[Frontispiece: Going to Barbara's Wedding] Little Prudy Series ------------------- LITTLE PRUDY'S COUSIN GRACE BY SOPHIE MAY BOSTON: LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by LEE & SHEPARD, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. ----- COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY REBECCA S. CLARKE. ----- LITTLE PRUDY'S COUSIN GRACE CONTENTS. ----- I. THE CUP AND SAUCER II. THE RUBY SEAL III. THE PRIZE IV. A SNAKE IN THE GRASS V. FORTUNES VI. MISFORTUNES VII. THE REGARD-RING VIII. PRUDY PARLIN IX. BARBARA'S WEDDING X. WHO GETS THE PRIZE? XI. THE CHILDREN'S FAIR COUSIN GRACE ------------ CHAPTER I. THE CUP AND SAUCER. Grace Clifford and Katharine Hallock were such dear friends, and spent so much time together, that you could not think of one without thinking of the other, and people linked their names together, and spoke of "Grace and Cassy," just as one speaks of a "cup and saucer" or a "hook and eye." Yet they were not in the least alike. There was something very eager and vivid about Grace, with her bright blue eyes, auburn curls, and brilliant color. She had an ecstatic way of laughing, and a wild, agonized way of weeping. She clapped her hands for joy, or wrung them for grief. Her tears fell in showers, but afterward the sun was sure to shine out clearly. Cassy, on the other hand, was a gentle, brown-eyed little maiden, with long lashes sweeping her cheeks, and brown hair lying quietly behind her ears. She never stormed nor raved. It was a very rare thing for the girls to disagree. They had such a dear love for each other that they decided never to marry, but to live together in a charming cottage adorned with woodbine, and keep chickens, pigeons and a cat. At the beginning of our story they were nearly twelve years old, and closer friends than ever. They had exchanged rings as pledges of everlasting fidelity. The ring which Cassy gave Grace was set with gems--ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby, and diamond--the initials spelling the word "Regard." This regard-ring had once belonged to Mrs. Hallock; but after being broken and mended it was too small for her, and she had given it to Cassy. In exchange, Grace put on her friend's third finger a pretty emerald, which had been a good-by present from Mr. Augustus Allen. One day in March these two Hoosier girls were walking hand in hand down Vine Street, where there was always a fine shade in the summer. Now the trees were leafless, and the bright sun shadowed forth little flickering pictures of their branches on the girls' shawls and hats. "Why, Cassy Hallock," said Grace, shading her face with one hand, "this sun is bright enough to blind an eagle." "But it doesn't blind _me_," laughed Cassy. "I can almost look at it without winking."