more complete outfit in it.
There was a pretty little inkstand in one little compartment, with a
silver top which screwed on so tightly that the ink could not possibly
spill out when Ruby carried the desk around, and in the opposite
compartment was a little silver box for stamps. There was a place for
pen-holders and pencils, and when Ruby took off its cover and looked
into it, she found the dearest pen-holder of silver, with her initial
upon it, and a pen in it all ready for use. There was a little silver
pencil in it too, that opened and shut, when it was screwed and
unscrewed. Then there was a place for paper, and envelopes, and
another place in which to keep all the dear home letters, that Ruby
knew she was going to receive every week.
The envelopes were pink and cream, and chocolate and a pale blue, to
match the paper, and they all had "H" upon them just as if they had
been made especially for Ruby.
Orpah had directed one of the envelopes to herself, and put a stamp
upon it all ready for Ruby to write to her.
All this was enough to make Ruby forget that she was tired and away
from home, and to make her eyes shine like stars; but there was still
something else, that I think she liked better than everything else in
the desk put together.
Perhaps, it was because it was something that she had never dreamed
that she should possess for her very own, that she was so delighted
with it. There was a little outfit of sealing-wax, with sticks of
different-colored wax, tiny tapers, and a little candlestick just big
enough to hold such wee bits of candles, in the shape of a pond lily,
and a little seal with "R" on it. So when Ruby had written her letters
and put them in their envelopes, she could light one of the little
tapers, drop some wax upon the back of the envelope, and press it down
with the seal, just as she had seen her papa do.
"Oh, oh, oh," she cried, in delight. "I do think Orpah is just the
nicest girl. Did you ever see anything quite so perfectly lovely, Aunt
Emma? You shall use it when you write letters, if you want to, and oh,
may I write a letter this very minute, and seal it with my seal?"
"Not just this minute, dear," said her aunt, smiling at her eagerness.
"Wait until we have unpacked our trunks, and get a little settled, and
then you may write and tell your mamma what a nice journey you had, and
how kind the old gentleman was to you."
It was a very sure indication that Ruby was try
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