"I'm glad to know you, gentlemen! My mother-in-law's often talked about your kind attention to her abroad."
"Kind attention is no name for it," said Mrs. Bunker. "They gave me the best time I ever had. And now that I've caught them on American ground, I intend to repay it with interest."
"I assure you, Mrs. Bunker, you need feel no sense of obligation," said Lord Canning. "Your companionship was a source of unfailing pleasure."
"What do you think of this big town, Lord Canning?" said Mr. Stillwater, indicating his surroundings by a comprehensive wave of the hand.
"Extraordinary!" answered Lord Canning.
"How long are you going to be here?" inquired Mrs. Bunker of Lord Stafford, while her son-in-law was probing Lord Canning's recently acquired views of America.
"Oh, we're only birds of passage, Mrs. Bunker."
"So are we; but isn't it delightful to meet on the wing?"
"On the wing; ha, ha! Delightful, Mrs. Bunker! Delightful!"
"We start to-morrow for California," said Lord Canning.