woman-hater, as he pretends, how comes he to be at the head of a female
party who are not _all_ of them--" he hesitated.

"Go on, Mr. Severne; not all of them what?" said Zoe, prepared to stand
up for her sex.

"Not perfect?"

"That is a very cautious statement, and--there--you are as slippery as an
eel; there is no getting hold of you. Well, never mind, I will set you an
example of communicativeness, and reveal this mystery hidden as yet from
mankind."

"Speak, dread queen; thy servant heareth."

"Ha! ha! ha! Mr. Severne, you amuse _me."_

"You only interest _me,"_ was the soft reply.

Zoe blushed pink, but turned it off. "Then why do you not attend to my
interesting narrative, instead of-- Well, then, it began with my asking
the dear fellow to take me a tour, especially to Rome."

"You wanted to see the statues of your ancestors, and shame them."

"Much obliged; I was not quite such a goose. I wanted to see the Tiber,
and the Colosseum, and Trajan's Pillar, and the Tarpeian Rock, and the
one everlasting city that binds ancient and modern history together."

She flashed her great eyes on him, and he was dumb. She had risen above