"But I have grown older, Mother, and soberer."
"You've taken hold of life better. To tell you the truth, I was worried about you this spring, you seemed to be getting your sense of values so wrong. You were running around with nice, wholesome children enough, but your ideas of life seemed to be growing very artificial. That was one reason I sent you down here by yourself. I was pretty sure that you would learn some of the essential lessons."
"I guess you would have been disappointed if I hadn't, Mother. I might not have. At first I just thought it was all horrid and—common."
"And what, dear?"
Elizabeth hung her head.
"Don't you know that nice little girls don't use that word?"
"There isn't any other that says it."
"That is one of the words which reflect on the user. It's one mostly used by people who have just come to realize that there is a difference in manners."
"It's awful to be a snob, isn't it, Mother?"
"It's unfortunate."