Molly  was  dressed  by  her  mother  in  the  pretty
white  lawn.  She  looked  very  pretty,  I  suspect,
though  her  good  mother  would  not  be  likely  to  tell
her  so.  She  would  be  much  more  likely  to  repeat
that  time-honored  aphorism,  '  Handsome  is  that
handsome  does.'

"Then  she  went  over  to  'Tenty's  bedroom,
where  the  pretty  pink  and  lavender  brocade  lay
upon  the  little  white  bed,  shining  wonderfully  in
the  dim  light  of  the  one  candle.  She  quickly  ex-
changed the  lawn  for  it,  'Tenty  assisting  at  the
toilet  and  declaring  that  she  looked  beautifully  in
it.  Everybody  admired  it  and  her  when  she  went
down  into  the  parlor ;  and  for  an  hour  or  so
things  went  on  swimmingly  until  they  betook
themselves  to  a  large,  unfurnished  room  where
they  were  to  dance.
"  Molly  was  standing  at  the  head  of  her  set,  the
'cynosure  of  neighboring  eyes,'  as  Mr.  Milton
says,  when  some  one  espied  a  small  liquid  stream
dribbling  down  from  a  crack  in  the  wooden  ceiling
directly  upon  the  skirt  of  her  beautiful  gown.  It
was  'Tenty  who  sprang  forward  with  a  cry  of  an-


THE  LITTLE    GRANDMOTHER'S  RIDE.      2  29

guish,  '  O  Molly ! '  and  drew  her  away.  But  it
was  too  late.  The  stream  was  of  oil,  and  the
beautiful  gown  was,  to  all  appearance,  ruined.
"Ah,  then  and  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro,
and  towels  were  brought,  and  the  oil  was  sopped,
and  the  gown  was  rubbed,  while  Molly  stood  silent
and  pale  with  dismay,  the  one  thought  in  her  mind
being  what  her  mother  would  say  and  do ;  and
'Tenty's  brother  went  up  into  the  chamber  to  stop
the  stream  of  oil  before  it  spoiled  any  more  toilets,
and  to  ascertain  its  source.
