The Centaurians
torted; "and—oh, well, have it any way that's tickling. She's been waiting all her life for—er—you, dear boy."
He snickered, while I, with growing excitement, declared my intention of shirking the Observatory.
"Bravo, Sally! my suggestion exactly," Sheldon laughed. "The Observatory will come later; it always does—just one particular twinkler now; when that pales."
A number of gentlemen unexpectedly joined us. Apparently they had been waiting for us somewhere and I was cheated out of my reply.
Sheldon fairly shook with exasperating enjoyment as he manœuvred to prevent me getting any closer to him than a block.
We were escorted to the museum, our way leading mostly through the vast gardens of the palace. From time to time along the route groups of gentlemen casually joined us until, as Sheldon elegantly expressed it, we ought to be tagged or the Pound might take us for the lost tribe of Roman-Jews and get rude.
We strolled along in pairs and groups. I was tolled off to a set of pretty, babbling inconsequents, whose beauty, gracefulness and astonishing interest displayed in Sheldon's witticisms impressed me rather favorably. I amused myself watching Saxe. as he cleverly juggled with the people he thought so little of, making them his friends; but finally bored into deep meditation completely forgot them all, even the beardless fashionables, whom the Centaurians considered my class, who, uneasy, at my ab-
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