A Few Short Sketches

Perfumed gloves and a discarded bunch of violets draw a ballgoer into the emotional life beneath a polished social scene. Douglass Sherley's short sketches move among receptions, club rooms, gifts and private attachments, finding meaning in small objects that their owners treat very differently. In the opening story, Miss Caddington prepares for a dance while her companion studies the flowers she has left behind. Their later conversation turns toward personal responsibility and the effects of disappointed affection.

Another excerpt follows George Addison as he tries to loosen his attachment to Florence Barlowe by giving away her presents at Christmas. Slippers, cuff buttons and an impractical inkstand become occasions for sly observations about family obligations and the awkward usefulness of gifts. The collection offers readers brief social fiction in which sentiment sits beside humor, with close attention to manners, possessions and the feelings people conceal in ordinary conversation.