ds as well as their
hands, Miss Maria's directions with regard to flowers and furbelows
being somewhat like the Vicar of Wakefield's in respect of sheep--only
Miss Maria was willing to pay for all that went on, whereas the Vicar
wanted the sheep for nothing.

Thus they stood, the two friends and co-workers, with the dress spread
out on a table, contriving where the flowers should go and how many it
would be possible to put on. Miss Maria's box of Pequot flowers on a
chair near by, was as full as her directions.

"It would be better to take the box and turn it right over her after
she's dressed, and let 'em stick where they would!" said Miss Bezac in
some disgust. Whereupon, dropping her grave look of thought, Faith's
laugh broke up the monotony of the occasion.

"Well _that's_ good any way," said Miss Bezac. "And I'm sure
everything's 'any way' about this dress. But I won't have you about it
a bit longer,--you're tired to death standing up."

"I'm not much tired. Miss Bezac, let the lilacs have the bottom of the
dress, and the roses and lilies of the valley trim the body.--And it
will be like a spotted flower-garden then!" said Faith laughing anew.

How little like her occupation she looked,--with her brown stuff dress,
to be sure, as plain as possible; her soft brown hair also plain; her
quaint little white ruffles; and that brilliant diamond ring flashing
wherever her hand went! N.B. A plain dress on a pretty person has not
the effect of plainness, since it lets that better be seen which is the
highest beauty.

Up Miss Bezac's mountain road came a green coach drawn by two fat grey
horses; the coachman in front and the footman behind being in the same
state of plethoric comfort. They addressed themselves to the hill with
no hasty approbation yet with much mind to have their own way, and the
hill yielded the ground step by step. At Miss Bezac's door hill and
horses made a pause.

"Coaches already!" said Miss Bezac,--"that's a sign of summer, as good
as wild geese. And you'd think, Faith, not having had much experience,
that it was the sign of another wedding dress--but nothing worse than a
calico wrapper ever comes out of a coach like that."

"Why?"--said Faith looking amused.

"The people that drive such coaches drive 'em to town for a wedding
dress," said Miss Bezac sagely. "There's a blue bird getting out of
this one, to begin with."

While she spoke, a tiny foot emerged from the coach, and after it a
dr