"Welcome!" smiled Alice, delightedly, as she stepped down from the box on which she was standing to hang a soft, silky curtain. Harry, tall and silent, rose, hammer in hand from the crate he was opening, and welcomed each one in turn.

"Bob and I came to be chaperones if you needed us," said Bettina, putting on a prim and disapproving look, as different as possible from her usual happy expression.

"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed Alice's mother, in a shocked tone. "Surely you didn't imagine—but then, of course you didn't—because you would naturally know that I would be here."

Alice laughed her ringing laugh. "Mother is too literal for any use, Bettina!" And Alice's absent-minded father looked up from the newspaper he was reading to ask what the joke was.

"The joke, Father dear," said Alice, "is that your foolish daughter should be about to marry this solemn and serious youth!" And she turned Harry around by the shoulders till he faced her father. "But perhaps you hadn't heard about the wedding, Father. Now don't tell me you had forgotten!"

"Forgotten? Forgotten your wedding, Alice?" said her mother, astonished. "Of course your father hasn't forgotten. Why, only yesterday he was saying that the cost of a trousseau apparently hadn't lessened since Lillian was married. Weren't you, Father? It was when your new green corduroy came home, Alice, and I was saying——" but Alice had led the girls off to show them over the apartment.

Father had retired behind his newspaper and Harry was showing Fred and Bob his own private den whither he might retire from the worries of domestic life. "Only," observed Fred sagaciously, "since it opens off the living room, you can't retire very far. I predict that married life will make you rather a sociable person, Harry."

Harry shrugged his shoulders, and said nothing. "Old bear!" cried Alice, entering the room at this point. "You don't need to be a sociable person! I like you just as you are!" And she turned to the others. "Come to the party, please. It's all in the kitchen! We've made coffee, too, and everything is bee-youtiful! I love surprises!"

The "party" consisted of:

Place in a sauce pan, the sugar, molasses, water, vinegar and butter. Cook without stirring until the candy forms a hard ball which clicks against the side of the glass when dropped into cold water. Add the soda, stir well and pour over the corn, which has been salted and placed in a large pan. Mix the syrup thoroughly with the corn, and when partially cool, moisten the hands and press the corn into balls of uniform size. Popcorn balls should be kept in a cool place.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and milk and then the flour, nuts, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg and baking powder. Place the dough on a floured board. Roll it out one-fourth of an inch thick and cut with a cooky cutter. Place on a well-buttered and floured baking sheet. Bake twelve minutes in a moderate oven.

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Cook until the candy forms a soft ball when a little is dropped in a glass of cold water. Remove from the fire and let it cool. When cool, beat until it becomes creamy. Pour into a buttered plate.