"I didn't come here to discuss abstract things with you, Captain Parsons."
"Why not? The abstract is so much more entertaining than the concrete. It affords opportunities for generalisation, which is the salt of conversation."
"I'm a very busy woman," retorted Mrs. Jackson sharply, thinking that James was not treating her with proper seriousness. He was not so easy to tackle as she had imagined.
"It's very good of you, then, to spare time to come and have a little chat with me," said James.
"I did not come for that purpose, Captain Parsons."
"Oh, I forgot—home-truths, wasn't it? I was thinking of Shakespeare and the musical glasses!"
"Would you kindly remember that I am a clergyman's wife, Captain Parsons? I daresay you are not used to the society of such."
"Pardon me, I even know an archdeacon quite well. He has a great gift of humour; a man wants it when he wears a silk apron."
"Captain Parsons," said Mrs. Jackson, sternly, "there are some things over which it is unbecoming to jest. I wish to be as gentle as possible with you, but I may remind you that flippancy is not the best course for you to pursue."
James looked at her with a good-tempered stare.