studio walls. Kitty had surprised them all by the
interest she had suddenly taken in French, and had translated a poem so
cleverly that Monsieur Blanc had sent it home for publication in a Paris
paper. The work was so interesting now, Betty wrote, and the time so
full, Warwick Hall grew daily more inspiring and more dear.

The old ache came back to Lloyd as she read. She felt that she had
fallen hopelessly behind the others. She was so utterly left out of all
their successes. The little efforts she had made to fill her days with
things worth while suddenly shrivelled into nothing, and she sat with
the letters in her lap, staring moodily into vacancy.

"What's the use?" she sobbed. "All that I can do heah doesn't amount to
a row of pins. I am out of it."

Thinking of Warwick Hall and the girls and all that she was missing, she
sat pitying herself until the tears began to come. She let them trickle
slowly down her face without attempting to wipe them away or fight them
back. Nobody was there to see, and she could be as miserable as she
chose. In the midst of her gloomy reverie she heard the door-bell ring.

Dabbing her handkerchief over her eyes, she started across the room to
make her escape up-stairs before Mom Beck could open the front door. But
she was too late. As she pushed aside the portieres, she heard Agnes
Waring ask if she were at home, and Mom Beck immediately ushered her in.

"I came to bring the costume back," she began, hurriedly. "No, I must
not sit down, thank you. I am on my way to Mrs. Moore's to fit a lining.
But I just had to stop by and tell you what a lovely time I had
yesterday and last night. You should have seen Marietta's face this
morning when I opened the piano and played and sang for her. The tears
just rolled down her face, but it was because we were so happy.

"She said she had been afraid that I would grow morose and bitter
because I had so few pleasures, and she is so glad about the music
lessons and my joining the choir. Mr. Bond is going to come by for me
next Friday night. Sister Sarah said she had no idea that colours could
make such a difference in one till she saw me in that costume. She has
been looking over the silk quilt pieces your mother sent Marietta, and
she recognized two pieces that are parts of dresses your grandmother
used to wear. One is a deep rich red,--a regular garnet colour, and the
other is sapphire blue. She said that if they had belonged to any one
else but