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out. Mother, who had never used cosmetics, was invited to take over an agency. She discovered that in Southern California the beautician seemed to double as psychiatrist. Her demonstrations took an hour: those who came used most of the time pouring out their woes. Before long she had gathered a flock from those who rarely or never went to church. Dad's first American job was with the navy of occupation in Japan. He was away two years before he could afford leave: mother resumed her work of bringing up the family on her own. The fifties were grinding years. Once the wolf was chased from the door by mother's success on a quiz programme. To update her teaching she went to a summer school course on astrophysics at Berkeley; she was put in charge of journalism in the local high school. In those days journalism was a euphemism designed not to bruise the susceptibilities of students who were unable to cope with ordinary English. She wrote at once to Henry Luce to ask for a statement on what made good journalism. Back came the reply on a Time-Life letter head: 'Dear Frances .... Yours, Harry.' The class responded sensationally: the following year all the dullest were back for more. The school's best teacher was the biologist. Her sabbatical was due so she importuned my mother to take over her class reckoning teaching prowess to be rarer and more important than subject expertise. So mother went to Berkeley for another crash course in Life Sciences. At the same time she was concerned at the effect Southern California was having on the two youngest children. She decided Scotland would remedy the deficiencies. Celene studied at George Watson and Van Dyke at a school in Perthshire. Mother remained convinced about the importance of boarding schools for boys: had the sons of Zeruiah been too much for her. She audited a few courses at New College. When Celene had finished school, they returned to America. Celene started medicine at Columbia. Suddenly she was stricken with a clot on the main artery to the brain. Mother flew to New York for the last few hours. Later cancer struck mother and she had to face drastic surgery alone. Soon
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