pleasant precincts are shown as forbidden ground. There is no stiff
breeze to rake the boulevard: there are no gusts to buffet you at
corners: there are no draughts in the streets. The flow of sweet fresh
air is rich and steady, but it is never stirred. A mile away you may
see dust flying; storm and tempest savage the Pyrenees: upon the
gentlest day fidgety puffs fret Biarritz, as puppies plague an old
hound. But Pau is sanctuary. Once in a long, long while some errant
blast blunders into the town. Then, for a second of time, the place is
Bedlam. The uncaught shutters are slammed, the unpegged laundry is
sent whirling, and, if the time is evening, the naked flames of lamps
are blown out. But before a match can be lighted, the air is still
again. And nobody cares. It was an accident, and Pau knows it.
Probably the gust had lost its way and was frightened to death. Such a
thing will not happen again for two or three months....

"I like Piers," said Adele suddenly. "But I think he might kiss my
hand."

"How dare you?" said I.

"I do really," said Adele. "He kisses Daphne's and he actually kisses
Jill's."

"That's all wrong," said I. "You don't kiss a maiden's hand."

"Of course you do," grunted Berry. "A well-bred son of Italy----"

"But he isn't a son of Italy. He's English on both sides."

"I'm not talking of his sides," said Berry. "It's a matter of bosom.
You may have English forbears, but if they've been Italian dukes for
two centuries, it's just possible that they've imbibed something
besides Chianti. Personally, I think it's a very charming custom. It
saves wiping your mouth, and----"

"Well, why doesn't he kiss my hand?" said Adele.

"Because, sweetheart, you are--were American. And--he's very
punctilious--he probably thinks that a quondam citizen might have no
use for such circumstance."

"I should," said Adele. "I should just love it. I like Piers."

I looked across at my brother-in-law.

"D'you hear that?" I inquired. "She likes him."

Berry shrugged his shoulders.

"I told her not to marry you," he said.

"No, you didn't," said Adele. "You egged me on."

"Oh, you wicked story," said Berry. "Why, I fairly spread myself on
the brutality of his mouth."

"You said he was honest, sober, and hard-working."

"Nonsense," said Berry. "I was talking of somebody else. I have seen
him sober, of course, but---- Besides, you were so precipitate. You
had an answer for every