good wishes, and the cake
cut and served with the ice.

Dr. Harlow rose to announce that the prize for the most complete
compound was given to Mr. Kittredge, who had conceived of a
"pigeon-toad, with a lovely long dove-tail, and a pot-pied waistcoat
ringed and streaked, and a sweet dove-cot-ton veil." Frieda and Hannah
came solemnly into the room, bearing a crate, from the top of which
appeared the head of a rooster, with a big bow of ribbon around its
neck. They set it down before the minister amid the shouts of the
assembled company.

"You may crow as much as you like, Sir," said the doctor, "but this
fellow will beat you." And straightway, as though primed for his part,
the rooster opened his mouth and filled the room with a long and lusty
cock-a-doodle-doo!

"I was so afraid they would hear him before we brought him in," said
Frieda to the girls, as the four gathered on the window-seat. "He kept
growing and growing out there!" and then she looked bewildered at the
others' sudden mirth. Her peculiarities of pronunciation were so few
that the girls could never learn to expect them, and this, added to the
other nonsense of the evening, was too much for even Catherine's
self-control.

"I never saw grown-up people do such funny things," said Hannah, in
order to cover their laughter. "Do they always act this way, Catherine?"

"O, no, indeed. I never saw them put in a whole evening quite so
foolishly before. I didn't know whether they would take the idea up or
not, but Judge Arthur loves to laugh, and lately mother said they had
had quite stupid commonplace meetings,--cards and talking politics and
literary and musical programs,--and she wanted something entirely
different. They're a lot of dears, anyway! The younger set wouldn't
think of laughing so hard and being so hilarious, even the Boat Club;
and you should see the formal dignified parties that the Galleghers and
those girls give! They go in carriages and the dancing doesn't begin
till nine, though every one has a six o'clock supper and almost goes to
sleep waiting for it to be stylishly late to go. Max and Archie and Bess
and Win always go, and sometimes the rest of us get in, but we hardly
feel acquainted with each other when we meet in such surroundings.
Polly's mother told her she ought to entertain that crowd a while ago,
because she was 'indebted,' and she planned a luncheon party, and at the
last minute changed her mind and got up a Boat Club picnic ins