ton seemed to forget
himself, as he contemplated her, for a moment. Spaces had been left for
us; the valet placed chairs.

"Dalton," cried Lethal, "you are in time to decide a question of deep
interest;--your friend, De Vere, will assist you. His Highness has given
preference to the women of America over those of Italy. Adonais, the
exquisite and mild, settles his neck-tie against the Duke, and objects in
that bland but firm manner which is his. I am the Duke's bottle-holder;
Denslow and wife accept that function for the chivalrous Adonais."

"I am of the Duke's party," replied Dalton, in his most agreeable manner.
"To be in the daily converse and view of the most beautiful women in
America, as I have been for years, is a privilege in the cultivation of a
pure taste. I saw nothing in Italy, except on canvas, comparable with what
I see at this moment. The Duke is right; but in commending his judgment, I
attribute to him also sagacity. Beauty is like language; its use is to
conceal. One may, under rose-colored commendations, a fine manner, and a
flowing style, conceal, as Nature does with personal advantages in men,
the gross tastes and vulgar cunning of a charlatan."

Dalton, in saying this, with a manner free from suspicion or excitement,
fixed his eyes upon the Duke's.

"You seem to have no faith in either men or women," responded the rich
barytone voice of his Highness, the dark upper lip disclosing, as before,
the row of square, sharp, ivory teeth.

"Little, very little," responded Dalton, with a sigh. "Your Highness will
understand me,--or if not now, presently."

Lethal trod upon Adonais's foot; I saw him do it. Adonais exchanged
glances with a brilliant hawk-faced lady who sat opposite. The lady smiled
and touched her companion. Honoria, who saw everything, opened her
magnificent eyes to their full extent. Denslow was oblivious.

"In fact," continued Dalton, perceiving the electric flash he had excited,
"skepticism is a disease of my intellect. Perhaps the most noticeable and
palpable fact of the moment is the presence and identity of the Duke who
is opposite to me; and yet, doubting as I sometimes do my own existence,
is it not natural, that, philosophically speaking, the presence and
identity of your Highness are at moments a subject of philosophical
doubt?"

"In cases of this kind," replied the Duke, "we rest upon circumstantial
evidence."

So saying, he drew from his finger a ring and handed it to Da