yet," she explained, "and it
was so kind of you to call first."

"I am afraid it is rather a selfish call, Mrs. Hatton."

"Oh, you must not call me Mrs. Hatton. There are three of us, you know;
though it is likely that our mother-in-law assumes the title, and you
are Mrs. Harry and I am Mrs. John. It would be quite in sympathy with
her way, and her manner of thinking. So call me Jane, and I will call
you Lucy. John always speaks of you as Lucy."

"John gave me a sister's place from the first. John does not know how to
be unkind. I came, Jane, to ask you how I must dress for the Hatton
dinner. I could make nothing of Harry's advice."

"What did he suggest?"

"Anything from cloth of gold to book muslin."

"And the color?"

"A combination impossible. Harry's idea of color in pictures is
wonderfully good; in dress it would be for me almost ridiculous. I think
Harry likes all colors and he did not know which to select. He advises
me also, that I must wear a low-cut bodice and very short sleeves. I
have never done this, and I do not think that I should either feel right
or do right to follow such advice."

"There would not be anything wrong in such a dress, but you would not be
graceful in any kind of garment you do not wear _habitually_."

Then Jane showed her sister-in-law all her finest costumes, told her
what modistes made them, and at what social functions they were worn.
When this exhibition was over, the afternoon was advanced. They drank a
cup of tea together and Jane thought Mrs. Harry the most attractive and
affectionate woman she had ever met. She begged her to send for Harry
and to stay for dinner, and Lucy was delighted at the invitation but
said she could not leave her children because Agnes was not yet weaned
and "she will need me and cry for me." Then with an enchanting smile she
added, "And you know, I should want her. A mother cannot leave a nursing
babe, can she?"

These words were the only minor notes in the interview; they were the
only words Jane did not tell her husband. Otherwise, she made a charming
report of the visit. "She is a darling!" was her comment, and, "No
wonder that Harry adores her. John, she makes you feel that goodness is
beautiful, and she looks so young and lovely and yet she has three
children! It is amazing!"

John longed to intimate that the three children might be the secret of
Lucy's youth and beauty, but he refrained himself even from good words.
And which of us can