"What ever possessed you to tell such outrageous lies?" Miss Ethel gasped.
"'Twas the clothes that done it, ma'am; bein' dressed as George Washington, I couldn't think o' nothin' true that was fit to say."
Miss Ethel dropped limply into a chair, and leaning her head on the back, laughed until she cried.
"Peter," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I don't see but what I shall have to discharge you. I should never dare let you drive past Mrs. Booth-Higby's again."
"There's nothin' to fear," said Peter, tranquilly. "She won't recognize me, ma'am. Mrs. Booth-Higby's eyes ain't focussed to see a groom."
A USURPED PREROGATIVE