patronizing him. They had
been together in college and had struck up an accidental friendship,
which, to their mutual surprise, had survived a number of
misunderstandings, and even extended beyond graduation. Cranbrook, who
was of a restless and impetuous temperament, found Vincent's quiet
self-confidence very refreshing; there was a massive repose about him,
an unquestioning acceptance of the world as it was and an utter
absence of intellectual effort, which afforded his friend a refuge
from his own self-consuming ambition. Cranbrook had always prophesied
that Harry would some day wake up and commit a grand and monumental
piece of folly, but he hoped that that day was yet remote; at present
it was his rich commonplaceness and his grave and comfortable dulness
which made him the charming fellow he was, and it would be a pity to
forfeit such rare qualities.

Cranbrook's own accomplishments were not of the kind which is highly
appreciated among undergraduates. His verses, which appeared
anonymously in the weekly college paper, enjoyed much popularity in
certain young ladies' clubs, but were by the professor of rhetoric
pronounced unsound in sentiment, though undeniably clever in
expression. Vincent, on the other hand, had virtues which paved him an
easy road to popularity; he could discuss base-ball and rowing matters
with a gravity as if the fate of the republic depended upon them; he
was moreover himself an excellent "catcher," and subscribed liberally
for the promotion of athletic sports. He did not, like his friend,
care for "honors," nor had he the slightest desire to excel in Greek;
he always reflected the average undergraduate opinion on all college
affairs, and was not above playing an occasional trick on a freshman
or a professor. As for Cranbrook, he rather prided himself on being a
little exceptional, and cherished with special fondness those of his
tastes and proclivities which distinguished him from the average
humanity. He had therefore no serious scruples in accepting Vincent's
offer to pay his expenses for a year's trip abroad. Vincent, he
reasoned,