. In God's eye we're
not, and that's the principal eye after all."

Her own eyes grew thoughtful. "I don't believe," she said, "that parents
when they marry have any idea of all the difficulties they're going to
place their children in."

"I don't believe they think about it at all," said Anna-Rose. "I mean,"
she added quickly, lest she should be supposed to be questioning the
perfect love and forethought of their mother, "fathers don't."

They were silent a little after this, each thinking things tinged to
sobriety by the effect of the inner conflict going on between the clam
broth and the toffee. Also Boston was rushing towards them, and the
Clouston Sacks. Quite soon they would have to leave the peaceful
security of the train and begin to be active again, and quick and
clever. Anna-Felicitas, who was slow, found it difficult ever to be
clever till about the week after, and Anna-Rose, who was impetuous, was
so impetuous that she entirely outstripped her scanty store of
cleverness and landed panting and surprised in situations she hadn't an
idea what to do with. The Clouston Sacks, now--Aunt Alice had said, "You
must take care to be very tactful with Mr. and Mrs. Clouston Sack;" and
when Anna-Rose, her forehead as much puckered as Mr. Twist's in her
desire to get exactly at what tactful was in order to be able diligently
to be it, asked for definitions, Aunt Alice only said it was what
gentlewomen were instinctively.

"Then," observed Anna-Felicitas, when on nearing Boston Anna-Rose
repeated Aunt Alice's admonishment and at the same time provided
Anna-Felicitas for her guidance with the definition, "seeing that we're
supposed to be gentlewomen, all we've got to do is to behave according
to our instincts."

But Anna-Rose wasn't sure. She doubted their instincts, especially
Anna-Felicitas's. She thought her own were better, being older, but even
hers were extraordinarily apt to develop in unexpected directions
according to the other person's behaviour. Her instinct, for instance,
when engaged by Uncle Arthur in conversation had usually been to hit
him. Was that tact? Yet she knew she was a gentlewoman. She had heard
that, since first she had heard words at all, from every servant,
teacher, visitor and relation--except her mother--in her Prussian home.
Indeed, over there she had been told she was more than a gentlewoman,
for she was a noblewoman and therefore her instincts ought positively to
drip tact.

"Mr. Dods