“And the nine hundred and ninety-nine have the best of it,” said Miss Dunstable. “What pleasure can one have in a ghost after one has seen the phosphorus rubbed on?”
“Quite true, my dear lady. ‘If ignorance be bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.’ It all lies in the ‘if.’”
Then Miss Dunstable began to sing:—
“‘What tho’ I trace each herb and flower
That sips the morning dew—’
—you know the rest, my lord.”
Lord Boanerges did know almost everything, but he did not know that; and so Miss Dunstable went on:—
“‘Did I not own Jehovah’s power
How vain were all I know.’”