me in your last letter if I did not sometimes grow
weary of my endless round of dances and dinners and social
functions. No, no, never! I enjoy every one of them, every
minute of them. I love life and its bloom and brilliancy; I
love meeting new people; I love the ripple of music, the hum
of laughter and conversation. Every morning when I awaken the
new day seems to me to be a good fairy who will bring me some
beautiful gift of joy.

The gift she gave me today was my sunset gallop on my grey
mare Lady. The thrill of it is in my veins yet. I distanced
the others who rode with me and led the homeward canter alone,
rocking along a dark, gleaming road, shadowy with tall firs
and pines, whose balsam made all the air resinous around me.
Before me was a long valley filled with purple dusk, and
beyond it meadows of sunset and great lakes of saffron and
rose where a soul might lose itself in colour. On my right was
the harbour, silvered over with a rising moon. Oh, it was all
glorious--the clear air with its salt-sea tang, the aroma of
the pines, the laughter of my friends behind me, the spring
and rhythm of Lady's grey satin body beneath me! I wanted to
ride on so forever, straight into the heart of the sunset.

Then home and to dinner. We have a houseful of guests at
present--one of them an old statesman with a massive silver
head, and eyes that have looked into people's thoughts so long
that you have an uncanny feeling that they can see right
through your soul and read motives you dare not avow even to
yourself. I was terribly in awe of him at first, but when I
got acquainted with him I found him charming. He is not above
talking delightful nonsense even to a girl. I sat by him at
dinner, and he talked to me--not nonsense, either, this time.
He told me of his political contests and diplomatic battles;
he was wise and witty and whimsical. I felt as if I were
drinking some rare, stimulating mental wine. What a privilege
it is to meet such men and take a peep through their wise eyes
at the fascinating game of empire-building!

I met another clever man a few evenings ago. A lot of us went
for a sail on the harbour. Mrs. Braddon's house party came
too. We had three big white boats that skimmed down the
moonlit channel like great white sea birds. There was another
boat far