, at this moment, near a hundred dollars'
worth of articles of dress to make a decent appearance. The Society can
be in no such hurry for its subscriptions; they must amount to a good
deal."

"Not if never paid. Shall I lend you the money--my mother gave me ten
dollars this morning, to make a few purchases, which I can very well do
without until you can pay me."

"DO, dear girl--you are always one of the best creatures in the world.
How much is it? three dollars I believe."

"Six, if you pay the past and present year. I will pay Mrs. Thoughtful
before I go home. But, dear Eudosia, I wish you had not bought that
foolish pocket-handkerchief."

"Foolish! Do you call a handkerchief with such lace, and all this
magnificent work on it, and which cost a HUNDRED DOLLARS, foolish? Is
it foolish to have money, or to be thought rich?"

"Certainly not the first, though it may be better not to be thought
rich. I wish to see you always dressed with propriety, for you do
credit to your dress; but this handkerchief is out of place."

"Out of place! Now, hear me, Clara, though it is to be a great secret.
What do you think Pa is worth?"

"Bless me, these are things I never think of. I do not even know how
much my own father is worth. Mother tells me how much I may spend, and
I can want to learn no more."

"Well, Mr. Murray dined with Pa last week, and they sat over their wine
until near ten. I overheard them talking, and got into this room to
listen, for I thought I should get something new. At first they said
nothing but 'lots--lots--up town--down town--twenty-five feet
front--dollar, dollar, dollar.' La! child, you never heard such stuff
in your life!"

"One gets used to these things, notwithstanding," observed Clara, drily.

"Yes, one DOES hear a great deal of it. I shall be glad when the
gentlemen learn to talk of something else. But the best is to come. At
last, Pa asked Mr. Murray if he had inventoried lately."

"Did he?"

"Yes, he did. Of course you know what that means?"

"It meant to FILL, as they call it, does it not?"

"So I thought at first, but it means no such thing. It means to count
up, and set down how much one is worth. Mr. Murray said he did THAT
every month, and of course he knew very well what HE was worth. I
forget how much it was, for I didn't care, you know George Murray is
not as old as I am, and so I listened to what Pa had inventoried. Now,
how much do you guess?"

"Really, my dear, I haven'