had been taken in vain? It was very kind of Aunt
Julia to wish to buy her pretty clothes, but she did not like to have
her present wardrobe spoken of as "those things." Before she had time to
say any more on the subject, however, Mrs. Carleton appeared, to tell
them to hurry, as her husband was impatient for his dinner.

That first dinner in the big crowded hotel restaurant was a wonderful
revelation to Marjorie. The bright lights, the gay music, the ladies in
their pretty evening dresses, it was all like a vision of fairyland, and
for the first few minutes she could do nothing but gaze about her and
wonder if she were awake.

"And do you really know all these people?" she whispered to Elsie, when
they were seated at one of the small tables, and a waiter had taken
their order.

"Good gracious, no," laughed Elsie, who was beginning to find this
unsophisticated Western cousin decidedly amusing. "We don't know one of
them to speak to."

Marjorie's eyes opened wide in astonishment.

"How very strange," she said. "I supposed people who lived in the same
house always knew each other. We know everybody at home, even if they
live ten miles away."

"Well, this isn't Arizona, you know," said Elsie, shrugging her
shoulders, and Marjorie, feeling as if she had somehow been snubbed,
relapsed into silence.

Just then a lady and a gentleman and a boy of eighteen or nineteen came
in, and took their seats at an opposite table. Elsie, who had appeared
quite indifferent to all the other guests, instantly began to show signs
of interest.

"There they are," she said eagerly, addressing her mother. "The
gentleman is with them again to-night, too. I forgot to tell you, Mamma;
I've found out their name, it's Randolph."

"How did you find out?" Mrs. Carleton asked, beginning to look
interested in her turn.

"Lulu Bell told me to-day walking home from school. That boy passed us
on the Avenue, and I asked her if she didn't think he was handsome. She
said she knew who he was, though she had never met him. His uncle is a
Dr. Randolph, and a friend of her father's. This boy and his mother are
from Virginia, and are spending the winter here. He is a freshman at
Columbia, and his mother doesn't want to be separated from him, because
she is a widow, and he is her only child. Lulu says Dr. Randolph has
asked her mother to call on his sister-in-law. He said they had taken an
apartment at this hotel for the winter. I made Lulu promise to int