Show cf S effe on the eve of visiting her city cousins the little village beauty mamie stevens steven s made elaborate preparations she did not want them to think her countrified and was even tempted to bleach her brown hair yellow because tile the town politicians wife said it was the proper thing among the upper ten in the city the twin cousins went with their father to the station on the day mamie was expected while they stood there arm in arm eagerly watching the travelers as they filed past them thein grace exclaimed in a low tone oh gertle gertie look at that dreadful girl the next moment the dreadful girl came up to them and said with easy self possession tills this uncle will and the girls grace and gertrude managed to murmur some words of welcome and then they took their seats in the carriage and were driven home in horrified silence having arrived they left their mother to look after their guest and fled bed to their own room where grace threw herself upon the bed and gave way to tears fears oh ob its too bad she moaned and to think I 1 was N as afraid of her being countrified tri fied why the greenest country girl that ever lived would be better than this and she Is here for the winter cried gertie Gertle wringing her hands what are we going to do I 1 should be ashamed to be seen lit in public with her uncle will had escaped to the office as soon as possible sible but mrs stevens could not escape in sore perplexity be attended to the wants ol of her young knost and was N asas as courteous as possible but 9 she c was secretly filled with dismay in very truth what were they to do ia with ith her at lunch the mother and ami the daughters were conscious of the look of well bred surprise on the faces of the servants but mamle mamie talked and laughed and felt that she was making a fine impression pres slon on her relatives when she retired that night a satisfied smile was on her pretty face 1 I think I 1 have shown them that we are not quite out of the world if we do live in a little town stud she the next nest morning she came town down in all the glory of her new silk dress and greeted her cousins with well I 1 am ready to start on my round of sl sightseeing sight h seeing tills this morning but not lit in that dress exclaimed grace in spite of her mothers warning look this dress OIL oh certainly this Is my street dress mamle mamie replied with alry airy complacency willing to show them that she could afford accord nice things as well vell as they it too bad cried gertrude tearfully when they wont went to their own room to prepare for their outing and just think how quiet has always kept us and how she has never allowed us to associate with girls that made themselves conspicuous be patient girls said the mother with an attempt it at comfort she seems to be a bright girl perhaps she may soon discover that she is not showing goo bood d taste so the girls went with their cousin and demoted them themselves seles to her entertainment tain ment but it cannot be said that the experiment was it a successful one wherever they went people cast looks of sir bar prise and amusement at mamle mamie in their sensitive condition the sisters noticed ti ed these things with nith unusual quickness ss and perhaps gave them theiu undue prominence they had bad worked themselves up to a nervous watchfulness and when vi hen they were passing through one of the parks and saw a group of their schoolgirl friends approaching as though to speak to them with a horrified glance lance at each other they turned sharply down a bypath by path not quickly enough however to avoid hearing one of the group say who can that be with grace and gertie looks rather freaky she where do you suppose they picked her up came to them in the clear high tones of fannie mcgregor the sarcas barcas tie tic girl v whom aiom the whole school disliked and feared cared mamle had been watching the swans and tile the sharp speeches had fallen on leaf en ea rs she could not understand why tile the sisters hurried home at such d a rate when she was lit in the midst ot of lier her pleasure slie she wrote to her mother that night grace and get gertie tie are arc nice looking girls but awfully print prim and dull and not at all stylish I 1 dress a great deal better than they do myself 0 0 0 0 0 for an entire week the sla sisters took their cousin here and there doing their best its as hostesses to entertain their guest but at the end of that time they rebelled 1 I cant endure it any longer grace cried throwing herself on the floor at her tu mothers others side and deanin leaning g her head against the motherly knee theres no hope of its getting any better mamma gertle gertie and I 1 are worn out what do you think she did with that pretty simple dress you bought her put it a away ay in her trunk anddore and wore that dreadful lv 10 loud ud 1 looking ang s silk ll 11 lc into 1 rit 0 the st streets re e ts fla again a jn N when 1 I a asked s ke d her h br ali why y s she li wear the new dress he be said ab so plain I 1 shall wear it about the house just the trouble said the quieter gertrude ashes so sati satisfied sned with herself she rather looks down on us I 1 think site she asked me yesterday