s!" I said, appalled. "What an acid idea!"

"The idea may be acid, but the air is not," said Margaret. "It is
singularly delicious, almost intoxicating."

And in truth there was a subtle fragrance which had an influence upon
me, although no doubt it had much more upon Margaret, who was peculiarly
sensitive to perfumes.

"Have you heard the legend of the Mentone lemons?" said Verney.

"No; what is it? We should be _very_ pleased to hear it," said Miss
Elaine, throwing herself down upon the grass in what she considered a
rural way. She was bestowing her smiles upon Verney that day; she had
mentioned to me on the way up the hill that she did not approve of
giving too much of one's attention "to one especial gentleman
exclusively"--it was so "conspicuous." I was smiling inwardly at this,
since the only "conspicuous" person among us, as far as attention to
"the gentlemen" was concerned, was Miss Elaine herself, when I caught
her glance directed towards Margaret and Lloyd. This set me to thinking.
Could she be referring to them? They had been much together, without
doubt, for Margaret liked him, and he was very kind to her. My poor
Margaret, she was very precious, to me; but to others she was only a
pale, careworn woman, silent, quiet, and no longer young. With the
remembrance of Miss Elaine's words in my mind, I now looked around for
Margaret as we sat down on the grass to hear Verney's legend; but she
had strolled off down the long green and gold aisle with Lloyd.

"Miss Severin is so well informed that she does not care for our simple
little amusements," said Miss Elaine, in her artless way.

[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO L' ANNUNZIATA]

"Once upon a time, as we all know," began Verney, "Adam and Eve were
banished from the garden of Paradise. Poor Eve, sobbing, put up her hand
just before passing through the gate and plucked a lemon from the last
tree beside the angel. The two then wandered through the world together,
wandered far and wide, and at last, following the shores of the
Mediterranean, they came to Mentone. Here the sea was so blue, the
sunshine so bright, and the sky so cloudless, that Eve planted her
treasured fruit. 'Go, little seed,' she said; 'grow and prosper. Make
another Eden of this enchanting spot, so that those who come after may
know at least something of the tastes and the perfumes of Paradise.'"

The Professor had not remained to hear the legend; he had gone up the
mountain, and we now heard