"But you wouldn't like not to be able to play," said her aunt. "Mamma doesn't play, and you don't play; and I don't see what's the use of it. It won't make anybody like music to hear four pianos all going at the same time, and all of them out of tune." "You must not tell them in Gower Street, Mr Rubb, that Susanna talks like that," said Miss Mackenzie. "Yes, you may, Mr Rubb. But you must tell them at the same time that I am quite happy, and that Aunt Margaret is the dearest woman in the world." "I'll be sure to tell them that," said Mr Rubb. Then he went away, pressing Miss Mackenzie's hand warmly as he took his leave; and as soon as he was gone, his character was of course discussed. "He's quite a different man, aunt, from what I thought; and he's not at all like old Mr Rubb. Old Mr Rubb, when he comes to drink tea in Gower Street, puts his handkerchief over his knees to catch the crumbs." "There's no great harm in that, Susanna." "I don't suppose there's any harm in it. It's not wicked. It's not wicked to eat gravy with your knife." "And does old Mr Rubb do that?" "Always. We used to laugh at him, because he is so clever at it. He never spills any; and his knife seems to be quite as good as a spoon. But this Mr Rubb doesn't do things of that sort." "He's younger, my dear." "But being younger doesn't make people more ladylike of itself." "I did not know that Mr Rubb was exactly ladylike." "That's taking me up unfairly; isn't it, aunt? You know what I meant; and only fancy that the man should go out and buy me a work-box. That's more than old Mr Rubb ever did for any of us, since the first day he knew us. And, then, didn't you think that young Mr Rubb is a handsome man, aunt?" "He's all very well, my dear." "Oh; I think he is downright handsome; I do, indeed. Miss Dumpus,--that's Mrs Crammer's sister,--told us the other day, that I was wrong to talk about a man being handsome; but that must be nonsense, aunt?" "I don't see that at all, my dear. If she told you so, you ought to believe that it is not nonsense." "Come, aunt; you don't mean to tell me that you would believe all that Miss Dumpus says. Miss Dumpus says that girls should never laugh above their breath when they are more than fourteen years old. How can you make a change in your laughing just when you come to be fourteen? And why shouldn't you say a man's handsome, if he is handsome?" "You'd better go to bed, Susanna." "That won't make Mr Rubb ugly. I wish you had asked him to come and dine here on Sunday, so that we might have seen whether he eats his gravy with his knife. I looked very hard to see whether he'd catch his crumbs in his handkerchief." Then Susanna went to her bed, and Miss Mackenzie was left alone to think over the perfections and imperfections of Mr Samuel Rubb, junior.