Well,now,youjusttalkbusinesswithhimattheoffice。\"
TheonlysocialattentionwhichLaphamsucceededinofferingCoreywastotakehiminhisbuggy,nowandthen,foraspinoutovertheMill—dam。Hekeptthemareintown,andonapleasantafternoonhelikedtoknockoffearly,ashephrasedit,andletthemareoutalittle。
Coreyunderstoodsomethingabouthorses,thoughinapassionlessway,andhewouldhavepreferredtotalkbusinesswhenobligedtotalkhorse。ButhedeferredtohisbusinesssuperiorwiththesenseofdisciplinewhichisinnateintheapparentlyinsubordinateAmericannature。
IfCoreycouldhardlyhavehelpedfeelingthesocialdifferencebetweenLaphamandhimself,inhispresencehesilencedhistraditions,andshowedhimalltherespectthathecouldhaveexactedfromanyofhisclerks。
Hetalkedhorsewithhim,andwhentheColonelwishedhetalkedhouse。BesideshimselfandhispaintLaphamhadnotmanyothertopics;andifhehadachoicebetweenthemareandtheedificeonthewatersideofBeaconStreet,itwasjustnowthelatter。Sometimes,indrivinginorout,hestoppedatthehouse,andmadeCoreyhisguestthere,ifhemightnotatNantasket;andonedayithappenedthattheyoungmanmetIrenethereagain。Shehadcomeupwithhermotheralone,andtheywereinthehouse,interviewingthecarpenterasbefore,whentheColoneljumpedoutofhisbuggyandcastanchoratthepavement。
Moreexactly,Mrs。Laphamwasinterviewingthecarpenter,andIrenewassittinginthebow—windowonatrestle,andlookingoutatthedriving。Shesawhimcomeupwithherfather,andbowedandblushed。Herfatherwentonup—stairstofindhermother,andCoreypulledupanothertrestlewhichhefoundinthebackpartoftheroom。
Thefirstflooringshadbeenlaidthroughoutthehouse,andthepartitionshadbeenlathedsothatonecouldrealisetheshapeoftheinterior。
\"Isupposeyouwillsitatthiswindowagooddeal,\"
saidtheyoungman。
\"Yes,Ithinkitwillbeverynice。There’ssomuchmoregoingonthanthereisintheSquare。\"
\"Itmustbeveryinterestingtoyoutoseethehousegrow。\"
\"Itis。Onlyitdoesn’tseemtogrowsofastasIexpected。\"
\"Why,I’mamazedattheprogressyourcarpenterhasmadeeverytimeIcome。\"
Thegirllookeddown,andthenliftinghereyesshesaid,withasortoftimorousappeal——
\"I’vebeenreadingthatbooksinceyouweredownatNantasket。\"
\"Book?\"repeatedCorey,whileshereddenedwithdisappointment。
\"Ohyes。Middlemarch。Didyoulikeit?\"
\"Ihaven’tgotthroughwithityet。Penhasfinishedit。\"
\"Whatdoesshethinkofit?\"
\"Oh,Ithinkshelikesitverywell。Ihaven’theardhertalkaboutitmuch。Doyoulikeit?\"
\"Yes;Ilikeditimmensely。Butit’sseveralyearssinceIreadit。\"
\"Ididn’tknowitwassoold。It’sjustgotintotheSeasideLibrary,\"sheurged,withalittlesenseofinjuryinhertone。
\"Oh,ithasn’tbeenoutsuchaverygreatwhile,\"
saidCoreypolitely。\"ItcamealittlebeforeDANIELDERONDA。\"
Thegirlwasagainsilent。Shefollowedthecurlofashavingonthefloorwiththepointofherparasol。
\"DoyoulikethatRosamondVincy?\"sheasked,withoutlookingup。
Coreysmiledinhiskindway。
\"Ididn’tsupposeshewasexpectedtohaveanyfriends。
Ican’tsayIlikedher。ButIdon’tthinkIdislikedhersomuchastheauthordoes。She’sprettyhardonhergood—looking\"——hewasgoingtosaygirls,butasifthatmighthavebeenratherpersonal,hesaid——\"people。\"
