Aunt Alida was to Beth the embodiment and illumination of all her dreams, a sort of combination of a royal princess, a fairy queen and a household goddess and mother whom she might worship, but must love. It had become a habit with Beth, and, consequently, with her cousins since she had come among them, to go to Mrs. Cortlandt’s room when she was dressing for a great occasion to absorb her loveliness and do her homage. Aunt Alida found no flattery that she received later in the evening in the great world half as sweet as this admiration from her children. To-night Beth thought Aunt Alida had never been so beautiful--but she thought that each night! Anna Mary fastened a tiara of diamonds on her lady’s hair and clasped a long chain of perfect blue-white stones around her throat. “You look like Iris!” cried Beth, as she caught the rainbow colors that flashed at her from the jewels. “What do you know of Iris, small niece?” asked Uncle Jim, entering in sequence to his knock on his wife’s door. “I know she was the rainbow and so is Aunt Alida,” Beth answered. “You look just as nice, in all that white linen front, as Aunt Alida does, Uncle Jim, but men can only be fine and nice; they can’t be wonderful.” “Dear me, no; I should never so much as attempt to be wonderful, Bethie,” laughed Uncle Jim. “What’s this I hear about your wanting to give your pony to a beggar maid, while you walked? Saint Martin divided his cloak with a beggar; I don’t know which of the saints, if any, gave up his undivided horse to one.” “She wasn’t a beggar, Uncle Jim,” Beth set him right. “And it was only while she was faint and had to get home. Was it wrong? Dirk roared laughing at me, but he wouldn’t tell me why.” “It’s an unlikely thing to happen in New York,” said Uncle Jim. “In New York? Oh! It’s--I suppose it would be something like my wearing the aprons here I used to wear at home?” Beth looked meditative. “Do you like New York, Bethie?” asked her uncle, tipping up the thoughtful face. “I just love it!” cried Beth fervently. “I used to be sort of jealous of it, in history, you know, its being settled before Massachusetts. I had to remember it was settled by the Dutch, and that Massachusetts had the Pilgrim Fathers to get over that 1614 date, when Plymouth was 1620. But now I don’t mind at all; I’d just as lief. It’s such a splendid place and it’s so good to me and I’m so happy here that I wouldn’t care if it had been Lief Ericsson settled it in the year 1000!” “That’s fine and generous of you, Elizabeth, and I thank you in New York’s name! But after all it was settled by your Cortlandt ancestors, so you needn’t mind,” said Uncle Jim. “I don’t think I ever realized I had Cortlandt ancestors then,” said Beth. She sprang up to hug him--carefully, because of his easily-crushed expanse of linen--for she thought her last speech made him look sorry. CHAPTER XII THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS “It’s always nice when you begin,” said Alys.