hty beauty, who turned and left him to the
company of her aunt or of his own sex. He preferred the latter.

Meantime, the lecture being over, a rush had been made to the
refreshments. The army of outsiders were the first in the field. If
they were of little account elsewhere, they took first place at the
buffet, and here the citizen showed distinctly his origin.

Ivan mixed with the company, and conducted himself as one accustomed
to such society, and quite at his ease in it, and he was well
received. The men were very civil towards him; every man under forty
used the friendly "thou" in addressing him; he was made one of
themselves. It didn't matter much, as he was said to be leaving Pesth
the next day, and would be lost in the depths of Mesopotamia. Some one
said he came from Africa. They tried teasing him a bit, all in a
friendly way, and were pleased to find this pedant was an excellent
fellow, who took the joke in good part, laughed heartily at a
well-delivered thrust, and returned it with a sly hit, which never
offended any one's feelings.

"He is one of us," they said. "This man is up to everything; he is a
capital fellow. We must give him a good time."

"Is it true that you don't drink wine?" asked the Marquis Salista of
Ivan.

"Once a year."

"And to-day is not the anniversary?"

"No."

"Then we have drunk enough for one year; let us be moving."

Some of the men returned to the drawing-room; these were, for the most
part, the young fellows, and those who wished to dance. The ladies,
after their tea, had begun to play quadrilles, and even the "Csardas"
for those who wished for it.

Count Stefan, however, drew away the better portion of the men to his
quarters, which were on the second story of the countess's house. Here
he entertained in his way. His rooms being on the other side of the
house, no noise penetrated to the story below, which was necessary, as
the count's champagne was of the very best, and given with no sort of
stint; it flowed, in fact. Ivan, who was of the party, showed himself
in a new light; he drank wine; his toasts were spicy, his anecdotes
fresh and amusing, his wit sharp and unrestrained; and although he
drank freely, he didn't turn a hair, he was quite steady.

"Brother," hiccoughed Count Geza, who towards two o'clock was half
drunk, "the captain and I have agreed that when you are quite done up
we shall carry you home and put you to bed; but, my dear friend, my
dear Ritter M