He spoke of the picnic, but she rather sharply remarked that it was so long ago that she had forgotten all about it.

It did seem very long ago to her, but to him it was very fresh.

This cool ignoring of all that had happened that day in modifying their relations at one blow knocked the bottom out of all his thinking for the past week, and left him, as it were, all in the air.

While he felt that the moment was not propitious for pursuing that topic, he could not for the moment turn his mind to anything else, and, as for Madeline, it appeared to be a matter of entire indifference to her whether anything further was said on any subject.

Finally, he remarked, with an effort to which the result may appear disproportionate-- "Mr.Taylor has been making quite extensive alterations on his house, hasn't he ?" "I should think you ought to know, if any one.