A Hilarious Snippet of Edith Wharton

I have been reading heaps of Short Stories by Edith Wharton lately. There are some very serious ones, a few ghost stories and some really lighthearted stories. The following excerpt is quite hilarious (in my opinion). "The Lunch Club" referred to is much like a book discussion group. It is full of high class ladies who are trying to keep up an appearance of intelligence. The whole story is really funny and I particularly liked this segment. I hope that you all enjoy it too!
It always flustered Mrs. Leveret to be late at the Lunch Club: she liked
to collect her thoughts and gather a hint, as the others assembled, of
the turn the conversation was likely to take. To-day, however, she felt
herself completely at a loss; and even the familiar contact of
Appropriate Allusions, which stuck into her as she sat down, failed to
give her any reassurance. It was an admirable little volume, compiled to
meet all the social emergencies; so that, whether on the occasion of
Anniversaries, joyful or melancholy (as the classification ran), of
Banquets, social or municipal, or of Baptisms, Church of England or
sectarian, its student need never be at a loss for a pertinent
reference. Mrs. Leveret, though she had for years devoutly conned its
pages, valued it, however, rather for its moral support than for its
practical services; for though in the privacy of her own room she
commanded an army of quotations, these invariably deserted her at the
critical moment, and the only line she retained -- Canst thou draw out
Leviathan with a hook? -- was one she had never yet found the occasion
to apply.
Edith Wharton - From the short story "Xingu"

If you are interested in reading the whole story here is a link where you can: http://www.online-literature.com/wharton/2073/