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So that it was as a convenience,
and not as a comfort, that she looked forward to Aunt Julia; and to the
girls she did not look forward at all. They were young, ebullient,
slangy; they belonged to a later generation than her own, strange to her
in that it seemed weighted with none of the responsibilities and
reverences that she had grown up among. It was a generation that had no
respect for and no anxiety concerning Europe; that played violent
outdoor games, and went without hats in summer.
The dining-room was full when she went down to dinner, her inward tremor
of shyness sustained by the consciousness of the perfect fit and cut of
her elaborate little dress. People sat at small tables, and the general
impression was one of circumspection and withdrawal. Most of the
occupants were of Althea's type--richly dressed, quiet-voiced Americans,
careful of their own dignity and quick at assessing other people's. A
French family loudly chattered and frankly stared in one corner; for the
rest, all seemed to be compatriots.


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