ng-table and various
chairs of carved mahogany, and in the open fireplace was an enormous
bunch of feathery asparagus, flecked with red berries.

"Oh," cried Patty in delight, "if Nan could see this room she'd go
perfectly crazy. Isn't this house great? Why, it's quite as full of
beautiful old things as Washington's house at Mt. Vernon."

"I haven't seen that," said Bertha, "but it doesn't seem as if anything
could be more complete or perfect in its way than this house is. Come on,
girls, are you ready?"

The girls went to the parlour, and there found the quilt all prepared for
working on. Patty had never before seen a quilt stretched on a
quilting-frame, and was extremely interested.

It was a very large quilt, and its innumerable small triangles, which
made up the goose-chase pattern, were found to present a methodical
harmony of colouring, which had not been observable before the strips
were put together.

The large pieced portion was uppermost, and beneath it was the lining,
with layers of cotton in between. Each edge was pinned at intervals to a
long strip of material which was wound round and round the frame. The
four corners of the frame were held up by being tied to the backs of four
chairs, and on each of the four sides of the quilt were three more chairs
for the expected guests to occupy.

Almost on the stroke of three the visitors arrived, and though some of
them were of a more modern type than Miss Bender, yet three or four were
quite as old-fashioned and quaint-mannered as their hostess.

"They are native up here," Bertha explained to Patty. "There are only a
few of the old New England settlers left. Most of the population here is
composed of city people who have large country places. You won't often
get an opportunity to see a gathering like this."

Patty realised the truth of this, and was both surprised and pleased to
find that these country ladies showed no trace of embarrassment or
self-consciousness before the city girls.

It seemed not to occur to them that there was any difference in their
effects, and indeed Patty was greatly amused because one of the old
ladies seemed to take it for granted that Patty was a country girl, and
brought up according to old-time customs.

This old lady, whose name was Mrs. Quimby, sat next to Patty at the
quilt, and after she had peered through her glasses at the somewhat
uneven stitches which poor Patty was trying her best to do as well as
possible, she re