Is it a suburb of New
York?"

"Not much. It's our American Sandhurst. But you English people don't
know anything about this side. I guess, now, you think that Florida is
in South America?"

"I haven't thought about it yet," I replied.

"That's right. I don't ask anything better than to teach you the
geography of the United States. We'll begin with Flirtation Walk. But
see here, Lady Betty, that rose you've got on isn't a good sample of
what we can grow over here. Didn't that maid of my sister's take you
something a little better from me?"

"Something much bigger and grander," I said, feeling loyal to my poor
white bud. "I was meaning to thank you."

"Don't do that; the things aren't worth it. I only wanted to know
whether that French female had played me false or not. But here comes
my sister. I wish she'd taken longer to do up her back hair. Now, I'll
give you your wish, and talk about the weather. Mighty hot day, isn't
it? Won't you have a cocktail? I'd just finished mine when you came
down."

"Of course Betty will have a cocktail; we all do before dinner," said
Mrs. Ess Kay, sailing towards us in a trailing white film of lace.

But Betty didn't have one, though at this moment several little glasses
appeared on a tray. I was sure that Mother would not approve of
cocktails for me, as it sounds so fast for a young girl who isn't yet
out. When I excused myself, Mrs. Ess Kay laughed, and said, "Then what
about that sherry cobbler?"

While I was trying to think what she meant, Sally came into the hall,
and immediately after I was surprised by a kind of musical moaning
which began suddenly and kept on for a long time.

"That's the Japanese gong," said Mrs. Ess Kay, when I looked round to
see where the sound came from. "It's for dinner. Potter, give Betty
your arm."

I was glad she didn't use that nickname I'd been thinking of, for if
she had, I should certainly have laughed.

We began dinner by eating pinky-yellow melons cut in half and filled
with chopped ice. I thought at first that it must be a mistake, and
they ought to have come in at dessert, but everybody else ate theirs
without appearing disconcerted, so I did mine, and it was good. So were
all the other things that followed in a long procession, though they
were very strange and some of them I shouldn't have known how to eat if
Mr. Parker, whose place was next to mine, hadn't told me.

We had bouillon partly frozen, instead of soup; and then came th