e servants he insisted that she manage their household, which she
did with rebellion for a short time, and then rather quickly broke away
from it by turning over the household to a housekeeper. This brought
about the silent disapproval of her husband, who let her "have her own
way", as he said, "because it's the fashion nowadays."

She became a seeker of pleasure and sensation, drifting from one type of
amusement to the other in an intricately mixed cooperation and rivalry
with members of her set. She followed every fad that infests staid old
Boston, from the esoteric to the erotic. She became an accomplished
dancer, ran her own car, followed the races, went to art exhibitions,
subscribed to courses of lectures of which she would attend the first,
dabbled in new religions, became enthusiastic: about social work for a
month or two,--and became a professional at bridge. Summers she rested
by chasing pleasure and flirting with male _habitues_ of fashionable
summer resorts; part of the winter she recuperated at Palm Beach, where
she vied for the leadership of her set with her dearest enemy.

Her husband financed all her ventures with a disillusioned shrug of his
shoulders. As she entered the thirties she became intensely dissatisfied
with herself and her life, tried to get back to active supervision of
her home but found herself in the way, though her children were greatly
pleased and her husband sceptical. The need of excitement and change
persisted; gradually an intense boredom came over her. Her interest in
life was dulled and she began a mad search for some sensation that would
take away the distressing self-reproach and dissatisfaction. Shortly
after this she lost the power to sleep and had a host of symptoms which
need not be detailed here.

The medical treatment was first to restore sleep. I may say that this is
a first step of great importance, no matter how the sleeplessness
originates. For even if an idea or a disturbing emotion is its cause,
the sleeplessness may become a habit and needs energetic attention.

With this done, attention was paid to the social situation, the life
habits. It was pointed out that all the philosophies of life were based
on simple living and work, and that all the wise men from the beginning
of the written word to our own times have shown the futility of seeking
pleasure. It was shown that to be a sensation seeker was to court
boredom and apathy, and that these had deenergized her.