VI.
The eminent publicist replaced his glass on the table and turned to the lady who sat beside him. "My business," he said, "is the manufacture of mustard. I have made a vast fortune out of it."
"How very interesting," the lady replied absently; but the next moment, inspired by a hidden thought, she added with quickened interest, "Please don't think me inquisitive, but how can a fortune be made out of a thing like mustard? People take so little of it."
"Madam," answered the mustard magnate deliberately, "we do not make our fortunes from the mustard that people eat"—
"Yes, yes?" cried the lady eagerly.—"but," he continued, "from what they spill in mixing poultices."