"Yes, but you must start SOME time. I"m a little backward, perhaps.
Just because there are a few infant prodigies about, don"t despise me. In a year or two I shall be as regular as the rest of them." And I sneezed again.
Beatrice got up with an air of decision and left the room. For a moment I thought she was angry and had gone for a policeman, but as the minutes went by and she didn"t return I began to fear that she might have left the house for good. I was wondering how I should break the news to her husband when, to my relief, she came in again.
"You may be right," she said, putting down a small package and unpinning her hat. "Try this. The chemist says it"s the best hay-fever cure there is."
"It"s in a lot of languages," I said as I took the wrapper off. "I suppose German hay is the same as any other sort of hay? Oh, here it is in English. I say, this is a what-d"-you-call-it cure."
"So the man said."
"Homeopathic. It"s made from the pollen that causes hay-fever. Yes.
Ah, yes." I coughed slightly and looked at Beatrice out of the corner of my eye. "I suppose," I said carelessly, "if anybody took this who HADN"T got hay-fever, the results might be rather--I mean that he might then find that he-in fact, er--HAD got it."
"Sure to," said Beatrice.
"Yes. That makes us a little thoughtful; we don"t want to over-do this thing." I went on reading the instructions. "You know, it"s rather odd about my hay-fever--it"s generally worse in town than in the country."
"But then you started so late, dear. You haven"t really got into the swing of it yet."
"Yes, but still--you know, I have my doubts about the gentleman who invented this. We don"t see eye to eye in this matter. Beatrice, you may be right--perhaps I haven"t got hay-fever."
"Oh, don"t give up."
"But all the same I know I"ve got something. It"s a funny thing about my being worse in town than in the country. That looks rather as if--By Jove, I know what it is--I"ve got just the opposite of hay-fever."
"What is the opposite of hay?"
"Why, bricks and things."
I gave a last sneeze and began to wrap up the cure.
"Take this pollen stuff back," I said to Beatrice, "and ask the man if he"s got anything h.o.m.oeopathic made from paving-stones. Because, you know, that"s what I really want."
"You HAVE got a cold," said Beatrice.
A MODERN CINDERELLA
ONCE upon a time there was a beautiful girl who lived in a mansion in Park Lane with her mother and her two sisters and a crowd of servants. Cinderella, for that was her name, would have dearly loved to have employed herself about the house sometimes; but whenever she did anything useful, like arranging the flowers or giving the pug a bath, her mother used to say, "Cinderella! What DO you think I engage servants for? Please don"t make yourself so common."
Cinderella"s two sisters were much older and plainer than herself, and their mother had almost given up hope about them, but she used to drag Cinderella to b.a.l.l.s and dances night after night, taking care that only the right sort of person was introduced to her. There were many nights when Cinderella would have preferred a book at home in front of the fire, for she soon found that her partners" ideas of waltzing were as catholic as their conversation was limited. It was, indeed, this fondness for the inglenook that had earned her the name of Cinderella.
One day, when she was in the middle of a delightful story, her mother came in suddenly and cried:
"Cinderella! Why aren"t you resting, as I told you? You know we are going to the Hogbins" to-night."
"Oh, mother," pleaded Cinderella, "NEED I go to the dance?"
"Don"t be so absurd! Of course you"re going!"
"But I"ve got nothing to wear."
"I"ve told Jennings what you"re to wear. Now go and lie down. I want you to look your best to-night, because I hear that young Mr Hogbin is back again from Australia." Young Mr Hogbin was not the King"s son; he was the son of a wealthy gelatine manufacturer.
"Then may I come away at twelve?" begged Cinderella.
"You"ll come away when I tell you."
Cinderella made a face and went upstairs. "Oh, dear," she thought to herself, "I wish I were as old as my two sisters, and could do what I liked. I"m sure if my G.o.dmother were here she would get me off going." But, alas! her G.o.dmother lived at Leamington, and Cinderella, after a week at Leamington, had left her there only yesterday.
Cinderella indeed looked beautiful as they started for the ball; but her mother, who held a review of her in the drawing-room, was not quite satisfied.
"Cinderella!" she said. "You know I said you were to wear the silver slippers!"
"Oh, mother, they ARE so tight," pleaded Cinderella. "Don"t you remember I told you at the time they were much too small for me?"
"Nonsense. Go and put them on at once."
The dance was in full swing when Cinderella arrived. Although her lovely appearance caused several of the guests to look at her, they did not ask each other eagerly who she was, for most of them knew her already as Miss Partington-Smith. A brewer"s son led her off to dance.
The night wore on slowly. One young man after another trod on Cinderella"s toes, trotted in circles round her, ran her violently backwards into some other man, or swooped with her into the fireplace. Cinderella, whose feet seemed mechanically to adapt themselves to the interpretation of the Boston that was forming in her partner"s brain, bore it from each one as long as she could; and then led the way to a quiet corner, where she confessed frankly that she had NOT bought all her Christmas presents yet, and that she WAS going to Switzerland for the winter.
The gelatine manufacturer"s son took her in to supper. It was noticed that Cinderella looked much happier as soon as they had sat down, and indeed throughout the meal she was in the highest spirits.
For some reason or other she seemed to find even Mr Hogbin endurable. But just as they were about to return to the ball-room an expression of absolute dismay came over her face.
"Anything the matter?" said her partner.
"N--no," said Cinderella; but she made no effort to move.
"Well, shall we come?"
"Y--yes."
She waited a moment longer, dropped her fan under the table, picked it up slowly, and followed him out.
"Let"s sit down here," she said in the hall; "not upstairs."
They sat in silence; for he had exhausted his stock of questions at the end of their first dance, and had told her all about Australia during supper; while she apparently had no desire for conversation of any kind, being wrapped up in her thoughts.
"I"ll wait here," she said, as a dance began. "If you see mother, I wish you"d send her to me."
Her mother came up eagerly.
"Well, dear?" she said.
"Mother," said Cinderella, "do take me home at once. Something extraordinary has happened."
"It"s young Mr Hogbin! I knew it!"
"Who? Oh--er--yes, of course. I"ll tell you all about it in the carriage, mother."