eyes, though I hoped Jill would not come to be as thin as she.

My mother smiled at Yola... that smile which draws the driest of hearts, and said: How lovely to see you; I hope you have spent a pleasant holiday... your mother visited me a few days ago.

Yola was all gentleness as she said: I came to congratulate Jill... she is lucky.

My mother raised her digni-fied eyes and said deliberately: Lucky...? You mean her fiancé is wealthy. Yes, she will not suffer want — though one gets a great deal out of suffering want.

And we — my mother's family — understood what she meant... To rise above yourself in sacrifice, leaving to the others in the family what you yourself need most... Yola's family does not understand this.

The conversation went on. Yola said, as though she had not grasped what my mother meant... She said: I heard they gathered their fortune in the war.

My mother smiled again and said: George Tremlett made himself, and he is proud of it... he owns facto-ries for radios and television sets... but he grew tired of the work and handed it over to his son... They are people of generous character, and my husband admires them.

I was pleased with my mother's answer, for everything she said was true, and our admiration for the Tremlett family sprang from its character, not its wealth... Indeed, had Julian been poor, the whole family would have consented to his marrying Jill.

Yola stayed on, seated... she wanted to see Julian... and at last he came, carrying a bouquet of

the costliest flowers... She stared at his handsome face... at his dreamy green eyes, then looked at Jill; and I saw that Jill had risen, taken one step, then stood nailed to her place.

Yola said goodbye, and I did not see her to the outer door... I felt she was a base creature who had poisoned my sweet sister's heart.

Julian did not stay long... I was in the kitchen when he left... and suddenly I saw Jill at the door, lost in thought, and heard her say: Laur, tell me — do people say of me what Yola said: that I am lucky, and that I am marrying Julian for his fortune...?

I said cautiously: Yola is jealous of you; pay no heed to what she said.

She murmured: I would have loved him in any case... but imagine... imagine if he should think what Yola thinks.

I said: It would never enter