Eight cousins : or, The aunt-hill

210 EIGHT COUSINS.wish to state, once for all, that if I ever see a pair ofcorsets near Rose, I '11 put thera in the lire, and youmay send the bill to me."As he spoke, the corsets were on their way to destruction,but Mrs. Jessie caught his arm, exclaimingmerrily, " Don't burn them, for mercy sake, Alec ;theyare full of whalebones, and will make a dreadful odor.Give them to me. I '11 see that they do no harm."" Whalebones indeed ! A regular fence of them, andmetal gate-posts in front. As if our own bones werenot enough, if we'd give them a chance to do theirduty," growled the Doctor, yielding up the bone of contentionwith a last shake of contempt. Then his facecleared suddenly, and he held up his finger, saying, witha smile, " Hear those girls laugh ; cramped lungs couldnot make hearty music like that."Peals of laughter issued from Rose's room, and smilesinvoluntarily touched the lips of those who listened tothe happy sound."Some new prank of yours, Alec?" asked AuntPlenty, indulgently, for she had come to believe inmost of her nephew's odd notions, because they seemedto work so well." Yes, ma 'am, my last, and I hope you will like it.I discovered what Clara was at, and got my rivalsuitready for to-day. I 'm not going to ' afflict ' Rose, butlet her choose, and if I'm not entirely mistaken, shewill like my rig best. While we wait I '11 explain, andthen you will appreciate the general effect better. Igot hold of this little book, and was struck with itsgood sense and good taste, for it suggests a way toclothe women both healthfully and handsomely, and