se will be lovely!
And I'll make some little cakes to eat with them; Norah said there were
just cookies for supper."

"But do you really think you can do all that? Don't you think the
cookies will do?"

"No, indeed," said Mildred, "not for extra nice company! But little
cakes are no trouble to make. And isn't it fun to have company come when
you don't expect it? It's so much nicer than to specially invite them!"

Mother Blair laughed. "I hope you will always think so," she said. And
Mildred ran away to call Brownie to get her apron and come to the
kitchen.

"We will lay the table first, even though it is so early," said their
mother. "Brownie, bring me the pile of the best doilies in the sideboard
drawer."

"The Wheelers always use a regular big cloth for supper," Brownie said,
as she came over with them to the table.

"Many people do, but I think the table looks prettier at breakfast and
luncheon and supper with the doilies. And then, too, if anybody happens
to spill anything--"

"Jack spilled gravy yesterday, awfully," said Brownie, soberly.

"Well, you see Norah had to wash only one little doily because of that;
if we had had on a table-cloth, all of it would have had to go into the
wash. But if we had no doilies, I should use a lunch cloth that would
just cover the top of the table, and that would be pretty, too. Put one
doily for each person, Brownie, and a large one in the middle for the
fern dish, and little ones for the tumblers. Now for the silver."

Mildred came with knives, forks, and spoons.

"No knives, because there is no meat," said her mother; "but if we were
going to use them, which side would you put them on?"

"Left," said Brownie, guessing.

"Not unless you were left-handed," smiled her mother. "The rule is: put
on the right side what you will use with the right hand, and on the left
what you will use with the left hand. That is, if there are no knives,
all the silver goes on the right, and the fork or spoon you are to use
first goes the farthest away from the plate, the next one next to that,
and so on; if you remember that, you will never be puzzled as to which
fork to use. Now the teaspoons--put those on the right, too; and the
dessert spoon or fork may go at the top, across the plate if you like,
though I prefer it on the dessert plate itself. Put the napkin at the
left, always; and the tumbler goes at the top to the right, and the
bread-and-butter plate and knife at the top too, t