ous disgust.
"Never mind," said the girl, "I'll give you an answer."
Then, with inky fingers and dirty hands, she tendered him some
scrawl, and demanded five shillings postage. "Five shillings!" said
the young man. "Oh, I'm d----"
Then he gave her a shilling and walked away. She ventured to give one
little halloa after him, but she caught the duchess's eye looking at
her, and was quiet.
I don't think there was much real flirting done. Men won't flirt with
draggled girls, smirched with dust, weary with work, and soiled with
heat; and especially they will not do so at the rate of a shilling a
word. When the whole thing was over, Mrs Chaucer Munro's bevy, lying
about on the benches in fatigue before they went away, declared
that, as far as they were concerned, the thing was a mistake. The
expenditure in gloves and muslin had been considerable, and the
returns to them had been very small. It is not only that men will
not flirt with draggled girls, but they will carry away with them
unfortunate remembrances of what they have seen and heard. Upon the
whole it may be doubted whether any of the bevies were altogether
contented with the operations on the occasion of the Negro Soldiers'
Orphan Bazaar.
Miss Mackenzie had been, perhaps, more fortunate than some of the
others. It must, however, be remembered that there are two modes
of conducting business at these bazaars. There is the travelling
merchant, who roams about, and there is the stationary merchant, who
remains always behind her counter. It is not to be supposed that the
Duchess of St Bungay spent the afternoon rushing about with a lucky
bag. The duchess was a stationary trader, and so were all the ladies
who belonged to the Mackenzie booth. Miss Mackenzie, the lamb, had
been much regarded, and consequently the things at her disposal had
been quickly sold. It had all seemed to her to be very wonderful, and
as the fun grew fast and furious, as the young girls became eager
in their attacks, she made up her mind that she would never occupy
another stall at a bazaar. One incident, and but one, occurred to her
during the day; and one person came to her that she knew, and but
one. It was nearly six, and she was beginning to think that the weary
work must soon be over, when, on a sudden, she found Sir John Ball
standing beside her.
"Oh, John!" she said, startled by his presence, "who would have
thought of seeing you here?"
"And why not me as well as any other fo
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