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in the kitchen. To my suggestion for such-and-such a main course, she would reply softly, "Oh, Mrs. Liebes, Mr. Leon doesn't like that. Believe me, I know from experience." Or, "The only time I had that served to Mr. Leon, he became violently ill in the night, but of course if you think...." Her voice would trail away. In a short time, I retreated from the field, leaving it entirely to Mrs. Middleton. In all justice, I may say, she probably saved me from some disasters in the dining room.

Everywhere I turned, I found that I was not needed in the running of the house. Everything was taken care of, magically, or would be if I merely pressed a button. I can picture a host of overworked housewives saying, "But that must have been Paradise. Sheer Heaven!" But to one who had been accustomed to work, and especially to creative work, this pattern of life was numbing. 

Nor could I be of any assistance to Leon in