Page:Anthony Hope - The Dolly Dialogues.djvu/88

 husband, and takes the utmost pains to conceal from her mother-in-law anything calculated to distress that lady. 'I suppose you mean that to be nice?' said Dolly.

'Of course,' I answered; and I proceeded. She never gives pain to anyone, except with the object of giving pleasure to somebody else, and her kindness is no less widely diffused than it is hearty and sincere.

'That really is nice,' said Dolly, smiling.

'Thank you,' said I, smiling also. She is very charitable: she takes a pleasure in encouraging the shy and bashful

'How do you know that?' asked Dolly.

While, I pursued, suffering without impatience a considerable amount of self-assurance.

'You can't know whether I'm patient or not,' remarked Dolly. 'I'm polite.'

She thinks, I read on, no evil of the most attractive of women and has a smile for the most unattractive of men.

'You put that very nicely,' said Dolly, nodding.

The former may constantly be seen in her house—and the latter at least as often as many people would think desirable. (Here for some reason Dolly laughed.) Her intellectual powers are not despicable.

'Thank you, Mr. Carter.'

She can say what she means on the occasions on which she wishes to do so, and she is, at