"Shucks!" thought boyish Fred. "None of this in mine! I'd elope first! Wonder if Harry likes it! (Bet he doesn't.)"

Ruth was thinking, "Oh, how lovely! How perfectly lovely! I believe after all—as a time to remember through all the years——" But Fred could not read her thoughts, and saw only the particularly happy smile that she gave him.

"How do you like the nut cups?" Alice asked. "Bettina made these yellow 'mum' nut cups as a Christmas gift to me, and gave them to me now for this dinner! See, they just match the real chrysanthemums! I'm sure I don't know which I like best!"

The girls exclaimed so heartily over the nut cups that Bettina declared to herself that she would make sets for each of them, of different colors and kinds. These of Alice's were really charming. Their wire handles were wound with green maline and tied with a green bow. They were filled with pecans, and pink and yellow bon-bons, which were grapes covered with colored creams.

The place cards were tied with narrow green ribbon to little china slippers, cupids, doves and hearts. Besides the yellow chrysanthemums, which were the table decorations, there was for each of the girls a corsage bouquet of pink roses, and for each of the men a boutonniere of pink rosebuds in a tinfoil case. Flower pins were tucked in the maline bows of the bouquets as favors for the girls, while scarf pins were favors for the men.

When the dinner was over, and the guests were passing into the living room for dancing and music, Alice slipped her arm through Bettina's. "The dinner was lovely; wasn't it?" she said. "I did think I was too tired to enjoy it, but my heart is as light as a feather now! I am going to dance all evening till my last guest goes!"

The menu was as follows:

Cut the grapefruit in halves crosswise. Half a grapefruit is one service. Remove all the seeds. Insert a sharp-pointed knife between the outside skin or shell and the pulp, and cut out around the inside. Cut the skin away from each section of the pulp. Insert the knife under the core and cut free from the shell, lift out the core and membranes in one piece, leaving the pulp. Sprinkle each grapefruit half with one tablespoon of powdered sugar. Garnish with a maraschino cherry in the center and a mint leaf on each side. Serve very cold on a paper doily with some green rose leaves under the grapefruit.

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika. Mix well, and gradually add the milk and asparagus. Cook until slightly thick. (About two minutes.) Serve hot.

Cut the bread into one-third inch cubes, add the butter melted, and salt. Mix well and brown in a moderate oven, stirring occasionally to permit the bread to brown evenly.