"Two lumps of sugar, Peter?"
"Thank you! Women are very like flowers—" I began.
"That is a very profound remark, sir!—more especially coming from one who has studied and knows womankind so deeply."
"—and it is a pity that they should be allowed to 'waste their sweetness on the desert air.'"
"And philosophical blacksmiths, Peter?"
"More so if they be poor blacksmiths."
"I said 'philosophical,' Peter."
"You probably find your situation horribly lonely here?" I went on after a pause.
"Yes; it's nice and lonely, Peter."
"And, undoubtedly, this cottage is very poor and mean, and—er—humble?" Charmian smiled and shook her head.