CHAPTER IV


The next few days passed in a whirl of excitement for Drusilla.
Dresses were bought for her to fit, and she went into town with
Daphne on visits to the great dressmaker, who turned and studied
Drusilla as gown after gown was fitted to her slim, yet still erect
old figure. But finally they were all finished and great boxes came
to the house. They were opened by Jeanne and their treasures spread
upon the chairs and the bed to be admired and fingered lovingly by
Drusilla, who took as much joy in her new clothes as any girl with
her first trousseau. Except for the Bible and the life of John Calvin
the contents of the little trunk were lost, so far as Drusilla was
concerned. She became another being, as, clothed in soft-toned grays,
her hair dressed by the hand of expert Jeanne, she gradually lost her
feeling of loneliness, of being a person apart from her new life, and
began to move with confidence amongst the treasured beauties of her
new home.

The pretty gowns gave her a feeling of respect for herself that she
had never experienced before, and for the first time in her life she
felt within herself a _power_. Her opinions were deferred to, her
wishes carried out immediately, and it seemed to her that all the
world was trying to give her happiness. It took her many days to feel
that she might ask for service instead of waiting upon herself; but
she soon learned that the many servants were there for her especial
use, and expected to be called upon to render any service that she
required.

At first she was embarrassed when the housekeeper came to her in the