in surreptitiously
closing first one eye and then the other in her direction. This might
not entirely satisfy the aspirations of his soul, yet it seemed to serve
as some vent for his pent-up spirit. He turned to his spouse with a
pleasantly meditative air.

"I should like to see old Bonker vunce more," he observed.

"Bunker? You mean Mr. Mandell-Essington?" said she, with an apprehensive
note in her voice.

"To me he vill alvays be Bonker."

The Baroness looked at him reproachfully.

"You promised me, Rudolph, you would see as little as possible of Mr.
Essington."

"Oh, ja, as leetle--as possible," answered the Baron, though not with
his most ingenuous air. "Besides, it is tree years since I promised.
For tree years I have seen nozing. My love Alicia, you vould not have me
forget mine friends altogezzer?"

But the Baroness had too vivid a recollection of their last (and only)
visit to England since their marriage. By a curious coincidence that
also was three years ago.

"When you last met you remember what happened?" she asked, with an
ominous hint of emotion in her accents.

"My love, how often have I eggsplained? Zat night you mean, I did
schleep in mine hat because I had got a cold in my head. I vas not
dronk, no more zan you. Vat you found in my pocket vas a mere joke,
and ze cabman who called next day vas jost vat I told him to his ogly
face--a blackmail."

"You gave him money to go away."

"A Blitzenberg does not bargain mit cabmen," said the Baron loftily.

His wife's spirits began to revive. There seemed to speak the owner of
Fogelschloss, the haughty magnate of Bavaria.

"You have too much self-respect to wish to find yourself in such a
position again," she said. "I know you have, Rudolph!"

The Baron was silent. This appeal met with distinctly less response than
she confidently counted upon. In a graver note she inquired--

"You know what mother thinks of Mr. Essington?"

"Your mozzer is a vise old lady, Alicia; but we do not zink ze same on
all opinions."

"She will be exceedingly displeased if you--well, if you do anything
that she THOROUGHLY disapproves of."

The Baron left the window and took his wife's plump hand affectionately
within his own broad palm.

"You can assure her, my love, zat I shall never do vat she dislikes. You
vill say zat to her if she inquires?"

"Can I, truthfully?"

"Ach, my own dear!"

From his enfolding arms she whispered tenderly--

"Of course I wil