"There＇s one thing very clear in it," said the old man; "she has given the hotel-clerk a dressing."
"I＇m not sure even of that, since he has driven her from the field. We thought at first that the sister mentioned might be the sister of the clerk; but the subsequent mention of a niece seems to prove that the allusion is to one of my aunts. Then there was a question as to whose the two other sisters were;they are probably two of my late aunt＇s daughters.But who＇s ＇quite independent,＇ and in what sense is the term used?—that point＇s not yet settled. Does the expression apply more particularly to the young lady my mother has adopted, or does it characterise her sisters equally?—and is it used in a moral or in a financial sense? Does it mean that they＇ve been left well off, or that they wish to be under no obligations?or does it simply mean that they＇re fond of their own way?"