I called on him as soon as I knew he was in New York, and was received most cordially.
Elkinson had a large, bony head upon a lean, muscular body. He was not yet sixty, and his clean-shaven face was of a youthfully fresh and ruddy complexion. His hair was snow-white, but still thick and full, parted in the middle and trimly cut. His strongly-pronounced jawbones, large teeth and firm chin, lent him an expression of will-power and energy; the thin-lipped large mouth and the clear, gray, steady eyes commanded respect and marked the man who would not let himself be imposed upon or put out of countenance; his eyes twinkled at the slightest occasion with an expression of subtle roguishness, evidence of the general American inclination for jesting and joking.
"It is very kind of you, my dear Count Muralto, very kind indeed to look me up again. Have you been assigned to the post at Washington again? And how are the countess and the children?"
"Don't bother about using my title, Mr. Elkinson. It must be distressing to your democratic spirit."
The mocking eyes twinkled as though they enjoyed my sally.
"On the contrary! on the contrary! - that is atavism! It does us good. We are above such things, to be sure, but just as eager to do them as a worthy professor to sing the college songs at a reunion."
"Then I regret that I must deprive you of this pleasure. I am no longer a count and intend to become a citizen of your republic."
"What is that you tell me? Well, well, well! that is a remarkable decision."
"Your enthusiasm is not as hearty as one should expect of a true American. I believe you think that something is lost by this transaction after all."
"Perhaps I do! - Italian counts are rarer than American citizens. With these titles it's the same as with sailing vessels and feudal castles. They are unpractical and out of date. And yet it is a pity to see one after another disappearing."