ten minutes to ten
sends his love ; wish you could be with us '' ; an absurd string of beads from Port Saïd and a box of Syrian sweets ; a Hindu puzzle guaranteed to amuse victims of the grippe , and gold-fabric slippers of China ; with long letters nonchalantly relating encounters with outlaws and wrecks and new varieties of disease . He called on her before her nose had quite lost the grippe or her temper the badness . Phil Dunleavy was there , lofty and cultured in evening clothes , apparently not eager to go . He stayed till ten minutes to ten , and , by his manner of cold surprise when Carl tried to influence the conversation , was able to keep it to the Kreisler violin recitals , the architecture of St. John the Divine 's , and Whitney 's polo , while Carl tried not to look sulky , and manoeuvered to get out the excellent things he was prepared to say on other topics ; not unlike the small boy who wants to interrupt whist-players and tell them about his new skates . When Phil was gone Ruth sighed and said , belligerently : `` Poor Phil , he has to work so hard , and all the people at his office , even the firm , are just as common as they can be ; common as the children at my beastly old settlement-house . '' `` What do you mean by ` common ' ? '' bristled Carl .