ood people, and a
dinner-party of more distinction could not have been collected in that
town.

But this dinner did not go off altogether smoothly. If the people had
come merely to eat, they must have been abundantly satisfied, for
everything was of the very best and well cooked, Mrs. Cliff and Willy
having seen to that; but there were certain roughnesses and hitches in
the management of the dinner which disturbed Mrs. Cliff. In her travels
and at the hotels where she had lived she had seen a great deal of good
service, and she knew what it was.

Willy, who, being a relative, should really have come to the table, had
decidedly declined to do so, and had taken upon herself the principal
part of the waiting, assisted by the general servant and a small girl
who had been called in. But the dining-room was very small, some of the
chairs were but a little distance from the wall, and it was evident that
Willy had not a true appreciation of the fact that in recent years she
had grown considerably rounder and plumper than she used to be; and it
made Mrs. Cliff's blood run cold to see how she bumped the back of Mr.
Perley's chair, as she thrust herself between it and the wall.

The small girl had to be told almost everything that she must do, and
the general servant, who did not like to wait on table, only came in
when she was called and left immediately when she had done what she had
been called for.

When the guests had gone, Mrs. Cliff declared to Willy that that was the
last large dinner she would give in that house. "It was not a dinner
which a woman of my means should offer to her friends." Willy was
amazed.

"I don't see how it could have been better," said she, "unless you had
champagne, and I know Mr. Perley wouldn't have liked that. Everything on
the table was just as good as it could be."

But Mrs. Cliff shook her head. She knew that she had attempted something
for which her present resources were insufficient. After this she
invited people to dinner once or twice a week, but the company was
always very small and suited to the resources of the house.

"I will go on this way for a while," thought the good lady, "and after a
time I will begin to spread out and do things in a different style."

Several times she drove over to Harrington, a large town some five miles
away, which contained a furniture factory, and there she purchased many
articles which would be suitable for the house, always securing the best
thi