"Ah," he said; "then you wish to modify your assertion--you only believe what others have seen?" "Excepting one person," I retorted. Then he continued, seemingly not having noticed my personal allusion: "Have you ever seen your heart?" I hesitated. "Answer," he commanded. "No." "Your stomach?" "No." "Have you seen the stomach of any of your friends?" "No." "The back of your head?" I became irritated, and made no reply. "Answer," he again commanded. "I have seen its reflection in a glass." "I say no," he replied; "you have not." "You are impudent," I exclaimed. "Not at all," he said, good humoredly; "how easy it is to make a mistake. I venture to say that you have never seen the reflection of the back of your head in a mirror." "Your presumption astounds me." "I will leave it to yourself." He took a hand-glass from the table and held it behind my head. "Now, do you see the reflection?" "No; the glass is behind me." "Ah, yes; and so is the back of your head." "Look," I said, pointing to the great mirror on the bureau; "look, there is the reflection of the back of my head." "No; it is the reflection of the reflection in my hand-glass." "You have tricked me; you quibble!" "Well," he said, ignoring my remark; "what do you believe?" "I believe what others have seen, and what I can do." "Excluding myself as to what others have seen," he said facetiously. "Perhaps," I answered, relenting somewhat. "Has any man of your acquaintance seen the middle of Africa?" "No." "The center of the earth?" "No." "The opposite side of the moon?" "No." "The soul of man?" "No." "Heat, light, electricity?" "No." "Then you do not believe that Africa has a midland, the earth a center, the moon an opposite side, man a soul, force an existence?" "You distort my meaning." "Well, I ask questions in accord with your suggestions, and you defeat yourself. You have now only one point left. You believe only what _you_ can do?" [Illustration: "FLOWERS AND STRUCTURES BEAUTIFUL, INSECTS GORGEOUS."] "Yes." "I will rest this case on one statement, then, and you may be the judge." "Agreed." "You can not do what any child in Cincinnati can accomplish. I assert that any other man, any other woman in the city can do more than you can. No cripple is so helpless, no invalid so feeble as not, in this respect, to be your superior." "You insult me," I again retorted, almost viciously. "Do you dispute the assertion seriously?" "Yes." "Well, let me see you kiss your elbow." Involuntarily I twisted my arm so as to bring the elbow towards my mouth, then, as I caught the full force of his meaning, the ridiculous result of my passionate wager came over me, and I laughed aloud. It was a change of thought from the sublime to the ludicrous. The white-haired guest smiled in return, and kindly said: