“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, and was forthwith astounded to hear deprecating murmurs all over the house. For an instant he looked dumbfounded, then he seemed to think he knew what was wrong, and recovered his presence of mind with magical swiftness. “I beg the pardon of all those here assembled,” he continued, “I ought to have said _gentlemen_ and _ladies_. We are more polite in our country, and always, when in public, do our best to flatter the _inferior sex_. However, since you prefer it the other way, here goes. It is with great pleasure, gentlemen and ladies——” But it was quite impossible to catch what he said next, for he had tickled the national sense of humour, and though the individual laughter of each one present was the gentlest possible expression of New Amazonian merriment, the collective result quite deadened the sound of the “distinguished stranger’s” voice. At this juncture the Speaker rose to her feet, and stepped to the side of the Honourable Augustus. In an instant the deepest silence reigned, as all listened for the words of wisdom which were expected to fall from her lips. “My children,” she began gravely, her rich voice filling the Hall with melodious sound, “must I remind you that the laws of hospitality are violated when the slightest interruption of the evening’s programme is made? Do you forget that it was well-known ere we met this evening that our guests have been brought up under conditions so dissimilar to our own, that it is impossible for them to be acquainted with our usual forms of address, I must crave your strict silence during the remainder of the proceedings. And you, Mr. Fitz-Musicus,” she continued, “will perhaps pardon me if I here offer the information that neither ‘ladies’ nor ‘gentlemen’ are supposed to exist in New Amazonia. We pride ourselves upon being honest, matter-of-fact ‘women’ and ‘men,’ and discard the other appellations as too suggestive of affectations and mannerisms. You will, therefore, kindly excuse the feeling of surprise with which most of us heard ourselves greeted by words which, with us, are terms of opprobrium.” While she spoke, the Honourable Augustus stood looking at her with an expression of jaunty ease which spoke volumes for the invulnerability of his _sang froid_, and even induced me to look at him with feelings in which admiration fought for a place on a plane with my amusement. “Oh, don’t mention it, madam,” he said, airily, “I might have known that you did not aspire to the same level of culture as the English. All the same, I am very glad if I can afford you amusement, so here goes once more.” Raising his voice, he now turned to the audience, and so perfect were the acoustic properties of the Hall, that every word he uttered was heard in the most distant corner.