Spanish Lace

L. A Dazzling Day

LI. A Letter

LII. "I Love Mrs. Ellsworthy"

LIII. Telegraph Wires

LIV. A Discovery

LV. An Invitation for the Ladies of Penelope Mansion

LVI. A Palace Beautiful

THE PALACE BEAUTIFUL.

_A STORY FOR GIRLS._

CHAPTER I.

EARLY DAYS.

The three girls were called after flowers. This is how it came about:

When Primrose opened her eyes on the world she brought back a little
bit of spring to her mother's heart.

Mrs. Mainwaring had gone through a terrible trouble--a trouble so dark
and mysterious, so impossible to feel reconciled to, that her health
had been almost shattered, and she had almost said good-bye to hope.

The baby came in the spring-time, and the soft, velvety touch of the
little face, and the sight of the round baby limbs, had made Mrs.
Mainwaring smile: had caused her to pluck up heart, and to determine
resolutely to take this new blessing, and to begin to live again.

The baby came in the month of March, just when the primroses were
beginning to open their pale and yet bright blossoms. Mrs. Mainwaring
said that the child was a symbol of spring to her, and she called her
Primrose.

The next girl was born in Italy, in the middle of a rich and brilliant
summer. Flowers were everywhere, and the baby, a black-haired,
dark-eyed little mite, had a starry look about her. She was called
Jasmine, and the name from the very first suited her exactly.

The third and youngest of the sisters also came in the summer, but she
was born in an English cottage. Her mother, who had been rich when
Jasmine was born, was now poor; that is, she was poor as far as money
is concerned, but the three little daughters made her feel rich. She
called the child from the first her little country wild flower, and
allowed Primrose and Jasmine to select her name. They brought in
handfuls of field daisies, and begged to have the baby called after
them.

The three girls grew up in the little country cottage. Their father
was in India, in a very unhealthy part of the country. He wrote home
by every mail, and in each letter expressed a hope that the Government
under which he served would allow him to return to England and to his
wife and children. Death, however, came first to the gallant captain.
When Primrose was ten years old, and Daisy was little more than a
baby, Mrs. Mainwaring found herself in the humble position of an
officer's w