of Susanna. It would not suit her
to become Lady Ball, but it might suit Susanna.

"We are going to have a little dinner party to-day," said Mrs Tom.

"A dinner party!" said Margaret. "I didn't look for that, Sarah."

"Perhaps I ought not to call it a party, for there are only one or
two coming. There's Dr Slumpy and his wife; I don't know whether you
ever met Dr Slumpy. He has attended us for ever so long; and there
is Miss Colza, a great friend of mine. Mademoiselle Colza I ought to
call her, because her father was a Portuguese. Only as she never saw
him, we call her Miss. And there's Mr Rubb,--Samuel Rubb, junior. I
think you met him at Littlebath."

"Yes; I know Mr Rubb."

"That's all; and I might as well say how it will be now. Mr Rubb will
take you down to dinner. Tom will take Mrs Slumpy, and the doctor
will take me. Young Tom,"--Young Tom was her son, who was now
beginning his career at Rubb and Mackenzie's,--"Young Tom will take
Miss Colza, and Mary Jane and Susanna will come down by themselves.
We might have managed twelve, and Tom did think of asking Mr Handcock
and one of the other clerks, but he did not know whether you would
have liked it."

"I should not have minded it. That is, I should have been very glad
to meet Mr Handcock, but I don't care about it."

"That's just what we thought, and therefore we did not ask him.
You'll remember, won't you, that Mr Rubb takes you down?" After that
Miss Mackenzie took her nieces to the Zoological Gardens, leaving
Mary Jane at home to assist her mother in the cares for the coming
festival, and thus the day wore itself away till it was time for them
to prepare themselves for the party.

Miss Colza was the first to come. She was a young lady somewhat older
than Miss Mackenzie; but the circumstances of her life had induced
her to retain many of the propensities of her girlhood. She was as
young looking as curls and pink bows could make her, and was by no
means a useless guest at a small dinner party, as she could chatter
like a magpie. Her claims to be called "Mademoiselle" were not very
strong, as she had lived in Finsbury Square all her life. Her father
was connected in trade with the Rubb and Mackenzie firm, and dealt,
I think, in oil. She was introduced with great ceremony, and having
heard that Miss Mackenzie lived at Littlebath, went off at score
about the pleasures of that delicious place.

"I do so hate London, Miss Mackenzie."

"I lived here all my