this discomfort with the greatest fortitude, for, after all, an
occasion such as this was worth some sacrifice.

And, be it said, his was not the only purple nose in evidence. There
were many men who stared straight before them, daring to look neither to
the right nor left; and many women who were thankful for the heavy
veils they had had the forethought to put on. Even rouge, however
cunningly applied, cannot hide certain ugly lines in the face in the
clear, cruel light of the morning!

Strange how the same breeze will give to some cheeks a dull
repulsiveness and to others an entrancing glow! A word to lovers: Would
you test your mistress's blood and spirit, persuade her to a walk some
sharp day in winter; or, if she will not be persuaded, use a little
artifice. Then, after wind and frost have had their will of her for half
an hour, take a look at her. Are her cheeks glowing, are her eyes
bright, is she having a good time? If not, take heed!

There were four cheeks upon the beach at Weet-sur-Mer that morning
glowing as I would have your true love's glow; drawing men's eyes and
women's, too--the one in admiration, the other in envy. Yes, envy!
though more than one shivering fair spoke a low, slurring word about
"those coarse Americans!"

Both Pelletan and the notary had been careful to respect Rushford's wish
that his connection with the hotel be kept to themselves; in all their
boastings, rejoicings, explanations, his name had not been whispered;
and not even to his daughters had that gentleman confided the secret of
his plan to get the excitement he had craved so badly. He had feared,
perhaps, that they would not enter thoroughly into the spirit of the
thing--women, even American women, are sometimes strangely deficient in
the sense of humour. But they had both been struck by their host's
impressive obsequiousness--a very orgasm of servility, which Pelletan
had hitherto reserved for personages of the blood royal.

"What ails the man?" Susie had asked at dinner the night before, her
eyes on Monsieur Pelletan's writhing form. "He seems to have the
stomach-ache."

"He is probably fishing for a tip," said Nell. "It seems to me that
I've seen those symptoms before in a less violent form."

"Don't you tip him," commanded their father. "I'll attend to all that,"
and he beckoned to Pelletan with his finger and whispered a rapid
sentence in his ear.

"What did you say to him, dad?" inquired Sue, gazing in some
astoni