Amiable Hostess. "What! must you go already? Really, Professor, it's too bad of this sweet young wife of yours to carry you off so early! She always does!"
Professor. "No, no, not always, Mrs. Bright. At most houses I positively have to drag her away!"
"Truths that might have been left unspoken":
Hostess. "What? haven't you brought your sisters, Mr. Jones?"
Mr. Jones. "No, they couldn't come, Mrs. Smith. The fact is, they're saving themselves for Mrs. Brown's Dance to-morrow, you know!" (January 9, 1886).
Under the heading "Feline Amenities":
Fair Hostess (to Mrs. Masham, who is looking her very best). "How-dy-do, dear? I hope you're not so tired as you look!"
Sympathetic Lady Guest. "Don't be unhappy about the rain, dear Mrs. Bounderson—it will soon be over, and your garden will be lovelier than ever."
Little Mrs. Goldmore Bounderson (who is giving her first Garden Party). "Yes; but I'm afraid it will keep my most desirable guests from coming!"
This last duologue is pure du Maurier. It is subtle.
"Feline Amenities" again:
"How kind of you to call—I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"
"Oh, don't mention it.—I've not been at all bored! I've been trying to imagine what I should do to make this room look comfortable if it were mine!" (November 22, 1892).
The "Things one would rather have expressed otherwise" is a good series too: