, please, I had rather keep them as they are--as mamma wore them."

He was touched in a minute.

"Very well, darling. God bless you for thinking of it!"

But he ordered her a set of sapphires instead, for the next assembly.

These balls were not such as to intoxicate Ellinor with success, and make
her in love with gaiety. Large parties came from the different country-
houses in the neighbourhood, and danced with each other. When they had
exhausted the resources they brought with them, they had generally a few
dances to spare for friends of the same standing with whom they were most
intimate. Ellinor came with her father, and joined an old card-playing
dowager, by way of a chaperone--the said dowager being under old business
obligations to the firm of Wilkins and Son, and apologizing to all her
acquaintances for her own weak condescension to Mr. Wilkins's foible in
wishing to introduce his daughter into society above her natural sphere.
It was upon this lady, after she had uttered some such speech as the one
I have just mentioned, that Lady Holster had come down with the pedigree
of Ellinor's mother. But though the old dowager had drawn back a little
discomfited at my lady's reply, she was not more attentive to Ellinor in
consequence. She allowed Mr. Wilkins to bring in his daughter and place
her on the crimson sofa beside her; spoke to her occasionally in the
interval that elapsed before the rubbers could be properly arranged in
the card-room; invited the girl to accompany her to that sober amusement,
and on Ellinor's declining, and preferring to remain with her father, the
dowager left her with a sweet smile on her plump countenance, and an
approving conscience somewhere within her portly frame, assuring her that
she had done all that could possibly have been expected from her towards
"that good Wilkins's daughter." Ellinor stood by her father watching the
dances, and thankful for the occasional chance of a dance. While she had
been sitting by her chaperone, Mr. Wilkins had made the tour of the room,
dropping out the little fact of his daughter's being present wherever he
thought the seed likely to bring forth the fruit of partners. And some
came because they liked Mr. Wilkins, and some asked Ellinor because they
had done their duty dances to their own party, and might please
themselves. So that she usually had an average of one invitation to
every three dances; and this principally towards the end of the ev