“She might say that she could not accept such a gift from a masculine friend,” thoughtfully suggested the girl with the classic profile. “But she had thanked him very prettily, and said they were just her size, and how did he know it? before she discovered that she could not exchange them! Oh, I just don’t see any way out of it. I told Tom about it, and he said, ‘Pshaw, let her tell him the truth, and be done with it.’ And yet Tom is very clever—for a man.” “Indeed he is,” said the blue-eyed girl, warmly, “he is one of the few people who always understands a joke when I tell it. Just because I leave out a little bit of it, some people—” “Oh, girls,” cried the girl with the classic profile, “I’ve been waiting for a good chance to tell you that Eunice is married!” “Is it possible?” said the girl with the eyeglasses. “I remember that she always said people ought to know each other very well before they _were_ married. That was why she went for a long visit to that Kansas girl whose brother was so much in love with her. She married _him_, I suppose.” “Why—er—no. You see, he asked her, and she said she could not give him an answer until she concluded her visit. They would know each other much better then.” “And she refused him, after all?” said the girl with the Roman nose. “Well, no. For some reason he failed to renew his offer, after her visit was over. She had known the man she married exactly three weeks when they became engaged.” “And the engagement lasted?” “Just a month, dear. And she was so busy all the time with the trousseau that she hardly had time for a word with him.” “Perhaps it was just as well,” said the brown-eyed blonde. “Has the man she married any money?” “I suppose so. He was thirty-four, and a bachelor. A very poor man would have married long before he was as old as that. By the way, speaking of the abuse of political power, Mr. Dickenharry tells Nell that if he is really elected to the office he hopes for, she will have to ask all sorts of people to her receptions, in order that—” “And what did Nell reply to that?” asked the blue-eyed girl. “Oh, she just smiled and let it go. It will be much easier to manage all that after they are married. She says he is so busy now that she doesn’t like to thwart him unnecessarily. Nell is always so thoughtful of the feelings of others.” “Indeed she is,” said the president. “Anyhow if she is obliged to ask all those awful people to her receptions, she can snub them thoroughly if they accept. Oh, she is just the ideal wife for a politician; how she will help him!” “That is just what she says herself,” said the girl with the dimple in her chin, “and she also says that she wants to join this club as soon as her trousseau is off her mind. She thinks our debates on political subjects will be of great benefit to her. In the meantime, she wants me to make notes of the discussions, and let her have them.”