At nine o'clock on the appointed evening Mrs. Sullivan entered the reception room; and seeing Adelaide already there, said, "That's right, Miss Wildenheim, you be's always ready. I never can get them there girls of mine to dishevel themselves in time. Will you be so kind as to help me to put out the lights in them there chandlers? They can stay unlit a bit, for none of the gentlemen ban't dressed yet, and we can light 'em again when the folk come to the door, you know—I loves to practise genteel economy." Adelaide executed her commission; and her companion then proceeded to examine her attire with the most minute attention; and, as her eye was attracted by the beautiful ornaments, which confined and were intermixed with her luxuriant hair, she exclaimed, "La! what fine pearls you have got on—your mother's I suppose, Miss." "Yes, madam," replied Adelaide, mournfully, "she had a great quantity of pearls, which were new set for my use," "Wery like, Miss, wery like," retorted the scornful lady; and, turning disdainfully from her, bustled off to another part of the room, muttering, "Oh the vickedness of this vorld!"
Adelaide was dressed in that last stage of real mourning, which, from its chaste contrast of colour, is perhaps the most elegant attire a beautiful female can wear, as it seems to throw a veil on the loveliness, which, in truth, it embellishes. Her mental, as well as personal charms, were softened by the same garb of sorrow; and perhaps their beauty,
"Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heav'n to gaudy day denies,"
was more winning than when they shone in their original brightness. She was roused from a train of sorrowful reflections, which the mention of her mother had occasioned in her mind, by a sound of carriages, and by Mrs. Sullivan exclaiming, "As sure as the devil's in Lunnon, here they be; Miss Wildenheim, do light that there candle brass, whilst I turn the cock of this here lamp;" and the task was but just accomplished, when a large party entered the room.
The coup d'œil which Webberly House now presented was really beautiful; for from London every thing in the way of decoration, even taste, may be procured. The vestibule and apartments opening into it were ornamented with wreaths of flowers, laurels, and coloured lamps, and with beautifully designed and well executed transparencies. The windows were left open, and displayed the Chinese bridge splendidly illuminated, beaming like an arch of light in the surrounding darkness. The carved work of the porch was completely interlaced with wreaths of colored lamps; and not less splendid were the grotto and hermitage, which at a small distance from the house were fitted up to resemble the rooms of rival restaurateurs. At their entrance Cecilia had placed her own maid and footman, to distribute refreshments; and she had been busily employed for some days, in teaching them as much French as their capacity and her knowledge would permit them to acquire, for which the slang of the one, and the Cockney dialect of the other, admirably qualified them. A temporary canvass passage led to the station of these pseudo-Parisians, which soon became the favourite lounge of the evening, as the constant mistakes they made in the names of all the refreshments they presented excited so much laughter, that every set of visitors was sure to recommend another, to enjoy the bodily and mental entertainment provided for them.
When the company first assembled, a brilliant display of fire works was let off on the lawn, and just as the last rocket was ascending, Mrs. Martin and her niece entered the ball room. They had met with sundry difficulties, as to conveyances, which had delayed their arrival so long.
Unfortunately for them, the company had, at that instant, nothing more amusing to do, than seeking for subjects of ridicule; and in poor Lucy Martin's dress they found an ample field. Her ci-devant blue spencer had been transformed into a fashionable body for a new pink petticoat, under the superintendence of Miss Slater, who had informed her, that "whole gowns were quite out, as all the ladies in London now wore dolphin dresses," of which no two parts were of the same colour. Nearly all the finery of Mr. Slater's shop had been deposited on her person; and it would have been impossible for the greatest connoisseur in tinting to have decided which was the prevailing colour in her dress: but as she and her aunt were made happy, by the idea of her being "quite smart," her appearing to the rest of the company in a most ludicrous point of view would have been of no consequence, had not the unsuitable extravagance deprived them of many almost necessary comforts for a long time afterwards, for which the display of this evening but poorly compensated.
Before the unfeeling crowd had more than half finished their commentaries on the curious specimen of taste the unconscious girl exhibited, their attention was diverted by the arrival of Sir Henry Seymour, who with all the formality of the vieille cour entered the room, with a chapeau de bras under one arm, and Mrs. Galton leaning on the other. At her side walked Selina in unadorned loveliness, her eyes sparkling with delight at all the wonders that were presented to her view, and totally unsuspicious that she was herself the goddess of the fairy scene of pleasure. All eyes were fixed on her beaming countenance radiant in smiles; and even envy, for the moment, pardoned such unpresuming charms. Mr. Webberly had waited to open the ball with Selina, and immediately led her to the head of the room, where, scarcely conscious of the pre-eminence, her attention was so completely engrossed by all the beauty and variety of the decorations, that she neither listened to nor understood the fulsome compliments he momentarily addressed to her. Though little skilled in the fashionable art of dancing, the natural grace and vivacity of all her movements, and the uncommon loveliness of her person, more than compensated for this deficiency; and when she happened to make any mistake in the figures she was unaccustomed to, she laughed so innocently and so heartily at her own blunders, and in so doing displayed such dazzling teeth and evanescent dimples, that one more practised in the arts of coquetry would purposely have made the same errors, thus to have atoned them.
From the moment Miss Seymour had entered the room, Mr. Sedley had watched her every motion; and, as he happened to stand behind Webberly in the dance, he could not help exclaiming, "By Jove, Jack, if you get that girl you'll be a lucky dog." Webberly cast a glance on his lovely partner, in which real exultation was ridiculously blended with affected contempt; and shrugging his shoulders, replied, "She is half wild now, we must give her a little fashion when she comes amongst us." Sedley turned on his heel, and joined a groupe of young men, who were loudly expatiating on the charms he affected to despise. Sedley also joined in her praise; for as yet, though his warm admiration was excited, his heart was not sufficiently interested to create a wariness in the expression of its feelings; and as the whole party professed their anxiety to be introduced to her, he laughingly boasted of his prior claims, and hastened to secure her hand for the two following dances. And now, according to a writer of the days of Queen Bess, "Some ambled, and some skipped, and some minced it withal, and some were like the bounding doe, and some like the majestic lion."
Adelaide alone refused every solicitation to join in the festivity; and when Mrs. Temple urged her to accept of some of the numerous partners who contended for her fair hand, she replied, with a mournful expression, "Dear Mrs. Temple do not ask me; surely this dress was never meant for dancing;" so saying, she cast down her eyes to conceal their watery visitors. Sedley, who had overheard her observation, took this opportunity of examining her perfect features. He thought he had never seen her look so lovely as at that moment, for