\"Yes,that’swhatPensays。Shesaysshedoesn’tgiveheranychancetobegood。ShesayssheshouldhavebeenjustasbadasRosamondifshehadbeeninherplace。\"
Theyoungmanlaughed。\"Yoursisterisverysatirical,isn’tshe?\"
\"Idon’tknow,\"saidIrene,stillintentupontheconvolutionsoftheshaving。\"Shekeepsuslaughing。
Papathinksthere’snobodythatcantalklikeher。\"
Shegavetheshavingalittletossfromher,andtooktheparasolupacrossherlap。TheunworldlinessoftheLaphamgirlsdidnotextendtotheirdress;
Irene’scostumewasverystylish,andshegovernedherheadandshouldersstylishly。\"Wearegoingtohavethebackroomupstairsforamusic—roomandlibrary,\"
shesaidabruptly。
\"Yes?\"returnedCorey。\"Ishouldthinkthatwouldbecharming。\"
\"Weexpectedtohavebook—cases,butthearchitectwantstobuildtheshelvesin。\"
ThefactseemedtobereferredtoCoreyforhiscomment。
\"Itseemstomethatwouldbethebestway。They’lllooklikepartoftheroomthen。Youcanmakethemlow,andhangyourpicturesabovethem。\"
\"Yes,that’swhathesaid。\"Thegirllookedoutofthewindowinadding,\"Ipresumewithnicebindingsitwilllookverywell。\"
\"Oh,nothingfurnishesaroomlikebooks。\"
\"No。Therewillhavetobeagoodmanyofthem。\"
\"Thatdependsuponthesizeofyourroomandthenumberofyourshelves。\"
\"Oh,ofcourse!Ipresume,\"saidIrene,thoughtfully,\"weshallhavetohaveGibbon。\"
\"Ifyouwanttoreadhim,\"saidCorey,withalaughofsympathyforanimaginablejoke。
\"Wehadagreatdealabouthimatschool。Ibelievewehadoneofhisbooks。Mine’slost,butPenwillremember。\"
Theyoungmanlookedather,andthensaid,seriously,\"You’llwantGreene,ofcourse,andMotley,andParkman。\"
\"Yes。Whatkindofwritersarethey?\"
\"They’rehistorianstoo。\"
\"Ohyes;Iremembernow。That’swhatGibbonwas。
IsitGibbonorGibbons?\"
Theyoungmandecidedthepointwithapparentlysuperfluousdelicacy。\"Gibbon,Ithink。\"
\"Thereusedtobesomanyofthem,\"saidIrenegaily。
\"Iusedtogetthemmixedupwitheachother,andI
couldn’ttellthemfromthepoets。Shouldyouwanttohavepoetry?\"
\"Yes;IsupposesomeeditionoftheEnglishpoets。\"
\"Wedon’tanyofuslikepoetry。Doyoulikeit?\"
\"I’mafraidIdon’tverymuch,\"Coreyowned。
\"But,ofcourse,therewasatimewhenTennysonwasagreatdealmoretomethanheisnow。\"
\"Wehadsomethingabouthimatschooltoo。IthinkIrememberthename。IthinkweoughttohaveALLtheAmericanpoets。\"
\"Well,notall。Fiveorsixofthebest:youwantLongfellowandBryantandWhittierandHolmesandEmersonandLowell。\"
Thegirllistenedattentively,asifmakingmentalnoteofthenames。
\"AndShakespeare,\"sheadded。\"Don’tyoulikeShakespeare’splays?\"
\"Ohyes,verymuch。\"
\"Iusedtobeperfectlycrazyabouthisplays。
Don’tyouthink’Hamlet’issplendid?WehadeversomuchaboutShakespeare。Weren’tyouperfectlyastonishedwhenyoufoundouthowmanyotherplaysofhistherewere?Ialwaysthoughttherewasnothingbut’Hamlet’
and’RomeoandJuliet’and’Macbeth’and’RichardIII。’
and’KingLear,’andthatonethatRobesonandCranehave——ohyes!’ComedyofErrors。’\"
\"Thosearetheonestheyusuallyplay,\"saidCorey。
\"IpresumeweshallhavetohaveScott’sworks,\"saidIrene,returningtothequestionofbooks。
\"Ohyes。\"
