"I doubt if he would appreciate the kindness which doomed him to poverty," smiled Hammond.
"But perhaps he would not only dream then of something great: he might do it," said Sissy. "That is, do you think he could really do anything great?"
"I don't know, I'm sure. Talent looks very big in a small room."
"Is he the only one?" Mrs. Middleton inquired of Percival.
"The only son: there is a daughter."
"A daughter! Is she as wonderful as her brother?" Sissy exclaimed. "Have you got her photograph? What is she like?"
"I will tell you," said Godfrey Hammond, speaking very deliberately in his high-pitched voice. "Miss Lisle is a very charming young lady. She is like her brother, but she is not so good-looking, and she is decidedly more masculine."
"Oh!" in a disdainful tone. Then, turning swiftly round: "But what do you say, Percival?"
He answered her, but he looked at Godfrey: "Hardly a fair description—not so much a portrait as a caricature. Miss Lisle's features are not so perfect as her brother's: she would not attract the universal admiration which he does. But I think there could be no question that hers is the nobler face."
"She is fortunate in her champion," said Hammond. "It's all right, no doubt, and the fault is mine. I may not have so keen an eye for latent nobility."