it if we ever went into sure elou enough hl society 11 they all laughed but grace grew sober presently and ami her cheeks checks reddened what shall we do the girls asked of their mother and what shall we do the mother asked of her husband an and d no one seemed able to anwer answer mrs stevens felt a delicacy in talking to the foolish girl because she was her husbands niece and not her own mr stevens was a man who shirked unpleasant things and this was certainly unpleasant and yet I 1 dont like to have bare the girls go around with her he said somebody ought to talk to her suppose we send for aunt rebecca oh ob will the very thing cried his wife so aunt rebecca was sent for and came nobody told aunt rebecca Ite becca anything but the bright sharp little old woman sitting in the chimney corner with her knitting found out everything there was to be learned in less than two days and within a very tow few hours had the opportunity she wanted mamie was left alone with her it Is easy to see that you rule your mother mary she said with a sharp glance up over her glistening spectacles jane stevens could always be pulled around in leading strings by anybody that chose to take the trouble I 1 and I 1 reckon youve got her under pretty good control why aunt rebecca what makes you think that cried the astonished girl why your mothers a lady my dear said the merciless old woman and if shed bad her way shed a senj sont you out looking like a lady 1 I always look like a lady exclaimed mamie the blood rushing to her cheeks and site she rose to leave the room sit right down there mary blary said the old lady ive got a lot of 0 things to say an I 1 might as well dayem say cm right now no you dont look like a lady with that flashy silk on and those high heeled boots an your hair all faded out its as it is A ladylike lady like young girl wont dress lu in things make people stare at her if open your eyes see your cousins dont fix themselves that way an I 1 guess their mother isal Is a pretty good judge of best for girls 1 I consider myself just as good as grace and gertle gertie said mamie with an ail angry toss of her head bead just the trouble with you mary retorted the pitiless old lady you think too well of yourself youve come up here thinking you are very fine and stylish and trying to ape city manners the best you know how what a pity youve caught up only loud and flashy things instead of things that are really ladylike lady like ilke cant you see how different those these girls are cant you see that they dont like to go out with you because you attach a kind of attention no young girl should want mawle mamie started up again in a passion of weeping and tried to escape from the corner where the old lady had bad her fenced in let me get out she cried stormily storm lly 1 I am going straight home I 1 wont stay here another day well mary said tile the old lady deliberately libera tely you cant get oft off before 3 anyway and id think it over a little tills this visit should be a great thing for you but have to take a new start sure enough nice people dont like made up girls they may overlook a great deal of put on 1 in society women but they like young girls to be simple and modest go and think it over now mary youve youre got plenty of sense if only use it and you can see for yourself that youre mig mightily lit out of place in ili a house like this the little old woman went on with her knitting as complacently as thou though it she had bad been having the most pleasant conversation in the world while mamle mamie lew flew to her room and locked herself in what were her thoughts there what her anger and mortification what dreadful battle she fought with herself i no one knew two hours afterward aunt rebecca saw her slip out of the house and the old ladys eyes sparkled when she noticed that mamie wore the pretty simple gown that mrs stevens had given her after a while there was her step in the hall and she came quietly in awl swinging ng her lint hat by its ribbons her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling and they sparkled still more at aunt rebeccas cry of surprise yes ive been to the calr dressers sho she said and lie he said th the e only help tor for my hair was to cut it all orr off and it would he be alf right in a month or two so I 1 had it cut and im going to begin be gin over again aunt rebecca I 1 really am ive been awfully conceited I 1 know but youve cured me of that I 1 think aunt rebeccas spectacles spectacled were moist and she looked on with delighted eyes while grace and gertie at tho the first glimpse of mamie rushed to her and hugged her with joy I 1 by the way asked a lady of mrs stevens a few weeks later who is the lovely girl I 1 have met several times with grace and gertrude she Is so sw sweet act and mod modest est looking I 1 have been I 1 anxious s to meet her and manale mamie overheard the comment and went to lay her head in aunt rebeccas baccas beccas lap 1 I wonder what becomes of girls she said softly when n they are left to go their own way or when they wont listen to older people and go their own way anyhow any howl and aunt reb rebecca acen smoothed the brown hair lovingly 1 I am glad you listened |