61

"Let me just say…if you stroll faster than most sheep-dogs run, you might be from Hondelet," you begin.

"If your idea of an elegant event is dressing up the rats in wigs and hose, you might be from Hondelet.

"If you'd be just as happy apprenticing to be a locksmith or a cutpurse, you might be from Hondelet."

You hit a fine cadence in your delivery that makes each quip build on the one that follows. By the time you've rattled off a dozen or so, with no signs of stopping, the assembled quartet gesture for you to stop with tears in their eyes, practically begging for mercy. You might be on to something with that bit, you think with satisfaction.

Onward