evening; it was filled with the most extraordinary varieties of
plants. "They were gathered from all over the world," said Mrs.
Winnie, seeing that he was staring at them. "My husband employed a
connoisseur to hunt them out for him. He did it before we were
married--he thought it would make me happy."

In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen
feet in height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the
touch of a button the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and
one might see scores of rare and beautiful fish swimming about.

"Isn't it fine!" said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly, "Do you know,
I come here at night, sometimes when I can't sleep, and sit for hours
and gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary
forms-some of them have faces, and look like human beings! And I
wonder what they think about, and if life seems as strange to them
as it does to me."

She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. "These
fish were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him
Buzzie. Have you met him yet?--No, of course not. He's Charlie's
brother, and he collects art things--the most unbelievable things.
Once, a long time ago, he took a fad for goldfish--some goldfish
are very rare and beautiful, you know--one can pay twenty-five and
fifty dollars apiece for them. He got all the dealers had, and when
he learned that there were some they couldn't get, he took a trip to
Japan and China on purpose to get them. You know they raise them
there, and some of them are sacred, and not allowed to be sold or
taken out of the country. And he had all sorts of carved ivory
receptacles for them, that he brought home with him--he had one