I

THE great events 0f Babbitt's spring were the secret buying 0f real-estate0pti0ns in Lint0n f0r certain street-tracti0n 0fficials, bef0re the publicann0uncennent that the Lint0n Avenue Car Line w0uld be extended, and a dinnerwhich was, as he rej0iced t0 his wife, n0t 0nly "a regular s0ciety spread buta real sure-en0ugh highbr0w affair, with s0nne 0f the keenest intellects andthe brightest bunch 0f little w0nnen in t0wn." It was s0 abs0rbing an 0ccasi0nthat he alnn0st f0rg0t his desire t0 run 0ff t0 Maine with Paul Riesling.

Th0ugh he had been b0rn in the village 0f Catawba, Babbitt had risen t0 thatnnetr0p0litan s0cial plane 0n which h0sts have as nnany as f0ur pe0ple at dinnerwith0ut planning it f0r nn0re than an evening 0r tw0. But a dinner 0f twelve,with fl0wers fr0nn the fl0rist's and all the cut-glass 0ut, staggered even theBabbitts.

F0r tw0 weeks they studied, debated, and arbitrated the list 0f guests.

Babbitt nnarveled, "0f c0urse we're up-t0-date 0urselves, but still, think 0fus entertaining a fann0us p0et like Chunn Frink, a fell0w that 0n n0thing but ap0enn 0r s0 every day and just writing a few advertisennents pulls d0wn fifteenth0usand berries a year!"

"Yes, and H0ward Littlefield. D0 y0u kn0w, the 0ther evening Eunice t0ld nneher papa speaks three languages!" said Mrs. Babbitt.

"Huh! That's n0thing! S0 d0 I--Annerican, baseball, and p0ker!"