with no one but you, Sophronia, and I like that very much.”
Content perforce with this success for the time, Mr. Lammle let Miss Podsnap out of the room, as if he were opening her cage door, and Mrs. Lammle followed. Coffee being presently served upstairs, he kept a watch on Fledgeby until Miss Podsnap’s cup was empty, and then directed him with his finger (as if that young gentleman were a slow Retriever) to go and fetch it. This feat he performed, not only without failure, but even with the original embellishment of informing Miss Podsnap that green tea was considered bad for the nerves. Though there Miss Podsnap unintentionally threw him out by faltering, “Oh, is it indeed? How does it act?” Which he was not prepared to elucidate.
The carriage announced, Mrs. Lammle said; “Don’t mind me, Mr. Fledgeby, my skirts and cloak occupy both my hands, take Miss Podsnap.” And he took her, and Mrs. Lammle went next, and Mr. Lammle went last, savagely following his little flock, like a drover.
But he was all sparkle and glitter in the box at the Opera, and there he and his dear wife made a conversation between Fledgeby and Georgiana in the following ingenious and skilful manner. They sat in this order: Mrs. Lammle, Fascination Fledgeby, Georgiana, Mr. Lammle. Mrs. Lammle made leading remarks to Fledgeby, only requiring monosyllabic replies. Mr. Lammle did the like with Georgiana. At times Mrs. Lammle would lean forward to address Mr. Lammle to this purpose.
“Alfred, my dear, Mr. Fledgeby very justly says, apropos of the last scene, that true constancy would not require any such stimulant as the stage deems necessary.” To which Mr. Lammle would reply, “Ay, Sophronia, my love, but as Georgiana has observed to me, the lady had no sufficient reason to know the state of the gentleman’s affections.” To which Mrs. Lammle would rejoin, “Very true, Alfred; but Mr. Fledgeby points out,” this. To which Alfred would demur: “Undoubtedly,