l them Pretty and the Proctor,' my friend went on, 'as Mrs.
Martin--Polly they call her too--has been Proctor twice.'[2]

[2]
I say, you know, keep clear of improbabilities! No one was
ever old enough to have been Proctor _twice_.--PUBLISHER.

That's all you know about it. Why, I shall bring in a
character old enough to have been Proctor a thousand
times.--ED.

Now nobody could have called Polly bewitching. Her age must really have
been quite thirty-five. I dislike dwelling on this topic, but she was
short, dumpy, wore blue spectacles, a green umbrella, a red and black
shawl, worsted mittens and uncompromising boots. She had also the
ringlets and other attractions with which French Art adorns its ideal
Englishwoman.

At my request, I was introduced; but presently some thirty professors,
six or seven senior dons, and a sprinkling of Heads of Houses in red
and black sleeves came bounding out of University sermon, and gathered
round the lovely Leonora. The master of St. Catherine's was accompanied
by a hitherto Unattached student, who manifestly at once fell a victim
to Leonora's charms.

This youth was of peculiar aspect. He was a member of the nearly
extinct Boshman tribe of Kokoatinaland. His long silky hair, originally
black, had been blanched to a permanent and snowy white by failures in
the attempt to matriculate at Balliol. He was short--not above four
feet nine--and was tattooed all over his dark but intelligent features.

When he was introduced I had my first opportunity of admiring Leonora's
extraordinary knowledge of native customs and etiquette.

'Let me present to you,' said the Master of St. Catherine's, 'the
Boshman chief, Ustani!'

'You 'stonish me!' answered Leonora, with a smile that captivated the
Boshman. It is a rule among the tribes of Kokoatinaland, and in Africa
generally, to greet a new acquaintance with a verbal play on his
name.[3] Owing to our insular ignorance, and the difficulty of the
task, this courtesy had been omitted at Oxford in Ustani's case, even
by the Professors of Comparative Philology and the learned Keeper of
the Museum. From that hour to another which struck later, when _he_
struck too, Ustani was Leonora's slave.

[3]
Is this _bona fide_?--PUBLISHER.

All right, see _She_ (p. 145), Ayesha's elegant pun on Holly.
It's always done--pun, I mean.--ED.

I had no further opportunity of conversing with Leonora a