“Speaking of old sweethearts,” said the president, “what do you think happened to me the other day? I was calling on Mrs. Vansmith and her guest, as she had requested. Both of them happened to be out, and, to my annoyance, I found I had no cards with me. At last I found one of Tom’s in my card-case, and I left that, knowing that Mrs. Vansmith would understand.”
“Well, and didn’t she?” asked the girl with the Roman nose.
“Perhaps. But the visitors didn’t. It turned out that she used to be engaged to Tom; while I was in the kindergarten, I suppose. It seems that his card was handed to her; and you should have seen the unbelieving smile with which she listened to my explanation of the matter!”
“You poor, dear,” said the blue-eyed girl, “you must have been as angry as if somebody had trodden on your gown. A rather unpleasant thing happened to Florence the other day, too; Molly was calling on her, and a note was handed in. She thought it was from Teddy Crœsus, and pretending that she had ink on her fingers, asked Molly to open it for her, which she did.”
“How stupid of Molly; she might have known that it was some trick of Florence’s,” said the girl with the eyeglasses. “Was it a proposal from Teddy?”
“It wasn’t from Teddy at all; handwritings are so much alike nowadays. It was a bill from the hairdresser, of whom Florence had bought those lovely little curls which cluster around her brow—and Molly read it aloud, as she had requested.”
“But who told you about it?” said the girl with the classic profile.
“Molly. You didn’t suppose it was Florence, did you? I declare, it made me feel like trying to persuade both of them to join our club. There isn’t a girl in it that would do such a mean thing, and the example might—”
“No, it wouldn’t; they are too frivolous,” said the girl with the eyeglasses. “Oh, girls, I sometimes wish that the men who dance with us could hear the serious discussions which go on in this club,—so harmoniously, too.”
“True,” said the president, “not one unkind word has been spoken, even of the absent, since we organized. I wonder if as much can be said of any other club.”