ost conspicuous
points in the city, and all the daily newspapers had at least a column
devoted to it, headed with "THE MAYOR'S CHRISTMAS MASQUERADE," in very
large letters.

The Mayor had promised to defray the expenses of all the poor children
whose parents were unable to do so, and the bills for their costumes
were directed to be sent in to him.

Of course there was great excitement among the regular costumers of the
city, and they all resolved to vie with one another in being the most
popular, and the best patronized on this gala occasion. But the placards
and the notices had not been out a week before a new Costumer appeared
who cast all the others into the shade directly. He set up his shop on
the corner of one of the principal streets, and hung up his beautiful
costumes in the windows. He was a little fellow, not much bigger than a
boy of ten. His cheeks were as red as roses, and he had on a long
curling wig as white as snow. He wore a suit of crimson velvet
knee-breeches, and a little swallow-tailed coat with beautiful golden
buttons. Deep lace ruffles fell over his slender white hands, and he
wore elegant knee buckles of glittering stones. He sat on a high stool
behind his counter and served his customers himself; he kept no clerk.

It did not take the children long to discover what beautiful things he
had, and how superior he was to the other costumers, and they begun to
flock to his shop immediately, from the Mayor's daughter to the poor
ragpicker's. The children were to select their own costumes; the Mayor
had stipulated that. It was to be a children's ball in every sense of
the word.

So they decided to be fairies and shepherdesses, and princesses
according to their own fancies; and this new Costumer had charming
costumes to suit them.

It was noticeable that, for the most part, the children of the rich, who
had always had everything they desired, would choose the parts of
goose-girls and peasants and such like; and the poor children jumped
eagerly at the chance of being princesses or fairies for a few hours in
their miserable lives.

When Christmas Eve came and the children flocked into the Mayor's
mansion, whether it was owing to the Costumer's art, or their own
adaptation to the characters they had chosen, it was wonderful how
lifelike their representations were. Those little fairies in their short
skirts of silken gauze, in which golden sparkles appeared as they moved
with their little funny goss