ands, a couple of days or so from now, I
shall bid Wildred and England _au revoir_. I expect to sail for
America at the end of the week, and jolly lucky I think myself to have
run up against you to-night."

Somehow, as he rattled on about his own affairs, my heart began to warm
towards Farnham. He was not a particularly brilliant fellow, though a
good business man; but he had such a whimsical face, with its bright
eyes, its good-natured mouth, and its laughable, upturned nose! He was
so frankly interested in life, so enthusiastic, so outspoken, so boyish
in many of his ways, despite his forty years! I found myself almost
inclined to be sorry that he was leaving England so soon.

"I should like you to meet Wildred," he went on. "I don't know whether
you'd fancy him, but you couldn't help thinking his a remarkable
personality. It would be interesting to see you two chaps together. He's
at the theatre to-night, by the way, with some friends of his--rather
swells. It was an old engagement, made before I went out to his house,
but he had to keep it, of course. They'll be in that stage box over
there, and as Wildred has been industriously raising my curiosity about
the beauty of one of the ladies for the past few days, I concluded to
drop in and take the only chance I was likely to get of a look at her.
And mighty glad I am that I did so make up my mind, or I should have
left England without clapping eyes on someone I'd rather see than all
the professional beauties in London."

As he finished speaking the overture, which had now been on for some
time, ceased, and the curtain went up on a very pretty bit of stage
setting.

There was no curtain-raiser, and the first act was well constructed and
interesting from the commencement. It was delightful to me to feel, as I
did, that I was no longer _blase_ of town life, or the mimic life
of the theatre, and I was inclined to resent the interruption when
Farnham nudged me, whispering--

"There's Wildred and his friends just coming into the stage box. By
Jove! what a pretty girl!"

I looked up, because I was sure the volatile American would give me no
peace until I had done so; and then, having looked up, I promptly forgot
the play and its _dramatis personae_.

Two years I had spent in Africa and Egypt, and I had not seen many fair
faces during that time of travel and campaigning. I was in a mood,
therefore, to appreciate the delicate loveliness of English women; but,
even had