"You hold it like a New York lady."
"How should I hold it?"
"Like a French queen, whose Austrian fingers may hold anything any way."
This was Hamilton's dictum.
"But how do I hold it?"
"You have picked it up in the middle, and shew all the flower work in the corners."
"You hold it too daintily, Frederica," said Theresa. "You must grasp it—grasp it loosely—but as the distinguished critic who has last spoken has observed."
Frederica dropped her handkerchief, and picked it up again exactly as she had it before.
"Try again—" said Mrs. Sandford. "Grasp it, as Theresa says. Never mind how you are taking it up."
"Must I throw it down again?"
"If you please."