"Uncle Josiah? I have not seen him for a month."
"There is a joss in the corner like him, Vicomte," said Miss Wynne. "If you look at it, you will need no presentation. I pray you to avoid the temptation of a look." Of course both young persons regarded, as she meant they should, the china god on his ebony stand.
"A reincarnation of the bulldog," remarked Gainor, well pleased with her phrase.
"If," said Margaret to the young man, "thou dost take my aunt or Uncle Josiah seriously, it will be what they never do one another. They fight, but never quarrel. My mother thinks this is because then they would stay apart and have no more the luxury of fighting again, a thing they do love."
"Are you sure that is thy mother's wisdom, Margaret?" said Gainor. "It is not like her."
"If I said it was mine, thou wouldst box my ears."
"Did ever one hear the like?"
The young girl occasionally ventured, when with aunt or uncle, upon these contributions of observation which now and then startle those who, seeing little change from day to day, are surprised by the sudden fruitage of developmental growth.
"I shall profit by Miss Swanwick's warning," said De Courval.