And as E. Rushmore Coglan prattled of this little planet I thought with glee of a great almost-cosmopolite who wrote for the whole world and dedicated himself to Bombay.  In a poem he has to say that there is pride and rivalry between the cities of the earth, and that “the men that breed from them, they traffic up and down, but cling to their cities’ hem as a child to the mother’s gown.”  And whenever they walk “by roaring streets unknown” they remember their native city “most faithful, foolish, fond; making her mere-breathed name their bond upon their bond.”  And my glee was roused because I had caught Mr. Kipling napping.  Here I had found a man not made from dust; one who had no narrow boasts of birthplace or country, one who, if he bragged at all, would brag of his whole round globe against the Martians and the inhabitants of the Moon.

Expression on these subjects was precipitated from E. Rushmore Coglan by the third corner to our table.  While Coglan was describing to me the topography along the Siberian Railway the orchestra glided into a medley.  The concluding air was “Dixie,” and as the exhilarating notes tumbled forth they were almost overpowered by a great clapping of hands from almost every table.

It is worth a paragraph to say that this remarkable scene can be witnessed every evening in numerous cafes in the City of New York.  Tons of brew have been consumed over theories to account for it.  Some have conjectured hastily that all Southerners in town hie themselves to cafes at nightfall.  This applause of the “rebel” air in a Northern city does puzzle a little; but it is not insolvable.  The war with Spain, many years’ generous mint and watermelon crops, a few long-shot winners at the New Orleans race-track, and the brilliant banquets given by the Indiana and Kansas citizens who compose the North Carolina Society have made the South rather a “fad” in Manhattan.  Your manicure will lisp softly that your left forefinger reminds her so much of a gentleman’s in Richmond, Va.  Oh, certainly; but many a lady has to work now—­the war, you know.

When “Dixie” was being played a dark-haired young man sprang up from somewhere with a Mosby guerrilla yell and waved frantically his soft-brimmed hat.  Then he strayed through the smoke, dropped into the vacant chair at our table and pulled out cigarettes.

The evening was at the period when reserve is thawed.  One of us mentioned three Wuerzburgers to the waiter; the dark-haired young man acknowledged his inclusion in the order by a smile and a nod.  I hastened to ask him a question because I wanted to try out a theory I had.

“Would you mind telling me,” I began, “whether you are from—­”

The fist of E. Rushmore Coglan banged the table and I was jarred into silence.