isgust.

"No," said Tom, "she is as you say, vulgar, and somewhat forward--but
not ugly. On the contrary, she is decidedly handsome."

"Handsome!" repeated Miss Leveredge. "Do you call her handsome, with
all those hanging curls, and that _feroniere_, and her hat on the very
back of her head; with her short petticoats and big feet--and such
bright colors, and quantity of tawdry jewelry as she wears, too."

"You women never can separate a girl from her dress," said Tom,
laughing. "Miss Dawson dresses execrably, I grant you; but give her
one half of the advantages of the girls that you see around you in
society, and she would be not only pretty, but beautiful."

"Then she may be improved," said Mrs. Castleton, hopefully.

"Not much of that," said Tom. "She is very well satisfied with
herself, I imagine."

"Oh, it's evident she's a public belle and beauty in her own set,"
said Emma. "She's full of airs and graces."

Mrs. Castleton sighed.

"It's a bad business, I am afraid," she said, mournfully.

"No," said Tom, stoutly, "it's not pleasant, and that's all. The girl
may make a very good wife, though she does dress badly. She looks
amiable, and I dare say has sense enough."

"It's not her dress only," persisted Emma, "but her manners are so
bad."

"Well, many a flirty girl has settled into a very respectable married
woman," continued Tom.

"Where have you seen her, Emma?" asked Mrs. Castleton.

"Tom pointed her out to me one night at the theatre; and I have since
seen her in the street frequently."

"Then you do not know her at all?" continued Mrs. Castleton, with some
surprise in her tone. "How, then, do you know any thing about her
manners, Emma?"

"It's not necessary to know her to know what her manners are," replied
Emma. "One glance across the theatre is enough for that. She had two
or three beaux with her--indeed, I believe she was there only with
them--"

"Her mother was with her, Emma," interposed Tom, decidedly.

"Well," continued Emma, a little provoked at being set right, "she
ought to have made her behave herself, then."

"But how did she behave, Emma?" pursued Mrs. Castleton, who had been
absent from the city during the rise and progress of this flirtation,
and was now anxious for as much information as could be obtained on
the subject.

"Oh, laughing, and flirting, and shaking her long curls back, and
looking up to their faces--perfectly disgusting!"

Mrs. Castleton looked at her brot