unhappy love affair, Joyce had escorted another girl, who shall be nameless, for she does not enter this story except as an element of conflict, to the Mandarin Ball. Now the Mandarin Ball is not the frivolous affair that 9 its name suggests, but a perennial of deep importance, a function to which young men are in the habit of taking their wives, their fiancées, or the girls they rather hope may be their fiancées. It is one of the few social affairs left of the old order.

9

Thus you can see that it was a pointed action on Joyce’s part; an indication that he regarded himself as a free man, and after the habit of free men was about to put on new chains. It was humiliating, to say the least. During the war the engagement had seemed quite natural, quite a part of things. All the young people were engaged—except those who were married.

“That, at least, I had sense enough not to do!” raged Polly, as she narrowly missed a pedestrian’s heel.

It is hard for older people to realize how important it is at twenty-three to be doing exactly what others are doing; the absolute anguish of being the only man in the A. E. F. without a wife or sweetheart, or the only girl at home without a soldier husband or lover. A bit of such understanding would make clear not only the number of divorces and broken engagements which resulted from the war and had their share in the production of the unrest of the times, but would also elucidate a good many other happenings to youth.

So much for Polly Street and Joyce Henderson, who were fortunate enough to find out before marriage that they were unsuited for each other. Polly, however, preferred to look upon the dark side. Joyce had behaved like a cad.

“And the worst of it is that everybody will say it serves me right,” she went on to herself, “just because 10 I’ve flirted a bit here and there. It’s not my fault if people never turn out as I expect them to. I guess I’m like Grandfather Street was in his religion. He thought the Baptists were wonderful until he joined them and then the Presbyterians looked more interesting to him. After he’d been with them a while he couldn’t see how anybody could be a Presbyterian, so he joined the Unitarians. People thought he was a turncoat, but he wasn’t—he was just a sort of religious Mormon. One church wasn’t enough for him.

10

“Oh dear, I wish I’d gone to Douglas alone! Bob would understand. I believe I’ll go to Athens. 

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