Hasn t it been a perfectly splendid time? sighed Jane, as they drove
away. I just wish I was a rich American and could spend my summer at
a hotel and wear jewels and low-necked dresses and have ice cream and
chicken salad every blessed day. I m sure it would be ever so much
more fun than teaching school. Anne, your recitation was simply great,
although I thought at first you were never going to begin. I think it
was better than Mrs. Evans s.
Oh, no, don t say things like that, Jane, said Anne quickly, because
it sounds silly. It couldn t be better than Mrs. Evans s, you know, for
she is a professional, and I m only a schoolgirl, with a little knack
of reciting. I m quite satisfied if the people just liked mine pretty
well.
I ve a compliment for you, Anne, said Diana. At least I think it
must be a compliment because of the tone he said it in. Part of it
was anyhow. There was an American sitting behind Jane and me--such a
romantic-looking man, with coal-black hair and eyes. Josie Pye says he
is a distinguished artist, and that her mother s cousin in Boston is
married to a man that used to go to school with him. Well, we heard
him say--didn t we, Jane?-- Who is that girl on the platform with the
splendid Titian hair? She has a face I should like to paint. There now,
Anne. But what does Titian hair mean?
Being interpreted it means plain red, I guess, laughed Anne. Titian
was a very famous artist who liked to paint red-haired women.
_Did_ you see all the diamonds those ladies wore? sighed Jane. They
were simply dazzling. Wouldn t you just love to be rich, girls?
We _are_ rich, said Anne staunchly. Why, we have sixteen years to our
credit, and we re happy as queens, and we ve all got imaginations, more
or less. Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of
things not seen. We couldn t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had
millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds. You wouldn t change into any
of those women if you could. Would you want to be that white-lace girl
and wear a sour look all your life, as if you d been born turning up
your nose at the world? Or the pink lady, kind and nice as she is, so
stout and short that you d really no figure at all? Or even Mrs. Evans,
240