As the guests examined these really wonderful products of talent almost unaided by implements or training, one of the ladies naturally inquired: “Who did these?” The hostess assumed a sibylline attitude and tone: “Perhaps, my dear, you can tell us that; and if so, you’ll be the first one I ever met that could.” This obscure intimation of course awakened an interest far deeper than the carvings, in every mind; and in reply to a shower of questioning the sibyl gave a long and intricate narration, beginning with the presence on board of her husband’s whale-ship of a mystic youth with the manners and bearing of Porphyrogenitus, and the rating of a common sailor; the delicate suggestion of a disguised lady was also dimly introduced. What succeeds is yet more wonderful, as Scheherezade always said when obliged to cut short the story that the Sultan might get up and say his prayers; but we will not evade Mrs. McCleve’s copyright by telling it, simply advising everyone to go and listen to it. “Two, four, six, eight, ten――elev-en!” counted she at the end, picking up the napkin-rings; “I don’t seem to see that twelfth ring!” and she looked hard at the unfortunate that had acquired her dislike in the first of the interview by an unfeeling allusion to money. “Here it is, Aunty,” remarked the señor. “I wanted to hear you ask after it.” “Now, look at here, Sammy, you’re too old for such tricks,” ♦expostulated the dame, in precisely the tone one admonishes a child; and then turning to the company generally she added confidentially: ♦ ‘exposulated’ replaced with ‘expostulated’ “I ain’t one of them that’s given to suspicion, and it ain’t a Nantucket failing; but last summer there was a boy, one of those half-grown critters, you know, neither beef nor veal, and I just saw him pocket――well, it was that very knife-handle. I always kept an eye on it since, thinking it might be off yet. So I waited till I saw he actooally meant it, and was fixing to go off with it, and then says I: “‘Well, sonny, going to unload before you start out on a new v’yge?’ So that’s all about the carvings; and these are shark’s teeth,――none of your Wauwinet sand-sharks that would run away from a puppy-dog no bigger than that, but a reg’lar man-eater off the West Indies; and these very teeth took a man’s leg off.” “Horrible!” cried one, while another, one of the persistent souls who must finish A before they begin B, inquired: “But did the boy give up the knife-handle?”