whole lifetime to practising them, just like any circus acrobat; and
so his mind became atrophied, and a naive and elemental vanity was
all that was left to him.

Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of
young bloods about him to play "Klondike." This was a game of deadly
hazards, which they played without limit; the players themselves
were silent and impassive, but the spectators who gathered about
were tense with excitement.

In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty
in his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens's
jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday,
and there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled
about with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who
would take part in it.

And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed
him the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended
in laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared
with an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas
of green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian
walk, leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with
a basin sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses.