The San Francisco call., 1904-11-20
CHAPTER "
Initiation.


Mrs. RayInore was giving a little din
ner al her house IN Buckingham Gate
IN honor Of Grantley ImasOn and his
wife. They had made their honeymoon
q short one, and were now in Sloane
street for a month before settling al
Miudean for the autumn. The gather
ing was Of Grantiey's friends. one Of
the sets with whom he had spent much
Of his time in bachelor days. The men
were oId-time friends, as they had
married, the wives had become his ac-
Quaintances tOD-in some cases las in
Mrs RaymOre's) more than mere ac-
Quaintances. They had all been inter
ested in him, and consequently were
curious about his wife-critical, no
doubt. but prepared 10 be friendly and
70 take her into the set. II she would
come. Mrs. RaymOre, as she sat at the
head Of her table, with Grantley by her
and Sibyll8 on RaymOre's right hand at
the other end, was thinking that they,
in their turn. might reasonably inter
est the young bride-might set her
thinking. and encourage OF discourage
her according TO the conclusions she
came To about them. She and Raymore
would bear scrutiny well, as things
went There was a very steady and af-
fectionate friendship between them;
they lived comfortably together. and
had brought up their children-a boy
and a girl-successfully and without
friction RaymOre-a tall man with a
reddish face and deliberate Of speech
vas always patient and reasOna bic. He
had never been very impassioned;
there had not been much to lose
II what is most easily lost.
He might have had few
more intellectual tastes, perhaps, and
q keener interest in things outside his
business. but she had her own friends
and. on the whole there was little 10
complain Of
Then came the Fanshaws-John and
Christine he was on the stock eX-
change; she, . dainty, pretty woman,
given up 10 society and to being very
well dressed but pleasant, kind, and
clever in a light sort Of way. They
liked 10 entertain a good deal and got
through q lot Of money. When Fan
shaw was making plenty and Christine
had plenty to spend things went
smoothly enough In bad times there
was trouble. each thinking that re-
trenchment could best be practiced by
the other and in regard TO the ex
penses 70 which the other was ad
dicted: it was. for instance, the
stables against the dressmaker then.
The happiness Of the household de-
pended largely on the state Of the mar
kets-a thing which it might interest
Mrs. Grantley ImasOn 10 hear.
Next came the Selfords-Richard and
Janet He was a rather small frail
man. Of private means a dabbler in
art. She was artistic, too, or would
have told you so, and fond Of exotic
dogs, which she imported from far-off
places and which usually died soon.
They were gushing pair, both toward
one another and toward the outside
world; almost aggressively afectionate
in public. Trying TO humbug every
body" Tom COurtland used TO say. but
that was too sweeping a view. Their
excessive amiability was the result Of
their frequent quarrels-Or rather tiffs,
since quarreling is perhaps an over
vigorous word. They were always
either concealng the existence Of tiff
or making one up, reconciling them
selves with q good deal Of display.
Everybody knew this, thanks in part
10 their sharp-eyed, sharp-tOngued
daughter, Anna, girl Of seventeen.
who knew all about the tiffs and could
always be got TO talk about them.
The last pair were the Courtlands
themselves. All the set was rather
afraid Of Lady Harriet. She was a
tall, handsome, fair woman; she pat
ronized them rather. but was generally
anable and agreeable when nothing
occurred 10 upset her. Tom Courtland
grew more depressed, heavy, and
oreary every day. A crisis was ex-
pected-but Lady Harriets small-talk
did not suffer. Mrs. Raymore thought
that the less GEantley's wife saw or
knew of that household the better.
The party was completed by Souzette
Bligh, a girl pretty in a faded sort Of
way. not quite so young as she tried
10 look and in Mrs. Raymore's opin-
ion. quite likely not to marry at all;
and finally by young Blake, Walter
Dudley Blake, a favorite of hers and
Of many other people, known as a
climber OF mountains and a shooter of
rare game in his energetic days; sus-
pected OF enjoying life somewhat to
excess and with riotous revelry in his
seasons of leisure; impetuous, chival-
rOus. impulsive, and notably good
looking. Mrs. Raymore had put him on
Sibylla's right-in case her husband
should not prove amusing to the hon.
ored guest.
On the whole, she thought, they ought