280 WHISPERS FROM FAIRYLAND, [vL

Vi.
THE RED BARON.

THERE was once a young man who, having a good
house of his own, lots of money, and, plenty of friends,
became, as a natural consequence, exceedingly discon-
tented with himself and everybody about him. Having
nothing to do but to amuse himself, it followed as a
matter of course that nothing amused him. Every-
thing about him seemed dull and stupid, and the plea-
. sures of other people were to him wearisome beyond
measure. Riding was insipid—shooting bored him
—cricket was too much exertion—and as for croquet,
he positively detested its very name. Under these
circumstances, life became a burden to him, and he
frequently remarked that there was nothing worth
living for in the world. This feeling took such strong
hold upon his mind that it was very doubtful whether
he would not have taken measures to get rid of that
which he found himself so utterly unable to enjoy, had
not an occurrence taken place which turned his
thoughts into an entirely novel and different channel. .
He casually encountered a great traveller, who had
visited every quarter of the globe and was full of
anecdotes of things and people of whom our hero had
scarcely ever heard.. He listened with attention to