There was one very pretty thing that the girls brought up stairs to play with, that I must tell you about. But I really do not know the name of it. The lady who made it and gave it to Alice called it, I think, a boudoir. What an odd name, isn't it! Can you pronounce it?
It was a little table about the size and shape of one half of a dinner-plate, the back being straight, and the front round. It was made of wood, and had three legs. The hind leg was put in the middle of the straight back, and went up some distance from the top of the table, like a pole.
The table and the pole were covered with blue muslin, which was neatly fastened on the top of the table, and hung down like an apron all around. A piece of the same also went from the top of the pole to the ends of the back part of the table.
Then this blue muslin was all covered with white lace. Thus the table had a lace top over it, a lace apron in front of it, and lace curtains hanging from the top of the pole, and nicely fastened with ribbons at each corner of the back.
On the pole, a short distance from the table, there hung a cunning little looking-glass with a gilt frame.
There were several things on the table: a pincushion, a white china wash bowl and pitcher, a square scent bottle, also of white china, with something in it that smelled sweetly, and a tiny glass bottle of cologne water.
It was really a beautiful toy, and all who saw it were well pleased with it. Alice did not often play with it, but she saw it as she passed through the nursery on her way up stairs, and thought it would be a nice thing to take with her. It looked all the better in the garret, because there were so many old, and broken, and ugly-looking things around it.
