ch interest in your having a good time? I
wonder if the other girls are having as much fun out of planning for
their visit as I am."

"I doubt it," answered Mrs. Ware. "Elizabeth is an orphan, you know, and
Eugenia Forbes, with all her wealth, is practically homeless, for there
is little home-life in either a boarding-school or a big hotel."

Joyce looked around on the cheerful little group gathered near the lamp,
and a sudden mist blurred her sight at thought of leaving them. She
would not have exchanged the little brown house and what it held, just
then, for a king's palace. Outside in the pitch-darkness of the night
the rain beat against the window-panes like some poor beggar imploring
to come in; and inside it was so cosy and bright with the warmth and
cheer of home-loves and home-lights that Joyce was not sure, after all,
that she could leave such a shelter even to be a guest at the Little
Colonel's house party.

CHAPTER V.

BETTY REACHES THE "HOUSE BEAUTIFUL."

It was very early in the morning, while the dew was still on the
meadows, that Betty fared forth on her pilgrimage. The old farm wagon
that was to take her to the railroad station, two miles away, was drawn
up to the door before five o'clock. Davy proudly held the reins while
his father carried Betty's trunk down-stairs.

Poor, shabby, little, old leather trunk! It was not half full, for there
had been small preparation for this visit. Betty had carefully folded
the few gingham dresses she possessed, and the new blue and white lawn
bought for her to wear to church. There were several stitches to be
taken in her plain cotton under-wear, and a button to be sewed on her
only white ruffled apron.

That was all that she could do to make herself ready, except to put her
hair-ribbons and handkerchiefs smoothly into a little diamond-shaped box
that had once held toilet soap. Betty felt rich in ribbons "to tie up
her bonnie brown hair," for there were three bows the colour of her
curls, and two of red, and one of delicate robin's-egg blue. The last
was to wear with the new lawn, and, in order to keep it fresh and fine,
it lay wrapped in tissue-paper all week, between the times of its Sunday
wearings.

And the handkerchiefs--well, six of them were plain and white, and two
had pictures stamped in the corners. One told the story of Red
Ridinghood and the other had scenes from Cinderella outlined in blue.
They had been Davy's present to her the Christm