And you, gentlemen"-- he turned to Dale and myself and addressed us in his peculiar jargon of French, German, and Italian--"you must come and see my cats if I can get a London engagement.

At present I must rest.

The artist needs repose sometimes.
I will sun myself in the smiles of our dear lady here, and my pupil and assistant, Quast, can look after my cats.

Meanwhile the brain of the artist," he tapped his brow, "needs to lie fallow so that he can invent fresh and daring combinations.

Do such things interest you, messieurs ?" "Vastly," said I.
He pulled out of his breast pocket an enormous gilt-bound pocket-book, bearing a gilt monogram of such size that it looked like a cartouche on an architectural panel, and selected therefrom three cards which he gravely distributed among us.