"That's what I thought! Loose-built for a racer, though."
"And what a fool riding him--the man has no seat!"
"Oh, absolutely not! Probably a groom, but it's a shame to allow it!"
"Groom, of course. But you'll never see a groom riding a horse of mine that way!"
"Rather NOT!"
And, an ordinary rider, on a stable hack, having by this time passed from view, the subject, would be changed.
Or perhaps some social offense would absorb everybody's attention for the better part of half-an-hour.
"Look, Emily," their hostess would say, during a call, "isn't this rich! The Bridges have had their crest put on their mourning-stationery! Don't you LOVE it! Mamma says that the girls must have done it; the old lady MUST know better! Execrable bad taste, I call it."
"Oh, ISN'T that awful!" Emily would inspect the submitted letter with deep amusement.
"Oh, Mary, let's see it--I don't believe it!" somebody else would exclaim.