So that it was as a convenience, and not as a comfort, that she looked forward to Aunt Julia; and to the girls she did not look forward at all.

They were young, ebullient, slangy; they belonged to a later generation than her own, strange to her in that it seemed weighted with none of the responsibilities and reverences that she had grown up among.

It was a generation that had no respect for and no anxiety concerning Europe; that played violent outdoor games, and went without hats in summer.
The dining-room was full when she went down to dinner, her inward tremor of shyness sustained by the consciousness of the perfect fit and cut of her elaborate little dress.

People sat at small tables, and the general impression was one of circumspection and withdrawal.

Most of the occupants were of Althea's type--richly dressed, quiet-voiced Americans, careful of their own dignity and quick at assessing other people's.