ill just step up to my room
and bring my salts, you will be a darling. Dear me! shall I ever get
cool again? If you will just bring me that sofa pillow, but no, it will
be too hot. I wish I had a nice pillow from my own bed, the linen slips
would be so refreshing."

Althea started to go for one, when her aunt pleased again to change her
mind.

"On the whole, I think now I will be able to go up stairs, and you can
unlace my tight boots, they are just killing my poor feet, and I can
get into my wrapper; yes, that will be nice."

And Juliet started briskly for her chamber. She met her daughter at the
foot of the stairs with the tiny cut-glass bottle.

"You can bring it back; I have concluded to go up myself; and, Johnny,
that is right, my son, bring the waiter up stairs, where, if I am not
completely exhausted first, I will try to get comfortable."

The stream of Juliet's talk ceased not to flow, while her niece, son,
and daughter flew hither and thither, as was dictated by her caprice.

At length, in her snowy wrapper, she half reclined gracefully upon an
equally snowy lounge, which she had ordered drawn to the darkest corner
of the room.

"Now, Johnny and Flora dear, you can go anywhere you please, until the
girls come and lunch is served. Althea will stay and fan me, and perhaps
I can sleep," said this selfish woman, languidly closing her eyes.

She had done talking enough for any one member of a sociable; and
Althea, commendably preserving her patience, devoutly hoped the
poppy-god, of which she had lately been reading in her Virgil, would
shower well the eyelids of her Aunt. Vain hope! The uneasy tongue again
commenced:

"I wonder how your uncle endures it! Every week-day at his counting
house--every Sunday twice at Mass, and then again at Vespers. It is all
of six months now since this very pious fit came over him. And strange
to say, I believe I brought it about myself. I never had given up the
notion of his coming around to be with me a High Churchman. He always
_was_ the most honest soul--the offer of thrones and kingdoms could
never induce him to tell a lie--but as to what he called his religious
duties, he had become very careless; I could easily coax him to stay
from Mass when I did not feel like dressing for St. Mark's, but about
six months ago, I think it was, I undertook to convert him to my way of
thinking, and to make him see how vain and wicked these Romish practices
were, when he astonished me