Part 46 (2/2)
Aunt Emma revolved like a gun-turret getting Ruth's range, and remarked, calmly: ”My dear child, you know quite well what I mean.
Don't, I beg of you, bring any socialistic problems to dinner till you have really learned something about them.... Now I want to hear all the nice scandals I have missed.”
There were not many she had missed; but she kept the conversation sternly to discussions of people whose names Carl had never heard.
Again he was obviously an Outsider. Still ignoring Carl, Aunt Emma demanded of Ruth and Phil, sitting together opposite her:
”Tell me about the good times you children have been having, Ruthie.
I am so glad that Phil and you finally went to the William Truegates'.
And your letter about the Beaux Arts festival was charming, Ruthie. I quite envied you and Phil.”
The dragon continued talking to Ruth, while Carl listened, in the interstices of his chatter to Olive:
”I hope you haven't been giving all your time and beauty-sleep doing too much of that settlement work, Ruthie--and Heaven only knows what germs you will get there--of course I should be the first to praise any work for the poor, ungrateful and s.h.i.+ftless though they are--what with my committees and the Truegate Temperance Home for Young Working Girls--it's all very well to be sympathetic with them, but when it comes to a settlement-house, and Heaven knows I have given them all the counsel and suggestions I could, though some of the professional settlement workers are as pert as they can be, and I really do believe some of them think they are trying to end poverty entirely, just as though the Lord would have sent poverty into the world if He didn't have a very good reason for it--you will remember the Bible says, 'The poor you always have with you,' and as Florence Barclay says in her novels, which may seem a little sentimental, but they are of such a good moral effect, you can't supersede the Scriptures even in the most charming social circles. To say nothing of the blessings of poverty, I'm sure they're much happier than we are, with our onerous duties, I'm sure that if any of these ragam.u.f.fin anarchists and socialists and anti-militarists want to take over my committees they are welcome, if they'll take over the miserable headaches and worried hours they give me, trying to do something for the poor, they won't even be clean but even in model tenements they will put coal in the bath-tubs. And so I do hope you haven't just been wearing yourself to a bone working for ungrateful dirty little children, Ruthie.”
”No, auntie dear, I've been quite as discreet as any Winslow should be. You see, I'm selfish, too. Aren't I, Carl?”
”Oh, very.”
Aunt Emma seemed to remember, then, that some sort of a man, whose species she didn't quite know, sat next to her. She glanced at Carl, again gave him up as an error in social judgment, and went on:
”No, Ruthie, not selfish so much as thoughtless about the duties of a family like ours--and I was always the first to say that the Winslows are as fine a stock as the Truegates. And I am going to see that you go out more the rest of this year, Ruthie. I want you and Phil to plan right now to attend the Charity League dances next season. You must learn to concentrate your attention----”
”Auntie dear, please leave my wickedness till the next time we----”
”My dear child, now that I have the chance to get all of us together--I'm sure Mr. Ericson will pardon the rest of us our little family discussions--I want to take you and Master Phil to task together. You are both of you negligent of social duties--duties they are, Ruthie, for man was not born to serve alone--though Phil is far better than you, with your queer habits, and Heaven only knows where you got them, neither your father nor your dear sainted mother was slack or selfish----”
”Dear auntie, let's admit that I'm a black sheep with a little black muzzle and a habit of b.u.t.ting all sorts of ash-cans; and let Phil go on his social way rejoicing.”
Ruth was jaunty, but her voice was strained, and she bit her lip with staccato nervousness when she was not speaking. Carl ventured to face the dragon.
”Mrs. Winslow, I'm sure Ruth has been better than you think; she has been learning all these fiendishly complicated new dances. You know a poor business man like myself finds them----”
”Yes,” said Aunt Emma, ”I am sure she will always remember that she is a Winslow, and must carry on the family traditions, but sometimes I am afraid she gets under bad influences, because of her good nature.”
She said it loudly. She looked Carl in the eye.
The whole table stopped talking. Carl felt like a tramp who has kicked a chained bulldog and discovers that the chain is broken.
He wanted to be good; not make a scene. He noticed with intense indignation that Phil was grinning. He planned to get Phil off in a corner, not necessarily a dark corner, and beat him. He wanted to telegraph Ruth; dared not. He realized, in a quarter-second, that he must have been discussed by the Family, and did not like it.
Every one seemed to be waiting for him to speak. Awkwardly he said, wondering all the while if she meant what her tone said she meant, by ”bad influences”:
”Yes, but----Just going to say----I believe settlement work is a good influence----”
”Please don't discuss----” Ruth was groaning, when Aunt Emma sternly interrupted:
<script>