, or
something strong. Why, I want her to look at her very, very best."

"As if she was a-going to a ball, poor dear!" Betsy Strouss replied,
with some irony. "A young lady full of high spirits by nature, and have
never had her first dance yet! The laws and institutions of this
kingdom is too bad for me, General. I shall turn foreigner, like my poor
husband."

"It is vere goot, vere goot always," said the placid Maximilian;
"foreigner dis way, foreigner dat way; according to de hills, or de sea,
or de fighting, or being born, or someting else."

"Hold your tongue, Hans," cried his Wilhelmina; "remember that you are
in England now, and must behave constitutionally. None of your loose
outlandish ideas will ever get your bread in England. Was I born
according to fighting, or hills, or sea, or any thing less than the will
of the Lord, that made the whole of them, and made you too? General,
I beg you to excuse him, if you can. When he gets upon such things, he
never can stop. His goodness is very great; but he must have a firm hand
put upon his 'philosophy.' Maximilian, you may go and smoke your pipe
for an hour and a quarter, and see where the cheapest greens and oil
are, for his Excellence is coming in to-night; and mind you get plenty
of stump in them. His Excellence loves them, and they fill the dish,
besides coming cheaper. Now, Miss Erema, if you please, come here. Trust
you in me, miss, and soon I will make you a credit to the General."

I allowed her to manage my dress and all that according to her own
ideas; but when she entreated to finish me up with the "leastest
little touch of red, scarcely up to the usual color, by reason of not
sleeping," I stopped her at once, and she was quite content with the
color produced by the thought of it. Meanwhile Major Hockin, of course,
was becoming beyond all description impatient. He had made the greatest
point of my being adorned, and expected it done in two minutes! And he
hurried me so, when I did come down, that I scarcely noticed either cab
or horse, and put on my new gloves anyhow.

"My dear, you look very nice," he said at last, when thoroughly tired
of grumbling. "That scoundrel of a Goad will be quite amazed at sight of
the child he went to steal."

"Mr. Goad!" I replied, with a shudder, caused, perhaps, by dark
remembrance; "if we go to the office, you surely will not expect me to
see Mr. Goad himself?"

"That depends, as the Frenchmen say. It is too late now t