lex foreigners. Do you recollect that
Englishman, Geoff, whom we met at the _table d'hote_ at Llanberis, when
we were in Wales, and who accounted for the Charleston earthquake by
saying that he supposed it had something to do with those hot springs
close by."

"What hot springs _did_ he mean?"

"I am sure you would never guess unless I told you. The hot springs in
the Yellowstone Park, to be sure,--simply those, and nothing more! And
when I explained that Charleston and the Yellowstone were about as
distant from each other as Siberia and the place we were in, he only
stared and remarked, 'Oh, I think you must be mistaken.'"

"And are they so far apart, then?" asked Imogen, innocently.

"Oh, Moggy, Moggy! what were your geography teachers thinking about?"
cried her brother. "It seems sometimes as if America were entirely left
out of the maps used in English schools."

"Lionel," said his sister, "how can you say such things? It isn't so at
all; but of course we learned more about the important countries."
Imogen spoke quite artlessly; she had no intention of being rude.

"Great Scott!" muttered Clarence under his breath, while Rose flashed a
look at Clover.

"Of course," she said, sweetly, "Burmah and Afghanistan and New Zealand
and the Congo States _would_ naturally interest you more,--large heathen
populations to Christianize and exterminate. There is nothing like fire
and sword to establish a bond."

"Oh, I didn't mean that. Of course America is much larger than those
countries."

"'Plenty of us such as we are'" quoted the wicked Rose.

"And pretty good what there is of us," added Clover, glad of the
appearance of dinner just then to create a diversion.

"That's quite a dreadful little person," remarked Rose, as they stood at
the doorway two hours later, watching the guests walk up the trail under
the light of a glorious full moon. "Her mind is just one inch across.
You keep falling off the edge and hurting yourself. It's sad that she
should be your only neighbor. I don't seem to like her a bit, and I
predict that you will yet have some dreadful sort of a row with her,
Clovy."

"Indeed we shall not; nothing of the kind. She's really a good little
thing at bottom; this angularity and stiffness that you object to is
chiefly manner. Wait till she has been here long enough to learn the
ways and wake up, and you will like her."

"I'll wait," said Rose, dryly. "How much time should you say would be
necessary