"I suppose the sun recognizes in me no rival," said the young man,
demurely. "But," he added, "I have lived much in the open air, and
require very little sleep."

"How delightful!" said Mrs. Brown-Robinson, in a low, enthusiastic
voice and a manner that held the glowing sentiment of sixteen and the
practical experiences of thirty-two in dangerous combination;--"how
perfectly delightful! What sunrises you must have seen, and in such
wild, romantic places! How I envy you! My nephew was a classmate of
yours, and has often repeated to me those charming stories you tell of
your adventures. Won't you tell some now? Do! How you must tire of us
and this artificial life here, so frightfully artificial, you know" (in
a confidential whisper); "and then to think of the days when you roamed
the great West with the Indians, and the bisons, and the grizzly bears!
Of course, you have seen grizzly bears and bisons?"

"Of course he has, dear," said Blanche, a little pettishly, throwing
a cloak over her shoulders, and seizing her chaperon by the arm; "his
earliest infancy was soothed by bisons, and he proudly points to the
grizzly bear as the playmate of his youth. Come with me, and I'll tell
you all about it. How good it is of you," she added, sotto voce, to
Islington, as he stood by the carriage,--"how perfectly good it is of
you to be like those animals you tell us of, and not know your full
power. Think, with your experiences and our credulity, what stories you
MIGHT tell! And you are going to walk? Good night, then." A slim, gloved
hand was frankly extended from the window, and the next moment the
carriage rolled away.

"Isn't Islington throwing away a chance there?" said Captain Merwin, on
the veranda.