"Well, I just know her."
"She is a most earnest, energetic woman, though we are not quite of one mind on all subjects. She wants to secure Miss Liddell's assistance in getting up a bazar for the Stray Children's Home. I shall bring her to call on you."
"Don't!"—very emphatically. "I know more than enough people already, and I don't want any well-dressed beggars added to the number."
"Well, I will not interfere; but that is of little consequence. If Mrs. Needham wants to come, she'll come."
"I hate these fussy subscription-hunting women!" cried Miss Payne.
"She does not hunt for subscriptions, nor does she take any special interest in religious matters, but she approves of this particular charity. She is an immensely busy woman, and writes in I don't know now many newspapers."
"Newspapers! And are our opinions made up for us by rambling hussies of that description?"
Bertie burst out laughing. "If Mrs. Needham heard you!" he exclaimed. "She considers herself 'the glass of fashion and the mould of form,' the most successful and important woman in the world—the English world."
Miss Payne's only reply was a contemptuous upward toss of the head. "If you will be at Euston Square on Saturday to meet the five-fifty train from Monckton," she resumed, "I should be obliged to you—Miss Liddell travels alone—and you can dine with us if you like after, unless you are going to preach the gospel somewhere."
"Thank you. Why do you object to my preaching?"