imself. "The young lady of your party seemed to know them. How
uncommonly pretty all your American young girls are! But I'm told they
fade very soon. I should like to make up a picnic party with you all for
the Lido."

"Thank you," replied Elmore stiffly. "Miss Mayhew has seen the Lido."

"Aoeh! _That's_ her name. It's a pretty name." He looked through the open
door into the dining-room, where the table was set for breakfast, with
the usual water-goblet at each plate. "I see you have beer for
breakfast. There's nothing so nice, you know. Would you--would you mind
giving me a glahs?"

Through an undefined sense of the duties of hospitality, Elmore was
surprised by this impudence into sending out to the next caffe for a
pitcher of beer. Rose-Black poured himself out one glass and another
till he had emptied the pitcher, conversing affably meanwhile with his
silent host.

"_Why_ didn't you turn him out of doors?" demanded Mrs. Elmore, as soon
as the painter's departure allowed her to slip from the closed door
behind which she had been imprisoned in her room.

"I did everything _but_ that," replied her husband, whom this interview
had saddened more than it had angered.

"You sent out for beer for him!"

"I didn't know but it might make him sick. Really, the thing is
incredible. I think the man is cracked."

"He is an Englishman, and he thinks he can take any kind of liberty with
us because we are Americans."

"That seems to be the prevalent impression among all the European
nationalities," said Elmore. "Let's drop him for the present, and try to
be more brutal in the future."

Mrs. Elmore, so far from dropping him, turned to Lily, who entered at
that moment, and recounted the extraordinary adventure of the morning,
which scarcely needed the embellishment of her fancy; it was not really
a gallon of beer, but a quart, that Mr. Rose-Black had drunk. She
enlarged upon previous aggressions of his, and said finally that they
had to thank Mr. Ferris for his acquaintance.

"Ferris couldn't help himself," said Elmore. "He apologized to me
afterward. The man got him into a corner. But he warned us about him as
soon he could. And Rose-Black would have made our acquaintance, any way.
I believe he's crazy."

"I don't see how that helps the matter."

"It helps to explain it," concluded Elmore, with a sigh. "We can't refer
everything to our being American lambs, and his being a ravening
European wolf."

"Of course he ca