is sort of
thing, and fell to tasting, with very little rapture about the seeing.
What a buzz the room was in, to be sure! Tongues were fairly unloosed
over oysters and sandwiches; and all the glory of the Christmas tree
was to talk about, with comparisons of presents, plans, and prospects.
Matilda looked on, half bewildered, but so very happy that it hardly
occurred to her to remember that she might like something to eat too.
Everybody was attending upon the wants of the guests, though certainly
Matilda did notice that Judy had a plateful of something, and was
eating as busily as she was talking. Doing neither, for she knew nobody
to talk to, Matilda waited, and thought of her watch, in a trance of
rapture.

"Why, my dear, is nobody attending to you?" she heard the voice of Mrs.
Lloyd say at last. "Have you had nothing all this while?"

"No, ma'am--they are all so busy."

But David came up at the minute, and Matilda had no longer anything to
complain of. He served her very kindly, and Matilda found that she was
very hungry. She got a chance, however, to thank David for her work-box.

"I am sure you deserve it," he said. "What did Judy give you?"

He looked very little pleased, Matilda thought, when she told him. But
he only helped her carefully to everything she would have, and said no
more about it.

A third wonder to Matilda that evening was the style and amount of
eating that went on. The ices were in beautiful fruit forms; and she
thought when she had demolished one of them she had done enough,
especially as caramel, and candied fruits, and other confections were
awaiting her attention. But the circulation of these little ices went
on at a rate that proved Matilda's moderation to be shared by few, and
she heard one little lady say to another, herself with a plateful, "Is
that your _third_ or your _fourth?_" Slowly munching candied grapes,
Matilda looked on and marvelled. Presently Norton came to see if she
wanted anything, and then Esther joined them, and the talk was of the
witch again.

"We are going to see her now," said Norton. "Just as soon as we have
done with the table."

"What's it all for?" inquired Esther.

"I don't know," said Norton, shaking his head. "Some crotchet of
somebody's. I don't know anything about it. Only everybody is invited
to go and see the witch; and the witch's den is in the little reception
room on the other side of the hall; and we must go in one by one; and
we must answer