anifestation of her
state of mind. If he noticed this he said nothing to indicate that he
did, but resumed his conversation as though no interruption had
occurred. And curiously enough even her simulation of indifference
disappeared as he turned to her, bringing words and all the subtle
charm of his personality to bear. Strange elation possessed him and
she yielded again as freely as before to that indescribable air of the
world which characterized his every action and word. He spoke English
with but the faintest accent. Once he lapsed into French, speaking as
rapidly as a native. Anne caught him perfectly and answered him at
some length in the same tongue. Koltsoff stopped short and gazed at
her glowingly.

"There, you have demonstrated what I have been trying to say so poorly.
Permit me to carry on my point more intimately. Yes, it is so; you are
typically an American girl. But wherein do such young women, such as
you, my dear Miss Wellington, find their _metier_? In America? In New
York? In Newport? No. They are abroad; the wives of diplomats,
cabinet ministers, or royal councillors of France, Germany, Austria,
Italy, and," the Prince bowed slightly, "of my native land. Here, what
lies before you? Ah," he stooped and snatched a bit of clover, "I have
seen, I have studied, have I not? Washington, what is it to you? A
distant place. And its affairs? Bah, merely items to be skipped in
the newspapers. As you have admitted, you know nothing of them. You
do not know your cabinet officers; and so you marry and--and what do
you Americans say?--settle down."

"How knowingly you picture us," smiled the girl.

The Prince waved his hands.

"You travel, yes, but at best, most significantly, your lives are
narrow. You are wives and mothers, living in ruts as well-defined as
those of your most prosaic middle-class women. What do you know of the
inner world, its moving affairs? Who of you can read the significance,
open though it may be, of the cabled statement or speech of a prime
minister, in relation to America?"

"Perhaps our opportunities or incentives do not exist," replied the
girl gravely. "I have heard father say ours is a government of
politicians and not statesmen."

"Precisely, that is it. But in Europe, where conditions are different,
what do we find? Lady Campbell in Egypt--an American girl; the
Princess Stein in St. Petersburg; the Marquise de Villiers in France;
Lady Clanclaren in