Extracts from Mrs. Lofty's Diary, Part V. Ethelberta [pp. 502-513]

EXTRACTS FROM MRS. LOFTY'S DIARY.
the ashes off the end of his cigar, "it's
not the question of temptation so much.
I am ready to admit, if you like, that my
sex has a remarkably keen scent for
temptation. What I have against your
sex is your leniency, your unpardonable
leniency, with ours. You have no right
to overlook things as you do. If you
did n't condone our offenses we would n't
commit so many of them. There it is in
a nutshell."
"Tush!" said I scornfully. "If I had
quarreled with my husband about you,
years ago, and forbidden you my house,
would it have made a better man of you?"
"I don't know that," he replied
thoughtfully. "But you might have
taken a different tone with me, and with
all men like me. You know right well
what I mean."
"Well, of all the ungrateful scamps
that ever I heard of," said I, " you will
take the palm. Depend on it, you'11 find
the'tone' different henceforth."
"No good now," he answered carelessly, "when I should know it was from
pique, not principle."
Male creatures are past calculating on.
I believe that man is in love with Ethelberta, who treats him like an outcast.
And Chloe, pretty Chloe, who tried so
hard to break up his shell of indifference,
he never noticed any more than if she
had been an amusing kitten.
July 5th. Well, the annual outburst
of self-glorification is over, and I am glad
of it. Such a bore as it is getting to be
to hear the Eagle flapping his wings and
crowing over moribund democracy. A
vulture would be more appropriate. However, it amuses the children, and is a
good thing for the brass bands and livery
men. I saw the grocer's boy in a yellow
sash, riding a prancing steed. Dottie
had a glorious time, though she cannot
refrain from "hiding her ears" every
time a bomb goes off. But too much ice
cream and soda must have given her
indigestion, for she said this morning,
"0, I'm so nervous!"
"How do you feel when you are nervous?" asked Ethel.
" 0, I feel, I feel, as if I were to lie
down and die, I'd still keep on wiggling."
We all went down to Reuben's offices
to see the procession. I did n't know
whether Ethel would consent to be his
guest, and I think he felt quite flattered
that she did. Reuben can be very charming when he cares to exert himself, and
if you accept a man's hospitality you
cannot be utterly rude to him; and as he
chose to devote himself almost entirely to
my niece during the tedious hour while
we waited for the welcome blare of brass
which should announce the advance of
the pagent down our street, she was
forced to be at least civil. At odd
moments she forgot herself and was even
more, but froze up again instantly when
she remembered. Then Reuben would
set himself tactfully to make her forget
again. I am surprised that he should take
so much trouble; but I suppose it is only
the usual perversity of human nature. He
is a very artful fellow, is Reuben. Even
the newest women is not impervious to flattery; and I observed that, in the course
of that hour, in a dozen different ways he
managed to convey to Ethel that poor
sinful man was but clay in the hands of
the potter when his ideal woman took it
upon her to shape the vase; and that the
more sinful the man, the more abjectly
ductile would he be. And so on. A few
weeks ago Ethel would have flouted such
an idea. But having been disappointed
in the man she picked out ready made,
she may entertain the idea of remodeling
one. It is only somebody that has tried
it that knows it can't be done.
July 7th. I can't get Ethelberta to
be even decently civil to Mrs. Ostrom ill
the way of calling.
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