er
those fine fronts of his. Aunt Jane doesn't believe in sentiment, so
he has been trained never to show any, but it is there, and you must
encourage him to let it out, not foolishly, but in a way to make him
more manly and serious."

"I will if I can, for though I wouldn't own this to everybody, I like it
in him very much and feel as if Steve and I should get on beautifully.
Here we are now, be sure not to breathe a word if we meet anyone. I want
it to be a profound secret for a week at least," added Kitty, whisking
her handkerchief out of sight as the carriage stopped before the
fashionable store they were about to visit.

Rose promised with a smile, for Kitty's face betrayed her without
words, so full was it of the happiness which few eyes fail to understand
whenever they see it.

"Just a glance at the silks. You ask my opinion about white ones, and
I'll look at the colors. Mama says satin, but that is out now, and I've
set my heart on the heaviest corded thing I can find," whispered Kitty
as they went rustling by the long counters strewn with all that could
delight the feminine eye and tempt the feminine pocket.

"Isn't that opal the loveliest thing you ever saw? I'm afraid I'm too
dark to wear it, but it would just suit you. You'll need a variety, you
know," added Kitty in a significant aside as Rose stood among the white
silks while her companion affected great interest in the delicate hues
laid before her.

"But I have a variety now, and don't need a new dress of any sort."

"No matter, get it, else it will be gone. You've worn all yours several
times already and must have a new one whether you need it or not. Dear
me! If I had as much pocket money as you have, I'd come out in a fresh
toilet at every party I went to," answered Kitty, casting an envious eye
upon the rainbow piles before her.

The quick-witted shopman saw that a wedding was afoot, for when two
pretty girls whisper, smile, and blush over their shopping, clerks
scent bridal finery and a transient gleam of interest brightens their
imperturbable countenances and lends a brief energy to languid voices
weary with crying, "Cash!" Gathering both silks with a practiced turn
of the hand, he held them up for inspection, detecting at a glance which
was the bride-elect and which the friend, for Kitty fell back to study
the effect of silvery white folds with an absorbing interest impossible
to mistake while Rose sat looking at the opal as if she scarcel