Min. Oh, you mustn’t crush me, Cheviot, you’ll spoil my dress. How do you like it?
Ch. It’s lovely. It’s a beautiful material.
Min. Yes; dear papa’s been going it.
Ch. Oh, but you’re indebted to me for that beautiful dress.
Min. To you! Oh, thank you—thank you!
Ch. Yes. I said to your papa, “Now do for once let the girl have a nice dress; be liberal; buy the very best that money will procure, you’ll never miss it.” So, thanks to me, he bought you a beauty. Seventeen and six a yard if it’s a penny. Dear me! To think that in half-an-hour this magnificent dress will be my property!
Min. Yes. Dear papa said that as you had offered to give the breakfast at your house, he would give me the best dress that money could procure.
Ch. Yes, I did offer to provide the breakfast in a reckless moment; that’s so like me. It was a rash offer, but I’ve made it, and I’ve stuck to it. Oh, then, there’s the cake.
Min. Oh, tell me all about the cake.
Ch. It’s a very pretty cake. Very little cake is eaten at a wedding breakfast, so I’ve ordered what’s known in the trade as the three-quarter article.