ght to suspect just a morsel of innocent, kittenish
coquetry in this. As it is with me--and with her--if there's anything of
the sort, it's wholly unconscious. But it's the most adorable type of
girl who flirts a little with everything human--man, woman, or
child--and doesn't know it. I take no flattering unction to myself as
Brown. Nevertheless I dutifully responded that it gave me pleasure to
make use of such small knowledge as I possessed, and was grateful to her
for not hearing Talleyrand murmur that he'd provided himself with the
_Guide Joanne_. After that I could afford to be moderately complacent,
even though I had to walk in the rear of the party, and no one took
notice of me until I was wanted.

That time came, when we'd wound round the path under the commanding old
Chateau, with its long lines of windows, and reached the exquisite
Gothic doorway. From that moment it was the Chambord business over
again; and I thanked my foresight for having stopped out of my bed half
the night, fagging up all the historical details I'd forgotten. These I
brought out with a naturalistic air of having been brought up on them
since earliest infancy.

Miss Randolph chatters pretty American French, but doesn't understand as
much as she speaks when it's reeled off by the yard, so to say;
therefore my explanations in English were more profitable than the
French of the official guide, who fell into the background. My
delightful American maiden has never travelled abroad before, and she
brings with her a fresh eagerness for all the old things that are so new
to her. It is a constant joy even for poor handicapped Brown to go about
with her, finding how invariably she seizes on the right thing, which
she knows by instinct rather than cultivation--though she's evidently
what she would call a "college girl."

I halted my little party before the Louis the Twelfth gateway, made them
admire the equestrian statue of the good King, drew their attention to
the beautiful chimneys and the adornments of the roof, with the
agreeable porcupine of Louis, the mild ermine and the constantly
recurring festooned rope of that important lady, Anne of Brittany. Then
I led them inside, rejoicing in Talleyrand's air of resentful remoteness
from my guidance. I scored, too, in his superficial knowledge of
English. In the midst of my ciceronage, however, I thought of you, and
how we had discussed plans of this trip together. You had looked forward
particularly