e was of the German nation, a short dudeen in an upper vest
pocket would seem to indicate that he was an Irishman. His coat was of
black cheviot, new, and of the current cut. His vest was of corduroy,
of the kind in vogue in the past decade, while his pantaloons, black,
with a faint green line in them, were a compromise, being of a
non-commital cut that would never be badly out of style in any modern
period.

Sustaining Miss Clarissa's stare with great composure, he purchased
six German razors at thirty-five cents each, six English at fifty,
twelve American at the same price, and a stray French razor at
sixty-two.

"Don't you want some razorine?" asked Miss Clarissa. "It makes
razors--and other things--sharper."

"Why don't you use it, then, instead of lobsterine?" replied the
stranger, picking up his package and the change. Miss Clarissa
deigning to give no reply but an angry frown, the stranger expressed
his gratitude for the amusement he intimated she had afforded him and
he further said he hoped he would see her at the Charity Ball and he
made bold to ask her to save the second two-step for him, and
thereafter departed, having declined Miss Clarissa's offer to have his
purchases sent to his address, an offer dictated not by a spirit of
accommodation and kindliness, but by a desire to learn in what part of
the city he had his residence.

On the morrow again came a man to purchase razors, of which there was
a large number on Miss Clarissa's counter, traveling men's samples for
sale at ridiculous prices. The man had purchased two dozen razors
before Miss Clarissa, noting this similarity to the transactions of
the odious person and thereby led to take a good look at him, observed
with astonishment that this new man had on exactly the same suit that
had been worn by the purchaser of the day before. She recognized the
fabric, the color, everything down to a discoloration on the left coat
lapel. Here the resemblance ended. The second individual was a young
man. He had a heavy shock of abundant hair. He was not more than
twenty-eight years old and so far from being commonplace, he was of a
distinguished appearance. But as the eyes of Miss Clarissa continued
to dwell upon him in some admiration, she told herself that the
resemblance did not end with the clothes, after all. His eyes were of
the same blue, his hair of the same auburn as those of the man of
yesterday. Indeed, the man of yesterday might have been this man w