ew potted plants in full bloom
had come for the conservatory, and these so delighted the soul of Pansy
Potts that Patty feared the girl would spend the whole day nursing them.

"Come, Pansy," she called; "let them grow by themselves for a while; I
want your help in the kitchen."

"But, oh, Miss Patty, they're daisies! Real white daisies, with
yellow centres!"

"Well, they'll still be daisies to-morrow, and you'll have more time to
admire them then."

Patty's ambitions in the culinary line ran to the fanciful and elaborate
confections which were pictured in the cook-books and in the household
periodicals; especially did she incline toward marvellous desserts which
called for spun sugar, and syllabubs, and rare sweetmeats, and patent
freezing processes.

For her New Year's dinner party she had decided to try the most
complicated recipe of all, and, moreover, intended to surprise
everybody with it.

Warning her father to keep out of the kitchen on pain of excommunication,
she rolled up her sleeves and tied on a white apron; and with her open
book on the table before her, began her proceedings.

Pansy Potts was set to whipping cream with a new-fangled syllabub-churn,
and Mancy was requested to blanch some almonds and pound them to a paste
in a very new and very large mortar.

Though the good-natured Mancy was more than willing to help her young
mistress through what threatened to be somewhat troubled waters, yet she
had the more substantial portions of the dinner to prepare, and there was
none too much time.

As Patty went on with her work, difficulties of all sorts presented
themselves. The cream wouldn't whip, but remained exasperatingly fluid;
the sugar refused to "spin a thread," and obstinately crystallised
itself into a hard crust; the almonds persisted in becoming a lumpy mass,
instead of a smooth paste; and the gelatine, as Patty despairingly
remarked, "acted like all possessed!"

But, having attempted the thing, she was bound to carry it through,
though it was with some misgivings that she finally poured a queer and
sticky-looking substance into the patent freezer.

Pansy Potts had declared herself quite able to accomplish the freezing
process; but, as she was about to begin, she announced in tragic tones
that the extra ice hadn't come.

"Oh!" exclaimed Patty, in desperation, "everything seems to go wrong
about that dessert! Well, Pansy, you use what ice there is, and I'll
telephone for some more, r