him to prison
was waiting in the Chateau's courtyard, my gentleman, who had 'lived
soft,' could not have been more outspoken about the condition of his
path.

Not until he had quite finished and had inquired in a blasphemous
whisper if all were present, was the strip of magnesium ignited and the
photograph made....

I have a copy before me.

The knaves are not looking their best, but the grouping is superb.

_The Toilet of Venus_ makes a most exquisite background.

CHAPTER XI

HOW BERRY PUT OFF HIS MANHOOD, AND ADELE SHOWED A FAIR PAIR OF HEELS

But for Susan, I should not have seen the Chateau, and, but for the
merest accident, we should not have revisited Gavarnie. And that would
have been a great shame.

It was the day before we were spared this lasting reproach that my
brother-in-law stood stiffly before a pier-glass in his wife's
bed-chamber. Deliberately Berry surveyed himself.

We stood about him with twitching lips, not daring to trust our tones.

At length--

"But what a dream!" said my brother-in-law. "What an exquisite,
pluperfect dream!" Jill shut her eyes and began to shake with
laughter. "I suppose it was made to be worn, or d'you think someone
did it for a bet? 'A Gentleman of the Court of Louis XIV.' Well, I
suppose a French firm ought to know. Only, if they're right, I don't
wonder there was a revolution. No self-respecting nation could hold up
its head with a lot of wasters shuffling about Versailles with the
seats of their breeches beginning under their hocks. That one sleeve
is three inches shorter than the other and that the coat would
comfortably fit a Boy Scout, I pass over. Those features might be
attributed to the dictates of fashion. But I find it hard to believe
that even in that fantastic age a waistcoat like a loose cover ever
really obtained."

Adele sank into a chair and covered her eyes.

With an effort I mastered my voice.

"I think, perhaps," I ventured, "if you wore them for an hour or two,
they might--might shake down. You see," I continued hurriedly, "you're
not accustomed----"

"Brother," said Berry gravely, "you've got it in one. I'm not
accustomed to wearing garments such as these. I confess I feel strange
in them. Most people who are not deformed would. If I hadn't got any
thighs, if my stomach measurement was four times that of my chest, and
I'd only one arm, they'd be just about right. As it is, short of
mutilation----"

"Can't yo