Newman administered a vigorous slap to his knee. "I would marry a
Japanese, if she pleased me," he affirmed.

"We had better confine ourselves to Europe," said Mrs. Tristram. "The
only thing is, then, that the person be in herself to your taste?"

"She is going to offer you an unappreciated governess!" Tristram
groaned.

"Assuredly. I won't deny that, other things being equal, I should prefer
one of my own countrywomen. We should speak the same language, and
that would be a comfort. But I am not afraid of a foreigner. Besides, I
rather like the idea of taking in Europe, too. It enlarges the field
of selection. When you choose from a greater number, you can bring your
choice to a finer point!"

"You talk like Sardanapalus!" exclaimed Tristram.

"You say all this to the right person," said Newman's hostess. "I happen
to number among my friends the loveliest woman in the world. Neither
more nor less. I don't say a very charming person or a very estimable
woman or a very great beauty; I say simply the loveliest woman in the
world."

"The deuce!" cried Tristram, "you have kept very quiet about her. Were
you afraid of me?"

"You have seen her," said his wife, "but you have no perception of such
merit as Claire's."