\"OneofthegirlsusedtothinkhewasGREAT。ShewasalwaystalkingaboutScott。\"Irenemadeaprettylittleamiablycontemptuousmouth。\"Heisn’tAmerican,though?\"
shesuggested。
\"No,\"saidCorey;\"he’sScotch,Ibelieve。\"
Irenepassedhergloveoverherforehead。\"IalwaysgethimmixedupwithCooper。Well,papahasgottogetthem。
Ifwehavealibrary,wehavegottohavebooksinit。
Pensaysit’sperfectlyridiculoushavingone。Butpapathinkswhateverthearchitectsaysisright。Hefoughthimhardenoughatfirst。Idon’tseehowanyonecankeepthepoetsandthehistoriansandnovelistsseparateintheirmind。Ofcoursepapawillbuythemifwesayso。
ButIdon’tseehowI’mevergoingtotellhimwhichones。\"
Thejoyouslightfadedoutofherfaceandleftitpensive。
\"Why,ifyoulike,\"saidtheyoungman,takingouthispencil,\"I’llputdownthenameswe’vebeentalkingabout。\"
Heclappedhimselfonhisbreastpocketstodetectsomelurkingscrapofpaper。
\"Willyou?\"shecrieddelightedly。\"Here!takeoneofmycards,\"
andshepulledouthercard—case。\"Thecarpenterwritesonathree—corneredblockandputsitintohispocket,andit’ssouncomfortablehecan’thelprememberingit。
Pensaysshe’sgoingtoadoptthethree—cornered—blockplanwithpapa。\"
\"Thankyou,\"saidCorey。\"IbelieveI’lluseyourcard。\"
Hecrossedovertoher,andafteramomentsatdownonthetrestlebesideher。Shelookedoverthecardashewrote。
\"Thosearetheoneswementioned,butperhapsI’dbetteraddafewothers。\"
\"Oh,thankyou,\"shesaid,whenhehadwrittenthecardfullonbothsides。\"Hehasgottogettheminthenicestbinding,too。Ishalltellhimabouttheirhelpingtofurnishtheroom,andthenhecan’tobject。\"
Sheremainedwiththecard,lookingatitratherwistfully。
PerhapsCoreydivinedhertroubleofmind。\"Ifhewilltakethattoanybookseller,andtellhimwhatbindingshewants,hewillfilltheorderforhim。\"jdh—
spell—checkedtothispoint\"Oh,thankyouverymuch,\"
shesaid,andputthecardbackintohercard—casewithgreatapparentrelief。Thensheturnedherlovelyfacetowardtheyoungman,beamingwiththetriumphawomanfeelsinanybitofsuccessfulmanoeuvring,andbegantotalkwithrecoveredgaietyofotherthings,asif,havinggotridofamatterannoyingoutofallproportiontoitsimportance,shewasnowgoingtoindemnifyherself。
Coreydidnotreturntohisowntrestle。Shefoundanothershavingwithinreachofherparasol,andbeganpokingthatwithit,andtryingtofollowitthroughitsfolds。
Coreywatchedherawhile。
\"Youseemtohaveagreatpassionforplayingwithshavings,\"
hesaid。\"Isitanewone?\"
\"Newwhat?\"
\"Passion。\"
\"Idon’tknow,\"shesaid,droppinghereyelids,andkeepingonwithhereffort。Shelookedshylyaslantathim。
\"Perhapsyoudon’tapproveofplayingwithshavings?\"
\"Ohyes,Ido。Iadmireitverymuch。Butitseemsratherdifficult。I’veagreatambitiontoputmyfootontheshaving’stailandholditforyou。\"
\"Well,\"saidthegirl。
\"Thankyou,\"saidtheyoungman。Hedidso,andnowsheranherparasolpointeasilythroughit。Theylookedateachotherandlaughed。\"Thatwaswonderful。
Wouldyouliketotryanother?\"heasked。
\"No,Ithankyou,\"shereplied。\"Ithinkonewilldo。\"
Theybothlaughedagain,forwhateverreasonornoreason,andthentheyounggirlbecamesober。Toagirleverythingayoungmandoesisofsignificance;andifheholdsashavingdownwithhisfootwhileshepokesthroughitwithherparasol,shemustaskherselfwhathemeansbyit。
