means of a telegram in cipher. The mother, however, is always with us,
and, lacking the quick imitative faculty of the younger generation,
remains uninteresting and provincial to the last. In spite of her,
however, the American girl is always welcome. She brightens our dull
dinner parties for us and makes life go pleasantly by for a season. In
the race for coronets she often carries off the prize; but, once she has
gained the victory, she is generous and forgives her English rivals
everything, even their beauty.

Warned by the example of her mother that American women do not grow old
gracefully, she tries not to grow old at all and often succeeds. She has
exquisite feet and hands, is always bien chaussee et bien gantee and can
talk brilliantly upon any subject, provided that she knows nothing about
it.

Her sense of humour keeps her from the tragedy of a grande passion, and,
as there is neither romance nor humility in her love, she makes an
excellent wife. What her ultimate influence on English life will be it
is difficult to estimate at present; but there can be no doubt that, of
all the factors that have contributed to the social revolution of London,
there are few more important, and none more delightful, than the American
Invasion.




SERMONS IN STONES AT BLOOMSBURY: THE NEW SCULPTURE ROOM AT THE BRITISH
MUSEUM