'Your vulgarity is simply awful, Ross, do stop, you make me feel quite ill.'
'I venture to think, my misguided young friend——' began Ross again.
'You know what happened to the children in the Bible,' I interrupted, 'who mocked at their betters: a frightful animal jumped out at them and——'
Here I gave a piercing scream as the kitten suddenly decided to risk it, and landed unexpectedly in the middle of my stomach.
'Just so,' said Ross with a howl of laughter, 'I never saw a better illustration of it in my life.'
And now I want to ask the General Public something.
Could you tell me why, because a person's mother once fell off the top of a step-ladder, a person should never be allowed to go on the top step herself? It seems such a ridiculous thing to hand on from father to son.
'Gracious,' I said, when I was rowed for it to-day, after Mr Williams had departed, 'because mother did it, it's a thousand to one I won't. I don't know the actuary figures, but it practically insures me against it, Ross.'
'I don't care,' said that gentleman, 'I won't have it, and that's all there is about it.'
'How can you be so ridiculous. You don't mind if I go up a tree, and I've done everything that you've done always. If you don't think it's dangerous for me to climb and hunt and ski, why on earth should you kick at the top of a step-ladder?'