It's a game now—fair game—and you're glad you came to the tea!
"Healthy, you say? How nice. It's perfectly lovely to be healthy. Do you live in the country?"
"Not exactly the country. We live in Madison Square, under the trees."
"Oh, how perfectly idyllic!"
"Yes; we have all the advantages of the city and the delights of the country. I got a permit from the Board of Education to put up a little bungalow alongside the Worth monument, and the children bathe in the fountain every morning when the weather is cold enough."
"Oh, how charming! How many children have you?"
"Only seven. The oldest is five and the youngest is six."
"Just the interesting age. Don't you think children fascinating?"
Again the roaming eye and the vivacious smile.
"Yes, indeed. My oldest—he's fourteen and quite original. He says that when he grows up he doesn't know what he'll be."