“It's like the finishing pats a mother gives the child's hair after she's got it combed and brushed, I reckon.”
Henry submits this explanation after restoring the picture-frame using a ‘Japanese Fabric’ for it to be alluring. After the reorganization, he pats the frame. The patting is a concluding touch that he regards to be one of his wife’s laws. Therefore, validating the law pays homage to his wife.
“she knows nearly everything herself, and can talk, oh, like a bird”
Henry likens his wife’s assertiveness to that of a bird. The wife is social; so, she participates in exchanges with people generously. The portrayal stimuluses the narrator to wait so that he can meet and intermingle with her. Henry’s insistence informs the narrator that Henry values his wife immeasurably.
