"He was very smart and ready, Sir, wasn't he?"
"Yes, Mrs. Patty, he had plenty of Repartee."
"What is a Repartee, Sir?"
"A smart Reply. When Mr. Pope, who was deformed, asked a young Officer if he knew what a Note of Interrogation was, the other replied, 'A little crooked Thing that asks Questions.' That was a Repartee."
"A very ill-natured One, though, Sir. When Sir Charles said of the unfortunate Emigrant Lady, 'That Woman deserves a Crown,' and Mr. Paul rejoined, that he had not a Crown to lay at her Feet, but he had Half-a-Crown very much at her Service: was that a Repartee?"
"Yes, it was suggested by the Remark of the First, and could not have been prepared. You have culled a Grain of Wheat, Mrs. Patty, from a Bushel of Chaff."
"You thought Lady Betty a great Beauty, I suppose, Mr. Fenwick?"
"Well, she is what is called a Fine-Woman, I believe. Fine Eyes, and Teeth; good Carriage of the Head."
"Oh Sir! had you seen her toss that Head at my poor Mother! 'Twas as much as I could stand!"