e, Mrs. Kennyfeck had done little else for three
quarters of an hour than half stand and sit down again, to the misery of
herself and the discomfort of her neighbors.

"Poor dear old thing," said Olivia, "she is so very nearsighted."

"Not a bit of it," said her sister; "don't tell me of bad sight that can
distinguish the decanter of port from the claret, which I have seen her
do some half-dozen times without one blunder."

"I 'd certainly stop the supplies," said Cashel; "wouldn't that do?"

"Impossible!" said Miss Kennyfeck; "you couldn't starve the whole
garrison for one refractory subject."

"Mr. Linton's plan was a perfect failure, too," said Mrs. Kennyfeck. "He
thought by the introduction of some topic ladies do not usually discuss
that she would certainly withdraw; on the contrary, her Ladyship called
out to me, 'I see your impatience, my dear, but I must hear the end
of this naughty story.' We tried the French plan, too, and made the
gentlemen rise with us; but really they were so rude and ill-tempered
the entire evening after, I 'll never venture on it again."

Here the whole party sighed and were silent, as if the wished-for mode
of relief were as distant as ever.

"Must we really ask those Claridge girls to sing, mamma?" said Miss
Kennyfeck, after a long pause.

"Of course you must. They were taught by Costa, and they are always
asked wherever they go."

"As a matter of curiosity, Mr. Cashel, the thing is worth hearing.
Paganini's monocorde was nothing to it, for they 'll go through a whole
scena of Donizetti with only one note in their voice. Oh dear! how very
tiresome it all is; the same little scene of pressings and refusals and
entreaties and rejections, and the oft-repeated dispute of the sisters
between 'Notte divina' and 'Non vedro mai,' ending in that Tyrolese
thing, which is on every organ in the streets, and has not the merit of
the little shaved dog with the hat in his mouth, to make it droll. And
then"--here Miss Kennyfeck caught a side glance of a most rebuking frown
on her mother's face, so that adroitly addressing herself to Cashel, she
seemed unaware of it,--"and then, when the singing is over, and those
who detest music are taking their revenge by abusing the singers, and
people are endeavoring to patch up the interrupted chattings,--then, I
suppose, we are quite suddenly, without the slightest premeditation, to
suggest a quadrille or carpet-dance. This is to be proposed as a most
n