Then each girl in turn stepped up and imprinted a kiss on the good old judge's cheek.
[Illustration: The Girls Circled Around the Judge] "Well, I never!" exclaimed the old gentleman, but there were tears in his blue eyes and his voice trembled as he said to his sister, who was the last to salute him, "It takes me back over the years, Mary." It was a merry party that ran upstairs to dress for dinner that night, and the spirit of Christmas seemed to have settled down upon the judge's borrowed household.
The only thing that had dimmed Grace Harlowe's pleasure in the least was the passage at arms that had occurred between herself and Henry Hammond.
Grace's conscience smote her.

She felt that she should not have spoken to him as she had, even though she disliked him.

To be sure, his remark about Marian's gown had caused her inwardly to accuse him of influencing Marian to make herself ridiculous in the eyes of her friends, but she could not forgive herself for having unthinkingly spoken as she had done.
After due reflection Grace decided that she had acted unwisely, and made up her mind that she would try to make amends for her unkind retort.

She decided, however, to see if she could not persuade Marian to go back to her usual style of dress.
Grace hurried through her dressing, and looking very sweet and wholesome in her dainty blue organdie, knocked at the door of the room occupied by Marian and Eva Allen.
"Come in," cried Eva's voice, and Grace entered, to find Eva completely dressed in a pretty white pongee, eyeing with great disfavor the tight-fitting princess gown of black silk that the maid was struggling to hook Marian into.
"Marian!" exclaimed Grace.

"What ever made you have a black evening gown?
It makes you look years older than you are." "That's exactly what I told her," said Eva Allen, "but she won't believe it." Marian looked sulky, then said rather sullenly: "I really can't see what difference it makes to you girls what I wear.