nd small
nervous eyes that were full of fire when in movement. It was not
however until I heard him speak that I recovered from my disappointment.
"Be it so," was all he said in reply to some remark addressed to him;
but the enunciation of the words was so musical, so soft and winning,
yet so clear and authoritative, that I was spell-bound for an instant
and quite lost my composure as Miss Kingsley, becoming aware of my
presence, proceeded to make us acquainted.

The backs of all the company except Mr. Spence had been turned to me,
for Mr. Barr was fulfilling his promise of persuading his friend to
introduce his system of speech as the order of the evening. The ecstatic
expression of Miss Kingsley's face, as well as the few words I had heard
him utter, were sufficient to show that he had been successful; but
winking her eyes more rapidly than ever she whispered in my ear with an
imitation as I thought of her master's style,--

"It is to be."

Almost immediately Mr. Spence, whose bow I had thought rather formal and
like that of the rest of the world, came up to me and said:--

"Welcome, Miss Harlan, to our circle. I know your aunt,--a massive woman
intellectually, and my benefactor. As I think our hostess has already
intimated to you, it is the wish of some of the company that I should
give a practical illustration of certain views regarding the essence of
speech peculiar to me, of which it may be you have heard from your
kinswoman or others, and which are a corollary of the general truth or
virtue known to the outside world as moderation. I have, however, some
delicacy in inflicting so great an incubus--for it must seem such to the
uninitiated--upon one who like you is of the _beau monde_ and used to
its smooth ways. I speak knowingly, for I too in my day belonged to the
_beau monde_, and am familiar with the easy, however volatile, flow of
speech incident thereto."

"Do not mind me, I pray," said I. "Indeed, I have read your essays as
well as your poems, Mr. Spence, and am very anxious to understand your
system practically."

"Be it so," he replied. "I did not wish to inflict myself unduly. Art
should be sensitive. Do you not agree with me, Miss Harlan?"

"How exquisite!" I heard Miss Kingsley whisper to Mr. Fleisch, with whom
she was standing a few feet distant gazing at the master.

It was Mr. Paul Barr who answered the question for me:--

"No, Miss Harlan, Art should be aggressive; Art should be ardent. I