Manuel went to Niafer, and found her sewing. "My dear, this will not do at all, for you ought to be in bed with the newborn child, as is the custom with the mothers of Philistia." "What nonsense!" says Niafer, "when I have to be changing every one of the pink bows on Melicent's caps for blue bows." "Still, Niafer, it is eminently necessary for us to be placating the Philistines in all respects, in this delicate matter of your having a baby." Niafer grumbled, but obeyed. She presently lay in the golden bed of Freydis: then Manuel duly looked at the contents of the small heaving bundle at Niafer's side: and whether or no he scaled the conventional peaks of emotion was nobody's concern save Manuel's. He began, in any event, to talk in the vein which fathers ordinarily feel such high occasions to demand. But Niafer, who was never romantic nowadays, merely said that, anyhow, it was a blessing it was all over, and that she hoped, now, they would soon be leaving Sargyll. "But Freydis is so kind, my dear," said Manuel, "and so fond of you!" "I never in my life," declared Niafer, "knew anybody to go off so terribly in their looks as that two-faced cat has done since the first time I saw her prancing on her tall horse and rolling her snake eyes at you. As for being fond of me, I trust her exactly as far as I can see her." "Yet, Niafer, I have heard you declare, time and again--" "But if you did, Manuel, one has to be civil." Manuel shrugged, discreetly. "You women!" he observed, discreetly. "--As if it were not as plain as the nose on her face--and I do not suppose that even you, Manuel, will be contending she has a really good nose,--that the woman is simply itching to make a fool of you, and to have everybody laughing at you, again! Manuel, I declare I have no patience with you when you keep arguing about such unarguable facts!" Manuel, exercising augmented discretion, now said nothing whatever. "--And you may talk yourself black in the face, Manuel, but nevertheless I am going to name the child Melicent, after my own mother, as soon as a priest can be fetched from the mainland to christen her. No, Manuel, it is all very well for your dear friend to call herself a gray witch, but I do not notice any priests coming to this house unless they are especially sent for, and I draw my own conclusions." "Well, well, let us not argue about it, my dear." "Yes, but who started all this arguing and fault-finding, I would like to know!" "Why, to be sure I did. But I spoke without thinking. I was wrong. I admit it. So do not excite yourself, dear snip." "--And as if I could help the child's not being a boy!" "But I never said--"