upon the sofa, giving way to the laughter which, long repressed, now
burst forth louder and more merrily upon every fresh remembrance of the
scene; while the other girls, though persisting in declaring that they
had seen nothing diverting, were soon infected by her joyous merriment,
and the room rang again with laughter.
'Well, Lizzie,' said Anne, recovering her breath, 'I hope, as Helen
says, you have had a pleasant evening; I hope you were very much
edified.'
'How can you be so absurd, Anne?' answered Elizabeth, trying to look
serious, but the corners of her mouth relaxing, in spite of her
attempts to control her risible muscles.
'I hope,' continued Anne, with a very grave face, 'that Mr. Augustus
was fully sensible of your wisdom, love of erudition, and classical
scholarship, though I cannot say they appeared on the surface.'
'You may be sure he thought me very wise,' said Elizabeth; 'I only
echoed his own words--and what would a man have more?'
'And how tenderly you touched him with the tip of your glove!'
continued Anne. 'I wish you could have seen yourself!'
'Indeed, I wish you had, Lizzie,' said Katherine; 'I think you would
have been ashamed of yourself.'
'I am ashamed,' said Elizabeth, gravely and shortly.
Lucy here asked where Fido was.
No one knew; no one could recollect anything about him from the time
they had left Mr. Turner's house to go to the Mechanics' Institute.
Katherine and Harriet went to the front door, they called, they
searched, they even went to Mr. Turner's to inquire for him, but all
their researches were fruitless; and Harriet turned angrily upon her
sister, saying, 'It is all your fault, Lucy, for running home in such a
hurry, and never thinking of him. How was I to be watching him there,
did you think?'
'I should have supposed,' said Elizabeth, 'that the person who was
leading the dog was more likely--'
'No, no, Elizabeth,' hastily interrupted Lucy, 'it was my fault in some
degree. I know I ought to have thought of him.'
'Well, say no more about him,' said Elizabeth; 'I dare say he will come
home before morning.'
And Elizabeth left the room to take off her bonnet, and to visit the
nursery, where the children were in bed. All were asleep excepting
Dora; and as Elizabeth leant over her, kissing her and bidding her
good-night, the little girl put her arm round her neck, and said,
'Lizzie, will you tell me one thing? Was it naughty to--to go where
you went t
|