cent on five hundred dollars. But what is that in these
days of plutocracy?

   At any rate I tried the Comtesse's directions at a
reception last week, on being introduced to an unknown
lady. And they failed. I cut out nearly all the last
part, and confined myself merely to the proposed selection
of a topic, endeavouring to pick it with as much care as
if I were selecting a golf club out of a bag. Naturally
I had to confine myself to the few topics that I know
about, and on which I can be quite interesting if I get
started.

   "Do you know any mathematics?" I asked.

   "No," said the lady.

   This was too bad. I could have shown her some good puzzles
about the squares of the prime numbers up to forty-one.

   I paused and gave myself more air.

   "How are you," I asked, "on hydrostatics?"

   "I beg your pardon," she said. Evidently she was ignorant
again.

   "Have you ever studied the principles of aerial navigation?"

   I asked.

   "No," She answered.

   I was pausing again and trying to invest myself with an
air of further interest, when another man was introduced
to her, quite evidently, from his appearance, a vapid
jackass without one tenth of the brain calibre that I
have.

   "Oh, how do you do?" he said. "I say, I've just heard

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