, you would be the most insufferable man of my acquaintance,
instead of being the most agreeable."

Isaacs was gifted with a marvellous frankness of speech. He always said
what he meant, with a supreme indifference to consequences; but he said
it with such perfect honesty and evident appreciation of what was good,
even when he most vehemently condemned what he did not like, that it was
impossible to be annoyed. Every one laughed at his attack on me, and
having satisfied my desire to observe Miss Westonhaugh, which had
prompted my first remark about griffins, I thought it was time to turn
the conversation to the projected hunt.

"My dear fellow," I said, "I think that in spite of your Parthian shaft,
your definition of a cynic is as complimentary to the school at large as
to me in particular. Meanwhile, however," I added, turning to Mr.
Ghyrkins, "I am inclined to believe with Lord Steepleton that the
subject uppermost in the thoughts of most of us is the crusade against
the tigers. What do you say? Shall we not all go as we are, a neat party
of six?"

"Well, well, Mr. Griggs, we shall see, you know. Now, if we are going at
all, when do you mean to start?"

"The sooner the better of course," broke in Kildare, and he launched
into a host of reasons for going immediately, including the wildest
statistics about the habits of tigers in winter. This was quite natural,
however, as he was a thorough Irishman and had never seen a tiger in his
life. Mr. Currie Ghyrkins vainly attempted to stem the torrent of his
eloquence, but at last pinned him on some erratic statement about tigers
moulting later in the year and their skins not being worth taking.
Kildare would have asserted with equal equanimity that all tigers shed
their teeth and their tails in December; he was evidently trying to
rouse Mr. Ghyrkins into a discussion on the subject of tiger shooting in
general, a purpose very easily accomplished. The old gentleman was soon
goaded to madness by Kildare's wonderful opinions, and before long he
vowed that the youngster had never seen a tiger,--not one in his whole
life, sir,--and that it was high time he did, high time indeed, and he
swore he should see one before he was a week older. Yes, sir, before he
was a week older, "if I have to carry you among 'em like a baby in arms,
sir, by gad, sir--I should think so!"

This was all we wanted, and in another ten minutes we were drinking a
bumper to the health of the whole tiger-