\"Theyseemtobehavingratheralonginterviewwiththecarpenterto—day,\"saidIrene,lookingvaguelytowardtheceiling。SheturnedwithpoliteceremonytoCorey。
\"I’mafraidyou’relettingthemkeepyou。Youmustn’t。\"
\"Ohno。You’relettingmestay,\"hereturned。
Shebridledandbitherlipforpleasure。\"Ipresumetheywillbedownbeforeagreatwhile。Don’tyoulikethesmellofthewoodandthemortar?It’ssofresh。\"
\"Yes,it’sdelicious。\"Hebentforwardandpickedupfromthefloortheshavingwithwhichtheyhadbeenplaying,andputittohisnose。\"It’slikeaflower。MayIofferittoyou?\"heasked,asifithadbeenone。
\"Oh,thankyou,thankyou!\"Shetookitfromhimandputitintoherbelt,andthentheybothlaughedoncemore。
Stepswerehearddescending。Whentheelderpeoplereachedthefloorwheretheyweresitting,Coreyroseandpresentlytookhisleave。
\"Whatmakesyousosolemn,’Rene?\"askedMrs。Lapham。
\"Solemn?\"echoedthegirl。\"I’mnotaBITsolemn。
WhatCANyoumean?\"
Coreydinedathomethatevening,andashesatlookingacrossthetableathisfather,hesaid,\"Iwonderwhattheaverageliteratureofnon—cultivatedpeopleis。\"
\"Ah,\"saidtheelder,\"Isuspecttheaverageisprettylowevenwithcultivatedpeople。Youdon’treadagreatmanybooksyourself,Tom。\"
\"No,Idon’t,\"theyoungmanconfessed。\"IreadmorebookswhenIwaswithStanton,lastwinter,thanIhadsinceIwasaboy。ButIreadthembecauseImust——therewasnothingelsetodo。Itwasn’tbecauseIwasfondofreading。
StillIthinkIreadwithsomesenseofliteratureandthedifferencebetweenauthors。Idon’tsupposethatpeoplegenerallydothat;Ihavemetpeoplewhohadreadbookswithouttroublingthemselvestofindouteventheauthor’sname,muchlesstryingtodecideuponhisquality。
Isupposethat’sthewaythevastmajorityofpeopleread。\"
\"Yes。Ifauthorswerenotalmostnecessarilyrecluses,andignorantoftheignoranceaboutthem,Idon’tseehowtheycouldendureit。Ofcoursetheyarefatedtobeoverwhelmedbyoblivionatlast,poorfellows;buttoseeitwelteringallroundthemwhiletheyareintheveryactofachievingimmortalitymustbetremendouslydiscouraging。
Idon’tsupposethatwewhohavethehabitofreading,andatleastanoddingacquaintancewithliterature,canimaginethebestialdarknessofthegreatmassofpeople——evenpeoplewhosehousesarerichandwhoselinenispurpleandfine。Butoccasionallywegetglimpsesofit。
IsupposeyoufoundthelatestpublicationslyingallaboutinLaphamcottagewhenyouweredownthere?\"
YoungCoreylaughed。\"Itwasn’texactlycumberedwiththem。\"
\"No?\"
\"Totellthetruth,Idon’tsupposetheyeverbuybooks。
Theyoungladiesgetnovelsthattheyheartalkedofoutofthecirculatinglibrary。\"
\"Hadtheyknowledgeenoughtobeashamedoftheirignorance?\"
\"Yes,incertainways——toacertaindegree。\"
\"It’sacuriousthing,thisthingwecallcivilisation,\"
saidtheeldermusingly。\"Wethinkitisanaffairofepochsandofnations。It’sreallyanaffairofindividuals。
Onebrotherwillbecivilisedandtheotherabarbarian。
I’veoccasionallymetyounggirlswhoweresobrutally,insolently,wilfullyindifferenttotheartswhichmakecivilisationthattheyoughttohavebeenclothedintheskinsofwildbeastsandgoneaboutbarefootwithclubsovertheirshoulders。Yettheywereofpoliteorigin,andtheirparentswereatleastrespectfulofthethingsthattheseyounganimalsdespised。\"
