400
PARTISAN REVIEW
some of her dresses. Fina ll y, she drove off , leav ing the twins wa iling in
the ga rden . But, back in the ho use with their new dresses, th ey cheered
u p. T hey d rew o pen the curta ins tha t covered the mi rrors-to spare
Ho race the shock of seeing himse lf in them-and held the dresses u p
to
their bodi es fo r effecl. One of them saw Da isy's mang led form in a
mirro r and sa id: "Wha t a beas t !" She meant Ho race, who had just
appea red in a door, wo ndering how to as k them to expl a in the d resses
and the ba re mirro rs. But , suddenl y ca tching sight of Da isy spraw led
on the ta ble in her ri p ped ni ghti e, he changed course. T he twins tri ed
to sneak out of the room; but he stopped them : "Where's my wife?"
The one who had sa id "Wha t a beas t !" stared him
full
in the face
and answered :
"She's on a long tri p. She gaved us these d resses. "
He di smi ssed them a nd stood there thinking: "The wo rst is over."
T hen he g lanced a t Da isy aga in . T he cho pping knife still lay across her
bell y. He was n 't too unhappy, and for a moment even imag ined hav in g
her repa ired . But then he pi ctured her a ll sti tched u p and remembered a
rag horse he' d had as a child , with a tear in it. Hi s mo ther had wa n ted
to
pa tch it up; but he' d los t hi s tas te fo r it and th rown it out.
As for Mary, he was convinced she woul d return . He k('p t telling
himse lf: " I have to take thin gs ca lml y." And in fact. he felt bo lder than
he had fo r years. Looking back over the mo rning 's events, he a lready
saw himself betray ing Da isy. A few days ago Frank had shown hi m
ano ther doll : a ravi shin g bl onde with a shady pas l. Frank had been
spreading word of a manufacturer in a northern country who made
these doll s. He' d impo rted the des igns, a nd the first sampl es had been a
grea t success. Soon an elderl y shy man had vi sited him , with bi g
po uchy eyes g leaming under hea vy lids, to as k for deta il s. Frank had
shown him pho tographs of the do ll s, say ing: "The ir generi c name is
Da isy; but then each owner g ives them wha tever pet name he wants.
T hese are the sampl es that came with the des igns." He' d d isp layed onl y
three pho tographs, and the man had pi cked one, a lmos t a t random ,
and as ked the price, cash in hand . Frank had quo ted a stiff sum and the
buyer had blinked a coupl e of times; but then he' d signed the o rder,
with a pen shaped like a submarine. Horace had seen the fini shed
blonde and as ked Frank to ho ld her for him ; and Frank , who had
o thers on the way, had agreed. At first Ho race had tho ught o f sellin g
her up in an apartment; but now he decided to bring her home and
keep her in the glass case where he kept the do lls wa iting to be ass igned
their roles. As soon as the servants retired , he' d bring her u p to the
bed room ; and before they rose in the mo rning, he'd put her back in the
glass case. Mea ntime, he ho ped Mary wouldn ' t turn u p in the mi ddl e o f
