BLANCHE. [_Who takes the letters and looks through them, giving some to
her mother._] Yes.

[BLANCHE _reads a letter, and passes it to_ JESSICA.

MRS. HUNTER. Is the black border broad enough? They said it was the
thing.

CLARA. If you had it any broader, you'd have to get white ink to write
with!

MRS. HUNTER. [_Sweetly._] Don't be impertinent, darling!

[_Reading another letter._

[_Enter_ MISS RUTH HUNTER. _She is an unmarried woman between thirty and
forty years of age, handsome, distinguished; an aristocrat, without any
pretensions; simple, unaffected, and direct in her effort to do
kindnesses where they are not absolutely undeserved. She enters the room
as if she carried with her an atmosphere of pure ozone. This affects all
those in it. She is dressed in deep mourning and wears a thick chiffon
veil, which she removes as she enters._

RUTH. Oh! you're having tea!

[_Glad that they are._

MRS. HUNTER. [_Taking a second cup._] I thought the children _ought_ to.

RUTH. Of course they ought and so ought you, if you haven't.