\"Idon’tthinkthatisexactlythecasewiththeLaphamfamily,\"saidtheson,smiling。\"Thefatherandmotherratherapologisedaboutnotgettingtimetoread,andtheyoungladiesbynomeansscornedit。\"
\"Theyarequiteadvanced!\"
\"TheyaregoingtohavealibraryintheirBeaconStreethouse。\"
\"Oh,poorthings!Howaretheyevergoingtogetthebookstogether?\"
\"Well,sir,\"saidtheson,colouringalittle,\"Ihavebeenindirectlyappliedtoforhelp。\"
\"You,Tom!\"Hisfatherdroppedbackinhischairandlaughed。
\"Irecommendedthestandardauthors,\"saidtheson。
\"Oh,IneversupposedyourPRUDENCEwouldbeatfault,Tom!\"
\"Butseriously,\"saidtheyoungman,generouslysmilinginsympathywithhisfather’senjoyment,\"they’renotunintelligentpeople。Theyareveryquick,andtheyareshrewdandsensible。\"
\"IhavenodoubtthatsomeoftheSiouxareso。Butthatisnotsayingthattheyarecivilised。Allcivilisationcomesthroughliteraturenow,especiallyinourcountry。
AGreekgothiscivilisationbytalkingandlooking,andinsomemeasureaParisianmaystilldoit。Butwe,wholiveremotefromhistoryandmonuments,wemustreadorwemustbarbarise。Onceweweresoftened,ifnotpolished,byreligion;butIsuspectthatthepulpitcountsformuchlessnowincivilising。\"
\"They’reenormousdevourersofnewspapers,andtheatre—goers;
andtheygoagreatdealtolectures。TheColonelprefersthemwiththestereopticon。\"
\"Theymightgetasomethinginthatway,\"saidtheelderthoughtfully。\"Yes,Isupposeonemusttakethosethingsintoaccount——especiallythenewspapersandthelectures。
Idoubtifthetheatreisafactorincivilisationamongus。
Idaresayitdoesn’tdepraveagreatdeal,butfromwhatI’veseenofitIshouldsaythatitwasintellectuallydegrading。
Perhapstheymightgetsomesortofliftfromit;
Idon’tknow。Tom!\"headded,afteramoment’sreflection。
\"IreallythinkIoughttoseethispatronofyours。
Don’tyouthinkitwouldberatherdecentinmetomakehisacquaintance?\"
\"Well,ifyouhavethefancy,sir,\"saidtheyoungman。
\"Butthere’snosortofobligation。ColonelLaphamwouldbethelastmanintheworldtowanttogiveourrelationanysortofsocialcharacter。Themeetingwillcomeaboutinthenaturalcourseofthings。\"
\"Ah,Ididn’tintendtoproposeanythingimmediate,\"
saidthefather。\"Onecan’tdoanythinginthesummer,andIshouldpreferyourmother’ssuperintendence。
Still,Ican’tridmyselfoftheideaofadinner。
Itappearstomethatthereoughttobeadinner。\"
\"Oh,praydon’tfeelthatthere’sanynecessity。\"
\"Well,\"saidtheelder,witheasyresignation,\"there’satleastnohurry。\"
\"ThereisonethingIdon’tlike,\"saidLapham,inthecourseofoneofthosetalkswhichcameupbetweenhiswifeandhimselfconcerningCorey,\"oratleastIdon’tunderstandit;andthat’sthewayhisfatherbehaves。Idon’twanttoforcemyselfonanyman;
butitseemstomeprettyqueerthewayheholdsoff。
Ishouldthinkhewouldtakeenoughinterestinhissontowanttoknowsomethingabouthisbusiness。
Whatisheafraidof?\"demandedLaphamangrily。\"DoeshethinkI’mgoingtojumpatachancetogetinwithhim,ifhegivesmeone?He’smightilymistakenifhedoes。
