"Which you skip by the page, I've seen you do it," said Eva, the
third young girl in the library, as she shut up the stout book on
her knee and began to knit as if this sudden outburst of chat
disturbed her enjoyment of "The Dove in the Eagle's Nest."

"I do at first, being carried away by my interest in the people, but
I almost always go back and read them afterward," protested Carrie.
"You know YOU like to hear about nice clothes, Eva, and Wanda's were
simply gorgeous; white velvet and a rope of pearls is one costume;
gray velvet and a silver girdle another; and Idalia was all a
'shower of perfumed laces,' and scarlet and gold satin mask dresses,
or primrose silk with violets, so lovely! I do revel in 'em!"

Both girls laughed as Carrie reeled off this list of elegances, with
the relish of a French modiste.

"Well, I'm poor and can't have as many pretty things as I want, so
it IS delightful to read about women who wear white quilted satin
dressing-gowns and olive velvet trains with Mechlin lace sweepers to
them. Diamonds as large as nuts, and rivers of opals and sapphires,
and rubies and pearls, are great fun to read of, if you never even
get a look at real ones. I don't believe the love part does me a bit
of harm, for we never see such languid swells in America, nor such
lovely, naughty ladies; and Ouida scolds them all, so of course she
doesn't approve of them, and that's moral, I'm sure."

But Alice shook her head again, as Carrie paused out of breath, and
said in her serious way: "That's the harm of it all. False and
foolish things are made interesting, and we read for that, not for