ng gifts of flowers?'

'To Miss Dolores--Miss Paulo,' the man said. He was a Swiss, and spoke
with a thick, Swiss accent.

'Miss Paulo--the daughter of the house?'

'Yes, sir; she arranges them herself every day.'

'Is that the tall and handsome young lady I sometimes see with Mr. Paulo
in his room?'

'Yes; that is she.'

'But I want to thank her for her great kindness. Will you take a card
from me, my dear fellow, and ask her if she will be good enough to see
me?'

'Willingly, sir; Miss Dolores has her own room on this floor--No. 25.
She is there every morning after she comes back from her early ride and
until luncheon time.'

'After she comes back from her ride?'

'Yes, sir; Miss Dolores rides in the Park every morning and afternoon.'

This news somewhat dashed the enthusiasm of Captain Sarrasin. He liked a
girl who rode, that was certain. Mrs. Sarrasin rode like that rarest of
creatures, except the mermaid, a female Centaur, and if he had had a
dozen daughters, they would all have been trained to ride, one better
than the other. The riding, therefore, was clearly in the favour of
Dolores, so far as Captain Sarrasin's estimate was concerned. But then
the idea of a hotel-keeper's daughter riding in the Row and giving
herself airs! He did not like that. 'When I was young,' he said, 'a girl
wasn't ashamed of her father's business, and did not try to put on the
ways of a class she did not belong to.' Still, he reminded himself that
he was growing old, and that the world was becoming affected--and that
girls now, of any order, were not like the girls in the dear old days
when Mrs. Sarrasin was young. And in any case the morning flowers were a
charming gift and a most delightful attention, and a gentleman must
offer his thanks for them to the most affected young woman in the world.
So he told the waiter that after breakfast he would send his card to
Miss Paulo's room, and ask her to allow him to call on her.

'Miss Paulo will see you, of course,' the man replied. 'Mr. Paulo is
generally very busy, and sees very few people, but Miss Paulo--she will
see everybody for him.'

'Everybody? What about, my good young man?'

'But, monsieur, about everything--about paying bills--and complaints of
gentlemen, and ladies who think they have not had value for their money,
and all that sort of thing--monsieur knows.'

'Then the young lady looks after the business of the hotel?'

'Oh, yes, monsieur--always.'

That piec