other, marked down because of a flaw in the steel, but she's
near-sighted, and she don't want to use 'em anyway--it's just to feel
she has another pair. Scissors is mother's fad--sort of born in her, I
guess, for my mother's mother was a kind of dressmaker. She didn't have
robes and mantucks over her door, you know,--she was too swell for
that,--she went out by the day! And this is a real bronze Louis
ink-stand for my sister's husband, only cost thirty-nine cents and
hasn't got a thing the matter with it, so long as you don't see the
others--if you see the others, you'll observe that there's a naked lady
missing off the top part which I'm glad of anyway as I'm giving it to a
gentleman, and he'll never see the others besides. And this is two boxes
of writing paper; aren't they _huge_! _awful_ cheap with a lovely
picture of an actress on top--Lillian Russell in _Mice and Men_, I
think, on one, and Jean Duresk the Opera Singer in _Lonegrind_ on the
other. The boxes 'av got false bottoms--so there ain't very much writing
material, but the rich effect's there all the same.

GEORGIANA. [_Laughing._] Bella, you're a wonderful shopper!

BELLA. And this is a copy of Homer's _Iliad_ for my sister. Do you know
it? Is it nice? Anything like Hall Caine's works, or Mary Corelli's?
She's always been my sister's favorite writeress. You see they've got a
whole counter of these beautifully bound in red and gold, and only
nineteen cents. But it's so hard to decide which to buy. I've about
decided now to take this back and change it for _Lucille_. Which do you
think my sister'd like best, Homer's _Iliad_ or _Lucille_?

GEORGIANA. I believe she'd prefer _Lucille_, and besides half the fun in
shopping is in the changing one's mind and taking things back, don't you
think so?

BELLA. Yes, ma'am, I think so.

[MOLES _enters Left._

MOLES. Mr. Coast to see Miss Georgiana, please.

[BELLA _rises._

GEORGIANA. Did you say I was in?

MOLES. Yes, miss.

GEORGIANA. What a bore! Very well, Moles.

[_He goes out._

BELLA. I'll be going up to Mrs. Carley, now.

[_Goes toward the door Right._

GEORGIANA. Wait a minute, Bella. I want you to do something for me.
Entertain Sammy, Louise, till I come back.

[_She goes out with_ BELLA.

LOUISE. I never was able to entertain Sammy, but I'll do my best.

[COAST _enters, announced by_ MOLES, _who immediately exits._

COAST. Hello, Lou, how goes it?

LOUISE. Beastly!

COAST. Where's Mis