Publisher's Synopsis
"Egotism is certainly the first," said Lady Conybeare with admirable firmness; "and your inclination towards your neighbour is the second." Now, this was the sort of thing which Alice Haslemere liked; and she stopped abruptly in the middle of her rather languishing conversation with nobody in particular to ask for explanations. It sounded promising. "The first what, and the second what, Kit?" she inquired. "The first and the second lessons," said Lady Conybeare promptly. "The first and the second social virtues, if you are particular. I am going to set up a school for the propagation of social virtues, where I shall teach the upper classes to be charming. There shall be a special class for royalty." Lady Haslemere was not generally known as being particularly particular, but she took her stand on Kit's conditional, and defended it. "There is nothing like particularity-nothing," she said earnestly, with a sort of missionary zeal to disagree with somebody; "though some people try to get on without it."
