"Preston is under some obligation to the others, I suppose, because he
is manager. But how does Alexander Fish abuse his privileges?"

"Papa," said Daisy unwillingly,--"his face is turned away from the other
people, so that nobody can see it but me;--and he winks."

Daisy brought out the last word with an accession of gravity impossible
fully to describe. Mr. Randolph's mouth twitched; he bent his head down
upon Daisy's, that she might not see it.

"That is very rude of him, Daisy," he said.

"Papa," said Daisy, who did not relish the subject, and chose a
departure,--"what is a _Puritan_?"

"A Puritan!"

"Yes, papa. What is it? Priscilla was a Puritan."

"That was a name given to a class of people in England a long time ago."

"What did it mean?"

"They were a stiff set of people, Daisy; good enough people in their
way, no doubt, but very absurd in it also."

"What did they do, papa?"

"Concluded to do without whatever is graceful and beautiful and
pleasant, in dress or arts or manners. The more disagreeable they made