Blogs and book

The old lady was very much interested: "Do let
me see the poor thing!" She was accordingly allowed to see Flora de
Barral in Mrs. Fyne's drawing-room on a day when there was no one else
there, and she preached to her with charming, sympathetic authority: "The
only way to deal with our troubles, my dear child, is to forget them. You
must forget yours. It's very simple. Look at me. I always forget mine.
At your age one ought to be cheerful."
Later on when left alone with Mrs. Fyne she said to that lady: "I do hope
the child will manage to be cheerful. I can't have sad faces near me. At
my age one needs cheerful companions."
And in this hope she carried off Flora de Barral to Bournemouth for the
winter months in the quality of reader and companion. She had said to
her with kindly jocularity: "We shall have a good time together. I am
not a grumpy old woman." But on their return to London she sought Mrs.
Fyne at once. She had discovered that Flora was not naturally cheerful.
When she made efforts to be it was still worse. The old lady couldn't
stand the strain of that.


Pages:
261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285