The best man, who fortunately had appealed to Amarilly for guidance, gave a couch. The Jenkins family, assessed in proportion to their respective incomes, provided a bedroom set. Lily Rose's landlady sent a willow rocker; the girl friends at the factory a gilt clock; the railroad hands, six silver spoons and an equal number of forks. Lily Rose's Sunday-school teacher presented a lamp. A heterogeneous assortment of articles came from the neighbors. These presents were all arranged in the new rooms by Lily Rose, and the elegance of the new apartment was overwhelming in effect to the household. "It looks most too fine to feel to hum in," gasped the Boarder. "It makes me feel strange!" "It won't look strange to you," assured the bride-elect, looking shyly into his adoring eyes, "when you come home and find me sitting here in my blue dress waiting for you, will it?" "No!" agreed the Boarder with a quick intake of breath, "'Twill be home and heaven, Lily Rose." CHAPTER XXIII Shyly and perversely Lily Rose had postponed the trying on of her borrowed wedding waist until the day preceding the great event. "There won't be time to fit it," pleaded Amarilly. And Lily Rose had smiled a faraway smile and said her veil would cover it anyway. But finally Amarilly's pleas prevailed and the beloved garment was brought forth. Amarilly took it reverently from its wrappings and held it up to view. After many exclamations of wonder and admiration, Lily Rose, who had removed her dress, essayed to try it on. "Why, Amarilly," she said, struggling to get her arm into the sleeve, "there's something the matter! It's sewed together, or something." Amarilly hastened to investigate. "Oh!" she gasped, after thrusting her hand within, "to think it should be in here, for I am sure this is what Miss King has been looking for so long. Wait until I go and ask ma about it." She hurried to the kitchen precinct of the house. "Oh, Ma, do you know how this came in Miss King's lace waist? The one that was here through the fever?" "Why, didn't you ever take that home?" "Yes," informed Amarilly, "but she made me a present of it, and I put it away to keep till I was--grown up. And I want to lend it to Lily Rose to be married in. And when she went to try it on, she found this in the sleeve." Mrs. Jenkins paused in the sudsing of a garment. "Let me see!" she said, surveying the object with reminiscent scrutiny. "Oh, yes, I remember now. I found it on the floor the day she was here, afore the waist was ready for her. I thought she had dropped it, and so I pinned it in the sleeve of her dress, and was goin to tell Gus to give it to her, but he didn't take the waist hum, and then so much happened, it went clean out of my mind." "I'll go right over to her house with it now," said Amarilly. Lily Rose, adorned in the filmy, white waist, entered the kitchen. "See, Amarilly," she said delightedly. "It's a beautiful fit!"