Whether by oversight, or intentional eccentricity, the hostess had not introduced him and Lashmar to each other; they exchanged casual glances, but no remark.

Dyce talked of what he had seen at the mill; he used a large, free-flowing mode of speech, which seemed to please Lady Ogram, for she never interrupted him and had an unusual air of attentiveness.

Presently the talk moved towards politics, and Dyce found a better opportunity of eloquence.
"For some thirty years," he began, with an air of reminiscence, "we have been busy with questions of physical health.

We have been looking after our bodies and our dwellings.

Drainage has been a word to conjure with, and athletics have become a religion--the only one existing for multitudes among us.