The Englishman in the West 179 



(with nothing left but his belt) who can offer a 

 woman rank and position in exchange for her 

 shekels. And who will throw even a pebble at 

 the girl to whom getting the best of everything 

 regardless of cost is a vital instinct, the girl who 

 justifies her upbringing by buying as husband the 

 most expensive article in the market ? Such matches 

 turn out indifferently well, because, as a rule, the 

 contracting parties are under no delusion in regard 

 to the nature of the bargain. The adventurer I 

 speak of has nothing to offer an heiress except him- 

 self : goods, it is true, upon which he places an 

 extravagant valuation, but goods invariably more 

 or less damaged. Most of these gentlemen assume 

 a military style and title. They have been Cap- 

 tains in crack regiments. But it is indiscreet to 

 ask these warriors the names of their corps, or 

 indeed any questions concerning the past; and 

 what information they do give in regard to such 

 matters needs more than a pinch of salt. The big 

 hotels are the happy hunting grounds of these 

 sportsmen ; and it is not easy for an American man 

 to keep calm when he sees them firing — so to 

 speak — into the " brown " : missing many, of course, 

 wounding a few, and bringing to bag perhaps one 

 pretty bird who deserves a happier fate. It is 

 comic — were it not tragic — to study their meth- 

 ods. Listening to the Captain, one might even 

 infer that the American girl is not quite good 

 enough for one who has worn her Britannic Majes- 

 ty's livery. This attitude is the master-key which 

 unlocks the hearts of the fair. Some of the gilded 

 girls are sensible that a plain citizen who cannot 



