“It all went off beautiful, my dear,” Mrs Scatchard remarked to Mavis.

“I’m glad,” said Mavis.

“We left him safe at the palace, and as there’s nothing in the papers about anything going wrong, it must be all right.”

“Of course,” Mavis assented.

“We know Mr Scatchard has his weaknesses; but then, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be the musical artiste he is,” declared his wife, at which Mavis, who was just then drinking tea, nearly swallowed it the wrong way.

Mr Napper soon dropped in, to be closely followed by a Mr Webb and a Miss Jennings, who had never met the solicitor’s clerk before.  Mr Webb and Miss Jennings were engaged to be married.  As if to proclaim their unalterable affection to the world, they sat side by side with their arms about each other.

The presence of strangers moved Mr Napper to talk his farrago of philosophical nonsense.  It did not take long for Mavis to see that Miss Jennings was much impressed by the flow of many-syllabled words which issued, without ceasing, from the lawyer’s clerk’s lips.  The admiration expressed in the girl’s eyes incited Mr Napper to further efforts.

He presently remarked to Miss Jennings: 

“I can tell your character in two ticks.”

Miss Jennings, who had been wholly resigned to the fact of her insignificance, began to take herself with becoming seriousness.

“How?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.

“By your face or by your ’ead.”

“Do tell me,” she pleaded.

“’Ead or face?”

“Try the head,” she said, as she sought to free herself from her lover’s entangling embrace.  But Mr Webb would not let her go; he grasped her firmly by the waist, and, despite her entreaties, would not relax his hold.  Mr Napper made as if he would approach Miss Jennings, but was restrained by Miss Meakin, who stamped angrily on his corns, and, when he danced with pain, stared menacingly at him.  When he recovered, Miss Jennings begged him to tell her character by her face.

Mr Napper, looking out of the corner of one eye at Miss Meakin, stared attentively at Miss Jennings, who was now fully conscious of the attention she was attracting.  Mr Webb waited in suspense, with his eye on Mr Napper’s face.

“You’re very fond of draughts,” said the latter presently.

“Right!” cried Miss Jennings, as she smiled triumph antly at her lover.

“But I shouldn’t say you was much good at ‘huffing,’” he continued.

“Right again!” smiled the delighted Miss Jennings.

“I should say your ’eart governed your ’ead,” came next.

“Quite right!” cried Miss Jennings, who was now quite perked up.

“You’re very fond of admiration,” exclaimed Mr Napper, after a further pause.

“She isn’t; she isn’t,” cried Mr Webb, as his hold tightened on the loved one’s form.

More was said by Mr Napper in the same strain, which greatly increased not only Miss Jennings’s sense of self-importance, but her interest in Mr Napper.