sprinkled underneath the long black lashes.

"Well, dancing can wait a spell," answered Aunt Mary, comfortably. "The
governor said that all the folks at Cloverbend and Providence and Hillsboro
are going, and Riverfield has got to shake out a forefoot in the trip and
not a hind one."

"Oh, we'll have the dance next week, Corn-tassel," promised Matthew,
promptly enough to prevent the drenching of the violets. "It will be great
to hear Baldwin accept his portfolio, as it were."

"And after his term begins I suppose he'll have offices at the capitol and
will be in town most of the time. Then we can have him at all the dances.
Polly, he dances like nothing earthly. Still Matthew won't let him come
near you; he's deadly to women. We are all positively drugged by him,"
exclaimed Bess, delighted at the idea of Hayesville society acquiring the
new commissioner of agriculture for a permanent light.

"Then I can count on you to help Mrs. Tillett and the children in and out,
Nancy?" continued Aunt Mary, with the light of such generalship in her eye
that I was afraid even to mention my one-sided feud with the hero of the
hour. "You can take Baby Tillett and sit a little way apart from her so she
won't have to feed him all the time to keep him quiet."

"I can take eight people in my car, Mother Corn-tassel," said Matthew,
with the most beautiful eagerness.

"I can get in five," added Bess, with an equal eagerness. "Can I have the
Addcocks?" Bess and the pessimistic Mrs. Addcock had got together over some
medicine to prevent pip in the conservatory young Leghorns.