Page:The Sea Lady.djvu/78

 good society (which is as every one knows, even the best of it now, extremely mixed) to make too searching enquiries into the Sea Lady's status and way of life or precisely where she lived when she was at home, or whom she knew or didn't know. Though in their several ways they wanted to know badly enough. The Sea Lady volunteered no information, contenting herself with an entertaining superficiality of touch and go, in the most ladylike way. She professed herself greatly delighted with the sensation of being in air and superficially quite dry, and was particularly charmed with tea.

"And don't you have tea?" cried Miss Glendower, startled.

"How can we?"

"But do you really mean?"

"I've never tasted tea before. How do you think we can boil a kettle?"

"What a strange—what a wonderful