ing's feelings. Yet perhaps it looks fair to her. She's so
ambitious, and she's worked so hard, she _has_ deserved to succeed. As
for poor me, she just regularly mesmerises me all through. She
mesmerised me into coming up from Kentucky and visiting her this
spring; then she mesmerised me into going with her to Europe. But I'm
not sorry I went, for I've had a _right_ good time."

"I'm so glad you went," said I, "because if you hadn't I shouldn't have
met you. I'm sure I should love Kentucky if all the people there are
like you. But these things you've been saying seem so odd. Do you mean
to tell me that the people who lead Society in New York want to keep
their set limited to a certain number, and refuse to know others, even
if they're extraordinarily clever and interesting?

"They don't like them to be too clever, because they call such people
'_queer_'--that is, unless they happen to be 'lions' of some sort from
England or other places abroad. Then, so long as they're not
_American_, they welcome them with open arms."

"I'm glad Society isn't like that in England," I said. "There the
_real_ people--the people who have the right to make social laws, you
know--are delighted with anyone who can amuse them. Of course, deep
down in our hearts, we may be proud if we have old names, which have
been famous for hundreds of years in one way or another; but we are so
used, after all those centuries, to being _sure_ of ourselves, that we
just take our position for granted, and don't think much more about it.
If people who haven't got quite the same position are gentlefolk, and
amusing, or clever, or beautiful, or anything like that which really
matters, why, we're only too pleased with them."

"That's all the difference in the world! You've been 'sure of
yourselves for centuries.' You've said the last word, my deah. 'Out of
the mouths of babes'--but Cousin Katherine's finished gushing to that
silly old Mrs. Van der Windt. We mustn't dare discuss these things from
our point of view any more. I reckon she would faint."

There are a good many young men on board, and some of them seemed to be
quite devoted to Mrs. Ess Kay the first day out; but she was cold to
them all, I couldn't think why, as some of them seemed very nice, and
she had always appeared rather to like being with men. I asked Sally
about it, but she laughed, and said I might perhaps solve the mystery
for myself when we were at Newport, if I remembered it then.

I