"The oracle has spoken--I will obey," he called from the door, kissing
his fingers to her. She ventured an answering gesture, knowing the room
empty save for waiters. She was almost as unselfconscious as he, but had
her nation's shrinking from any public expression of emotion.

Hardly had he gone when the faithful Miss Mason arrived, her mild eyes
almost youthful with enthusiasm. Prom a black satin reticule of
dimensions beyond all proportion to her meager self she drew a list of
names on which she discoursed volubly while Mary finished her breakfast.

"You'll get most everything at this first place," she said. "It's pretty
near the biggest department store in the city, and only two blocks from
here--ain't that convenient? You can deal there right along for
everything in the way of dry goods."

Mary had no conception of what either a department store or dry goods
might be, but determined not to confound her mentor by a display of such
ignorance.

"Seemed to me, though, you might get some things second hand, so I got a
list of likely places from my sister, who's lived in New York longer'n I
have. I thought mebbe--" her tone was tactful--"you didn't want to waste
your money any?"

Mary was impressed again, as she had been before her wedding, by the
natural good manners of this simple and half educated woman. "Why is it,"
she wondered to herself, "that one would not dream of knowing people of
her class at home, but rather likes them here?" She did not realize as
yet that for Miss Mason no classes existed, and that consequently she was
as much at ease with Mary, whose mother had been "county," as she would