Idon’twanttoknowhim。\"
\"Silas,\"saidhiswife,makingawife’sfreeversionofherhusband’swords,andreplyingtotheirspiritratherthantheirletter,\"IhopeyouneversaidawordtoMr。Coreytolethimknowthewayyoufeel。\"
\"Inevermentionedhisfathertohim!\"roaredtheColonel。
\"That’sthewayIfeelaboutit!\"
\"Becauseitwouldspoileverything。Iwouldn’thavethemthinkwecaredtheleastthingintheworldfortheiracquaintance。Weshouldn’tbeabitbetteroff。
Wedon’tknowthesamepeopletheydo,andwedon’tcareforthesamekindofthings。\"
Laphamwasbreathlesswithresentmentofhiswife’simplication。
\"Don’tItellyou,\"hegasped,\"thatIdon’twanttoknowthem?Whobeganit?They’refriendsofyoursifthey’reanybody’s。\"
\"They’redistantacquaintancesofmine,\"returnedMrs。Laphamquietly;\"andthisyoungCoreyisaclerkofyours。AndI
wantweshouldholdourselvessothatwhentheygetreadytomaketheadvanceswecanmeetthemhalf—wayornot,justaswechoose。\"
\"That’swhatgrindsme,\"criedherhusband。
\"Whyshouldwewaitforthemtomaketheadvances?Whyshouldn’twemake’em?Aretheyanybetterthanweare?
MynoteofhandwouldbeworthtentimeswhatBromfieldCorey’sisonthestreetto—day。AndImadeMYmoney。
Ihaven’tloafedmylifeaway。\"
\"Oh,itisn’twhatyou’vegot,anditisn’twhatyou’vedoneexactly。It’swhatyouare。\"
\"Well,then,what’sthedifference?\"
\"Nonethatreallyamountstoanything,orthatneedgiveyouanytrouble,ifyoudon’tthinkofit。Buthe’sbeenallhislifeinsociety,andheknowsjustwhattosayandwhattodo,andhecantalkaboutthethingsthatsocietypeopleliketotalkabout,andyou——can’t。\"
Laphamgaveafurioussnort。\"Anddoesthatmakehimanybetter?\"
\"No。Butitputshimwherehecanmaketheadvanceswithoutdemeaninghimself,anditputsyouwhereyoucan’t。Now,lookhere,SilasLapham!YouunderstandthisthingaswellasIdo。YouknowthatIappreciateyou,andthatI’dsoonerdiethanhaveyouhumbleyourselftoalivingsoul。ButI’mnotgoingtohaveyoucomingtome,andpretendingthatyoucanmeetBromfieldCoreyasanequalonhisownground。Youcan’t。He’sgotabettereducationthanyou,andifhehasn’tgotmorebrainsthanyou,he’sgotdifferent。Andheandhiswife,andtheirfathersandgrandfathersbefore’em,havealwayshadahighposition,andyoucan’thelpit。Ifyouwanttoknowthem,you’vegottoletthemmaketheadvances。
Ifyoudon’t,allwellandgood。\"
\"Iguess,\"saidthechafedandvanquishedColonel,afteramomentforswallowingthepill,\"thatthey’dhavebeeninaprettyfixifyou’dwaitedtoletthemmaketheadvanceslastsummer。\"
\"Thatwasadifferentthingaltogether。Ididn’tknowwhotheywere,ormaybeIshouldhavewaited。
ButallIsaynowisthatifyou’vegotyoungCoreyintobusinesswithyou,inhopesofourgettingintosocietywithhisfather,youbettershiphimatonce。
ForIain’tgoingtohaveitonthatbasis。\"
\"Whowantstohaveitonthatbasis?\"retortedherhusband。
\"Nobody,ifyoudon’t,\"saidMrs。Laphamtranquilly。
Irenehadcomehomewiththeshavinginherbelt,unnoticedbyherfather,andunquestionedbyhermother。
Buthersistersawitatonce,andaskedherwhatshewasdoingwithit。
\"Oh,nothing,\"saidIrene,withajoyfulsmileofself—betrayal,takingtheshavingcarefullyout,andlayingitamongthelacesandribbonsinherdrawer。
