Lord Upperton bowed. Mrs. Newville saw a look of surprise upon his face, as if he had not expected to find so sweet a flower in the wilderness of the Western world. He bowed again, very politely, and expressed his pleasure at making her acquaintance.
Pompey, bowing low, informed Mr. Newville that dinner was ready to be served.
“My lord, may I presume to assign my daughter to you?” said Mrs. Newville, giving her own arm to Admiral Montague.
Mr. Dapper solicited the favor of Mrs. Adams’s company. As Miss Chanson sang in the choir at King’s Chapel, Reverend Mr. Coner thought it becoming to offer her his arm, leaving Miss Artley to Mr. Newville, and Miss Milford to Mr. Adams.
“I presume, my lord, you find things quite different here from what you do in England,” Ruth remarked, feeling it was incumbent upon her to open the conversation.
“Yes, Miss Newville, very different; for instance, in London, and in almost all our towns, the houses are mostly brick, with tiles or thatch; but here, they are built of wood, covered with shingles. Your churches are meetinghouses. Queer name.” Lord Upperton laughed.
“Ha, ha! I had a funny experience the other day. I told the landlord of the Admiral Vernon I would like a chair for myself, and another for Mr. Dapper,—that we wanted to see the town. Well, what do you think happened? A little later, in came two niggers, each bringing a big rocking-chair. ‘Dese be de cheers you axed for, Massa,’ they said.”
Miss Newville laughed heartily.
“The landlord evidently did not know you meant sedan-chairs; we do not have them here,” she said.