But if
I had the good luck to stumble upon her, I would certainly not be
shocked."
"And what, may I ask, would you do?"
"My feelings towards the spectacle would depend upon the momentary
state of my mind. I might, for example, be in a frolicsome Elizabethan
mood. In that case I would appreciate the humour of the situation. If
only half of what I hear is true, she must be extremely funny at such
moments. I would probably laugh myself into an apoplexy. I wish the
English still possessed a shred of the old sense of humour which
Puritanism, and dyspepsia, and newspaper reading, and tea-drinking have
nearly extinguished. It ought to be revived afresh. Nothing like a good
drunkard for that purpose. As a laughter-provoking device it is cheaper
and more effective than any pantomime yet invented; and none the worse,
surely, for being a little old-fashioned?"
"I must say, Mr. Keith, I don't think God created anybody to be laughed
at."
"Maybe he didn't. But a fellow can't help laughing, all the same.
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