CHAPTER XIII
A RIDICULOUS PARTY
Stella came early, and Ladybird was tempted to confide in her, and perhaps ask her to enlighten Aunt Priscilla.
But the child’s sense of the dramatic was too strong for this, and notwithstanding her own precarious position, she preferred to wait and let the whole remarkable situation burst unheralded upon her unsuspecting aunts.
And it proved to be worth while; for the expression on Miss Priscilla Flint’s patrician countenance as she saw a motley crowd coming in at her front gate was never forgotten either by Ladybird or Stella.
The guests had been bidden to come at three o’clock, and as they obeyed with scrupulous promptness, the greater part of the party arrived all at once. As they came up the path, Ladybird grasped the situation with both hands, and turning to her Aunt Priscilla, said:
“This is my party, aunty, that is coming in, and I hope they will like you. I did as you told me: I invited those who would enjoy it most, and I also followed the Bible command, ‘If you must make a feast, make it for the poor, and the halt, and the maimed, and the blind’; and if you can find anybody poorer or maimeder or halter than these people, I don’t know where they are. I am now going to open the front door and admit my guests, and I expect them to receive the welcome of Primrose Hall; and for goodness’ sake, aunty, brace up!”
The last admonition was by no means unnecessary, for Miss Flint certainly looked as if she were about to fall in a faint.
“Did you know of this?” she demanded, turning to Stella, who stood by, uncertain whether to laugh or sympathize.
“No,” said the girl; “I knew nothing of it, and I don’t understand it yet; but I think, Miss Flint, you will be glad afterward, if you rise to the occasion and show to these friends of Ladybird’s, whoever they may be, the hospitality for which Primrose Hall is so justly famous.”
Now Primrose Hall was not famous for its hospitality; indeed, the reverse was nearer the truth. But Stella’s remark touched the old lady’s pride, and she answered: