“A what?”

“A name of familiarity,” she explained, “used only by your family or your friends.”

“Oh, a nickname! Well,” he admitted, unwillingly, “my father always called me Tommy.”

“Tommy! Excellent! I shall call you Tommy!”

“But I detest Tommy,” he objected.

“No matter!” she said, peremptorily. “It will have to do. What is your profession?”

“I am a surgeon.”

“Where do you live in America?”

“At Baltimore, in the State of Maryland.”

“Where have you been in Europe?”