ence of a man--not _the_ man, but _a_ man--any man--is what warm
rain is to flowers athirst. I am still marveling at this metamorphosis,
when the door again opens, and another guest is announced--an old man,
as great a stranger to us as is the rest of the neighborhood, but of
whom we quickly discover that he is deadly, deadly deaf. For five
minutes, I bawl at him a series of remarks, each and all of which he
misunderstands. He does it so invariably, that I come at length to the
conclusion that he is doing it on purpose, and stop talking in a huff.
Then Barbara takes her turn--Barbara can always make deaf people hear
better than I do, though she does not speak to them nearly so loud, and
I rest on my oars. Owing to my position between the two couples, I can
hear what is passing between Algy and Mrs. Huntley.

To tell the truth, I do not take much pains to avoid hearing it, for
surely they can have no secrets. They are sitting rather close together,
and speaking in a low key, but I am so used to _his_ voice, and her
articulation is so distinct, that I do not miss a word.

"I think I had the pleasure of seeing you in church, last Sunday," Algy
says, rather diffidently; not having yet quite recovered from the
humiliation engendered by his unfortunate remark.

She nods.

"And I you," with a gently reassuring smile.

"Did you, really? did you see me--I mean us?"

"Yes, I saw you," with a delicate inflection of voice, which somehow
confines the application of the remark to him. "I made up my mind--one
takes ideas into one's head, you know--I made up my mind that you were a
_soldier_; one can mostly tell."

He laughs the flattered, fluttered laugh, that _my_ rough speech was
never known to provoke in living man.

"Yes, I am; at least, I am going to be; I join this week."

"Yes?" with a pretty air of attention and interest.

"We--we--found out who _you_ were," he says, laughing again, with a
little embarrassment, and edging his chair nearer hers; "we asked
Musgrave!"

"Mr. Musgrave!" (with a little tone of alert curiosity)--"oh! you know
_him_?"

"I know him! I should think so: he is quite a tame cat here."

"Yes?"

"Have you any _children_?" cry I, suddenly, bundling with my usual fine
tact head-foremost into the conversation (where I am clearly not wanted,
and altogether forgetting Barbara's warning injunction) with my
unnecessary and malapropos query. For a moment she looks only
astonished; then an expressio