Читать книгу The Oaken Heart онлайн

28 страница из 73

Saturday began quietly and moved on, gathering momentum, to the half-day match between P.Y.C.'s team and Auburn Village. Immediately following the convivial gathering after this match there was a scramble to dress up for the Saturday night party, to which came many neighbours whom we did not know quite so intimately as our house guests. This was always a set piece, the scheme of the masquerade being carefully laid down beforehand.

The explanation of this rather unexpectedly precious proceeding was prosaic. Even if childhood friends remain one's friends they do not grow up like each other, and, like the good people in the rhyme who had different opinions, "some like apples and some like inions." Not to beat about the bush, we had and have among our nearest and dearest those who would not feel happy out of a boiled shirt at an evening party and those who would not be seen dead in one, proclaiming their own variety of costume the only wear, so the natural thing to do was to arrange a function which everyone could attend in either or neither garment with complete propriety.