tic skill in order to
insert themselves into the crush. Afternoon teas still had some
allurement, even for young men, in those primitive days, and Milly had
an army of loyal friends, who would have come to anything out of
devotion to her. And the affair had got abroad, as all Milly's affairs
did, had become the talk of the quarter; a good many families were
interested through personal contributions of tableware. There was a line
of waiting cabs and carriages for three blocks in from the Lake. The
stream of smartly dressed people flowed in and out of the house until
after eight, when the last boisterous young men were literally shooed
out of the front door by Milly and her aides,--the two Norton girls. It
was, as the French put it, furiously successful.

Through the heat of the fray Mrs. Kemp and Mrs. Gilbert stood beside
Milly under the grille that divided the hall from the drawing-room.
Grandma Ridge in her best black gown, with her stereotyped cat-smile,
sat near by in a corner. Milly had carefully planted the old lady where
she would be conspicuous and harmless and had impressed upon her the
danger of moving from her eminent position. For once the little old lady
was stirred to genuine emotion as the babble of tongues surged over her.
A becoming pink in her white cheeks betrayed the excitement within her
withered breast over the girl's triumph. For even Grandma Ridge
possessed traces of a feminine nature.... And Horatio! He came in late
from his business, scorning to pay attention to the "women's doings,"
sneaked up the back stairs and donned his Sunday broadcloth coat, then
wormed his way cautiously into the press to see the fun. One of the more
exquisite moments of the day, preserved by Sally Norton and widely
circulated among Milly's friends, was the picture of the little man
facing the majestic Mrs. Bernhard Bowman--she of the palace on the
shore--and teetering nervously on his heels, with hands thrust
nonchalantly into his trousers' pockets, bragging to that distinguished
person of "Daughter."

"She's a wonder--mighty smart girl," he said confidingly. "Done all this
herself you know--her own idee. I'm not much myself for entertaining and
all that society business. Give me a friend or two and a quiet game of
cards, etc., etc."

The majestic "leader of our most exclusive circle," as the _Star_ had it
the next Sunday morning, eyed the nervous little man over her broad
bosom and across her plate of salad and pron