"Oh, the GLUE factory again!" she cried.

"How silly!" And she renewed her laughter.
So often do the great projects of parents appear ignominious to their children.

Mrs.Adams's conception of a glue factory as a fairy godmother of this family was an absurd old story which Alice had never taken seriously.

She remembered that when she was about fifteen her mother began now and then to say something to Adams about a "glue factory," rather timidly, and as a vague suggestion, but never without irritating him.

Then, for years, the preposterous subject had not been mentioned; possibly because of some explosion on the part of Adams, when his daughter had not been present.