Guy Wetmore Carryl

“ But Margery, under whose faultlessly-fitting jacket beat the tenderest and most considerate of hearts, was moved. She watched her mother in silence for a moment, and then went across to the divan, and, kneeling beside it, took Madame Palffy’s available hand in hers.
“I did speak cruelly,” she said, “and I’m sorry. Let me see if I can’t put it more considerately, so that you’ll understand. Love is — has always been — to me the most sacred thing on earth. I’ve watched, as every girl must watch, for its coming, believing that its touch would transform all life. ”

“ Then Madame Palffy unaccountably touched her zenith.
“No,” she agreed, rising majestically from the divan, “no, we’ll not speak of it again. It must make no change between us. I love you very dearly, Margery, and I wish I could have seen you his wife, but if it cannot be, that’s all there is to it. Let’s dress for dinner, my dear,” and, bending over, she kissed the air affectionately, a half-inch from her daughter’s cheek. “You’re a strange girl,” she added, “and I don’t pretend to understand you. But choose your own husband. I shall like him for your sake.” ”

“ Madame Palffy having attended two church services, and observed with gratification that her new bonnet was far more imposing than the bonnets, old and new, of her fellow worshippers, had now sought the seclusion of her Empire boudoir. She was, above all things, consistent. In this sacred spot she ventured to lay aside her society manner, but, beyond this, she made no concessions to privacy. Her lounging-gown would have been presentable at a garden-party, and she devoted five minutes to rearranging her hair, before sinking massively upon the chaise-longue, and giving her thoughts free rein. ”

“ She was interested.
“It’s this great reverence which I have for love,” continued Margery, “that prompted me to answer impatiently when you spoke of Monsieur de Boussac. You didn’t mean to hurt me, of course: I know that. But, to me, it was as if you’d torn away the veil before my holy of holies, and cast out the image I had cherished there, and were thrusting a grinning golden idol in its place. I want love to come into my life freely — not to be invited to dinner, and announced by the butler. ”

“ We must be patient with each other, dear.”
“I see what you mean,” said Madame Palffy mournfully. “We’re as far apart as the poles.”
“Not quite that, I think,” answered Margery, with a smile, “but, in some respects, three thousand miles. Let us try to remember that: it will make things easier.”
“It’s a terrible disappointment to me,” came lugubriously from the handkerchief.
“I’m sorry,” answered Margery, “very sorry. But I’m sure that I could never love Monsieur de Boussac, and sure that I could never even believe in his love unless he himself should tell me of it. ”

“ I’m old-fashioned, I suppose, and out of touch with the times, but I hold the faith that was before riches or social position came into the world — I hold to love, the love of a strong man for a pure woman, the love of a good woman for an honest man! ”

“ There are some situations with which words are impotent to deal.
“Monkeys,” continued Margery, “are adorable. They are sufficiently human to be typical, and then there’s the advantage that one can stare at them to one’s heart’s content, without being thought ill-mannered. I saw lots of our friends — Mr. Radwalader, for instance, as vain as life and twice as loquacious; and one haughty young creature who held himself aloof, despising the rest, and taking no pains to conceal it. That was Monsieur de Boussac. ”

“ Do you realize that I’ve not spent six full months in Paris since I was a little girl? Now that I’ve come back to you, I can’t readjust all my ideas in a moment. I want to please you, dear, in any way I can, but I’m an American all through, and you — well, perhaps you’re more French than you realize, yourself. We must try to grow together, but in many ways it will not be easy. ”

“ Never having met a flea, I am sure I should enjoy the experience. You know what somebody says? ‘Incomparably the bravest of all the creatures of God.’ And, above all things, I adore courage.”
Here was an auspicious beginning to a serious conversation! In sheer desperation, Madame Palffy assumed her society manner.
“Margery,” she said, “you’re quite old enough to take care of yourself; though, to speak frankly, you have a somewhat peculiar method of doing so. Let us abandon the monkeys for the present. ”

“ I can’t imagine that Monsieur de Boussac has ever breathed a word on the subject. Don’t you think the first mention should come from him? I’ve no reason to suppose that he cares a straw for me.”
“He does — I know he does,” broke in Madame Palffy eagerly. “You’re quite wrong in supposing he’s never spoken of it. Remember, these things are managed differently over here. You have the American idea. In Paris one speaks first to the girl’s parents.”
Margery shrugged her shoulders. A kind of instinct told her that she must ask no questions if she would be told no lies. ”

“ There can be, it seems to me, but one man in the world able to do that, and I’m content to wait for him, without trying to hurry the future, or aid fate or Providence, whichever it may be, in the disposal of my heart. ”

“ I’ve been glad all my life that we were not rich enough for our means to be an object. Of course, poverty has barred many out from happiness, but it pleases me to think that when a man seeks me, there can be no doubt that it is for myself alone. ”

“ He may have money, but money isn’t everything. Indeed, it’s entered very near the foot of my list of the things to be desired in life. As to position, my own is sufficiently good to make his immaterial. ”

“ Chapter IV. Mother and Daughter. Madame Raoul Palffy would, in all probability, have been intensely surprised and entirely incredulous had any one informed her that hers was an irritating personality. ”