"As for me," rejoined Franklin, "I can never tell whether a lady's
lace is worth twelve pounds or twelve cents. Although, I hope, not
insensible to the general effect of a toilette, yet lace and diamonds,
and all that sort of thing, are lost upon me entirely."

"Oh, you barbarian!"

"Real beauty was never heightened by such ornaments, and ugliness is
invariably rendered more conspicuous and ugly."

"You will not find many ladies," said Mrs. Clifford "to agree with
you."

"Oh, yes! How often do we hear of belles, as distinguished for the
simplicity of their toilette, as for the beauty of their persons. How
often in real life, and how frequently in novels. There you read that,
while the other ladies are shining in satin and lace, and blazing in
diamonds, the real rose of the evening eclipses them all in a plain
dress of white, without jewels, like some modest flower, unconscious
of her charms, and therefore attracting more attention."

"Well, I declare," said Mrs. Clifford, smiling, "it is just as you
say!"

"And what does Miss Caroline think of my attack on lace and diamonds?"

"Why," said Caroline, laughing, "since you do me the honor to require
my opinion, I will give it you. I agree that such pretending ornaments
ill become the old and ugly. There you are right. I agree that the
extremely beautiful may also dispense with them. These ball-room
belles of yours--these real roses of the evening--are, I suspect, so
lovely as to make them exceptions to the general rule. But there is a
class of young ladies, among whom I place myself, neither so old and
ugly as to make ornament ridiculous, nor so beautiful as to render it
unnecessary. To this middle class, a bit of lace--a neat tab--a string
of pearls here and there--a pretty worked cape--or a coronet of
diamonds, I assure you, do no harm."

"That you are not so ugly as to render ornament ridiculous," replied
Franklin, "I allow; but that there is, in your case, any want of
lovelines to require--to render--which--"

"Take care, Mr. Franklin!" interrupted Caroline, mischievously, "you
are steering right upon the rocks; and a gentleman who refuses all
decoration to a lady's toilette, should not embellish his own
conversation with flattery."

"Upon my word," replied he, in a lower voice, "to whatever class you
belong, Miss Clifford, you do yourself injustice if you suppose lace
and diamonds can add to the power of your beauty, any more than the
greatest splendor