s in Boston are after him, too."

"Poor fellow, I pity him," said Mary; and Ida continued, "Perhaps it
seems foolish in me to say so much about him, but if you only knew
him, you wouldn't wonder. He's the handsomest young man I ever saw,
and then he's so good, so different from other young men, especially
Henry Lincoln."

Here the tea bell rang, and the conversation was discontinued.

When Rose heard that Mary was taking music lessons, she exclaimed to a
group of girls with whom she was talking, "Well, I declare, beggars
taking music lessons! I wonder what'll come next? Why, you've no idea
how dreadfully poor she is. Our summer residence is near the
alms-house, and when she was there I saw a good deal of her. She had
scarcely any thing fit to wear, and I gave her one of my old bonnets,
which I do believe she wore for three or four years."

"Why Rose Lincoln," said Jenny, who had overheard all, and now came
up to her sister, "how can you tell what you know is not true?"

"Not true?" angrily retorted Rose. "Pray didn't she have my old
bonnet?"

"Yes," answered Jenny, "but I bought it of you, and paid you for it
with a bracelet Billy Bender gave me,--you know I did."

Rose was cornered, and as she saw noway of extricating herself, she
turned on her heel and walked away, muttering about the meanness of
doing a charitable deed, and then boasting of it!

The next day Jenny chanced to go for a moment to Mary's room. As she
entered it, Mary looked up, saying, "You are just the one I want to
see. I've been writing about you to Billy Bender. You can read it if
you choose."

When Jenny had finished reading the passage referred to, she said,
"Oh, Mary, I didn't suppose you overheard Rose's unkind remarks about
that bonnet."

"But I did," answered Mary, "and I am glad, too, for I had always
supposed myself indebted to her instead of you. Billy thought so, too,
and as you see, I have undeceived him. Did I tell you that he had left
Mr. Selden's employment, and gone into a law office?"

"Oh, good, good. I'm so glad," exclaimed Jenny, dancing about the
room. "Do you know whose office he is in?"

"Mr. Worthington's," answered Mary, and Jenny continued: "Why, Henry
is studying there. Isn't it funny? But Billy will beat him, I know he
will,--he's so smart. How I wish he'd write to me! Wouldn't I feel
grand to have a gentleman correspondent?"

"Suppose you write to him," said Mary, laughingly. "Here's just room
enough," poi