dame de Roseau: Miss Atkins is herself also de great favourite wid de fine gentlemen. No chance for a partner till Miss Atkins is provided.'

"Several whisperings and loud bursts of laughter then followed, which were suddenly hushed, as was an uproar of the preceding evening, by the report that Mrs. Patterson was at hand; and as she actually did appear, within an instant, at the upper end of the hall, we then heard no more of the whisperings and titters.

“Mrs. Patterson came up to the table, addressed the young ladies politely, (who all for the moment rose,) and then left the room, without descending from her

usual dignity of manner.

"When breakfast was concluded, we went into one of the large side-rooms, which was furnished as a schoolroom. There we found our governess, and there we were employed for three hours. My station in the school-room was by Amelia, and she took unwearied pains in helping me forward with my studies.

"At twelve o'clock our liberty was given us, and, as it was not the custom to go out of doors at that hour, we were presently scattered all over the house. I asked Amelia if I might play with the other children; but she said that she would walk with me in the verandah, near our own apartment. I was not pleased with this restraint; notwithstanding which, I submitted, and went up with her accordingly.

"When we entered the verandah, she offered me her arm, and took several turns with me, talking to me about Cawnpore, where she had resided some time; introducing also other subjects, by which conversations she made herself so agreeable, that I no longer regretted my being restricted to her society, and I should no longer have thought of the restriction, had not Miss Beaumont again come up to us. 'And so, Amelia,' she said, 'you are determined to leave me in the dark? You will not grant me satisfaction?'

"Amelia uttered a slight expression of fretfulness, as much as to say, 'Is there to be no end of this?' Then, turning good-humouredly to Miss Beaumont, she said, What a talent you have, Julia, of making yourself miserable! Cannot you forget Gabrielle and her imaginary grievances?'

They are not imaginary,' returned Miss Beaumont. Imaginary, or not so,' replied Amelia, with firmness, I shall be obliged to you, Julia, if you will let this matter drop, and be content with the reply which I have given you; for I am resolved that I will add nothing more to what I have already written and said on this subject.'

"Upon my word, Amelia,' said Miss Beaumont, 'you are very short!'

"And perhaps,' returned Amelia, smiling, there are some subjects on which one cannot be too short; especially such as relate to the concerns of our neighbours.'

"Miss Beaumont was going to reply, when a loud laugh burst from an opposite door, where, at the same time, appeared a cluster of heads, among the foremost of which I saw the faces of Miss Atkins and Miss Chatterton, which were pushed forward, with the crowd between. There, there they are, at it again, carrying on the war!' exclaimed Miss Chatterton. "This is excellent! These are the pious ones! the intimate friends! the inseparables, as it is used to be! There is war now in heaven, Atkins, and we may soon expect to see some of the angels falling!'

Julia,' said Amelia, blushing violently, do you hear what they say?' adding, in a lower voice, what disgrace are we bringing upon our religious profession by this absurd quarrel!'

"A call to tiffin prevented any thing, at that time, being further said on the subject; and, as Mrs. Patterson herself was present at that meal, all was orderly and peaceable while we continued at table. Mrs. Patterson left us as soon as the tiffin was concluded; but before we had gone from the hall, a company of box-wallas appeared in the verandah; on seeing which, all the young ladies, together with the teachers, rushed out at the front door, leaving me standing with Amelia, who had taken my hand to hold me back, as soon as the arrival of these visitors was announced.

"The box-wallas or sundook-wallas, are native pedlars, who travel about, from house to house, selling a variety of European and Indian articles, and who are employed by persons of every denomination in Calcutta.

"In common with most other young people in India, I was exceedingly fond of spending my pocket-money with these persons, and of looking over and cheapening their treasures even when I had no money; I was therefore a good deal chagrined when Amelia proposed that we should go up stairs, instead of joining the party in the verandah; nor was it till after I had for some minutes endeavoured to prevail, that I was able to persuade her that I wanted several things which I said I could not possibly any longer do without. Seeing me, however, so strongly bent upon this purpose, she gave way and followed me into the verandah.

"And now it is scarcely possible for me to give you an idea of the scene of confusion that presented itself when we approached the door of the hall. There were

no less than four of these sundook-wallas squatted on the pavement, their boxes being open before them, and their goods spread out upon the floor. The young ladies and the two teachers, together with sundry dirges, bearers, and ayahs, were mingled together in one promiscuous mass around them, all talking together, choosing and refusing, bargaining, scolding, snatching, rejecting, triumphing, condoling, cheating, and being cheated, some speaking in Bengalee, some in Hindoostaunee, some in broken English, some in French, and some in a compound of one or more of these different jargons. A long time elapsed before I could distinguish one voice from another; at length I heard Miss Chatterton say, 'I wonder at you, Atkins! I am amazed! and so you don't think I shall look well in pea-green? Why, my friend, Miss Biddy Jackson, used always to tell me that pea-green was the most becoming colour I could put on.'

