Mrs. Randolph explained that, although all danger was over, there
was the possibility of the recurrence of lighter shocks during the day
and night, and that they would all feel much more secure and comfortable
to camp out for the next twenty-four hours in the open air.
"Only imagine you're picnicking, and you'll enjoy it as most people
usually enjoy those horrid al fresco entertainments. I don't believe
there's the slightest real necessity for it, but," she added in a lower
voice, "the Irish and Chinese servants are so demoralized now, they
wouldn't stay indoors with us. It's a common practice here, I believe,
for a day or two after the shock, and it gives time to put things right
again and clear up. The old, one-storied, Spanish houses with walls
three feet thick, and built round a courtyard or patio, were much safer.
It's only when the Americans try to improve upon the old order of things
with their pinchbeck shams and stucco that Providence interferes like
this to punish them.
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