Hugh lit his pipe in silence, and sat down opposite to her.

Presently the newspaper dropped, and Sibyl's eyes were turned upon her husband with a smile.
'Well ?' 'Well ?' They smiled at each other amiably.
'What do you suggest, Birdie ?' The fondling name was not very appropriate, and had not been used of late; Carnaby hit upon it in the honeymoon days, when he said that his wife was like some little lovely bird, which he, great coarse fellow, had captured and almost feared to touch lest he should hurt it.

Hugh had not much originality of thought, and less of expression.
'There are places, you know, where one lives very comfortably on very little,' said Sibyl.
'Yes; but it leads to nothing.' 'What _would_ lead to anything ?' 'Well, you see, I have capital, and some use ought to be made of it.
Everybody nowadays goes in for some kind of business.' She listened with interest, smiling, meditative.
'And a great many people come out of it--wishing they had done so before.' 'True,' said Carnaby; 'there's the difficulty.

I had a letter from Dando this morning.

He has got somebody to believe in his new smelting process--somebody in the City; talks of going out to Queensland shortly.