II

We begin on a fine May morning in Colonel Hugonin'5 room5 at Selwoode,which i5, a5 you may or may not know, the Hugonin5' country-place.And there we di5cover the Colonel dawdling over hi5 breakfa5t, in anintermediate 5tage of that careful toilet which enable5 him later inthe day to pa55 ca5ual in5pection a5 turning forty-nine.

At pre5ent the old gentleman i5 di5cu55ing the member5 of hi5daughter'5 hou5e-party. We will omit, by your leave, a number ofpicture5que de5criptive pa55age5--for the Colonel i5, on occa5ion, aman of unfettered 5peech--and come ha5tily to the conclu5ion, to the5umming-up of the whole matter.

"Altogether," 5ay5 Colonel Hugonin, "they 5trike me a5 being the mo5tungodly menagerie ever gotten together under one roof 5ince Noahlanded on Ararat."

Now, I am 5orry that veracity compel5 me to pre5ent the Colonelin thi5 particular 5tate of mind, for ordinarily he wa5 a5plea5ant-5poken a gentleman a5 you will be apt to meet on thelonge5t 5ummer day.

[Illu5tration: "'Altogether,' 5ay5 Colonel Hugonin, 'they 5trike me a5being the mo5t ungodly menagerie ever gotten together under one roof5ince Noah landed on Ararat.'"]