e ruffle
about her neck to which they added a doll's dress. She was one of the
limp obliging kittens which make such capital playmates, and the two
girls laughed a great deal now as they reminded each other of certain
frolics that had taken place. Once Mrs. Beck had entertained the
Maternal Meeting in her staid best parlor, and the Busy B's, as the
captain sometimes called them, had dressed the kitten and encouraged her
to enter the room at a most serious moment in the proceedings. Even Mrs.
Beck laughed about it now, though she was very angry at the time. Her
heart seemed to warm more and more, and by the time our friend had gone
she was in really good spirits. Becky must keep the cake of soap in her
upper drawer, she said; nothing gave such a nice clean smell to things.
It seemed to her it was a strange present, but it was nice to have it,
and all the things were pretty; it wasn't likely that any of them were
very expensive.

"Oh mother!" pleaded Becky affectionately; "and then, just think! you
said last night perhaps she hadn't brought me anything, and it had been
out of sight out of mind with her!" Mary was truly fond of her friend,
but she could not help looking at life sometimes from her mother's
carping point of view. It was good for her to be so pleased and happy as
she was that evening, and she looked at her new treasures again and
prudently counted the seventeen little chocolates in their gay papers
twice over before she treated herself to any. She could keep their
little cases even after the chocolates were gone.

Mrs. Beck mended and sewed on buttons long after the captain and Mary
had gone to bed. She could not help feeling happier for Betty
Leicester's coming. She knew that she had been a little grumpy to the
child; but Betty had luckily not been discomforted by it, and had even
thought, as she ran across the street in the dark evening and up the
long front walk, that Becky's mother was not half so disapproving as she
used to be.

VI.

THE GARDEN TEA.

THERE was a gnarled old pear-tree of great age and size that grew near
Betty Leicester's east window. By leaning out a little she could touch
the nearest bough. Aunt Barbara and Aunt Mary said that it was a most
beautiful thing to see it in bloom in the spring; and the family cats
were fond of climbing up and leaping across to the window-sill, while
there were usually some birds perching in it when the coast was clear of
pussies.

One day Be