Page:An Old Fashioned Girl.djvu/253

Rh ones about the temples and forehead. The putting on of the rescued collar and cuffs was a task which absorbed her whole mind; so was the settling of a minute bit of court-plaster, just to the left of the dimple in her chin, an unusual piece of coquetry, in which Polly would not have indulged, if an almost invisible scratch had not given her an excuse for doing it. The white, down-trimmed cloak, with certain imposing ornaments on the hood, was assumed with becoming gravity, and draped with much advancing and retreating before the glass, as its wearer practised the true Boston gait, elbows back, shoulders forward, a bend and a slide, occasionally varied by a slight skip. But when that bonnet went on, Polly actually held her breath till it was safely landed, and the pink rose bloomed above the smooth waves of hair, with what Fanny called "a ravishing effect." At this successful stage of affairs, Polly found it impossible to resist the loan of a pair of gold bands for the wrists, and Fanny's white fan, with the little mirror in the middle.

"I can put them in my pocket if I feel too much dressed," said Polly, as she snapped on the bracelets; but, after a wave or two of the fan, she felt that it would be impossible to take them off till the evening was over, so enticing was their glitter.

Fanny also lent her a pair of three-button gloves, which completed her content; and when Tom greeted her with an approving, "Here's a sight for gods and men! Why, Polly, you're gorgeous!" she felt that her "fun" had decidedly begun.

"Wouldn't Polly make a lovely bride!" said