lly.

"We are not fine enough for them, I suppose," he answered, half
angrily.

"Not fine enough!" she ejaculated with indignant surprise. "_We_ not
fine enough! I am sure this is the finest house in the Avenue. And I
don't believe there is such furniture in town."

Mr. Fairchild made no reply, but walked the floor impatiently.

"Do you know Mr. Ashfield?" she presently ask.

"Yes," he replied; "I meet him on 'change constantly."

"I wonder, then, why _she_ does not call," she said, indignantly.
"It's very rude in her, I am sure. We are the last comers."

And the weeks went on, and Mr. Fairchild without business, and Mrs.
Fairchild without gossip, had a very quiet, dull time of it in their
fine house.

"I wish somebody would call," had been repeated again and again in
every note of _ennui_, beginning in impatience and ending in despair.

Mr. Fairchild grew angry. His pride was hurt. He looked upon himself
as especially wronged by his neighbor Ashfield. The people opposite,
too--"who were they, that the Ashfields were so intimate with them?
The Hamiltons! Why he could buy them over and over again! Hamilton's
income was nothing."

At last Mrs. Fairchild took a desperate resolution, "Why should not
_we_ call first? We'll never get acquainted in this way," which
declaration Mr. Fairchild could not deny. And so she dressed one
morning in her finest and drove round with a pack of cards.

Somehow she found every body "out." But that was not much, for, to
tell the truth, her heart did beat a little at the idea of entering
strange drawing-rooms and introducing herself, and she would be sure
to be at home when they returned her calls; and that would be less
embarrassing, and suit her views quite as well.

In the course of a few days cards were left in return.

"But, Lawrence, I told you to say I was at home." said Mrs. Fairchild,
impatiently, as the servant handed her half a dozen cards.

"I did, ma'am," he replied.

"You did," she said, "then how is this?"

"I don't know, ma'am," he replied, "but the foot-man gave me the cards
and said all was right."

Mrs. Fairchild flushed and looked disconcerted.

Before a fortnight had elapsed she called again; but this time her
cards remained unnoticed.

"Who on earth is this Mrs. Fairchild?" said Mrs. Leslie Herbert to
Mrs. Ashfield, "who is forever leaving her cards."

"The people who built next to us," replied Mrs. Ashfield. "I don't
know who they are."

"What