:07:40
It invariably happened,
as everything did in those days...
:07:44
...in the same way.
:07:47
...Mrs. Julius Beaufort appeared,
unaccompanied by her husband...
:07:51
...just before "The Jewel Song. "
:07:54
And, again as usual,
rose at the end of the third act...
:07:58
...and disappeared.
:08:00
New York then knew
that a half-hour later...
:08:03
...the Beauforts' annual
opera ball would begin.
:08:22
Carriages waited at the curb
for the entire performance.
:08:27
It was known in New York
but never acknowledged...
:08:30
...that Americans want
to leave amusement...
:08:33
...even more quickly
than they want to get to it.
:08:48
The Beauforts' house was one of
the few in New York with a ballroom.
:08:53
Such a room, shuttered in darkness
364 days of the year...
:08:58
...was felt to compensate for whatever
was regrettable in the Beaufort past.