Sir ALEC is a capital companion, hearty, cheery, and full of anecdotes. He has got an excellent listener in JOHN BIRLEY, whereat I am rather astonished as JOHN generally has a lot to say for himself, and a good story from one man invariably draws out another from J. B. But on this occasion he is so unusually silent that I am puzzled. It is true that Sir ALEC commences most of his anecdotes with an apology to BIRLEY in this shape, "I've told this to BIRLEY before, but," turning to me, "you haven't heard it, and it may interest _you_," whereupon BIRLEY nods approval, and I politely assure Sir ALEC that I am already deeply interested by anticipation, and in the words of the ancient drama, now obsolete, I feel inclined to add, "Proceed, sweet warbler, your story interests me much; proceed." The sweet warbler, who, by the way, is a trifle hoarse and occasionally a little indistinct, tells several of these narratives--they are narratives--and I cut in with occasional observations more or less to the point, which are silently acknowledged by BIRLEY, but not by Sir ALEC, who seems bent upon getting on with his series, interspersed with anecdotes, to the exclusion of all other conversation. He begins with the fish, and his first story about somebody who rose from nothing and arrived at being something, lasts, with the assistance of several discursive but illustrative anecdotes, till we reach the merry Swiss cream and stewed fruit. With the coffee and cigars he opens volume two of his interesting and remarkable stories of great men--each biographical monologue being really interesting by itself, only taken together they ought to be spread over a considerable period, like the _Arabian Nights' Entertainments_, and still BIRLEY contentedly listens, gently inhaling his cigarette, and, when referred to, nodding corroboration. It occurs to me that as Sir ALEC has told all these before to JOHN BIRLEY, so the latter may have told most of his to Sir ALEC and to myself, and that that is why he is now so silent. At all events, he only rarely makes observations, and these of the curtest. I fancy he wants me to come out and amuse Sir ALEC, in return for Sir ALEC interesting me; and it occurs to me that I shall be ungrateful if I do not cut in with something new, just to save BIRLEY from hearing Sir ALEC'S stories all over again, and Sir ALEC from hearing BIRLEY'S, with which I presume, as they are such very old and intimate friends, he must be acquainted.