Instead, frightened by the strangeness of the scene and the noise and laughter of the people all about, Fleurette set up a wail of woe which developed rapidly into a storm of screams and sobs,—indeed, it was a first-class crying spell,—a thing which the good-natured child rarely indulged in.
Not willing to wait for a better-tempered moment, the man took the record and poor little Fleurette was immortalised by a squall instead of a sunny burst of laughter.
But there was no help for it, and Azalea, greatly chagrined, took the baby back to Nurse.
"Here's your naughty little kiddy," she cried ruefully, handing
Fleurette over, but giving the child a loving caress, even as she spoke.
"Thank you, Miss Thorpe, I'm glad to get her back so soon."
And then Azalea ran away to her Indian booth, where she found her assistant doing a rushing business with the Indian wares.
Indeed, everybody seemed anxious to buy the baubles of Vanity Fair. The cause was a worthy one, the patrons were wealthy and generous, and the vendors were charming and wheedlesome.
So the coin fairly flowed into their coffers and as the afternoon wore on they began to fear they wouldn't have enough goods to sell the second day.
Azalea was a favourite among the young people. She looked a picture in her Indian dress and she was in rare good humour. She tried, too, to be gracious and gentle, and committed no gaucheries and made no ignorant errors.
"You've simply made that girl over," Elise said to Patty, as the two spoke of Azalea's growing popularity.