[In a servile, affectedly melancholy, minor tone. Very softly.] His lordship has exactly the identical sideboard—m—.
HELEN
[To MRS. KRAUSE.] Mama, don't you think we had better sit down first and then—
MRS. KRAUSE
[Turns with lightning-like rapidity to HELEN and transfixes her with a withering look; harshly and masterfully.] Is that proper?
[She is about to sit down but remembers that grace has not been said. Mechanically she folds her hands without, however, mastering her malignity.
MRS. SPILLER
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. May thy gifts to us be blest.
[All take their seats noisily. The embarrassing situation is tided over by the passing and repassing of dishes, which takes some time.