"La! sir."
"Admiration is a weak word, Miss Sallianna."
"Opprobrium?" suggested the lady.
"Yes, yes! that is the word! Thank you, Miss Sallianna. I am not as strong in philology as you are. I should have said opprobrium—that is what I have always regarded beauty, such as yours, all my life."
Miss Sallianna covered her face with her fan. Here was an opportunity to supply the place of the faithless Verty and the odious Jinks. As the thought occurred to her, Miss Sallianna assumed an awful expression of favor and innocent fondness. Ralph shuddered as he caught sight of it.
"Are you fond of ladies, sir?" asked Miss Sallianna, smiling.
"Yes, Miss Sallianna, devotedly," said Ralph, recovering, in some degree.
"I should think so."
"Why, madam?"
"From your visits."