And just then the violets came, addressed to me. Mother opened them

herself, her mouth set. "My love is like a white, white rose," she said.

"Barbara, do you know who sent these?"

"Yes, mother," I said meekly. This was quite true. I did.

I am indeed sorry to record that here my mother lost her temper, and

there was no end of a fuss. It ended by mother offering me a string of

seed pearls for Christmas, and my party dresses cut V front and back, if

I would, as she phrazed it, "put him out of my silly head."

"I shall have to write one letter, mother," I said, "to--to break things

off. I cannot tear myself out of another's Life without a word."

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She sniffed.

"Very well," she said. "One letter. I trust you to make it only one."

I come now to the next day. How true it is, that "Man's life is but a

jest, a dream, a shadow, bubble, air, a vapour at the best!"

I spent the morning with mother at the dressmakers and she chose two

perfectly spiffing things, one of white chiffon over silk, made modafied

Empire, with little bunches of roses here and there on it, and when she

and the dressmaker were hagling over the roses, I took the scizzors and

cut the neck of the lining two inches lower in front. The effect was

posatively impressive. The other was blue over orkid, a perfectly

passionate combination.

When we got home some of the girls had dropped in, and Carter Brooks

and Sis were having tea in the den. I am perfectly sure that Sis threw

a cigarette in the fire when I went in. When I think of my sitting here

alone, when I have done NOTHING, and Sis playing around and smoking

cigarettes, and nothing said, all for a difference of 20 months, it

makes me furious.

"Let's go in and play with the children, Leila," he said. "I'm feeling

young today."

Which was perfectly silly. He is not Methuzala. Although thinking

himself so, or almost.

Well, they went into the drawing room. Elaine Adams was there waiting

for me, and Betty Anderson and Jane Raleigh. And I hadn't been in the

room five minutes before I knew that they all knew. It turned out later

that Hannah was engaged to the Adams's butler, and she had told him,

and he had told Elaine's governess, who is still there and does the

ordering, and Elaine sends her stockings home for her to darn.




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