"How did you like it, Nan?" she asked, when they were all back at
the hotel.
"I thought it beautiful," said Nan, smiling.
That evening there was a small informal dance in the parlours. Not a
large hop, like the one given the week before, but Patty declared the
small affair was just as much fun as the other.
"I always have all the fun I can possibly hold, anyway," she said; "and
what more can anybody have?"
Toward the close of the evening Mr. Fairfield came up to Patty, who
was sitting, with a crowd of merry young people, in a cosey corner of
the veranda.
"Patty," he said, "don't you want to come for a little stroll on the
board walk?"
"Yes, of course I do," said Patty, wondering a little, but always ready
to go with her father. "Is Nan going?"
"No, I just want you," said Mr. Fairfield.
"All right," said Patty, "I'm glad to go."
They joined the crowd of promenaders on the board walk, and as they
passed Patty's favourite bit of beach she said:
"That's where we girls sit and talk about our ambitions."
"Yes, so I've heard," said Mr. Fairfield. "And what are your
ambitions, baby?"
"Oh, mine aren't half so grand and gorgeous as the other girls'. They
want to do great things, like singing in grand opera and writing immortal
books and things like that."
"And your modest ambition is to be a good housekeeper, isn't it?"
"Well, yes, papa; but not only that. I was thinking about it afterward by
myself, and I think that the housekeeping is the practical part of
it--and that's a good big part too--but what I really want to be is a
lovely, good, _womanly_ woman, like Aunt Alice, you know.
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