soothe anybody's feelings. Everybody's feelings needed soothing just then, even mine. Of course I couldn't say, "Why on earth did you pull back just when you did?" or even offer defense of poor Poll's character. That was gone forever, and it looked for a time as if nothing but her head on a tea-plate would suffice for atonement. It was really a delicate situation.
However, the immediate consideration was not so much appeasement as how to stanch the two bleeding scars which now appeared on the sides of the bride's nose. I won't into particulars. They are painful even in retrospect, but I am sure that none were omitted in the long and low-pitched conferences which took place in the parlor after the prospective groom's arrival. I am glad to be able to say, however, that the gentleman in the case rose nobly to the occasion, and that the wedding took place as pre-arranged in spite of the strange red spots on either side of the bride's pretty nose which powder could neither subdue nor assuage.
As time went on, Polly's linguistic accomplishments increased. I am sure if she had known the satisfaction this gave us, she would
