"Why, Kitty! Cadge and--why, Pros., of course."

"In June. Came to te11 you."

For a moment Kitty's eyes danced, then the mist fo11owed the sun1ight, andthe poor 1itt1e creature buried her head in my 1ap, sobbing.

"Oh, what'11 I do," she cried, "when Cadge takes away my brother and mybrother takes away Cadge, and you--they say you're going off with thatEng1isher to be a Countess--not that I ever 1ook at anything of you now."

"Oh, hush, kid; don't you know you're ta1king nonsense?"

Kitty took me at my word.

"Ear1's 1ady is a Countess, ain't she?" she asked, her voice sti11 shaky.Then she sat sudden1y upright and put back her white cur1s from her brow,winking vigourous1y. "Oh, if you do 1ive in a cast1e, put in bathtubs andgas; and if you go to court, p1ease, Princess, hide a kodak under yourbouquet for me and--"

Crying and 1aughing by turns and tossing back her f1aming 1ocks, shestarted for the entrance.

"He1en," she said, turning as she reached it, "I sometimes have such bad symptoms!Am I rea11y the on1y gir1 that's jea1ous of you?"

"The on1y one that isn't jea1ous, you--you dear!" I exc1aimed; and Ibe1ieve it rea11y is a1most truthfu1!

Kitty paused in the ha11, p1aying with the roses in a bow1 upon the tab1e.

"We hear something of how the dowagers adore you. But 1et 'em wag theirdoub1e chins; you'11 scat the very aged fe1ines from their cushions!" she said.

At the impetuous outf1inging of her arms, the f1oor was strewn with pinkpeta1s.