o each about it. Or a man who backs out of his vows by
trading off the sloppiest kind of flap-doodle about not wishing to
blight the hopes of his dearest friend. Or a man who has been trying
his hardest to get into the good graces again of the young lady he
went back on first, so he can cut out that same dearest friend of his,
and leave the girl he's haff engaged to right out in the cold. And
puts it all off on the high-toned-est old sentiments, too. But I
don't consider the expression, "a mean cuss," too picturesque for that
particular kind of hero myself!

_Culch._ (_breathing hard_). Your feelings have apparently undergone a
sudden change--quite recently!

_Miss T._ Well, no, the change dates back considerable--ever since we
were at the Villa d'Este. Only, I like Mr. PODBURY pretty well, and I
allowed he ought to have fair play, so I concluded I'd keep you around
so you shouldn't get a chance of spoiling your perfectly splendid act
of self-denial--and I guess I've _kept_ you around pretty much all the
time!

_Culch._ (_bitterly_). In other words, you have behaved like a
heartless coquette!

_Miss T._ You may put it at that if you like. Maybe it wouldn't have
been just the square thing to do if you'd been a different sort of
man--but you wanted to be taught that you couldn't have all the fun
of flirtation on _your_ side, and I wasn't afraid the emotional strain
was going to shatter you up to any serious extent. Now it's left off
amusing me, and I guess it's time to stop. I'm as perfectly aware as
I can be that you've been searching around for some way of getting out
of it this long while back--so there's no use of your denying you'll
be real enchanted to get your liberty again!

_Culch._ I may return your charming candour by admitting that
my--er--dismissal will be--well, not wholly without its consolations.

_Miss T._ Then _that's_ all right! And if you'll be obliging enough to
hunt up my Poppa and send him along, I guess I can dispense with your
further escort, and you can commence those consolations right away.

_Culch._ (_alone_). The little vixen! Saw I was getting tired of it,
and took care to strike first. Clever--but a trifle crude. But I'm
free now. Unfortunately my freedom comes too late. PODBURY's _Titania_
is much too enamoured of those ass's ears of his--How the brute will
chuckle when he hears of this! But he won't hear of it from _me_. I'll
go in and pack and be off to-morrow morning before he's