It is a strange thing that where criticism is on the whole so fair, and
cultivation of the best faculties so general, the manner of expressing a
judgment and of exhibiting acquired knowledge should be such as to jar
unpleasantly on the sensibilities of Europeans. Where is the real
difference? It probably lies in some subtle point of proportion in the
psychic chemistry of the Boston mind, but the analyst who shall express
the formula is not yet born; though there be those who can cast the
spectrum of Boston existence and thought upon their printed screens with
matchless accuracy.
Joe judged but did not analyze. She said Miss Schenectady was always
right, but that the way she was right was "horrid." Consequently she did
not look to her aunt for sympathy or assistance, and though they had more
than once talked of Ronald Surbiton since receiving his cable from
England, Joe had not said anything of her intentions regarding him. When
the second telegram arrived from New York, saying that he would be in
Boston on the following morning, Joe begged that Miss Schenectady would be
at home to receive him when he came.
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