TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 273 
There were letters from our old shikari uncle, full of 
advice, kindly doubts, and a few sharp digs. But his 
rapiers always had great big buttons on, so did not 
hurt us as he lunged. Sooner, I know, would he have 
broken his weapon across his knee. 
All Suburbia was announcing, through the columns 
of the Morning Post , that marriages had been ar- 
ranged for them. Who does all this “ arranging ” ? 
Nobody ever “ arranges 55 a marriage for me. I often 
look hopefully to see. I suppose if you come on it 
“ arranged,” however unpleasant it may be to you, 
there is nothing to be done but see the thing through. 
A quaint business ! Really quite on the lines of the 
Stone Age, when a furry suitor would arrange with the 
furry father to exchange the furry daughter for a 
couple of rabbits. 
Cecily says if some one doesn’t arrange a marriage 
for her soon she’ll be left on the shelf, but one can see 
a lot from a shelf, provided it is high enough. Of 
course she’d be unpopular. Old maids always are. 
And this is just because a man sees in every unmarried 
woman a walking statistic against his irresistibility. 
The Opposition kept us going in meat these days, 
but at last I prevailed on Cecily to leave me and do a 
stalk on her own. But Ralph joined her, and I wonder 
how much stalking they did. Anyway, they were 
bound for the Toyo to look for hartebeest, and all they 
came back with was the tail, very much the worse for 
wear and time, of an aoul. Ralph said he grabbed it 
as the animal dashed past him, and it came off in his 
hand ! I told him he reminded me of the Book of 
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