n her at
every turn. On board the steamer her own friends had scarcely left
their state-rooms during the voyage, and Mrs Moffatt, in a neat tweed
costume, and an enveloping blue veil, had played the part of ministering
angel with much devotion, during three dreary days, when she herself had
lain on a chair in a sheltered corner of the deck; had read aloud,
repeated amusing little anecdotes about the passengers, taken her for
constitutionals up and down, and even helped her to bed at night. When
Liverpool was reached, it seemed as if they had known one another for
years. They had kissed at parting, and mutually agreed to meet, and
have a good time.

"Shucks!" cried Cornelia, mentally. "It's that old Norton! I've gotten
so used to dowds, that the sight of a Paris gown scares me all into
fits. I've looked forward to coming to London all my life, and now I'm
here, I'm going to enjoy myself all I know. Now then, for the Park! I
guess that grey crepe, and the hat with the white feathers, will be
about the best I can do for the honour of the flag. You've got to
strike a balance, my dear, and plump for neutral colours as long as you
run in harness with Mrs Silas P Moffatt!"

That first drive in Hyde Park was a pleasant experience, though the
trees looked grey and dusty, after the fresh green of the country.
Cornelia, like most of her sisters, had, as a first object, to see the
people, not the Park itself, and certainly they were worth the seeing.
There is no place in the world where finer specimens of humanity can be
seen than in Hyde Park on the afternoon of a bright June day. Cornelia
admired the tall, immaculately-groomed men, the dainty, high-bred
looking women, with their air of indolent grace. They did not look as
if they were enjoying themselves particularly, but she enjoyed, looking
at them, and honestly acknowledged the presence of a certain quality
unowned by herself. "They've got a far-off look, as if they couldn't
see anything nearer than a hundred miles, and were scared to laugh, in
case they might break! ... I guess it's what they call `_breed_!'
Captain Guest's got it, too. We've not much use for that kind of thing
at home, but it--counts! If you'd been used to it all your life, it
would be a jar to step down..."

Mrs Moffatt knew a great many people by sight, and pointed them out as
they drove by. Lady this, the Countess of that, Mrs Blank, who wrote
society novels, and was noted for her taste