hem with a
silver comb. Next, she made in front, or rather on the forehead, with
hairpins, numberless little knots, or whorls, and placed on each side of
the head a plume of white, rose-tipped feathers, and in front, opposite
the riquettes, placed a rose surrounded with silver leaves. Long
rose-colored, silver-frosted ribbons falling far down on the back
completed the headdress, on which Alix dusted handfuls of silver powder.
Can you believe it, my daughter, that was the first time my sister and I
had ever seen artificial flowers? They made very few of them, even in
France, in those days.

While Suzanne admired herself in the mirror I took her place. My headdress
differed from hers in the ends of my feathers being blue, and in the rose
being white, surrounded by pale blue violets and a few silver leaves. And
now a temptation came to all of us. Alix spoke first:

"Now put on your ball-dresses and I will send for our friends. What do you
think?"

"Oh, that would be charming!" cried Suzanne. "Let us hurry!" And while we
dressed, Pat, always prowling about the cottage, was sent to the flatboat
to get his parents and the Carlos, and to M. Gerbeau's to ask my father
and M. and Mme. Gerbeau to come at once to the cottage.... No, I cannot
tell the cries of joy that greeted us. The children did not know us, and
Maggie had to tell Pat over and over that these were Miss Souzie and Miss
Francise. My father's eyes filled with tears as he thanked Alix for her
goodness and generosity to us.

Alas! the happiest days, like the saddest, have an end. On the morrow the
people in the flatboat came to say good-bye. Mario cried like a child.
Celeste carried Alix's hands to her lips and said in the midst of her
tears:

"O Madame! I had got so used to you--I hoped never to leave you."

"I will come to see you, Celeste," replied Alix to the young mulattress,
"I promise you."

Maggie herself seemed moved, and in taking leave of Alix put two vigorous
kisses on her cheeks. As to our father, and us, too, the adieus were not
final, we having promised Mario and Gordon to stop [on their journey up
the shore of the bayou] as soon as we saw the flatboat.

"And we hope, my dear Carlo, to find you established in your
principality."

"Amen!" responded the Italian.

Alix added to her gifts two pairs of chamois-skin gloves and a box of
lovely artificial flowers. Two days after the flatboat had gone, we having
spent the night with Alix, came M. Ge