he spoke, and thrust his chin forward, but
as he ceased he had a trick of suddenly opening both eyes very wide and
staring sternly at his interlocutor.

"I am not garrulous, John," said his sister.

"No, Ada; in many respects you approach the superior or male type."

The Professor bowed over his egg with the manner of one who utters a
courtly compliment; but the lady pouted, and gave an impatient little
shrug of her shoulders.

"You were late this morning, John," she remarked, after a pause.

"Yes, Ada; I slept badly. Some little cerebral congestion, no doubt
due to over-stimulation of the centers of thought. I have been a
little disturbed in my mind."

His sister stared across at him in astonishment. The Professor's
mental processes had hitherto been as regular as his habits. Twelve
years' continual intercourse had taught her that he lived in a serene
and rarefied atmosphere of scientific calm, high above the petty
emotions which affect humbler minds.

"You are surprised, Ada," he remarked. "Well, I cannot wonder at it.
I should have been surprised myself if I had been told that I was so
sensitive to vascular influences. For, after all, all disturbances are
vascular if you probe them deep enough. I am thinking of getting
married."

"Not Mrs. O'James" cried Ada Grey, laying down her egg-spoon.

"My dear, you have the feminine quality of receptivity very remarkably
developed. Mrs. O'James is the lady in question."

"But you know so little of her. The Esdailes themselves know so
little. She is really only an acquaintance, although she is staying at
The Lindens. Would it not be wise to speak to Mrs. Esdaile first,
John?"

"I do not think, Ada, that Mrs. Esdaile is at all likely to say
anything which would materially affect my course of action. I have
given the matter due consideration. The scientific mind is slow at
arriving at conclusions, but having once formed them, it is not prone
to change. Matrimony is the natural condition of the human race. I
have, as you know, been so engaged in academical and other work, that I
have had no time to devote to merely personal questions. It is
different now, and I see no valid reason why I should forego this
opportunity of seeking a suitable helpmate."

"And you are engaged?"

"Hardly that, Ada. I ventured yesterday to indicate to the lady that I
was prepared to submit to the common lot of humanity. I shall wait
upon her after my morning lecture, a