er.

"Oh, how delightful! how delicate! how perfect!" Mrs. Pasmer confided to
herself.

"I think this must be for you, Mrs. Pasmer," said the elder Mavering,
offering her the bouquet, with a grave smile at his son's whim.

"Oh no, indeed!" said Mrs. Pasmer. "For Mrs. Saintsbury, of course."

She gave it to her, and Mrs. Saintsbury at once transferred it to Miss
Pasmer.

"They wished me to pass this to you, Alice;" and at this consummation
Dan Mavering broke into another happy laugh.

"Mrs. Saintsbury, you always do the right thing at once," he cried.

"That's more than I can say of you, Mr. Mavering," she retorted.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Mavering!" said the girl, receiving the flowers. It
was as if she had been too intent upon them and him to have noticed the
little comedy that had conveyed them to her.

VIII.

As soon after Class Day as Mrs. Pasmer's complaisant sense of the
decencies would let her, she went out from Boston to call on Mrs.
Saintsbury in Cambridge, and thank her for her kindness to Alice and
herself. "She will know well enough what I come for," she said to
herself, and she felt it the more important to ignore Mrs. Saintsbury's
penetration by every polite futility; this was due to them both: and she
did not go till the second day after.

Mrs. Saintsbury came down into the darkened, syringa-scented library to
find her, and give her a fan.

"You still live, Jenny," she said, kissing her gaily.

They called each other by their girl names, as is rather the custom
in Boston with ladies who are in the same set, whether they are great
friends or not. In the more changeful society of Cambridge, where so
many new people are constantly coming and going in connection with the
college, it is not so much the custom; but Mrs. Saintsbury was Boston
born, as well as Mrs. Pasmer, and was Cantabrigian by marriage--though
this is not saying that she was not also thoroughly so by convincement
and usage she now rarely went into Boston society.

"Yes, Etta--just. But I wasn't sure of it," said Mrs. Pasmer, "when I
woke yesterday. I was a mere aching jelly!"

"And Alice?"

"Oh; I don't think she had any physical consciousness. She was a mere
rapturous memory!"

"She did have a good time, didn't she?" said Mrs. Saintsbury, in a
generous retrospect. "I think she was on her feet every moment in the
evening. It kept me from getting tired, to watch her."

"I was afraid you'd be quite worn out. I'd no idea