Asitwas,heplayedatbeinganarchitect——andsucceededinbeingacharmingfellow。
MysisterJessicaneverlostanopportunityoflaughingathisendeavorsasanarchitect。
"Youcanbuildanenchantingvilla,butwhatwouldyoudowithacathedral?"
"Ishallneverhaveachanceatacathe-
dral,"hewouldreply。"And,besides,italwaysseemstomesomaterialandsoim-
pertinenttobuildalittlestructureofstoneandwoodinwhichtoworshipGod!"
Youseewhathewaslike?Hewasfrivo-
lous,yetonecouldnevertellwhenhewouldbecomeeloquentlyearnest。
BrainardwentoffsuddenlyWestwardoneday。IsuspectedthatJessicawasatthebottomofit,butIaskednoquestions;andIdidnothearfromhimformonths。ThenI
gotaletterfromColorado。
"Ihavemarriedamountainwoman,"hewrote。"Noneofyourpunybreedofmodernfemininity,butaremnantleftoverfromtheheroicages,——aprimitivewoman,grandandvastofspirit,capableoftrueandsteadfastwifehood。Nosophistryabouther;noknowledgeeventhatthereissophistry。
Heavens!man,doyouremembertheron-
deauxandtrioletsIusedtowritetothoseprettycreaturesbackEast?ItwouldtakeaSagamanoftheoldNorselandtowriteformymountainwoman。IfIwereanartist,Iwouldpaintherwiththenorthstarinherlocksandherfeetonpurplecloud。
IsupposeyouareatthePier。Iknowyouusuallyareatthisseason。Atanyrate,I
shalldirectthisletterthither,andwillfollowcloseafterit。Iwantmywifetoseesome-
thingoflife。AndIwanthertomeetyoursister。”
"Dearme!"criedJessica,whenIreadthelettertoher;"Idon'tknowthatIcaretomeetanythingquitesogiganticasthatmountainwoman。I'moneofthepunybreedofmodernfemininity,youknow。Idon'tthinkmynervescanstandtheencounter。”
"Why,Jessica!"Iprotested。Sheblushedalittle。
"Don'tthinkbadofme,Victor。But,yousee,I'vealittlescrap-bookofthosetrioletsupstairs。”Thensheburstintoapealofirresistiblelaughter。"I'mnotlaughingbecauseIampiqued,"shesaidfrankly。
"Thoughanyonewilladmitthatitisratherirritatingtohaveamanwholeftyouinablastedconditionrecoverwithsuchextraordinarypromptness。Asaphi-
lanthropist,oneofcourserejoices,butasawoman,Victor,itmustbeadmittedthatonehasarighttofeelannoyed。But,honestly,Iamnotungenerous,andIamgoingtodohimafavor。Ishallwrite,andurgehimnottobringhiswifehere。Aprimitivewoman,withthenorthstarinherhair,wouldlookwelldownthereintheCasinoeatingapineappleice,wouldn'tshe?It'sallverywelltohaveasoul,youknow;butitwon'tkeepyoufromlookinglikeaguyamongwomenwhohavegooddressmakers。
Ishudderatthethoughtofwhatthepoorthingwillsufferifhebringsherhere。”
Jessicawrote,asshesaidshewould;but,forallthat,afortnightlatershewaswalkingdownthewharfwiththe"mountainwoman,"
andIwassaunteringbesideLeroy。AtdinnerJessicagavemenochancetotalkwithourfriend'swife,andIonlycaughtthequietcontraltotonesofhervoicenowandthencontrastingwithJessica'svivacioussoprano。Adrizzlingraincameupfromtheeastwithnightfall。Littlegroupsofshiveringmenandwomensataboutintheparlorsatthecard-tables,andoneblondwomansanglovesongs。TheBrainardsweretiredwiththeirjourney,andleftusearly。Whentheyweregone,Jessicaburstintoeulogy。
"Thatisthefirstwoman,"shedeclared,"Ievermetwhowouldmakeafitheroineforabook。”
"Thenyouwillnotfeelunderobligationstoeducateher,asyouinsinuatedtheotherday?"
"Educateher!IonlyhopeshewillhelpmetounlearnsomeofthethingsI
know。Ineversawsuchsimplicity。Itisantique!"
"You'resureit'snotmerevacuity?"
"Victor!Howcanyou?Butyouhaven'ttalkedwithher。Youmustto-morrow。
Good-night。”Shegathereduphertrail-
ingskirtsandstarteddownthecorridor。
Suddenlysheturnedback。"ForHeaven'ssake!"shewhispered,inanawedtone,"Ineverevennoticedwhatshehadon!"
