d'you 'ear, you stop it."

She turned towards us on the steps, and, taking us all into her
confidence, added: "'E's a nice thing to 'ave for a bruvver, anyway."

Then she rejoined Malim, amid peals of laughter from both armies. It
was a Homeric incident.

Only a half-hearted attempt was made to renew the attack. And when the
door of the Hummums at last opened, Malim observed to Julian and me, as
we squashed our way in, that if a man's wife's relations were always as
opportune as Kit's, the greatest objection to them would be removed.




CHAPTER 8

I MEET THE REV. JOHN HATTON
_(James Orlebar Cloyster's narrative continued)_


I saw a great deal of Malim after that. He and Julian became my two
chief mainstays when I felt in need of society. Malim was a man of
delicate literary skill, a genuine lover of books, a severe critic of
modern fiction. Our tastes were in the main identical, though it was
always a blow to me that he could see nothing humorous in Mr. George
Ade, whose Fables I knew nearly by heart. The more robust type of
humour left him cold.