_Mrs. Olmsted Morrison to Mrs. Franklin Bennett, the Langham Hotel,
London, W. C._
BALTIMORE, November 15th.
DEAREST ALMA: Your note, which was so welcome and which came so long
ago, would have had an earlier answer had I not been a little sick, and
so busy and worried that I have not had time or heart to write even to
you. So you can imagine in what a state I am.
The girls came back to town shortly after I last wrote you, and we held
a sort of family council about Helen. The dear girls were charming, and
Eleanor bore it very bravely. She says she will give Helen hints about
her hair, and will implore her not to wear spectacles, but rimless
eye-glasses.
We are very much worried about her gowns. Of course her own taste is not
to be depended upon, and I hardly fancy her income would justify her in
leaving her toilette entirely with a _grande couturière_, even if she
would dream of doing such a thing, which I very much doubt. Her father,
you know, left the bulk of his fortune to found a library in
Westchester. He always said he never intended to leave Helen enough to
tempt anyone to marry her for her money. Poor Henry--what a strange,
misguided man! But then, of course, he could not foresee that his
daughter would be an ugly duckling, and strong-minded and college-bred,
and all that. Oh, yes, of course he must have known about the college.
But at any rate, man-like, he did not realize how unattractive Helen
would be.
Well, as I say, we talked it over, and the girls agree with me that the
best thing is a dinner. Eleanor was for having it a small affair. She
said it would be truer kindness to Helen, but Margaret, who is very
blunt sometimes, I am sorry to say, said she thought “we ought to give
Helen a chance,” as she rather vulgarly expressed it, and insisted so
strongly on it that we gave in, and have decided to have a dinner, and
invite some of Eleanor’s friends later to a small dance. This will
relieve Eleanor of some of her more pressing social obligations, and she
will also be able to introduce Margaret to some of her particular set
before she makes her formal début later in the season. A débutante
cannot have too many friends.
And so, after talking it over, we determined to invite Professor Radnor,
of the University. He is a comparatively young man--about forty-five, I
judge--and though far from handsome he is considered very interesting, I
believe, to those who understand him. He is of good family, too--one of
the Radnors of Cliff Hill, you know. He and Helen can talk biology or
whatever it is he professes--I really forget what it is. Then there is
Colonel Gray--I shall invite him because he was an old friend of her
father, and though very grumpy and disagreeable, and apt to bore one to
death with his interminable war stories, still I always invite him to
the house once a year, and he is to be depended upon to come; and
indeed, Alma, I am so perplexed to know whom to invite that I really
cannot pick and choose. Then I think I shall have the new rector at “All
Souls.” He is a young man, an Englishman, and as stupid as the
proverbial Britisher; very high church, and as I have not yet invited
him to dinner, I think the choice of _him_ rather diplomatic. It really
has been too much of an exertion to get up a dinner-party for him alone,
and indeed Eleanor cannot bear him, she says; but with her usual
sweetness has consented to have him come if Helen and Margaret will take
him off her hands. He and Helen will doubtless find much to say to each
other about Dr. Bernardo, and the People’s Palace, and that sort of
thing. I think with these three I can safely let the girls take care of
the rest, and invite younger people who will be congenial to them. I
say younger people, for Helen must be twenty-three or four, and she will
doubtless seem much older and graver. You see I shall be prepared; I
know this will be an ordeal, but I mean to do the best for her that I
can. I shall have everything as handsome as possible--the girls are
particularly anxious about it--as Eleanor proposes asking young
Claghart, the new artist, you know, who is making such a name for
himself.
Helen will be here in a week. I shall send out the invitations in a day
or two, so as to have no refusals--dinner engagements are already
getting numerous. I shall let you know all about Helen and the
dinner-party. I know you are as interested as myself in this, and that
you sympathize with me. Poor Henry! to think that he should have given
me a niece who has spent the best years of her life shut up in colleges,
and ruining health and looks in sedentary, intellectual pursuits!
The Kinglakes were here yesterday and send their kindest regards to you.
Good-by! A thousand best wishes for a happy trip. _Do_ tell Mr. Bennett
how much I hope he will be improved by Wiesbaden.
Write soon to your devoted friend,