Page:Sheila and Others (1920).djvu/157

Rh mind, Adelina was herself so very modern, so very capable.

All our intimates congratulated us upon her installation, and we congratulated ourselves. It meant little less than a new lease of life. Breakfast was on time once more, and there was cooked porridge to it instead of the crispy things out of boxes we had been pretending so long that we preferred. Our eggs (when we could afford them) were of a delicate creamy consistency instead of the depressing solidification we had become accustomed to. And our appetites were stimulated by various little new combinations of which we partook with eagerness and gratitude. Of course the bills went up, but one mustn't look gift horses too closely in the mouth, especially those conferred by a discriminating providence in the shape of energetic Adelinas.

When I first saw Adelina, and the crisp elegance of her costume—I offered to call her by her second name, Miss Croake, but she was much too modern for that. She merely laughed and said to call her whatever we liked. Of course with a name like that one might well hesitate.

If it hadn't been for her grammar I might