"Yes. And that made me very brave, Princess. Otherwise I should never have dared. Honestly, it was all the little smile's fault, bless him. Isn't it glorious here?"
The bright eyes swept the horizon.
"Yes," she said slowly, "it is. In fact, every prospect pleases."
"And only golf is vile."
"Byron never said that."
"I know he didn't," said I. "Nor, in fact, did Heber. He said 'man.' All the same, I'm not vile. I'm rather nice, really. At least, so one of the smaller birds told me."
"Not really?"
"I mean it."
"Perhaps it was a skylark."
"As a matter of fact," I said stiffly, "it was an owl. A breed famous for its wisdom."