his wife's little poodle dog "Apollo."

The bell began to ring! Gertrude ran _once_ more to the glass before
the door should open; it was all right, all but one curl on the left
temple that had veered round a little too much to the north-east, and
which had to be re-arranged.

In they came.

The two Misses Tarleton first, dressed in a cerulean blue, to set off
their "lint locks" and fair complexions, with their two hands encased
in white kids, crossed over their two sashes, and an embroidered
pocket-handkerchief, starched very stiffly, between their little
fingers. Close upon _their_ satin slippers came Miss Jenny Judkins,
whose father was "rich." Miss Jenny wore a black velvet waist trimmed
profusely with black bugles, that sparkled under the chandelier enough
to put your eyes out. Her skirt was pink satin trimmed with black lace
flowers, and her hair was drawn back tightly from the roots at her
forehead, and confined by tri-colored bows with long streamers like the
pennants of a ship. Gertrude felt very much afraid that Miss Jenny
would be voted "the belle."

Time would "give out" should I undertake to do justice to all these
young ladies, beside I must not omit the young gentlemen. I am not
quite sure that I have done right to keep them so long in "the
gentleman's dressing room."

In the first place, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Augustus Anthony,
who has been in the hands of Mons. Peruke for the last hour, as you
will perceive by his perfumed locks; the bows of his little silk
necktie, you please notice, are of the proper fashionable size, and his
jacket richly embroidered. His brother John, "just from college," fixed
his watch chain; so there's no use in my criticising _that_. Then,
there's Master George Harrison, Jr., with his patent pumps and silk
stockings, and his sister Jane's diamond ring outside his buff glove on
the third finger. He has frequent occasion to point about the room with
_that_ hand, you notice!

Next comes Master Simpkins, who is very bashful, and stood tweeddling
his thumbs, all of a cold sweat, before he ventured in; he knew that
his toes _ought_ to turn _out_, instead of _in_, but that was a defect
that couldn't be rectified in a minute, and so he made up his mind to
shuffle in behind Peter, the black waiter, who just passed in to
arrange the candelabras.

Well, they commenced dancing and all "went merry as a marriage bell"
for an hour, when Miss Tarleton was discovered crying,