Page:Alice Lauder.pdf/77

world-but-not-of-it, who you may feel perfectly certain will upset your teacup, pull your hairpins out to see how your hair is made up, and kiss you violently immediately after eating strawberry jam; not to speak of leaving saucers of milk for her kitten on all the chairs in the drawing-room, or jumping up and down on the springs of the sofa for an hour together. One forgives her these little foibles because her hair and eyes just match the colour of a sealskin jacket, and because her cheeks are so pink and dimpled that one longs to eat them; but it is impossible to feel the slightest anxiety as to the exuberant health of two such brilliant little creatures; and even with dear Clare—her amplitude of figure and activity of movement, whenever she feels inclined to go to any entertainment, forbid more than a passing tremor to her friends. Yet her own forebodings are of the gloomiest. For instance, this afternoon it occurred to me that we ought to return some of our calls, and I suggested the Granbys to start with. They are the leading family here, and the village belongs to them body and soul. Whatever treasure you may have (in your own estimation), be it a piano or a peacock, a bonnet or a beanstalk, the Granbys are sure to have a much finer specimen. They live in a big white house—at the opposite