put in the little man,
smiling at the two girls who blushed violently.

"I am sure," he continued, turning to Seymour, "it would be quite a
pleasure to let the hall to these young ladies for any purpose, but most
of all for the purpose they have in view, and not to be behind hand in
doing a good turn when I can, I must beg of you to accept the use of the
hall for that day as a present." And he stopped breathless and
perspiring from his unwonted exertion.

At first neither Mabel nor Minnie would hear of Mr. Rowson's proposal,
and protested that they would rather pay for the hall, till Seymour, who
had until now been a mere spectator of the proceedings, came to Mr.
Rowson's aid who was by this time in a state of hopeless perspiration.

"Come, come, young ladies!" he said. "Do try to reduce yourselves to an
ordinary level. Be a little more sensible, and a little less quixotic.
Does it not occur to you that it is perhaps a little selfish, trying to
secure the monopoly of charity to yourselves, and leaving others who too
would like to do something in that way out in the cold?"

"But--" Minnie began, and then she came to a standstill, quite overcome
by the last most ingenious argument.

Seymour laughed, so did Mr. Rowson, so did Mabel, and finally so did
Minnie herself, and thus the matter was amicably settled.

Seymour and Minnie walked home with Mabel, and when they had left her at
her own door, as they strolled slowly home, Seymour remarked, "What a
quiet, sensible little woman your friend is--as different as possible
from you; how comes it that two such extremes manage to get on so well?"

"Thanks for your good opinion! It's quite flattering to be classed as
the extreme opposite of quiet and sensible," was the only reply
vouchsafed by Minnie with a great show of offended dignity.

Seymour laughed, and remarked that often "people with a great deal more
sense didn't put it to nearly such a good use."

Whereat Minnie assumed a slightly molified air, and observed that now he
was disparaging himself--a piece of humility which he altogether
repudiated.

Next morning there was a great deal of rejoicing among the girls, who
were in early enough to hear Minnie's news, and some few, who had
hitherto held back fearing public ridicule, were now eager to join
them, finding they were regarded, not only with toleration, but even
with approbation by the general public.

Mona Cameron was not among the number, though in her hea