were alike. One was made up of roses and
daisies, another of roses and heliotrope, another of roses and violets;
and each was tied with a satin ribbon of corresponding color, which had
the name of the girl for whom it was intended, and the date, painted in
gold letters on the ends. In the middle of the table stood a large
square pan of glass, in which floated a mass of waterlilies, pink and
white; and winding in and out among the little dishes of crystallized
fruits, eclairs, apricots, and hot-house grapes, was a continuous
curving wreath of pansies of every color. It appeared to lie directly on
the white tablecloth; but the stems of the flowers were really set in
shallow semi-circles of tin, not over half an inch high, which were
filled with wet sand.

For the more substantial part of the meal appeared a succession of
appetizing little dishes, hot and perfectly served; and the wind-up of
the whole was, of course, unlimited ice-cream and water-ices, those
national delicacies dear equally to the heart of every American girl the
country over, whether she consumes her saucer-full in uppermost Maine or
southernmost Florida.

Luncheon over, the party went out to the piazza, where coffee was
served; and then Berry Joy began to tell of a picnic at Southwick's
grove which she had attended the day before. None of the other girls
had, as it happened, been present; so she had the field of narrative to
herself.

"It was perfectly splendid," she said. "There were five coaches with
four ladies and a lot of men in each, and ever so many other carriages.
We made a sort of procession down the Island. I went in Lawrence Jones's
coach, with Sue Tucker and Maude and Mrs. Freddy. You should have seen
the country people rush out to look at us when all the horns blew at
once. I tell you it was exciting."

"And what did you do after you got to the grove?"

"Oh, we had the most wonderful spread that ever was seen. You know,
everybody takes a dish and a bottle of wine to these picnics; and there
is always a great competition as to who shall bring the best things. I
never saw such a luncheon in my life; everything was perfectly
delicious."

"But what did you _do_?"

"Do? Why, we didn't do anything but that. There was no time for anything
else. It took ever so long to get lunch ready. Some of the things had to
be cooked after we got there, you know, and the coffee and the
mayonnaise made. The servants lit fires and fussed about, and the