Good-natured Mrs. Abel stared at her; there was something disquieting in
her tone, and she had a vast respect for her rich friend.

"You remember I told you the other day that Warden had promised
me--that's to say"--Mrs. Warden corrected herself--"he had asked me to
order a new silk dress--"

"From Madame Labiche--of course!"--interrupted Mrs. Abel. "And I suppose
you're on your way to her now? Oh, take me with you! It will be such
fun!"

"I am not going to Madame Labiche's," answered Mrs. Warden, almost
solemnly.

"Good gracious, why not?" asked her friend, while her good-humored brown
eyes grew spherical with astonishment.

"Well, you must know," answered Mrs. Warden, "it seems to me we can't
with a good conscience pay so much money for unnecessary finery, when
we know that on the outskirts of the town--and even at our very
doors--there are hundreds of people living in destitution--literally in
destitution."

"Yes, but," objected the advocate's wife, casting an uneasy glance over
her table, "isn't that the way of the world? We know that inequality--"

"We ought to be careful not to increase the inequality, but rather to do
what we can to smooth it away," Mrs. Warden interrupted. And it appeared
to Mrs. Abel that her friend cast a glance of disapprobation over the
table, the stuffs, and the _Bazars_.

"It's only alpaca," she interjected, timidly.

"Good heavens, Caroline!" cried Mrs. Warden, "pray don't think that
I'm reproaching you. These things depend entirely upon one's
individual point of view--every one must follow the dictates of his own
conscience."

The conversation continued for some time, and Mrs. Warden related that
it was her intention to drive out to the very lowest of the suburbs, in
order to assure herself, with her own eyes, of the conditions of life
among the poor.

On the previous day she had read the annual report of a private
charitable society of which her husband was a member. She had purposely
refrained from applying to the police or the poor-law authorities for
information. It was the very gist of her design personally to seek
out poverty, to make herself familiar with it, and then to render
assistance.

The ladies parted a little less effusively than usual. They were both in
a serious frame of mind.

Mrs. Abel remained in the garden-room; she felt no inclination to set to
work again at the walking-dress, although the stuff was really pretty.
She heard the muffled sound of the