“Where you left it.”

“Where was that?”

“On the table, at the left hand of your plate, covered by your napkin.”

Elizabeth stretched out her hand for it.

“Not so fast —­ I have it in my possession, as I told you, and I claim a reward for recovering it from its ignoble condition.”

“I shall set my own conditions then,” said Elizabeth.  “I will let anybody put it on, who will do me the pleasure to explain it first.”

“Explain?” said Rufus, looking in a sort of comical doubt at the cameo; —­ “I see the features of Mr. Haye, which never need explanation to me.”

“Not in nature; but do you understand them when they look so brown on a white ground?”

“They look very natural!” said Rufus eyeing the cameo.

“That is to say, you do not understand them?”

“Pardon me, you are the person most difficult to understand.”

“I don’t ask that of you,” said Elizabeth.  “I want to know about this cameo, for I confess I don’t.”

“And I confess I don’t,” said Rufus.  “I didn’t even know it had any other name but Mr. Haye.”

“What’s all this?” said Rose, —­ “what are you talking about here?”

“We are talking about, we don’t know what,” said Rufus.

“What is it?”

“That’s the question; —­ nobody knows.”

“What is the question?”

“Who shall put on Miss Elizabeth’s bracelet.”

“Give it to me —­ I’ll do it.”

“Pardon me —­ there is said to be reason in the roasting of eggs, and there must be a good deal of reason before this bracelet goes on.”

“I want somebody to tell me about the cameo,” said Elizabeth.

“Well, won’t somebody do it?”

“Mr. Landholm can’t —­ I haven’t asked Mr. Winthrop.”

“Will you?” said Rose turning to him.

“I wasn’t asked,” said Winthrop.

“But I asked you.”

“Do you wish to know, Miss Cadwallader?”

“No I don’t.  What’s the use of knowing about everything?  Do leave the cameos, and come over here and sit down and talk and be comfortable!”

“It’s impossible for me to be comfortable,” said Rufus.  “I’ve got Mr. Haye on my hands and I don’t know what to do with him.”

“Mr. Herder!” —­ Rose called out to him, —­ “do come here and tell us about cameos, that we can sit down and be comfortable.”

Very good-humouredly the naturalist left Mr. Haye and came to them, and presently was deep in quartz and silica, and onyx and chalcedony, and all manner of stones that are precious.  He told all that Elizabeth wanted to know, and much more than she had dreamed of knowing.  Even Rose listened; and Rufus was eagerly attentive; and Elizabeth after she had asked questions as far as her knowledge allowed her to push them, sighed and wished she knew everything.

“Then you would be more wise than anybody, Miss Elisabet’ —­ you would be too wise.  The man who knows the most, knows that he knows little.”