Here was a deadlock indeed. It was an English ship, therefore the English rule of the road should be maintained. On the other hand, the fact that we were still in French waters was in his favour. But my stubborn British will would not give way, and Heaven knows how long we should have remained there had not one of the invalids grunted, "Caan't thee keep t' the rule o' the waater?" and I saw a dignified way out of the difficulty. I withdrew to the right, and we passed on with no animosity towards one another. Still, it was a near thing for the Entente. * * * * * "The unfortunate lady was examining an unloaded pistol when it went off and caused instantaneous death."--_Times of Ceylon_. In the circumstances we trust we are justified in thinking this tragic intelligence to be the result of a false report. * * * * * THE NEW GAME. If Hubbard were not my friend I should describe him as one of the most amiable and most muddle-headed of mankind. Under the influence of his mind things that are quite clear become confused and lose themselves in long vistas of statement and sub-statement and sub-sub-statement, and a plain tale is darkened until at the end nothing is left of what it originally was. If you don't believe me listen to what follows. We were sitting in the drawing-room one evening recently; the various topics of the day having been more or less exhausted, somebody proposed a round game as a diversion. Hubbard saw his chance and dashed in. "Yes, by Jove," he said, "let's have the new game of 'Likenesses;' it's a perfectly ripping game. I played it the other day and never laughed so much in my life." "How do you play it?" I said. "Oh," said Hubbard, "it's one of the easiest games in the world. All you have to do is to keep your mind clear and remember what you are driving at." "Right," I said. "But what are you driving at?" "Well," said Hubbard, "one of us goes out or stops his ears and the rest choose somebody." "There's nothing very new about that," I said; "I've played it a thousand times." "Wait a bit," said Hubbard, "and don't be so ready to plunge. I tell you this is an entirely new and original game." "Let him," said somebody else, "get on with it in his own way or we shall be here till past midnight. Go ahead, Hubbard." "Well," said Hubbard, "you choose somebody to be a likeness. When your man comes in again he begins to ask questions." "Vegetable, animal or mineral," said Butterfield, "I knew it was." "No, it isn't," said Hubbard. "The man who has gone out and has come in says to you, What food does the person you've chosen remind you of? and you say tapioca pudding or beef-steak and kidney pie." "But," I said, "there's nobody in the whole wide world who reminds me of either of those things."