ideration the thousand and one pretensions, partialities,
and caprices of a whole army of guests. It would not have been
surprising if the new housewife had not known where to begin first; but
under Flora's direction everything went along as smoothly as possible.
She was used to such things. She remembered everything, and yet she
always appealed so artfully to Fanny as to how this or that ought to be
done, that, had not Fanny had the keenest appreciation of her friend's
delicacy and tact, she might very easily have fancied that it was she
herself who managed everything. At any rate Squire John henceforth lived
in the conviction that his consort was as much at home in all these
mighty matters as if she had lived all her life in the castles of
countesses.

And when the evening came, and they were alone together, and had time to
converse, how many sage and pleasant counsels Fanny listened to from her
friend! She did nothing but listen to, nothing but look upon those
delicate, eloquent lips, and those still more eloquent, sparkling eyes,
from which she was beginning to learn happiness. At such times they
would send away their ladies' maids, and help each other with their
evening toilets, and then they would talk freely and merrily of the
great world and its follies.

First of all, the list of names, which had caused Mr. Varga so much
sweat and anguish, would be brought forth, and then they would sit down
together and talk scandal of their neighbours, and a delightful joke it
was too.

For there's a difference between scandal and scandal. To circulate false
reports of the people you know, to lay hold upon their most recondite
faults and carefully pass them on from hand to hand, to undermine the
good name of your acquaintances,--that is certainly not a nice
occupation, I call it ungentlemanly scandal. But to be acquainted with
the vices of the world, and communicate them to innocent souls liable to
err; to warn and call the attention of the sensitive and the tottering
to the thorns, the flints, the vermin, and the pitfalls which beset
their path,--that is a proper thing to do in season, and I call it
gentlemanly scandal--although many who read these lines will perhaps
prefer to call it nonsense.

We will therefore confine ourselves to gentlemanly scandal, and let us
take the men first. It is not I who do it, remember, but these two young
women who have got hold of such an interesting list. If I had a hand in
it, I should