“I didn't say drunk; I said 'going it.'”
“But I do 'go it' in moderation,” pleaded Mr. Korner, “'Moderation in all things,' that is my motto.”
“I know it,” returned Mrs. Korner.
“A little of everything and nothing—” this time Mr. Korner interrupted himself. “I fear,” said Mr. Korner, rising, “we must postpone the further discussion of this interesting topic. If you would not mind stepping out with me into the passage, dear, there are one or two little matters connected with the house—”
Host and hostess squeezed past the visitor and closed the door behind them. The visitor continued eating.
“I do mean it,” repeated Mrs. Korner, for the third time, reseating herself a minute later at the table. “I would give anything—anything,” reiterated the lady recklessly, “to see Christopher more like the ordinary sort of man.”
“But he has always been the sort—the sort of man he is,” her bosom friend reminded her.
“Oh, during the engagement, of course, one expects a man to be perfect. I didn't think he was going to keep it up.”
“He seems to me,” said Miss Greene, “a dear, good fellow. You are one of those people who never know when they are well off.”
“I know he is a good fellow,” agreed Mrs. Korner, “and I am very fond of him. It is just because I am fond of him that I hate feeling ashamed of him. I want him to be a manly man, to do the things that other men do.”