ed Isabel,
cruelly. "Do you suppose I have wasted my time in England reading
Burke?"

"No, there are too many sights," he replied, more cruelly still.

"They are far more interesting than most of the people I have met." Then
she changed her tactics and smiled upon him; and when she smiled she
showed a dimple hardly larger than a pin's head at one corner of her
flexible mouth. For the first time he looked under her eyelashes into
the odd blue eyes, with their dilated pupils and black rim edging the
light iris. He suddenly realized that she was beautiful, in spite of the
three little black moles on her face--he detested moles--and smiled in
return.

"I am afraid I was rude. But I am really shy, and you quite took it out
of me. I am more afraid of the American girl than of anything on earth."

"How did you know I was an American?"

"By your accent." He laughed good-naturedly. "Now I am even with you."

"Well, you are. Californians pride themselves upon having no accent."

"Oh, it is not nearly so bad as some. But it is there all the same. Not
a twang nor a drawl, but--well--every country has its unmistakable
stamp."

"Well, I have no desire to be taken for anything but an American," she
said, defiantly. "A Californian, that is. After all, we are quite
different. But we do have an appalling variety of accents in the United
States. I have lived abroad long enough to discover that. When I am an
old maid I am going to mount the platform and preach the training of the
voice in childhood. I have taken a violent dislike to more than one
clever American man merely because he trailed his voice through his
nose. I don't mind our vices being criticised as much as our crudities."

"I never before heard an American girl make a remark that indicated the
least interest in her country--even when--pardon me--they brag. They
generally give the impression that they don't even know who happens to
be the President of the moment. Somehow, you look as if you might."

"I was brought up by a man, and my uncle was a great politician in a
small way. That is to say he was identified with country politics only,
but he and my father were everlastingly discussing the national issues.
Of course you have only met girls from the great cities, where the men
are too busy making money to take any interest in public affairs. The
women rarely hear them mentioned, practically forget there are such
affairs--except on the Fourth of July, which they rese