W ITH this, having more immediately prac-
tical questions before them, they dropped
the subject, to bend their entire attention
upon the dress; and when the lunch-gong sounded
downstairs Alice was still sketching repairs and
alterations. She continued to sketch them, not
heeding the summons.

"I suppose we'd better go down to lunch," Mrs.
Adams said, absently. "She's at the gong again."

In a minute, mama. Now about the sleeves-----" And she went on with her planning. Unfortunately
the gong was inexpressive of the mood of the person
who beat upon it. It consisted of three little metal
bowls upon a string; they were unequal in size, and,
upon being tapped with a padded stick, gave forth
vibrations almost musically pleasant. It was Alice
who had substituted this contrivance for the brass
"dinner-bell" in use throughout her childhood; and
neither she nor the others of her family realized
that the substitution of sweeter sounds had made

-57-