n
matters into his own paws. He seemed to connect Bee with his day of
humiliation, and not only eyed her with deep aversion, but howled
painfully whenever she cornered him. And as for the victoria--to this
day, whenever it is taken out, Jack with one leap is under the barn by
a private entrance which he tunnelled out for himself on that
never-to-be-forgotten day when we endeavoured to introduce a London
fashion by means of him.

Nevertheless, her other suggestions were carried out. The lovely wild
tangle of berry-bushes and long grass was subdued. Our old-fashioned
garden was hidden by a row of firs, while Bee set out beds of cannas
and geraniums. To me it was simply hideous, but the look of
complacency which Bee habitually wore as she thus brought us within the
pale of civilization more than repaid me for any artistic losses we may
have sustained. Bee was my sister and our guest, and could only be
made happy by feeling that her coming had effected changes for the
better and by being constantly entertained. What, then, was more
simple than to content her with such entertainment as she had requested
before she came, and by permitting her to smarten us up? To be sure,
Aubrey used to tell me every night that he was going to dig up the bed
of cannas and coleus the moment her back was turned, but as I, too, was
quite willing to see that done, it seemed to me that I was treading a
somewhat dangerous road with great discretion and a tact I never should
get the credit for. Bee, I felt sure, regarded me as a fool for not
having done all this at the beginning.

At Bee's request we joined the Country Club and the Copsely Golf Club,
and I bought more clothes, and the Angel and I found ourselves in a set
we never had cared for before, but which was amusing enough for a few
weeks or months at most.

But the episode which broke the backbone of Bee's complacency and
virtually gave us back our freedom was this:

True to her word, Bee got us an English coachman and a footman, and put
them into a very smart and highly expensive livery. But the coachman
only lasted a week, having too eagerly imbibed of the flowing bowl and
being discovered by the Angel asleep in his new livery with his head
sweetly pillowed on the recumbent body of the gentlest cow. This
mortified Bee, for the men were, in a sense, her property, so she
dismissed him, had his livery cleaned, and resolutely set herself to
the somewhat difficult task of securi