Very sincerely your friend,
MARIAN V. MORRISON.
_Miss Eleanor Morrison to Miss Grace Fairfax, Washington, D. C._
November 19th.
DEAREST GRACE: We are sending out invitations to dinner and small dance
afterward in honor of a cousin of ours, Helen Hammersley, who is coming
from England to spend the winter with us, and of course we thought of
you first and foremost. You must come and save the situation with your
brilliancy and tact. There! can you refuse me after that? To tell you
the truth, dear, we are all awfully worried about the whole thing. We
none of us know Helen at all, and we are simply _au désespoir_ about her
because she is such a strange girl. She has been at college for five
years--first in America and then at Oxford, and we all feel miserably
sure of what an impossible sort of girl she is. She even took some sort
of honor in mathematics at Oxford--just fancy! What she is going to be
like in a ball-room no mortal can guess! So we have done the best we
can--mamma has invited some old fogies to entertain her, and I propose
we make our end of the table as much of a shining contrast as possible.
I shall ask that Canadian you adore so--Reggie Montrose--for you, and
your brother Jerry for Margaret, and shall reserve Wayne Claghart for
myself; so please take warning and let that youth severely alone. He is
my especial property, and I consider him simply the nicest man I know.
He has hinted two or three times that he would like to sketch my head.
He needn’t be afraid of my refusing, if he’d only ask me outright! I
shall tell Helen, of course, that I asked him because he has lately
returned from England, and she has just returned, etc., etc., but I’m
afraid he’ll be so far away from her and she’ll be so busy talking
theologies with Professor Radnor (forgot to tell you mamma has asked
him!), and the East End with Percy Beaufort, that I don’t think she’ll
have a chance to stun him with her learning. Besides, I don’t think he
is the man to devote much time to _that_ sort of a girl.
Now, don’t disappoint me! I count on you. Later there will be a lot of
people in--the usual crowd, you know--and if you’ll say positively
you’ll come, we will make it a small cotillon and you shall lead with
Reggie.
I’ll let Margaret write to Jerry--they are such chums, but you be sure
and make him come. Don’t, for Heaven’s sake, let him know about Helen’s
homeliness and flabbergastering attainments, or he won’t stir a foot.
Good-by. Expect you down Wednesday. Telegraph me you will come.
As ever,
ELEANOR.
_Miss Eleanor Morrison to Reginald Montrose, Esq., Murray Hill Hotel,
New York City._
November 19th.
DEAR MR. MONTROSE: Thank you so much for that lovely philopena present.
How charming of you to have thought of _that_! Won’t you take dinner
with us next Thursday, at half after eight, and let me thank you in
person? After dinner you may dance the cotillon with Miss Fairfax.
There! is not that an inducement? I have a cousin whom I want you to
meet, too--she is just returning to America and is very learned, and not
quite your style, I fear, but she will doubtless be good for you after
_me_!
Most cordially yours,
ELEANOR MORRISON.
_Miss Eleanor Morrison to Wayne Claghart, Esq., Twenty-third Street, New
York City._
SATURDAY, November 19th.
DEAR MR. CLAGHART: Do you remember your promise to run down to
Baltimore? Well, I shall expect you to keep it next Thursday. We are to
have a little dinner and a dance afterward (perhaps I should say a
dinner and a little dance--no, the adjective belongs to both), and I
shall certainly expect you to be on hand. Your fame has preceded you, of
course, and a great many very nice young women are simply existing on
the thought of meeting Mr. Wayne Claghart, the artist! Shall I reserve
the very prettiest and nicest of them all to dance the cotillon with
you?
Hoping to see you without fail,
Very sincerely yours,
ELEANOR MORRISON.
_Miss Margaret Morrison to Mr. Jeré Fairfax, Washington, D. C._
November 19th.
DEAR JERRY: Eleanor has a dinner on for next Thursday, and we want you
to throw over all your numerous engagements for that evening and come to
us. Do, Jerry--and favor me a lot--I forgot to say there was a german
afterward--and be generally nice to your débutante, Margot. As an
inducement I will say that we’ve got a jolly surprise for you. Eleanor
don’t want me to tell, but I’m going to. Our cousin, Helen Hammersley,
is coming to spend the winter with us--it’s for her the dinner is being
given--and mamma and Eleanor are in despair about her. I don’t believe
she’s half bad, but they say she’s awfully ugly, and too smart to be
nice. I suppose she is awfully erudite--is that the word? Wears specs,
and dresses like everything, I suppose. Wonder if she ever danced the
german--she can have a sprained ankle if she don’t know how.
As ever,
MARGARET.
_Telegram--Miss Grace Fairfax to Miss Eleanor Morrison, Baltimore._
WASHINGTON, November 20th.
Delighted to come. Charmed to lead with R. Have two new figures. Order
little French flags for one set favors.