The bare thought of having a pauper in her billowy beds, whose snowy whiteness was frightful to any ordinary mortal, the bare thought of the contagion of the poor-house taking possession of one of her beds, smothered her.
"And then you know sore eyes are very catching." Ralph boiled a little.

"Aunt Matilda, do you think Dorcas was afraid of sore eyes ?" It was a center shot, and the lawyer-uncle, lawyerlike, enjoyed a good hit.

And he enjoyed a good hit at his wife best of all, for he never ventured on one himself.

But Aunt Matilda felt that a direct reply was impossible.

She was not a lawyer but a woman, and so dodged the question by making a counter-charge.
"It seems to me, Ralph, that you have picked up some very low associates.