6 Chapter 5 Cousin Franklin

Chapter 5 Cousin Franklin Eleanor looked different when she returned to New York after Allenswood. She walked and talked with confidence. She looked attractive in her smart, new clothes. The long dresses suited her. But no matter how confident Eleanor looked or felt, there was one fear that terrorized her.

Eleanor was turning eighteen and would have to "come out." Coming out meant that girls were presented to society. Eleanor's family was part of New York society. Her mother and aunts had all been debutantes. Debutantes were girls from rich families.

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When these girls turned eighteen, they had a "coming out" party. The parties were very formal. The girls wore ball gowns. The men wore jackets with tails. The purpose of the parties was for the girls to meet their future husbands. Eleanor's mother, Anna Hall, had been considered one of the most beautiful debutantes of the late 1800s. Her dance card was always filled. She had many admirers. Eleanor knew she could never live up to her mother's debut in society.

The idea of dances, parties, and balls filled Eleanor with terror. Her Uncle Teddy was now president of the United States. His own daughter, Eleanor's beautiful cousin Alice, was also entering society. Eleanor truly felt like the ugly duckling now. She thought no one would ask her to dance. And everyone would notice her blank dance card. Her brother Hall was away at school. Eleanor wrote him every day, but did not tell him of her fears.

Then one day Eleanor was on a train. She was going from New York City to the country. A handsome young man sat down opposite her. He smiled and began to chat. Eleanor shyly smiled back. The man was a distant cousin named Franklin Roosevelt. Eleanor listened as he told her about Harvard. The last time they had spent this much time together was when she was about two years old. Then, Franklin had given her a horseback ride.