"But surely you have respect for established institutions."
"Yes, but not for dead ancestors. Suppose I search through the dusty archives of the Herald's College for a drop of Norman blood; I find that it was spilt on Saxon land by some hireling freebooter, or landgrabber, who followed at the heels of a conscienceless adventurer."
"You are republican enough to please the taste of my friend, Miss Moreland."
"I fear you misunderstand me. I am not patriotic, or republican, or anything else, for that matter."
"Except the incarnation of contrariety."
"I hate polemics, so I will cry touché as one does in fencing after a thrust, and end the contest."
"You mean you would rather thrust than parry. You men are all alike. You told the truth when you expressed a fondness for being pampered, and, as it is the duty of our sex to be compliant, I await your pleasure."
"If I am to be so indulged, I confess to feeling a craving to hear the promised lecture about those people across the way."
"I would willingly comply but that falling curtain says it must again be deferred. On second thought, perhaps it would be better to give you an object lesson, so if you will come and see me to-morrow about five, I will take you to a tea where you may meet them all and judge for yourself."
"I see you mean to prevent my favorite method of character study. I fear you will succeed, as the enticing preventive you suggest cannot possibly fail to be effectual. I willingly submit to your cure and will come to you at the appointed hour."