\"Hadn’tyoubetterputitinwater,’Rene?It’llbeallwiltedbymorning,\"saidPen。
\"Youmeanthing!\"criedthehappygirl。\"Itisn’taflower!\"
\"Oh,Ithoughtitwasawholebouquet。Whogaveittoyou?\"
\"Ishan’ttellyou,\"saidIrenesaucily。
\"Oh,well,nevermind。DidyouknowMr。Coreyhadbeendownherethisafternoon,walkingonthebeachwithme?\"
\"Hewasn’t——hewasn’tatall!HewasatthehousewithME。
There!I’vecaughtyoufairly。\"
\"Isthatso?\"drawledPenelope。\"ThenInevercouldguesswhogaveyouthatpreciousshaving。\"
\"No,youcouldn’t!\"saidIrene,flushingbeautifully。
\"Andyoumayguess,andyoumayguess,andyoumayguess!\"
Withherlovelyeyesshecoaxedhersistertokeeponteasingher,andPenelopecontinuedthecomedywiththepatiencethatwomenhaveforsuchthings。
\"Well,I’mnotgoingtotry,ifit’snouse。ButI
didn’tknowithadgottobethefashiontogiveshavingsinsteadofflowers。Butthere’ssomesenseinit。
Theycanbeusedforkindlingswhentheygetold,andyoucan’tdoanythingwitholdflowers。Perhapshe’llgettosending’embythebarrel。\"
Irenelaughedforpleasureinthistormenting。\"OPen,Iwanttotellyouhowitallhappened。\"
\"Oh,heDIDgiveittoyou,then?Well,IguessIdon’tcaretohear。\"
\"Youshall,andyou’vegotto!\"Ireneranandcaughthersister,whofeignedtobegoingoutoftheroom,andpushedherintoachair。\"There,now!\"Shepulledupanotherchair,andhemmedherinwithit。\"Hecameover,andsatdownonthetrestlealongsideofme————\"
\"What?Ascloseasyouaretomenow?\"
\"Youwretch!IwillGIVEittoyou!No,ataproperdistance。
Andherewasthisshavingonthefloor,thatI’dbeenpokingwithmyparasol————\"
\"Tohideyourembarrassment。\"
\"Pshaw!Iwasn’tabitembarrassed。Iwasjustasmuchatmyease!Andthenheaskedmetolethimholdtheshavingdownwithhisfoot,whileIwentonwithmypoking。
AndIsaidyeshemight————\"
\"Whataboldgirl!Yousaidhemightholdashavingdownforyou?\"
\"Andthen——andthen————\"continuedIrene,liftinghereyesabsently,andlosingherselfinthebeatificrecollection,\"andthen————Ohyes!ThenIaskedhimifhedidn’tlikethesmellofpineshavings。Andthenhepickeditup,andsaiditsmeltlikeaflower。Andthenheaskedifhemightofferittome——justforajoke,youknow。
AndItookit,andstuckitinmybelt。Andwehadsuchalaugh!Wegotintoaregulargale。AndOPen,whatdoyousupposehemeantbyit?\"Shesuddenlycaughtherselftohersister’sbreast,andhidherburningfaceonhershoulder。
\"Well,thereusedtobeabookaboutthelanguageofflowers。
ButIneverknewmuchaboutthelanguageofshavings,andIcan’tsayexactly————\"
\"Oh,don’t——DON’T,Pen!\"andhereIrenegaveoverlaughing,andbegantosobinhersister’sarms。
\"Why,’Rene!\"criedtheeldergirl。
\"YouKNOWhedidn’tmeananything。Hedoesn’tcareabitaboutme。Hehatesme!Hedespisesme!Oh,whatshallIdo?\"
Atroublepassedoverthefaceofthesisterasshesilentlycomfortedthechildinherarms;thenthedrollinglightcamebackintohereyes。\"Well,’Rene,YOUhaven’tgottodoANYthing。That’soneadvantagegirlshavegot——ifitISanadvantage。I’mnotalwayssure。\"
Irene’stearsturnedtolaughingagain。Whensheliftedherheaditwastolookintothemirrorconfrontingthem,whereherbeautyshowedallthemorebrilliantfortheshowerthathadpassedoverit。Sheseemedtogathercouragefromthesight。