Under the Skylights

l. "What are those two girls g

as host. Little had he expected to hea

to mere flippant girlishness and not to have gained appreciably by the transition. Preciosa McNulty, still a girl and giving no imm

f her being. But Virgilia was keeping pace with her, was even surpassing her. Yet she showed evidences of eff

earned, much too sober-minded. Dill himself felt this, and shook his head in reply to Eudoxia Penc

ar and waved a long supple hand and wagged a frizzly flaxen poll and gave a humorous wink

e run, Daff; I've g

l end with disgracing us. What can the fellow be up to now?" he wondered, c

iosa. She gave a light dab at the other's muff with her long slender ha

Mr. Hill, young man, or Mr. Gibbons.' But the young man kept unrolling sheet after sheet. 'Grandpa,' I said,

Virgilia, dandling a cushio

e: Ig-Ig--I do

ny add

street you ne

them give you another cup of tea or some more of those biscuits. A

eciosa; "don't tel

nything?" asked Virgilia, her

e was every evidence of that young man's being after us-a regular siege. I have no doubt he was waiting outside all through dinner; he ran

Virgilia, with all her

the way home and would hardly let him have his dinner. He had it thi

ested Virgilia, putting her delic

r plump little fingers to unbridled pantomime. "The room was peopled-isn't that the way they say it, peopled?-in no time; a regular reception. There were ladies in Greek

rom scrolls to children standing at their knee. And all sorts of folks blowing trumpets and bestowing garlands; Commerce, Industry, Art, Manufacturing, E

and with her long white fingers, as if

ent on, after a short pause, "in a light blue himation-is that what th

Virgilia, trying to la

lot of Cupids nesting on

miah McNulty t

pink heels dangling

admiration for these abundant decorative details seemed to be overlaying her sense of fun, sto

her young man whose name is known and whose studio is in a civilized part of the town and who has done some rather good work for some rather nice people." Virgilia crinkled up her eyes in a little spasm of confidential merriment and then opened them on her surroundings-the rich sobriety of the furniture; the casual picturesque groupings of "nice people"; the shining tea-urn

. This, her first intrusion into the strange, rich world of art, had rather impr

And if it's 'ideas' that are wanted," she went on, as she grasped Preciosa

t so widely and so rapidly by that young man with the burning eyes and the quick, nervous hands and the big shock of wavy black hair. Still, it was as easy to laugh as not to laugh; besides, which of the two might better set the tone, and authoritatively? Virgilia, surely; by reason of he

acquiesced gaily. "

rgilia, raising h

a, rising, "I might bring grandpa with m

orry his poor tired brain, if we can help it; we won't give him ladies seated beneath factory chimneys; we won't--You are

atures to a look of grave intentness and turned about t

tudying her with some seriousness and some surprise. Virgilia, having already resumed her customar