f a Dowager Countess,
"may be literally interpreted as the Two-Headed Bender of the Elbow, and
is a muscle situated on, what we term, the Os--"

"Follow the wand, my dear madam, pray follow the wand! This is the
_Biceps,"_ interrupted Valentine, tapping till the canvas quivered again
on the upper part of Columbus's arms, which obtruded their muscular
condition through a pair of tight-fitting chamoy leather sleeves. "The
_Biceps,_ Lady Brambledown, is a tremendously strong muscle--"

"Which arises in the human body, your Ladyship," interposed the Doctor,
"by two heads--"

"Which is used," continued Valentine, cutting him short--"I beg your
pardon, Doctor, but this is important--which is used--"

"I beg yours," rejoined the Doctor, testily. "The origin of the muscle,
or place where it arises, is the first thing to be described. The use
comes afterwards. It is an axiom of anatomical science--"

"But, my dear sir!" cried Valentine--

"No," said the Doctor, peremptorily, "you must really excuse me. This is
a professional point. If I allow erroneous explanations of the muscular
system to pass unchecked in my presence--"

"I don't want to make any!" cried Mr. Blyth, gesticulating violently in
the direction of Columbus. "I only want to--"

"To describe the use of a muscle before you describe the place of its
origin in the human body," persisted the Doctor. "No, my dear sir! I
can't sanction it. No, indeed! I really _can_ NOT sanction it!"

"Will you let me say two words?" asked Valentine.

"Two hundred thousand, my good sir, on any other subject," assented the
Doctor, with a sarcastic smile; "but on _this_ subject--"

"On art?" shouted Mr. Blyth, with a tap on Columbus, which struck a
sound from the canvas like a thump on a muffled drum. "On art, Doctor? I
only want to say that, as Columbus's early life must have exercised him
considerably in hauling ropes and pulling oars, I have shown the large
development of his _Biceps_ muscle (which is principally used in those
actions) through his sleeves, as a good characteristic point to insist
on in his physical formation.--That's all! As to the origin--"

"The origin of the _Biceps Flexor Cubiti,_ your Ladyship," resumed the
pertinacious Doctor; "is by two heads. The first begins, if I may so
express myself, _tendinous,_ from the glenoid cavity of the scapula--"

"That man is a pedantic jackass," whispered Mr. Hemlock to his friend.

"And yet he hasn't a bad head for a