'A garland of imperishable roses,' said Mr. Wardroper. 'I should be more than happy.'
'Nonsense, Mr. Wardroper—pot-luck, remember. Upon my honour, I believe there are but scraps in the house, and I expect only rissolles or cottage pie.'
'Mamma, you know that you ordered a head and shoulders of salmon, and that Mrs. Jose has brought us two beautiful ducks.'
'Prodigious! I had forgotten.'
'Really,' said the young man, 'what is on the table will be immaterial to me in such society, where eye and ear are in a thrill of ecstasy.'
He took off his hat and bowed round.
'Oh, Mr. Wardroper, excuse me, what an elegant new ring you are wearing!' said the widow. 'How did you come by it? If not asking impudent questions, is it a present or a purchase?'
'If the ring meet with your approval, that is its highest value. It is actually my father's signet-ring. His hands have become so crippled with rheumatism, and the joints of the fingers so swollen, that he is no longer able to wear it, so he has transferred it to me. It is an heirloom.'
The young man removed a fine engraved cornelian, set in gold, and handed it to Mrs. Tomkin-Jones.
'Your arms, I presume?' she said, looking at it.