She had watched Dilly,
beaming with joy, playing with a particularly large air-ball, bright
rose colour, that Aylmer had bought her from a well-known character of
the place, a very old woman, who made her living by the sale of these
old-fashioned balloons. Dilly was enchanted with it. She had said to
Aylmer when the old woman passed with a quantity of them. 'They look
like flowers; they ought to have a pretty scent,' which amused him
immensely. As she held it in her hand, pressing it with her tiny finger,
a tragedy happened. The air-ball burst. Edith could hardly help laughing
at seeing Dilly's expression. It was despair--gradual horror--shock, her
first disillusion! Then as tears were welling up in the large blue
eyes--she was saying: 'Oh, it's dead!'--Edith saw Aylmer snatch the
collapsed wreck from the child's hand and run as fast as he could (which
was not very fast, and only when leaning on a stick) after the old
woman.... He caught her as she turned the corner, brought back a pink
and a blue air-ball and gave them to Dilly, one for each hand. The child
beamed again, happier than at first, threw her arms round his neck and
kissed him.
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