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And one of them, a sweet young thing, looked up
And said, though her words
Were almost lost in the general thrashing of that moment
"It's getting late, and so I must return soon to my parents' house
Which represents stability to me,"
Then plunged back, faltering only slightly, into the writhing, moonlit
mass
While another, whose lorgnette
Had been thoughtlessly shattered by the Teamster from East Nanuet
Genuflected beside the great divan
But abased herself by abandoning the sextette
As the divan's owner--a legendary hostess, and an old friend of mine--
Reported to me peevishly the next afternoon, over tea and crumpets.
"Still, it was curious the way they chuckled"
She concluded, brushing crumbs from her cuffs
"When they found themselves alone there then
--Just the five of them."