er more; if we bore ourselves, we are not called
upon to go ten miles to do it!

For instance, the Hipsleys came ten miles from the south, and the
Hawbucks ten miles from the north, of the Evergreens; and were magnates
in two different divisions of the county of Mangelwurzelshire. Hipsley,
who is an old baronet, with a bothered estate, did not care to show his
contempt for Hawbuck, who is a new creation, and rich. Hawbuck, on his
part, gives himself patronizing airs to General Sago, who looks upon the
Pontos as little better than paupers. 'Old Lady Blanche,' says Ponto, 'I
hope will leave something to her god-daughter--my second girl--we've all
of us half-poisoned ourselves with taking her physic.'

Lady Blanche and Lady Rose Fitzague have, the first, a medical, and the
second a literary turn. I am inclined to believe the former had a wet
COMPRESSE around her body, on the occasion when I had the happiness of
meeting her. She doctors everybody in the neighbourhood of which she is
the ornament; and has tried everything on her own person. She went into
Court, and testified publicly her faith in St. John Long: she swore by
Doctor Buchan, she took quantities of Gambouge's Universal Medicine,
and whole boxfuls of Parr's Life Pills. She has cured a multiplicity of
headaches by Squinstone's Eye-snuff; she wears a picture of Hahnemann
in her bracelet and a lock of Priessnitz's hair in a brooch. She talked
about her own complaints and those of her CONFIDANTE for the time being,
to every lady in the room successively, from our hostess down to
Miss Wirt, taking them into corners, and whispering about bronchitis,
hepatitis, St. Vitus, neuralgia, cephalalgia, and so forth. I observed
poor fat Lady Hawbuck in a dreadful alarm after some communication
regarding the state of her daughter Miss Lucy Hawbuck's health, and Mrs.
Sago turned quite yellow, and put down her third glass of Madeira, at a
warning glance from Lady Blanche.

Lady Rose talked literature, and about the book-club at Guttlebury, and
is very strong in voyages and travels. She has a prodigious interest
in Borneo, and displayed a knowledge of the history of the Punjaub and
Kaffirland that does credit to her memory. Old General Sago, who sat
perfectly silent and plethoric, roused up as from a lethargy when the
former country was mentioned, and gave the company his story about a
hog-hunt at Ramjugger. I observed her ladyship treated with something
like contempt her neighbo