Thenextmorningearlywemadeuparidingparty,andIrodewithMrs。Brainard。
ShewasastallasI,andsatinhersaddleasifquiteunconsciousofheranimal。Theroadstretchedhardandinvitingunderourhorses'feet。Thewindsmelledsalt。Theskywasraggedwithgraymassesofcloudscuddingacrosstheblue。Iwasbeginningtoglowwithexhilaration,whensuddenlymycompaniondrewinherhorse。
"Ifyoudonotmind,wewillgoback,"
shesaid。
Hertonewasdejected。Ithoughtshewastired。
"Oh,no!"sheprotested,whenIapolo-
gizedformythoughtlessnessinbringinghersofar。"I'mnottired。Icanrideallday。
WhereIcomefrom,wehavetorideifwewanttogoanywhere;butherethereseemstobenoparticularplaceto——toreach。”
"Areyousoutilitarian?"Iasked,laugh-
ingly。"Mustyoualwayshavesomereasonforeverythingyoudo?Idosomanythingsjustforthemerepleasureofdoingthem,I'mafraidyouwillhaveaverypooropinionofme。”
"ThatisnotwhatImean,"shesaid,flushing,andturningherlargegrayeyesonme。"YoumustnotthinkIhaveareasonforeverythingIdo。”Shewasveryearnest,anditwasevidentthatshewasunacquaintedwiththeartofmakingconversation。"ButwhatImean,"shewenton,"isthatthereisnoplace——noend——toreach。”Shelookedbackoverhershouldertowardthewest,wherethetreesmarkedtheskyline,andanexpressionoflossanddissatisfactioncameoverherface。"Yousee,"shesaid,apolo-
getically,"I'musedtodifferentthings——tothemountains。IhaveneverbeenwhereI
couldnotseethembeforeinmylife。”
"Ah,Isee!Isupposeitisoddtolookupandfindthemnotthere。”
"It'slikebeinglost,thisnothavingany-
thingaroundyou。Atleast,Imean,"shecontinuedslowly,asifherthoughtcouldnoteasilyputitselfinwords,——"Imeanitseemsasifapartoftheworldhadbeentakendown。Itmakesyoufeellonesome,asifyouwerelivingaftertheworldhadbeguntodie。”
"You'llgetusedtoitinafewdays。Itseemsverybeautifultomehere。Andthenyouwillhavesomuchlifetodivertyou。”
"Life?Butthereisalwaysthatevery-
where。”
"Imeanmenandwomen。”
"Oh!Still,Iamnotusedtothem。I
thinkImightbenot——notveryhappywiththem。Theymightthinkmequeer。I
thinkIwouldliketoshowyoursisterthemountains。”
"Shehasseenthemoften。”
"Oh,shetoldme。ButIdon'tmeanthoseprettygreenhillssuchaswesawcom-
inghere。Theyarenotlikemymountains。
Ilikemountainsthatgobeyondtheclouds,withterribleshadowsinthehollows,andbeltsofsnowlyinginthegorgeswherethesuncannotreach,andthesnowisblueinthesunshine,orshiningtillyouthinkitissilver,andthemistsowonderfulallaboutit,changingeachmomentanddriftingupanddown,thatyoucannottellwhatnametogivethecolors。ThesemountainsofyourshereintheEastaresoquiet;mineareshoutingallthetime,withthepinesandtherivers。Theechoesaresoloudinthevalleythatsometimes,whenthewindisrising,wecanhardlyhearamantalkunlessheraiseshisvoice。TherearefourcataractsnearwhereIlive,andtheyallhavedifferentvoices,justaspeopledo;andoneofthemishappy——alittlewhitecataract——anditfallswherethesunshinesearliest,andtillnightitisshining。Buttheothersonlygetthesunnowandthen,andtheyaremorenoisyandcruel。Oneofthemisalwaysintheshadow,andthewaterlooksblack。Thatispartlybecausetherocksallunderneathitareblack。Itfallsdowntwentygreatledgesinagorgewithblacksides,andawhitemistdancesalloveritateveryleap。
Itellfatherthemististheghostofthewaters。Nomanevergoesthere;itistoocold。Thechillstrikesthroughone,andmakesyourheartfeelasifyouweredying。
Butalldownthesideofthemountain,towardthesouthandthewest,thesunshinesonthegraniteanddrawslongpointsoflightoutofit。Fathertellsmesoldiersmarchinglookthatwaywhenthesunstrikesontheirbayonets。ThosearethekindofmountainsImean,Mr。Grant。”
Shewaslookingatmewithherfacetrans-
