Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-02-15

unanimous invitation, land make haste WHY
should We spend the whole morning over it?''
But Dorothy only poured the closer over her
serawupg words, and muttered family that there
was mistake somewhere.
ing!'' - =
tits no wonder that have been bl;,nd ari,g. =
iretted cur POOR eldest; yoa were al b. ut on
cured"
Don't stop to rorrect." cried /. capturing !,
before she hal begun; 'if we dop't hear i. AZ ID
read II out. Here goes"
MY dear cousin That's my bit, and very
what does it tell?'' inquired Patience, with
chill.
1T speaks in hieroglyphics. Now. don't in
tefrupt again. II doesn't no Justice TO Dorothy
to hear Of his approaching - E
""ofyour approaching, - corrected Patience,
recognizing her own idea.r
'''Happiness, and hope It won't last'-there's
sort OF dash there. as II aH error had been de-
teCted and hipptd in the but-.and hope his
vie will accept our frendthip when We offer it,
which won't be yet We were very sorry you
could not come over and tell US your news your
self. ., TIE eyre r-snother dash there-iJoan
says she remembers your wife very well. and
her. but regrets he saould have chosen her
dash again The valued sympathy and kind
and generous good wishes you bespeak are yours,
II they are amy body's, as they aren't ours, and
that we hope soon to make the acquaintance of
somebody with more =. We can't say your
And that when we do, we will tell her. And we
hope she viii come with you soon. to STAY in our
quiet, old Affections That's an. You certainly
had no right TO call this an ordinary letter, Pa
tience. Cheer mp, Dorothy, there is material
won't bother"
been expected, for Dorothy didn't leave her
pace at the deyonport again until the letter W as
written. She pretended not to want to read this
second effort aloud to us, butlooked suspiciously
pie ased when We declined to take any refusal.
and she re ad 1t with a self-appreciation that was
deliciOusly unctuous. Really, il read very well
too. Yet, 10 watch il folded and sealed, seemed
bit dismal too, and IN sure detected awrin-
kle on DoIothys forehead while she had been
reading 1T, which had never been seen there
before.
what " as to be done with it? This was a ques-
ton of moment-of good many moments.
"lf we give the letter to one of the servants
TO post. everybody will be talking" said Pa
Everybody" assented. wondering little,
though why we had never thought of this with
regard TO those previous frequent letters-but
OF course a thought takes long time to mature,
II il is good thought.
One Of Us must must CO. decided Dorothy; '-yOu
at the proposal-had, indeed, astrong objection
TO it,
Well, at last we made the only arrangement
which we could amicably make. This was for
all of us to 90 tOgether-for a walk. Brskly we
impressed that fact upon each other. Hadn't
We always intended TO take a walk together this
morning, and in that very direction? Under
those circumstances, what SO natural as to tax
the letter with us, and drop it into the post otic
as We passed?
"At any rate" unused Dorothy. with a feeble
JOY struggling in her face, ''we shall not be
called upon to write again to Max very soom."
All the better, put in Patience.
eve should only get unpleasantly commented
on if we did, added Joan.
But in future, you see," suggested i. As a
lively palliative, Eve should be able to address
our letters to his wife. There's a comfort Now,
crowd.'
.'How contemptuously Won speak, Barbara, -
sad Dorothy, in a tone OF mild reproach.
''Well, aren't We a crOwd?'' ! asked. ''and
more than that, aren't we crowd without
solitary prospect among us?"
II cannot help wishing we were not quite so
many" unused Joan. II wish Max had cared
for one Of us. Three is, after ALL quite usual
number; but four -"
-Four is terrific" struck in Dorothy, with ex-
-Four! :" echoed. 'why. feel to-day as il
We were forty at least. We shall look forty out
in the streets walking two and two. We look
forty here, all crowded in a room. We always
shall look forty of us nOw-all totally, hope
lessly, irretrievably unmarriageable."
And then it happened. I'm sure don't know
exactly how or why. or who began it, but it
happened. ] affirm that the first twinkle was
in Dorothy's eye. Joan has told me since that
the first was in mine. Dorothy asserts that she
saw the first in Patience's. Aud Patience never
can be sure that she didn't catch the first in
,Joan's.
Perhaps we were all right, too. At any rate
the fact stands where it was. The twinkle III
somebody's eye brought a twinkle in somebody
else's, and in about half minute we were all in
the very middle OF a long, hearty irrepressible
laugh.