ncy was talking with Alice the day before, his dinner that Mrs.
Hawkins had saved for him was being burned to a crisp in and on the
stove. Mrs. Hawkins's attention was finally attracted to it, and,
turning to Betsy, she said, "Law sakes, somethin' must be burnin'."
Running to the stove, she soon discovered the cause. "Mercy on me!" she
ejaculated. "I left that damper open, and his dinner's burnt to a
cinder. Wall, I don't care; he may be a good lodger, an' all that, but
he's a mighty poor boarder; and it's no satisfaction gittin' up things
for him to eat, and then lettin' them go to waste, even if he does pay
for it. Them's my sentiments, and I'll feel better now I've spit it
out."

The good woman went to work to clean up her stove, while Betsy kept on
with the seemingly endless dish washing. Mrs. Hawkins finished her work,
and, going to the sink, began to wipe the accumulated pile of dishes.

"I s'pose everybody in town will go to church next Sunday," said Mrs.
Hawkins, "to see them brides."

"Will they look any different than they did the other day?" Betsy
innocently inquired.

"Well, I guess," remarked Mrs. Hawkins. "I saw Mandy yesterday and she
told me all about her trip to the city. Mrs. Chessman went shoppin' with
them, and the way she beat them shopkeepers down was a sight, Mandy
says. It beats all how them rich folks can buy things so much cheaper
than us poor people can. She took them all home to dinner, and Mandy
says she lives in the most beautifulest house she ever saw. Then she
went to the dressmakers with them, and she beat them down more'n five
dollars on each gown. Then she took 'em to the millinery store, and she
bought each one of them a great big handsome hat, with feathers and
ribbons and flowers all over 'em. Nobody has seen 'em yet, but all three
on 'em are going to wear 'em to church next Sunday, and won't there be a
stir? Nobody'll look at the new orgin."

"I wish I could go," said Betsy.

Mrs. Hawkins rattled on: "Mandy says she took 'em all into a jewelry
store, and bought each one on 'em a breast-pin, a pair of earrings, and
a putty ring, to remember her by. Then she druv 'em down to the deepo in
her carriage."

"I wish I could see them with all their fine things on," said Betsy,
again.

"Well, you shall, Betsy," said good-hearted Mrs. Hawkins. "I'll make
Jonas help me wash the dishes Sunday mornin', and you shall go to
church."

Betsy's face was wreathed in smiles.

"You're so