"Oh, well, that doesn't signify. I'm sure, I had to say something convincing, and Mrs. Van Duser was my _dernier resort_. Pryse will do anything for you now, you'll see, my dear! And, oh, Betty dear, when I was in at Altford's yesterday I just chanced upon the most _wonderful_ bargain in a lace robe, and had it sent up on approval. The most exquisite thing, and marked down from a hundred and twenty-seven dollars to--what do you think?--only eighty-nine, fifty! I was _so_ pleased; for I am sure it is _just_ what you want. I got samples, too, of the most bewitching silks for your dinner gown--you must have at least _one_, you know, a simple, pretty crepe de chine or something of the sort; and then with a little frock or two for luncheons and card parties, your tailor-made--that _must_ be _good_--and your wedding gown for evening affairs you will do nicely." "But, Evelyn," interrupted Elizabeth timidly, "I'm afraid I can't-- You know I didn't expect to buy but two dresses in Boston. Malvina Bennett is making me a black silk, and----" Miss Tripp paused to smile and bow at a passing acquaintance; then she turned protesting eyes upon the girl. "You _dear_ child," she murmured, "you're not to worry about a _single_ thing. That's _just_ what I mean to spare you. I am determined you shall have just what you are going to _need_; and if you haven't enough money with you, I can arrange everything at Altford's without a bit of trouble; and of course you will pay Pryse _her_ bill when it is _perfectly_ convenient for _you_. She doesn't _expect_ to be paid promptly. Really, I don't believe she would have a particle of respect for a patron who insisted upon paying for a gown the minute it was finished. First-class modistes and milliners, too, are _all_ that way; they know better than to send their bills too soon. So _that_ needn't bother you, dear; and of course Pryse _finds_ everything, which will save enormously on your outlay." Elizabeth felt very meek and hopelessly countrified as she laid off her wraps in Miss Tripp's rather stuffy but ornate little apartment. Mrs. Tripp, a faded, apologetic person smelling of rice-powder and sachet, smiled vaguely upon her and murmured something about "Evy's wonderful taste!" One thing at least was clear to Elizabeth as she lay wide-eyed in the darkness that night, after an evening spent in the confusing examination and comparison of fashion-plates and samples, and that was the conviction that the "fortune" with which she had joyfully set forth that morning had dwindled to a pitiful insufficiency before the multiplied necessities imposed upon it by Miss Tripp's undeniable taste and knowledge.