Of the two, the present was more of a dream,
the past was the more vivid reality. At school she
had learned something from books and not a little
from observation. She had been able to compare
herself with other girls, and to see wherein she
excelled or fell short of them. With a sincere desire
for improvement, and a wish to please her brother
and do him credit, she had sought to make the
most of her opportunities. Building upon a
foundation of innate taste and intelligence, she had
acquired much of the self-possession which comes
from a knowledge of correct standards of deportment.
She had moreover learned without difficulty,
for it suited her disposition, to keep silence
when she could not speak to advantage. A certain
necessary reticence about the past added strength
to a natural reserve. Thus equipped, she held her
own very well in the somewhat trying ordeal of
the ball, at which the fiction of queenship and the
attendant ceremonies, which were pretty and graceful,
made her the most conspicuous figure. Few
of those who watched her move with easy grace
through the measures of the dance could have
guessed how nearly her heart was in her mouth
during much of the time.

"You're doing splendidly, my dear," said Mrs.
Newberry, who had constituted herself Rena's
chaperone.