"I wonder, Chatterton,' returned the other, that you should think of bringing forward Biddy Jackson's opinion on matters of taste; for of all the dressers I ever saw, in all my life, she is the worst; and to tell you, with your sallow complexion, that pea-green was proper, I am sure she could have been no sincere friend.'

66 6 Sallow! sallow!' repeated Madame de Roseau; 'for shame, Miss Atkins; Miss Chatterton is not sallow, she is only pale. Where is your politesse?'

"A violent uproar was at that moment excited at the other end of the verandah, by the opening of a box of

artificial flowers, and, for a moment, I heard nothing but exclamations in favour of this and that flower. At length, as I was standing by Amelia, endeavouring to select a tortoise-shell comb to fasten up my hair, Miss Crawford came up triumphantly towards the place where we stood, exclaiming, I have carried the day; I shall wear the rose to-night.' And, so saying, she shewed us a beautiful English rose, which she said she intended to wear in the evening.

666

Ah, la belle couleur! de beautiful couleur!' said Madame de Roseau. Miss Crawford is very cruel: she means to be de belle dis afternoon. No one will have any chance wid Miss Crawford dis evening.'

"While Madame de Roseau was speaking, and Miss Crawford was holding her rose up in triumph, Miss Atkins and Miss Chatterton, with several others of the greater girls, came round her, and, with voices so loud and shrill as to make the whole verandah ring, half playfully and half angrily charged her with having forestalled their market; Miss Chatterton actually declaring that she herself had ordered Rammohun (for so the flowermerchant was named) to bring that very rose for her.

“On hearing this, all the young people gave up their pretensions but Miss Chatterton, who attempted to snatch the rose from Miss Crawford; when a kind of romping bout ensued between the young lady and her governess, to the great amusement of many present, and which continued till Madame de Roseau, by dint of loud scolding, contrived to restore some little order.

"In the mean time; Amelia was endeavouring to find such a comb as I described; but not being able to succeed, she proposed that we should go up stairs, and had actually taken my hand to lead me out of the verandah, when we were forced from each other by the bustle occasioned by the two ladies already spoken of, who, in their contention for the rose, pushed in between us, one of them running away, and the other pursuing.

"In the confusion, I was, as I before said, parted from Amelia, and pushed in among a group of my young companions; and, before I well knew what I was about, I found myself standing by Gabrielle. She had not time allowed her to speak to me, before Amelia's eye was again upon us: but, with a quickness at which I was as

tonished, the young stranger had caught hold of my hand, in which, drawing it behind me, she placed a small paper, containing a few almonds and raisins, at the same time stooping and kissing my hand, pressing it closely as she let it go.

"Almost at the same moment, my other hand was seized by Amelia, who, exerting a gentle force, such as an angel might be supposed to employ in order to prevent some careless sinner from committing an action that would offend his God, led me through the hall up into her own room, where, shutting the door, she sat down to work, advising me to look over my lessons for the next day.

"On her proposing this, I complained of fatigue. "Then lie down upon your bed, Clara,' she said, ' and learn as you are resting yourself.'

"I so far complied as to lie down, taking the book in my hand.

"We remained silent for some time, the rest of the party still being below: but on a loud sound, as expressive of mirth, reaching us from beneath, I could contain myself no longer; but making use of a deception not unfrequently in the mouths of those who love sin, and yet do not wish to be thought to do so, I began to express great horror at the noise, remarking, that I had never before met with such rude girls.

"Amelia made no reply to this remark: on which, I pertly added, 'Where is Mrs. Patterson all this time? But I suppose that she makes a point of shutting her eyes and ears when she has a mind to spare herself the trouble of finding fault.'

"There was a good deal of truth, as I afterwards found, in this observation, and most people would have smiled to hear it from the lips of so young a person: but I did not observe the least tendency towards a smile on the placid countenance of Amelia. I thought, however, that she sighed, as she thus answered me:- Clara, my dear, let me beg of you to refrain from these remarks. You and I shall have enough to do, and more than we possibly can do without the divine help, to conduct ourselves prudently and blamelessly in this family: and of this I am well convinced, that, if we begin to busy ourselves with other people's affairs, we shall very shortly forget properly to manage our own.'