turn gray quite young."

"Yes, they do. I've several friends with gray hair who are very young
women indeed."

"Yes," agreed the other, comfortably, "white hair no longer indicates
that a woman is advanced in years. You speak very sensibly, Miss
Fairfield."

Patty smiled to herself at the success of her little ruse, "And, after
all," she thought, "I'm telling her only the truth. Her hair is lovely,
and she may as well know I appreciate it."

"Have you ever tried," she went on, "wearing it in a coronet braid?"

"No; I've thought I should like to, but I've worn puffs so long I don't
know how to change."

"Let me do it for you," said Patty. "I'm sure I could dress it to please
you. At any rate, it would do no harm to try."

So up they went to Mrs. Van Reypen's dressing room, and Patty spent most
of the morning trying and discussing different modes of hair-dressing.

Mrs. Van Reypen's maid was present, and she admired Patty's cleverness
and deftness at the work.

"You have a touch," declared Mrs. Van Reypen, as she surveyed herself by
the aid of a hand-mirror. "You're positively Frenchy in your touch. Where
did you learn it? Have you ever been a lady's-maid?"

"No," said Patty, suppressing her smiles, "I never have. But I've spent a
winter in Paris, and I picked up some French notions, I suppose."

"You certainly did. You are clever with your fingers, I can see that. Can
you trim hats?"

"Yes, I can," said Patty, smiling to herself at the recollection of her
experiences with Mme. Villard.

"Humph! You seem pretty sure of yourself. I wish you'd trim one for me,
then; but I don't want you to spoil the materials."

"I'll do my best," said Patty, meekly, and Mrs. Van Reypen instructed her
maid to bring out some boxes.

"This," she said, taking up a finished hat, "is one my milliner has just
sent home, and I think it a fright. Now here's a last year's hat, but the
plumes are lovely. If you could untrim this first one, and transfer these
plumes, and then add these roses--what do you think?"

Secretly Patty thought the new hat was lovely just as it was, but her
plan that morning was to humour the testy old lady and, if possible, make
her forget her neuralgic pains.

So she took the hats, and sat down to rip and retrim them.

Meantime, Mrs. Van Reypen instructed her maid to practise dressing her
hair in the fashion Patty had done it.

But the maid was not very deft in the art, and soon Patty heard Mrs. Van