ually, I was rather
relieved when Pag said, 'Say Mr. and Mrs. Julius Bradshaw.'
I should have laughed, I know. Thomas looked a model of
discretion that wouldn't commit itself either way, and did as
he was bid in an apologetic voice; but he turned round on the
stairs to say to me, 'I suppose you know, msam, there's two
ladies and a gentleman been dining here?' Because he began
miss and ended ma'am, and then turned scarlet. Pag said after
he thought Thomas wanted to caution us against a bigamist
mamma was harbouring.

"Papa was very nice, really. His allusion to our little
escapade was the only one made, and might have meant nothing
at all. 'Well, you're a nice couple of people, upon my word!'
and then, seeing that mamma remained a block (which she
can), he introduced Paggy to one of the two ladies as 'My
son-in-law, Mr. Julius Bradshaw.' I'm sure mamma gave a wooden
snort and was ashamed of it before visitors, because she did
another rather more probable one directly after, and pretended
it was only that sort. Really, except a peck for me and saying
_howd_ and nothing more to Paggy, she kept herself to herself.
But it didn't matter, because of what happened. Really, it
quite made me jump--I mean the way the lady Pag was
introduced to rushed into his arms. I wasn't sure I hadn't
better take him away at once. She was a celebrated German
pianiste that had accompanied him in Paris. Mamma was at
school with her at Frankfort. She had been inconsolable at
the disappearance of the great Carissimi, whose playing of the
Kreutzer was the only perfectly sympathetic one she had ever
met. Was she never to play it with him again? Alas, no! for
she was off to Vienna to-morrow, and then to New York, and if
the ship went down she would never play the Kreutzer with
Signore Carissimi again!

"I saw papa's eye looking mischievous, and then he pointed to
the Strad, where it was lying on the piano--locked up safe;
we saw to that--and said there was Paganini's fiddle, why not
play the _Cruet-stand_, or whatever you called it, _now_?
Mamma found her voice, but lost her judgment, for she tried
to block the performance on a fibby ground. Think how late
it was, and how it would be keeping Madame von Hoefenhoffer!
She put her head in the lion's mouth there, for the Frau
immediately said