r it to come
to the happy portal of home, and the familiar atmosphere of the cheerful
hall, and then to peep into the firelit room in which Ruth lay dreaming
in the dusky shadows.

"Ruth, darling!"

"Ethel! I have just sent for you to come home." Then she rose and took
Ethel in her arms. "How delightfully cold you are! And what rosy cheeks!
Do you know that we have a little dinner party?"

"Mr. Mostyn?"

"Yes, and your grandmother, and perhaps Dr. Fisher--the Doctor is not
certain."

"And I see that you are already dressed. How handsome you look! That
black lace dress, with the dull gold ornaments, is all right."

"I felt as if jewels would be overdress for a family dinner."

"Yes, but jewels always snub men so completely. It is not altogether
that they represent money; they give an air of royalty, and a woman
without jewels is like an uncrowned queen--she does not get the homage.
I can't account for it, but there it is. I shall wear my sapphire
necklace. What did father say about our new kinsman?"

"Very little. It was impossible to judge from his words what he thought.
I fancied that he might have been a little disappointed."

"I should not wonder. We shall see."

"You will be dressed in an hour?"

"In less time. Shall I wear white or blue?"

"Pale blue and white flowers. There are some white violets in the
library. I have a red rose. We shall contrast each other very well."

"What is it all about? Do we really care how we look in the eyes of this
Mr. Mostyn?"

"Of course we care. We should not be women if we did not care. We must
make some sort of an impression, and naturally we prefer that it should
be a pleasant one."

"If we consider the mortgage----"

"Nonsense! The mortgage is not in it."

"Good-by. Tell Mattie to bring me a cup of tea upstairs. I will be
dressed in an hour."

The tea was brought and drank, and Ethel fell asleep while her maid
prepared every item for her toilet. Then she spoke to her mistress, and
Ethel awakened, as she always did, with a smile; nature's surest sign of
a radically sweet temper. And everything went in accord with the smile;
her hair fell naturally into its most becoming waves, her dress into its
most graceful folds; the sapphire necklace matched the blue of her happy
eyes, the roses of youth were on her cheeks, and white violets on her
breast. She felt her own beauty and was glad of it, and with a laughing
word of pleasure went down to the parlor.

Madam