The bland but inexorable regard of his inquisitor had subdued him beyond retort.
"I might, again, call your attention to this item." And she did, reading with well-trained inflection:-- "'Kye Mayabb from south of town and Sym Pleydell, who rents the Clemison farm, met up in front of Barney Skeyhan's place last Saturday afternoon and started to settle an old grudge, while their respective better halves looked on from across the street.

Kye had Sym down and was doing some good work with his right, when his wife called to him, "Now, Kye Mayabb, you come right away from there before you get into trouble." Whereupon the valiant better half of him who was being beaten to death called out cheerily, "Don't let him scare you, Sym!" The boys made it up afterward, but our little street was quite lively for a time.' "Now as to that," went on Mrs.Potts, affecting to deliberate, "could we not better have described that as 'a disgraceful street brawl'?
And yet I find no word of deprecation.

It is told, indeed, with a regrettable flippancy.

Flippancy, I may note again, mars the following item: 'They tell a good story of old Sarsius Lambert over at Bethel.

His wife was drowned a couple of weeks ago, and Link Talbot went to break the news to the old man.