figured,asifit,likethemountainsshetoldmeof,hadbeenlyinginshadow,andwait-
ingforthedazzlingdawn。
"Ihadaterribledreamonce,"shewenton;"themostterribledreameverIhad。
Idreamtthatthemountainshadallbeentakendown,andthatIstoodonaplaintowhichtherewasnoend。Theskywasburn-
ingup,andthegrassscorchedbrownfromtheheat,anditwastwistingasifitwereinpain。Andanimals,butnootherpersonsavemyself,onlywildthings,werecrouch-
ingandlookingupatthatsky。Theycouldnotrunbecausetherewasnoplacetowhichtogo。”
"Youwerehavingavisionofthelastman,"Isaid。"Iwondermyselfsometimeswhetherthisoldglobeofoursisgoingtocollapsesuddenlyandtakeuswithher,orwhetherwewilldisappearthroughslowdisastrousagesoffightingandcrushing,withhungerandblighttohelpustotheend。Andthen,atthelast,perhaps,somelucklessfellow,strongerthantherest,willstandamidtheribsoftherottingearthandgomad。”
Thewoman'seyeswerefixedonme,largeandluminous。"Yes,"shesaid;"hewouldgomadfromthelonesomenessofit。
HewouldbeafraidtobeleftalonelikethatwithGod。NoonewouldwanttobetakenintoGod'ssecrets。”
"Andourlastman,"Iwenton,"wouldhavetostandthereonthatswayingwrecktilleventhesoundofthecrumblingearthceased。Andhewouldtrytofindavoiceandwouldfail,becausesilencewouldhavecomeagain。Andthenthelightwouldgoout——"
Theshudderthatcreptoverhermademestop,ashamedofmyself。
"Youtalklikefather,"shesaid,withalong-drawnbreath。Thenshelookedupsuddenlyatthesunshiningthroughariftinthoserecklessgrayclouds,andputoutonehandasiftogetitfulloftheheadlongrollickingbreeze。"Buttheearthisnotdying,"shecried。"Itiswellandstrong,anditlikestogoroundandroundamongalltheotherworlds。Itlikesthesunandmoon;theyareallgoodfriends;anditlikesthepeoplewholiveonit。Maybeitistheyinsteadofthefirewithinwhokeepitwarm;ormaybeitiswarmjustfromalwaysgoing,aswearewhenwerun。Weareyoung,youandI,Mr。Grant,andLeroy,andyourbeautifulsister,andtheworldisyoungtoo!"Thenshelaughedastrongsplendidlaugh,whichhadneverhadthejoytakenoutofitwithdrawing-roomre-
strictions;andIlaughedtoo,andfeltthatwehadbecomeverygoodcompanionsindeed,andfoundmyselfwarmingtothejoyofcompanionshipasIhadnotsinceI
wasaboyatschool。
ThatafternoonthefourofussatatatableintheCasinotogether。TheCasino,aseveryoneknows,isaplacetoamuseyourself。Ifyouhaveaduty,amission,oranaspiration,youdonottakeittherewithyou,itwouldbesoobviouslyoutofplace;
ifpovertyisaheadofyou,youforgetit;ifyouhavebrains,youhastentoconcealthem;
theywouldbeaseriousencumbrance。
Therewasabubblingofconversation,arustleandfluttersuchastherealwaysiswheretherearemanywomen。Alltheplacewasgaywithflowersandwithgownsasbrightastheflowers。Irememberedtheapprehensionsofmysister,andstudiedLeroy'swifetoseehowshefittedintothishighlycoloredpicture。Shewastheonlywomanintheroomwhoseemedtoweardraperies。Thejauntyslashandcutoffashionableattireweremissinginthelongbrownfoldsofcloththatenvelopedherfigure。IfeltcertainthatevenfromJessica'sstandpointshecouldnotbecalledaguy。
Picturesqueshemightbe,pastthepointofconvention,butshewasnotridiculous。
"Judithtakesallthisveryseriously,"saidLeroy,laughingly。"IsupposeshewouldtakeevenParisseriously。”
Hiswifesmiledoverathim。"LeroysaysIammelancholy,"shesaid,softly;
"butIamalwaystellinghimthatIamhappy。HethinksIammelancholybe-
causeIdonotlaugh。Igotoutofthewayofitbybeingsomuchalone。Youonlylaughtoletsomeoneelseknowyouarepleased。Whenyouarealonethereisnouseinlaughing。Itwouldbelikeexplain-
ingsomethingtoyourself。”
"Youareaphilosopher,Judith。Mr。
MaxMü;llerwouldliketoknowyou。”
"Isheafriendofyours,dear?"
