atitude of my Familey is wrong and cruel, and that my sister Leila,
being only 20 months older, although out in Society, has no need to
write me the sort of letters she has been writing. Twenty months is
twenty months, and not two years, although she seems to think it is.

I returned home full of happy plans for my vacation. When I look back it
seems strange that the gay and inocent young girl of the train can have
been!. So much that is tradgic has since happened. If I had not had a
cinder in my eye things would have been diferent. But why repine? Fate
frequently hangs thus on a single hair--an eye-lash, as one may say.

Father met me at the train. I had got the aformentioned cinder in my
eye, and a very nice young man had taken it out for me. I still cannot
see what harm there was in our chating together after that, especialy as
we said nothing to object to. But father looked very disagreeable about
it, and the young man went away in a hurry. But it started us off wrong,
although I got him--father--to promise not to tell mother.

"I do wish you would be more careful, Bab," he said with a sort of sigh.

"Careful!" I said. "Then it's not doing Things, but being found out,
that matters!"

"Careful in your conduct, Bab."

"He was a beautiful young man, father," I observed, sliping my arm
through his.

"Barbara, Barbara! Your poor mother----"