"A simple white muslin," suggested 'Toinette, struggling in the grasp of
the immortal Tod,--"a simple white muslin, with an equally simple wild
flower in your hair, _a la_ Amanda Fitzallan. How the Dowager Bilberry
_would_ like that."

"And a wide blue sash," suggested Mollie. "And the sleeves tied up with
bows. _And_ tucks, Dolly. Girls, just think of Dolly making great eyes
at an eligible Philistine, in white muslin and a sash and tucks!"

She was a hardened little sinner, this Dolly, her only redeeming point
being that she was honest enough about her iniquities,--so honest
that they were really not such terrible iniquities after all, and were
regarded as rather good fun by the _habitues_ of Vaga-bondia proper.
She laughed just as heartily as the rest of them at Mollie's speech.
She could no more resist the temptation of making great eyes at eligible
Philistines than she could help making them at the entertaining but
highly ineligible Bohemians, who continually frequented Phil's studio.
The fear of man was not before her eyes; and the life she had led had
invested her with a whimsical yet shrewd knowledge of human nature, and
a business-like habit of looking matters in the face, which made her
something of a novelty; and when is not novelty irresistible? And as to
the masculine Philistines,--well, the audacity of Dolly's successes in
the very midst of the enemy's camp had been the cause of much stately
demoralization of Philistine battalions.

At her quietest she created small sensations and attracted attention;
but in her wicked moods, when she was in a state of mind to prompt her
to revenge the numerous small slights and overt acts of lofty patronage
she met with, the dowagers stood in some secret awe of her propensities,
and not without reason. Woe betide the daring matron who measured swords
with her at such times. Great would be her confusion and dire her fall
before the skirmish was over, and nothing was more certain than that she
would retire from the field a wiser if not a better woman. After being
triumphantly routed with great slaughter on two or three occasions,
the enemy had discovered this, and decided mentally that it was more
discreet to let "little Miss Crewe" alone, considering that, though it
was humiliating to be routed, even by one of their own forces, it was
infinitely more so to be routed by an innocent-looking young person,
whose position was questionable, and who actually owed her vague sh