One of the strangest things in all her strange new life to Beth was the fact that although one lived in the same house with people it might be quite impossible to see them without planning for it. Sometimes her Aunt Alida breakfasted in her room, lunched and dined out and Beth could not see her that day. Mr. Cortlandt’s morning hours varied. He was not often away, except when he and his wife were absent together, for he was exceedingly fond of his home and of his lovely wife, but sometimes he breakfasted early, sometimes not at all at home, but at the Country Club where he went to play golf till the snow flew. He was never at home to lunch and if he had a dinner engagement on successive days it happened that Beth might not see him for several days. Even Natalie and Alys were sometimes hard to catch; Dirk was always to be found at certain hours, but during the daytime Natalie and Alys had their youthful engagements which separated them from their cousin for hours. It seemed to Beth hardly possible that a family could live under one roof in such separation, when it was a most affectionate and happy family. Beth thought of the close intimacy of the simple households she had known “when she was little.” She began to think of her life in Massachusetts as something that had happened years ago. A change as great as the one that had befallen Beth acts like years in putting previous ways and days far behind one. Beth wondered what Aunt Rebecca would say to this feature of the new life. She did not speak of it in the journal-letter which she faithfully wrote each day and which she dispatched to her great-aunt every Monday and Friday in order that Aunt Rebecca should always have a letter on Saturday to reread on Sunday. When Beth gave this bi-weekly letter to Frieda to be included in the household mail she found it hard to realize that Ella Lowndes, or maybe Janie herself, would bring it up to Aunt Rebecca’s from the small post-office. How could it be that the old, simple life was still going on while Beth was in fairy-land? Beth was sure that she never could make Aunt Rebecca understand that members of a family might not live in constant touch with one another and yet be happy and fond together. She could see Aunt Rebecca’s look of disapproval and hear her say “there must be something wrong about it.” For two days after her first lesson in the gymnasium and her discovery of Frieda’s lame little sister Beth could not get a chance to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cortlandt about Liebchen. The third morning the entire family met at breakfast and while Beth was turning over in her mind the wisdom of broaching the subject then and was deciding against it, Mr. Cortlandt said: “Any engagement for to-day, Miss Bristead?” “No, Mr. Cortlandt, nothing particular,” returned Beth, laughing back at the laugh in her uncle’s eyes. “Will you go with me to be shown something that I hope may interest you?” asked Mr. Cortlandt.