And
these are real manners, Mamma--that politeness which comes from the
heart.
We were allowed to dress as in New York for our dinner party, given by
Octavia's friend at his shack, and to see the girls and Lola, and
indeed us all, looking like Paris fashion plates in dainty clothes and
feathered hats seemed so quaint; but when we got inside it was not out
of place.
Such a person of refinement he must be! The outside was made of boards
like the rest, but inside it had bookcases and comfortable chairs and
cosey sofas, and the nice look of a man's room who is no fool and reads
books and thinks thoughts. There were several more lovely creatures whom
we had not met before, altogether about eighteen the party was, and as
the dining-room only held ten, naturally the rest sat on boxes, and
the table was elongated with a packing case. But the fun we had! As
delightful as the evening with the Squirrels; each of these pets
out-doing the other in remarkable Western phrases and stories, and all
with that whimsical fine sense of humour that can see the fun even in
themselves. I wish I could remember the sentences, but they are too
difficult, only they had not to be translated or explained; they were
simply the most unusual English applied in that crisp exact fashion that
is an art in itself, meaning _exactly_ what is necessary to present an
idea.
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