Launa frowned at him.
“Yes,” she replied; “he is in Norway. I heard from him to-day.”
“I am sure Mrs. Carden will agree with me,” said Mr. George agreeably, “about proverbs. Precept is better than example. Miss Launa, your father plainly thinks so. He is away enjoying himself. He sets you a bad example, but his precepts are excellent. My edition of the proverbs is so convincing.”
Mrs. Carden gazed at him, her cake in her hand half-way to her mouth, which was open.
“Is it really precept is better than example? Did Solomon say it? I only know his proverbs. I brought my son up on them.”
She was rather at sea as to Mr. George’s position, he seemed so self-assured and so moral. Could he be the head of a new sect, or the editor of a paper?
“Solomon says, ‘The lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb,’ ” said Mrs. Carden. “He is a very wise man.”
“That is not a mere precept,” said Mr. Wainbridge softly. “He said it from experience.”
“Solomon’s example was variable,” said George.
“But he was very wise,” observed Mrs. Carden.