Leroyblushed,andIsawJessicacurlherlipasshenoticedtheblush。ShelaidherhandonMrs。Brainard'sarm。
"Haveyoualwaysbeenverymuchalone?"sheinquired。
"Iwasbornontheranch,youknow;
andfatherwasnotfondofleavingit。In-
deed,nowhesayshewillneveragaingooutofsightofit。Butyoucangoalongjourneywithoutdoingthat;foritliesonaplateauinthevalley,anditcanbeseenfromthreedifferentmountainpasses。
Motherdiedthere,andforthatreasonandothers——fatherhashadastrangelife——heneverwantedtogoaway。HebroughtaladyfromPennsylvaniatoteachme。Shehadwonderfullearning,butshedidn'tmakeverymuchuseofit。IthoughtifI
hadlearningIwouldnotwasteitreadingbooks。Iwoulduseitto——tolivewith。
Fatherhadalibrary,butInevercaredforit。Hewasforeveratbookstoo。Ofcourse,"shehastenedtoadd,noticingthelookofmortificationdeepenonherhus-
band'sface,"Ilikebooksverywellifthereisnothingbetterathand。ButIalwayssaidtoMrs。Windsor——itwasshewhotaughtme——whyreadwhatotherfolkhavebeenthinkingwhenyoucangooutandthinkyourself?Ofcourseoneprefersone'sownthoughts,justasoneprefersone'sownranch,orone'sownfather。”
"ThenyouaresuretolikeNewYorkwhenyougotheretolive,"criedJessica;
"forthereyouwillfindsomethingtomakelifeentertainingallthetime。Nooneneedfallbackonbooksthere。”
"I'mnotsure。I'mafraidtheremustbesuchdreadfulcrowdsofpeople。OfcourseIshouldtrytofeelthattheywerealllikeme,withjustthesamesortoffears,andthatitwasridiculousforustobeafraidofeachother,whenatheartweallmeanttobekind。”
Jessicafairlywrungherhands。"Hea-
vens!"shecried。"IsaidyouwouldlikeNewYork。Iamafraid,mydear,thatitwillbreakyourheart!"
"Oh,"saidMrs。Brainard,withwhatwasmeanttobeagentlejest,"noonecanbreakmyheartexceptLeroy。Ishouldnotcareenoughaboutanyoneelse,youknow。”
Thecomplimentwasanexquisiteone。
Ifeltthebloodcreeptomyownbraininasortofvicariousrapture,andIavoidedlookingatLeroylestheshoulddisliketohavemeseethehappinesshemustfeel。
Thesimplicityofthewomanseemedtoinvigoratemeasthecoolairofhermoun-
tainsmightifitblewtomeonsomebrightdawn,whenIhadcome,feveredandsickofsoul,fromthecity。
Whenwewerealone,Jessicasaidtome:
"Thatmanhastoomuchvanity,andhethinksitissensitiveness。Heisgoingtoimaginethathiswifemakeshimsuffer。
There'snoonesobrutallyselfishasyoursensitiveman。Hewantseveryonetoliveaccordingtohisideas,orheimmediatelybeginssuffering。Thatfriendofyourshasn'tthecourageofhisconvictions。Heisgoingtobeashamedoftheveryqualitiesthatmadehimlovehiswife。”
Therewasahopthatnightatthehotel,quiteanunusualaffairastoelegance,giveninhonorofawomanfromNewYork,whowroteanovelamonth。
Mrs。Brainardlookedsohappythatnightwhenshecameintheparlor,afterthemusichadbegun,thatIfeltamoisturegatherinmyeyesjustbecauseofthebeautyofherjoy,andtheforcedvivacityofthewomenaboutmeseemedsuddenlycoarseandinsincere。Somewonderfulredstones,brilliantasrubies,glitteredinamongthediaphanousblackdriftingsofherdress。
Sheaskedmeifthestoneswerenotverypretty,andsaidshegatheredtheminoneofhermountainriver-beds。
"Butthegown?"Isaid。"Surely,youdonotgathergownslikethatinriver-beds,orpickthemoffmountain-pines?"
