A maid handed round the egg-shell china--if only they had given us mugs--and as she was putting down Jock's cup he turned round suddenly and his elbow simply shot it out of her hand, and sent it flying across the table.

As it went it spattered everything with weak tea and then smashed itself against one of the candlesticks.
"I wished at that moment that the world would come to an end.

There seemed no other way of clearing up the mess.

I was so ashamed, and so sorry for my poor Jock, I couldn't lift my eyes, but Mr.Jowett rose to the occasion and earned my affection and unending gratitude.

He pretended to find it a very funny episode, and made so many jokes about it that stiffness vanished from the party, and we all became riotously happy.