of telling of the
queer, ridiculous things they did, in trying to spend their money. But
they were very happy, and thought their immense, ugly house was the
finest in the city, or in the world.

"Well, an' what's the news on the Rialter?" said the head of the house
now, busy with his soup.

"You'll have the laugh on me, Dad," his wife assured him, placidly.
"After all my sayin' that nothing'd take me to Father Crowley's
meetin'!"

"Oh, that was it?" said the mayor. "What's he goin' to have,--a
concert?"

"--AND a fair too!" supplemented Mrs. Costello. There was an interval
devoted on her part to various bibs and trays, and a low aside to the
waitress. Then she went on: "As you know, I went, meanin' to beg off.
On account of baby bein' so little, and Leo's cough, and the paperers
bein' upstairs,--and all! I thought I'd just make a donation, and let
it go at that. But the ladies all kind of hung back--there was very few
there--and I got talkin'--"

"Well,'tis but our dooty, after all," said the mayor, nodding approval.

"That's all, Frank. Well! So finally Mrs. Kiljohn took the coffee, and
the Lemmon girls took the grab-bag. The Guild will look out for the
concert, and I took one fancy-work booth, and of course the Children of
Mary'll have the other, just like they always do."

"Oh, was Grace there?" Teresa was eager to know.

"Grace was, darlin'."

"And we're to have the fancy-work! You'll help us, won't you, mother?
Goody--I'm in that!" exulted Teresa.

"I'm in that, too!" echoed Alanna, quickly.

"A lot you are, you baby!" said Leo, unkindly.

"You're not a Child of Mary, Alanna," Teresa said promptly and uneasily.

"Well--WELL--I can help!" protested Alanna, putting up her lip. Can't
I, mother? "CAN'T _I_, mother?"

"You can help ME, dovey," said her mother, absently. "I'm not goin' to
work as I did for Saint Patrick's Bazaar, Dad, and I said so! Mrs.
O'Connell and Mrs. King said they'd do all the work, if I'd just be the
nominal head. Mary Murray will do us some pillers--leather--with
Gibsons and Indians on them. And I'll have Lizzie Bayne up here for a
month, makin' me aprons and little Jappy wrappers, and so on."

She paused over the cutlets and the chicken pie, which she had been
helping with an amazing attention to personal preference. The young
Costellos chafed at the delay, but their mother's fine eyes saw them
not.

"Kelley & Moffat ought to let me have materials at half price," she
refle