se too and, as she stood before the mirror, she thought of how
she used to dress for mass on Sunday morning when she was a young girl;
and she looked with quaint affection at the diminutive body which she
had so often adorned, In spite of its years she found it a nice tidy
little body.

When she got outside the streets were shining with rain and she was glad
of her old brown waterproof. The tram was full and she had to sit on the
little stool at the end of the car, facing all the people, with her toes
barely touching the floor. She arranged in her mind all she was going to
do and thought how much better it was to be independent and to have your
own money in your pocket. She hoped they would have a nice evening. She
was sure they would but she could not help thinking what a pity it was
Alphy and Joe were not speaking. They were always falling out now but
when they were boys together they used to be the best of friends: but
such was life.

She got out of her tram at the Pillar and ferreted her way quickly among
the crowds. She went into Downes's cake-shop but the shop was so full of
people that it was a long time before she could get herself attended
to. She bought a dozen of mixed penny cakes, and at last came out of the
shop laden with a big bag. Then she thought what else would she buy: she
wanted to buy something really nice. They would be sure to have plenty
of apples and nuts. It was hard to know what to buy and all she could
think of was cake. She decided to buy some plumcake but Downes's
plumcake had not enough almond icing on top of it so she went over to
a shop in Henry Street. Here she was a long time in suiting herself and
the stylish young lady behind the counter, who was evidently a little
annoyed by her, asked her was it wedding-cake she wanted to buy. That
made Maria blush and smile at the young lady; but the young lady took it
all very seriously and finally cut a thick slice of plumcake, parcelled
it up and said:

"Two-and-four, please."

She thought she would have to stand in the Drumcondra tram because none
of the young men seemed to notice her but an elderly gentleman made room
for her. He was a stout gentleman and he wore a brown hard hat; he had
a square red face and a greyish moustache. Maria thought he was a
colonel-looking gentleman and she reflected how much more polite he was
than the young men who simply stared straight before them. The gentleman
began to chat with her about Hallow Eve and