I wonder whether these elaborate preliminaries——?
Bertram.
Oh, don't interrupt, father! I mean to say——!
Dunning.
[Imperturbably.] My next step was to place the book in the hands of a lady whose liter'y judgment is a great deal sounder than mine or Mr. Sillitoe's—I allude to Mrs. D.—and her report was that, though amusing in parts, she didn't see anything in it to set the Thames on fire.
Philip.
[Laughing in spite of himself.] Ha, ha, ha!
Roope.
Ha, ha! [To Philip, with mock sympathy.] Dear excellent friend!
Bertram.