Yes, I said _baldaquins_. Pray permit me to continue what I was saying. The son of the house lives in a beautiful, bright nursery, lined throughout with yellow wood and gilding, so that the sun seems for ever to be shining there. And the little fellow is so charming! He has curls like the rays of the sun himself. Yes, indeed! When one looks upon him one involuntarily exclaims, "The sun has just come out." And when one gazes into his eyes one involuntarily thinks, "Ah! Now are the chill autumn and winter passed, for there is blue sky to be seen." The Man loves the boy to distraction. He has just bought him a pony--a beautiful, pure white pony--to ride on. Now, _my_ children---- Well, as we were saying. Have I yet told you of the bathroom? No, you have not. It is a truly marvellous apartment. Ah! Is it indeed? Yes; with hot water always laid on. Then there is the Man's study, replete with books--endless books. He is said to be immensely clever--and of a truth you could tell that from the number of the books alone. I have seen the gardens. Have _you?_ Indeed? No, I have not. And I am not ashamed to confess that they simply astounded me. In them I saw the most marvellous lawns--all of an emerald green, and mown with surprising neatness, with little paths intersecting them, lined with the finest of red sand. And the flowers, too! And the palm-trees! _Palm-trees?_ Yes, I said _palm-trees_. Every shrub is pruned into a shape of some kind, such as a pyramid or a column of green foliage. Then there is a fountain with huge globes of glass, and, in the centre of the main lawn, a number of plaster gnomes and sirens. How splendid! How brilliant! How luxurious! [_And so on, as before._] The Man also did me the honour to show me his coach-houses and stables, until I found myself wholly unable to repress the admiration evoked in me by the spectacle of the horses and carriages which they contained. His motor-car, too, made a great impression upon me. And, to think of it, he has no fewer than _seventeen_ attendants for his person alone, in addition to the general staff of cooks, kitchen-maids, housemaids, gardeners, and so forth! And grooms, surely? Yes, and grooms. Of course, it is only right and proper that the Man and his Wife should have everything done for them, seeing that they are personages of such high degree. Yes; and for the same reason it is all the more an honour for us to be included among the number of their guests. But do you not find the music just a trifle--well, _monotonous?_ No, I do not, and I am surprised that _you_ should do so. Surely you know who the musicians are? Yes; I was but jesting. I could listen to such strains for ever. There is something in them which especially appeals to me. And to me also. It is delightful to be able to surrender oneself to their influence, and to become absorbed in dreams of ecstatic bliss. It is not too much to say that they waft one's soul to the very empyrean.