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profusion of fresh paint! You want shaking up, continued my
aunt. Silly woman! If there is a thing I should abhor it would
be to be shaken up. Come and dine with us at seventhirty _in
costume_, and I'll promise you a delightful time. And think how
proud the girls would be of showing off their _beau cousin_. _Et
patiti et patita._ I am again reminded that I owe it to my
position, my title. God ha' mercy on us! To bedeck myself like
a decayed mummer in a booth and frisk about in a pestilential
atmosphere with a crowd of strange and uninteresting young
females is the correct way of fulfilling the obligations that the
sovereign laid upon the successors to the title, when he
conferred the dignity of a baronetcy on my greatgrandfather!
Now I come to think of it the Prince Regent was that sovereign,
and my ancestor did things for him at Brighton. Perhaps after
all there is a savage irony of truth in Aunt Jessica's
suggestion!
And a _beau cousin_ should I be indeed. What does she think I
would go as? A mousquetaire? or a troubadour in blue satin
trunks and cloak, white silk tights and shoes and a Grecian
helmet, like Mr. Snodgrass at Mrs. Leo Hunter's _fete champetre?_
I wish I could fathom Aunt Jessica's reasons for her attempts at
involving me in her social mountebankery. If the girls get no
better dancepartners than me, heaven help them!
Only a fortnight ago I drove with them to Hurlingham. My aunt
and Gwendolen disappeared in an unaccountable manner with another
man, leaving me under an umbrella tent to take charge of Dora. I
had an hour and a half of undiluted Dora. The dose was too
strong, and it made my head ache. I think I prefer neat
Carlotta.
I lunched at home, and read drowsily before the open window till
four o'clock. Then the splendour of the day invited me forth.
Whither should I go? I thought of Judith and Hampstead Heath; I
also thought of Carlotta and Hyde Park. The sound of the lions
roaring for their afternoon tea reached me through the still air,
and I put from me a strong temptation to wander alone and
meditative in the Zoological Gardens close by. I must not
forget, I reflected, that I am responsible for Carlotta's
education, whereas I am in no wise responsible for the animals or
for Judith. If Judith and I had claims one on the other, the
entire charm of our relationship would be broken.
I resolved to take Carlotta to the park, in order to improve her

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