"ButyoucangettheminDenver。FatheralwayssenttoDenverformyfinery。HewasveryparticularabouthowIlooked。
Yousee,Iwasallhehad——"Shebrokeoff,hervoicefaltering。
"Comeoverbythewindow,"Isaid,tochangeherthought。"Ihavesomethingtorepeattoyou。ItisasongofSydneyLanier's。IthinkhewasthegreatestpoetthateverlivedinAmerica,thoughnotmanyagreewithme。Butheismydearfriendanyway,thoughheisdead,andI
neversawhim;andIwantyoutohearsomeofhiswords。”
Iledheracrosstoanopenwindow。Thedancerswerewhirlingbyus。Thewaltzwasoneofthosemelancholyoneswhichspeakthespiritofthedancemoreelo-
quentlythananymerrymelodycan。Thesoundoftheseaboomingbeyondinthedarknesscametous,andlongpathsoflight,nowred,nowgreen,stretchedtowardthedistantlight-house。ThesewerethelinesIrepeated:——
"Whatheartache——ne'erahill!
Inexorable,vapid,vague,andchillThedrearsandlevelsdrainmyspiritlow。
Withonepoorwordtheytellmealltheyknow;
Whereattheirstupidtongues,toteasemypain,Dodrawlito'erando'eragain。
TheyhurtmyheartwithgriefsIcannotname;
Alwaysthesame——thesame。”
ButIgotnofurther。Ifeltmyselfmovedwithasortofpassionwhichdidnotseemtocomefromwithin,buttobecommunicatedtomefromher。Acertainunfamiliarhap-
pinessprickedthroughwithpainthrilledme,andIheardherwhispering,——
"Donotgoon,donotgoon!Icannotstanditto-night!"
"Hush,"Iwhisperedback;"comeoutforamoment!"Westoleintotheduskwithout,andstoodtheretrembling。I
swayedwithheremotion。Therewasalongsilence。Thenshesaid:"Fathermaybewalkingalonenowbytheblackcataract。
Thatiswherehegoeswhenheissad。I
canseehowlonelyhelooksamongthoselittletwistedpinesthatgrowfromtherock。
Andhewillberememberingalltheeveningswewalkedtheretogether,andallthethingswesaid。”Ididnotanswer。Hereyeswerestillonthesea。
"Whatwasthenameofthemanwhowrotethatverseyoujustsaidtome?"
Itoldher。
"Andheisdead?Didtheyburyhiminthemountains?No?IwishIcouldhaveputhimwherehecouldhaveheardthosefourvoicescallingdownthecanyon。”
"Comebackinthehouse,"Isaid;"youmustcome,indeed,"Isaid,assheshrankfromre-entering。
JessicawasdancinglikeafairywithLe-
roy。Theybothsawusandsmiledaswecamein,andamomentlatertheyjoinedus。
ImademyexcusesandleftmyfriendstoJessica'scare。Shewasasortofsocialtyrantwherevershewas,andIknewonewordfromherwouldinsurethepopularityofourfriends——notthattheyneededtheinterventionofanyone。Leroyhadbeenasortofdrawing-roompetsincebeforehestoppedwearingknickerbockers。
"Heisathisbestinadrawing-room,"
saidJessica,"becausetherehedealswiththeoryandnotwithaction。Andhehassuchbeautifultheoriesthatthewomen,whoareallidealists,adorehim。”
ThenextmorningIawokewithacon-
victionthatIhadbeenidlingtoolong。I
wentbacktothecityandbrushedthedustfrommydesk。Theneachmorning,I,asJessicaputit,"formedpublicopinion"
totheextentofonecolumnadayinthecolumnsofacertainenterprisingmorningjournal。
BrainardsaidIhadtreatedhimshabbilytoleaveupontheheelsofhiscoming。Butamanwhoworksforhisbreadandbuttermustputalimittohisholiday。Itisdif-
ferentwhenyouonlyworktoaddtoyourgeneralpicturesqueness。ThatiswhatI
wroteLeroy,anditwastheunkindestthingIeversaidtohim;andwhyIdiditIdonotknowtothisday。Iwasglad,though,whenhefailedtoanswertheletter。Itgavemeamorereasonableexcuseforfeelingoutofpatiencewithhim。
Thedaysthatfollowedwereverydull。
Itwashardtogetbackintothewayofworking。IwasgladwhenJessicacamehometosetupourlittleestablishmentandtojoinintheautumngayeties。Brainardbroughthiswifetothecitysoonafter,andwenttohousekeepinginanoddsortofaway。
"Icouldn'tseeanythingintheplacesavecurios,"Jessicareported,afterherfirstcallonthem。"Isupposethereisacooking-
stovesomewhere,andmaybeevenapantrywithpotsinit。ButallIsawwasAlaskatotemsandNavajoblankets。TheyhaveasmanyskinsaroundonthefloorandcouchesaswouldhavesatisfiedanancientBriton。Andeverybodywascallingthere。
YouknowMr。Brainardrunstocuriosinselectinghisfriendsaswellashisfurniture。
Theparlorswerefullthisafternoonofab-
normalpeople,thatistosay,withfolksonereadsabout。Iwastheonlyonetherewhohadn'tdonesomething。Iguessit'sbe-
causeIamtoohealthy。”
"HowdidMrs。Brainardlikesuchamotleycrew?"
