chie? I have an idea he is a
good-natured, good for nothing, shiftless fellow, who never earned a
penny in his life, and who gets his living from any one who will give it
to him."

She spoke with a great asperity of manner, and then waited for
Geraldine, who replied:

"You have stated the case in much stronger language than I should have
done, but in the main I believe you are right. Mr. Archibald McPherson
is one whom you could not possibly mistake for other than a gentleman.
He is courteous, and kind, and agreeable, but very indolent, I should
say, for he never stands when he can sit, and never sits when he can
recline; indeed, his position is always a lounging one, and he impressed
me as if he were afraid of falling to pieces if he exerted himself."

"Just so, that is what I thought," Miss Betsey said, emphatically. "He
takes it from his father, rather than his mother. She, I believe, had
some energy and snap She was a chorus singer in some opera, and I did
not like the match, though I now believe she was too good for Hugh. And
now for Archie's wife, Daisy they call her. What of her?"

Mrs. Jerrold evidently had no scruples about freeing her mind with
regard to Daisy McPherson, and she answered, promptly:

"I did not like her at all, neither did Lady Jane, and I tried my best
to keep aloof from her, but could not; she is pushing and aggressive and
sweetly unconscious that she is not wanted. And yet she is exceedingly
pretty, with that innocent kind of face and childish, appealing way
which women detest, but which takes with the men," and Mrs. Geraldine
glanced sharply at her husband, who was just then very busy with his
pudding, and pretended not to hear her, while she went on: "She has some
accomplishments, speaks French and German, I believe, perfectly, sings
simple ballads tolerably well, but rolls her eyes frightfully, and is so
conscious of herself that she disgusts you. I should call her a regular
Becky Sharp, always managing to get the best of everything, and, as she
told me herself, always having on her list two or three invitations for
as many weeks, to as many different places."

"But how does she do it?" Miss Betsey asked, and Mrs. Jerrold replied:

"I hardly know, nor do the ladies themselves. Sometimes, as in the case
of Mrs. Smithers, the invitation is genuine and sincere, but oftener it
is a mere form at which Daisy jumps at once, thanking the lady sweetly,
and either asking her to fix a time, o