with Mr. Hoover, I think it would be nice to ask him."

"Er--yes," assented the singer lady, controlling a desire to smile
at this mix-up of the bride's present and past relations to life.
"The little girls ought to have white dresses and the boys--well,
what could the little boys wear?" Miss Wingate felt reasonably sure
that white dresses for all the feminine youth of Providence would be
forthcoming, but she hesitated at suggesting a costume for the small
boys.

"Yes, all the little girls have got white dresses and ribbons and
fixings, but dressing up a herd of boys is another thing," answered
Mother Mayberry. "If just blue jeans britches could be made to do we
might make out to get the top of them rigged out in a white shirt
apiece; couldn't we, Bettie?"

"That we can," answered the bride heartily. "Give me a good day at
the sewing-machine, with somebody to cut and somebody to baste, and
I will get 'em all turned out by sundown. But they feet! Mis'
Mayberry, could we get Jem into shoes, do you reckon? About how many
bad stumped toes is they in Providence now?"

"Well," answered Mother Mayberry reflectively, "I don't know about
but two, but we can ask 'Liza Pike. Thank you for your plan, honey-
bird, and we're a-going to put it through so as to be a credit to
you. Children are sorter going out of style these days and I'm proud
to make a show of our'n. Women's leaving babies outen they
calculations is kinder like cutting buds offen the tree of life, and
I'm glad no sech fashion have struck Harpeth Hills yet."