"I know," said Jodey, "that is why I prefer the other stuff."
"Men are so reasonable!"
"Do you mind 'andin' the sugar?"
"Sugar will make you a welter and ruin your appearance."
A cardinal axiom of my friend Mrs. Josiah P. Perkins, née Ogbourne, late of Brownville, Mass., is "Horse-sense always tells." Among the daughters of men I know none whose endowment of this felicitous quality can equal that of the amiable participator in my expenditure. It told in this case.
"Better give me tea."
"Without sugar?" said Mrs. Arbuthnot, with great charm of manner.
"A small lump," said Jodey as a concession to his force of character.
The young fellow stirred his tea with so much diligence that the small lump really seemed like a large one. And then, with a gravity that was somewhat sinister, he fixed his gaze on my coat and leathers.
"By a local artist of the name of Jobson," said I, humbly. "The second shop on the right as you enter Middleham High Street."