Simon the Jester

of the arm, as she extended her hand to welcome me, was accompanied by a curiously flexible turn of the body. Her hand as it enveloped, rather than grasped, mine seemed

d reflections, completed the pantherine suggestion. She seemed to be on the verge of th

I've heard so much of you fro

field with the lady, established himself on the sofa some distance off, and began to talk with a Chow dog, with whom he was obviously on terms of familiarity. Madame Brandt make a remark about the Chow dog's virtues, to which I politely replied. She put him through several tricks. I admired his talent. She declared her affections

wing strong, white, even teeth-the most marvellous teeth I h

s a lion tamer, so I know all the ways of beasts. I love bears-I once trained

f a human one now a

ould train him to dance to wha

golden eyes lazily

say that,

rsation in which I took no absorbing interest. It was a direct challenge. Young Dale stopped playing wit

ther was a lion-tamer, y

lect for a moment;

'porth of cats'-meat, but you coul

would learn in time when my mentorship was over

ill that be

ou anxious for his i

shrug: with her it was a slow ripple. I vow if her neck ha

s perfe

ed Dale. "Behold!" A

lady. "I've heard Augus

guste?" a

generic name of the clown

Circus!"

it the Hippodrome, Mr. de Gex," she remark

e step nearer pe

but Dale, who, with the crude instincts of youth, loves glare, began to fidget, and presently asked whether he might turn on the electric light. Permission was given. My hostess invited me to smok

ng everything that hitherto had been wra

idery. The chair I had vacated I discovered to be of old Spanish oak and stamped Cordova leather bearing traces of a coat-of-arms in gold. My hostess lounged in a low characterless seat amid a mass of heterogeneous cushions. There were many flowers in the room-some in Cloisonne vases, others in gimcrack vessels such as are bought

he one side by a villainous German print of "The Huntsman's Return" and on the other by a dainty water-colour. Myriads of photographs, some in frames, met the eye everywhere-on the grand piano, on the occasional tables, on the mantelpiece, stuck obliquely all round the Queen Anne mirror above it, on the walls. Many of th

silver casket I had taken from the mantelpiece. I eyed the thing and concluded it was made of the very cheapest tobacco, and was what the street urchin calls a "fag." I learned afterwards that I was right. She purchased them

, does a luxurious lady like Lola B

nd begged us to drink without milk, was the most exquisite I have tast

ack Ceylon tea," she r

astes she possessed. No doubt she could eat blood puddings with relish

t change after your adventurous career,

ng with her pantherine grace among the cushions. "Do you

ons you had you must have a

hether you can understand. The world used to seem to me divided into two classes that never met-we performing people and the public, the thousand white faces that looked a

istia better than

brows and look

, "you must talk straight. I've had n

raciously. It was not a rebuke for priggishness; it was the unpresentable statemen

elucidation of my periphrasis, "what de Gex is drivin

My dear boy, when do you th

sofa as if the Chow

ever meant you to

could have boxed the silly fellow's ears, I vow he did it in a very pretty fashion. The young man of the day, as a general rule, has no m

ession, and the worst of it is that while we're being utterly dull and dowdy, the public think we're having a devil of a time. So we don't even get the credit of our virtues. I prefer the Savoy-and this."

ful things around you

ould like more pe

you have social ambi

r a moment out of t

inning me?"

urns of language as yet not current among the fashionable classes. I gravely a

ise, the delight of motion, the excitement, the--?"-my vocabulary failing me, I

at me uncom

at?" sh

playing at?"

ring to the

out laughing, to

erforming in a tent and living in a caravan

ay of apology, "is that it's a me

misled in this

lazy good nature

crobat, for my father was poor; but when he grew rich and the owner of animals, which he did when I was fourteen, I

human ignorance. Do you know that 30 per cent of the French army

r is not advertised all over France like Beecham's Pills, whereas six years ago you coul

"That's how the wicked

thing-to count and add up and guess articles taken from the audience. I was at the Hippodrome. Then

is Sultan n

fter a pause she continued in a low voice, singularly like the growl of a

door opened and the

nastasius Pa

n four feet high, wearing a frock coat and bright yellow gloves, entered the room, and

is enfin, Ach liebes Herz!

s head between her hands and kissed his

this long time? Why didn't you write and let me know you were in E

and declared himself enchanted. Although his head was too large for his body, he was neither ill-made nor repulsive. He looked about

my beautiful Santa Bianca. And you, gentlemen"-he turned to Dale and myself and addressed us in his peculiar jargon of French, German, and Italian-"you must come and see my cats if I can get a London engagement. At present I must rest. The artist needs repose sometimes. I will

ly,"

onogram of such size that it looked like a cartouche on an architectural panel, and sel

OLD AND SILVER MEDALLIST THE CAT KI

s: MESSRS. C

den Lan

my head. I come on to the scene like Bacchus drawn by my two cats. How are the cats to draw my heavy weig

ing down on the Liliputian egotist with polite w

only two ideas in his head, his ca

ll be jealous," said

boy!" she

understand, the dwarf scowled at Dale and twirled his moustache fiercely. In order to attract Madame Bran

he document

docu

mstances attending the death o

us?" she asked, in the indulgent tone

t by this means the murderer will be brought to just

hostess's consideration. I glanced ironically at Dale's disgusted face, and smiled at the imperfect development of his sense of humour. Indeed, to the young, humour is only a weapon of o

ss much to talk over. I thank you for the privileg

e, who went down with his boyish tread, she detained me for a second or two, holding my hand,

r. de Gex, do come as a fr

I had conducted the interv

my, dea

aressing voice. "And I should love to have you for a

with you another time,"

omise," said

asked Dale, when I j

f the pleasure of cal

my destination was the Albany, and as I knew Dale w

le. I'll see

ll me what you think of her

ur faces. It is only the preposterously young who expect a man to rhapsodise over

od-looking

t out impatiently. "I want to kno

hemian, or the Bold Adventuress, my task would have been easy. But I had an uncomfortable feelin

uccess," said I, "in ser

I made m