"Shewaswonderful——perfectlywonder-
ful!Thoseinsultingcreatureswereallstudyingher,andsheknewit。Butherdignitywasperfect,andshelookedasproudasaSiouxchief。Shelistenedtoeveryone,andtheyallthoughthersobright。”
"Brainardmusthavebeentremendouslyproudofher。”
"Oh,hewas——ofherandhisChilcatportiè;res。”
Jessicawasthereoften,but——well,Iwasbusy。Atlength,however,Iwasforcedtogo。Jessicarefusedtomakeanyfurtherexcusesforme。Theroomswerefilledwithsmallcelebrities。
"Wearetheonlynonentities,"whisperedJessica,asshelookedaround;"itwillmakeusquitedistinguished。”
Wewenttospeaktoourhostess。Shestoodbesideherhusband,lookingtallerthanever;andherfacewaswhite。Herlongredgownofclingingsilkwassope-
culiarastogiveonetheimpressionthatshewasdressedincharacter。ItwaseasytotellthatitwasoneofLeroy'sfancies。I
hardlyheardwhatshesaid,butIknowshereproachedmegentlyfornothavingbeentoseethem。Ihadnofurtherwordwithhertillsomeoneledhertothepiano,andshepausedtosay,——
"Thatpoetyouspokeoftome——theoneyousaidwasafriendofyours——heismyfriendnowtoo,andIhavelearnedtosingsomeofhissongs。Iamgoingtosingonenow。”Sheseemedtohavenotimidityatall,butstoodquietly,withahalfsmile,whileayoungmanwithaRussiannameplayedastrangeminorprelude。Thenshesang,hervoiceawonderfulcontralto,coldattimes,andagainlitupwithgleamsofpas-
sion。Themusicitselfwasfitful,nowfullofjoy,nowtender,andnowsad:
"Lookoff,dearlove,acrossthesallowsands,Andmarkyonmeetingofthesunandsea,Howlongtheykissinsightofallthelands,Ah!longer,longerwe。”
"Shehasageniusforfeeling,hasn'tshe?"Leroywhisperedtome。
"Ageniusforfeeling!"Irepeated,angrily。"Man,shehasaheartandasoulandabrain,ifthatiswhatyoumean!I
shouldn'tthinkyouwouldbeabletolookatherfromthestandpointofacritic。”
Leroyshruggedhisshouldersandwentoff。ForamomentIalmosthatedhimfornotfeelingmoreresentful。Ifeltasifheowedittohiswifetotakeoffenceatmyfoolishspeech。
Itwasevidentthatthe"mountainwoman"
hadbecomethefashion。Ireadreportsinthepapersaboutheruniquereceptions。I
sawhernameprintedconspicuouslyamongthelistofthosewhoattendedallsortsofdinnersandmusicalesandeveningsamongthesetthataffectedintellectualpursuits。
Shejoinedanumberofwomen'sclubsofanexclusivekind。
"Sheisdoingwhateverherhusbandtellsherto,"saidJessica。"Why,theotherdayIheardherruininghervoiceon'Siegfried'!"
ButfromdaytodayInoticedadifferenceinher。Shedevelopedaterribleactivity。
Shetookpersonalchargeoftheaffairsofherhouse;sheunitedwithLeroyinkeep-
ingthehousefilledwithguests;shegotontheboardofahospitalforlittlechildren,andspentapartofeverydayamongthecotswherethesuffererslay。NowandthenwhenwespentaquieteveningalonewithherandLeroy,shesewedcontinuallyonlittlewhitenight-gownsforthesepoorbabies。
Sheusedhercarriagetotakethemostex-