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tolerance in the beginning they rapidly drifted to unveiled hatred of each other
and at the end of two years separated for ever. It was into this atmosphere
that Marjory was brought up through babyhood. After the separation the
mother was destitute; her parents refused to have her back unless she got rid
of the baby, so she arranged for her to go to a foster home to substitute.parents.
The mother went out to work; most of her earnings went to pay for the baby.
The season of the year was autumn.
In the foster home Marjory lived the life of an unwanted child. Although
she was cared for in the material sense, being fed, clothed and looked after, she
received no shred of affection whatever—let alone love. The foster mother had
a boy of school age whom she indulged and spoiled and who in consequence was
an unbearable little prig. The foster father was inclined to welcome Marjory
and make a fuss of her. The foster mother soon sensed that her husband's
fatherly affections were turned towards the child; she felt this as a threat to
herself and the boy, so unconsciously she turned against Marjory, treating her
with coldness and indifference. After two years of this regime Marjory had the
appearance of a typical 'institution child' —pale, slightly undernourished,
slightly undersized, deathly quiet, hardly daring to breathe, taking no interest
in a toy doll and making no attempt to play. The welfare worker whose duty
it was to keep an eye on her became worried about her appearance and thought
it would be best to try to get the child moved to a different home. She knew
of a Mr. and Mrs. Boscobel (these are also made-up names) who some years
before had adopted a baby and wished to adopt another one. The welfare
worker discussed with this couple a proposal to take in Marjory with a possible
view to adoption later and as an alternative to the second baby. It was not
quite what Mr. and Mrs. Boscobel wanted but they agreed to give Marjory a
trial, especially as she was not very different in age from the adopted boy.
They thought the two children would play and grow up together. Marjory
was moved to her new parents; the season of the year was autumn.
The Boscobels had no children of their own because of a strong fear in the
husband's mind that because a distant relative had been born defective he also
might beget a defective child. Although his wife agreed with him superficially,
she was secretly deeply hurt at not having a child of her own. For a time the
first adopted baby had satisfied her maternal instincts, she had grown to love
the boy who at this time was a bright attractive child just starting school.
For the next 12 months Marjory was brought up in the home of the
Boscobels. After the first few months trial they decided to adopt her legally
chiefly on Mr. Boscobel's persuasion, for he had discovered that a four-year-old
girl can be quite fascinating and attractive and he had felt flattered with the
attention she gave him in her childish way. The court granted an adoption
order and Marjory became their own child.
A year went by and the autumn came round again and Marjory began to
attend the infants school. This was a further strain on her endurance for she
had to learn to adjust herself to the new school situation which was not easy at
first. By now she had learned to dread the autumn as it nearly always meant
change to an unhappy atmosphere and tears. In another way Marjory was
glad to go to school for it meant a period of escape each school-day from her
adopted mother, who because of her husband's initial affection for Marjory had
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