Having forgotten this gentleman's name, I must beg leave to
distinguish him by means of a letter of the alphabet. Let me call
him Mr. A. When he entered the room alone, our host and hostess
both started, and both looked surprised. Apparently they expected
him to be accompanied by some other person. Mr. Germaine put a
curious question to his friend.

"Where is your wife?" he asked.

Mr. A answered for the absent lady by a neat little apology,
expressed in these words:

"She has got a bad cold. She is very sorry. She begs me to make
her excuses."

He had just time to deliver his message, before another
unaccompanied gentleman appeared. Reverting to the letters of the
alphabet, let me call him Mr. B. Once more, I noticed that our
host and hostess started when they saw him enter the room alone.
And, rather to my surprise, I heard Mr. Germaine put his curious
question again to the new guest:

"Where is your wife?"

The answer--with slight variations--was Mr. A's neat little
apology, repeated by Mr. B.

"I am very sorry. Mrs. B has got a bad headache. She is subject
to bad headaches. She begs me to make her excuses."