ess and consideration. When other little girls came to drink tea
with her, they often brought their dolls to spend the evening with me;
and among them I had more than once the pleasure of recognising an old
friend from the bazaar.

Then I was in my glory. There was a constant supply of provisions in my
larder; and at a moment's notice Rose would produce an excellent dinner,
all ready cooked, and dished in a beautiful little china dinner-service.
Willy compared her to the genius of Aladdin's lamp; and though I did not
know what that might mean, I quite understood the advantage of being
able to set such a banquet before my friends. I could always command
salmon, a pair of soles, a leg of mutton, a leg of pork, a turkey, a
pair of boiled fowls, a ham, a sucking pig, a hare, a loaf of bread, a
fine Cheshire cheese, several pies, and a great variety of fruit, which
was always ripe and in season, winter or summer. Rose's papa once
observed that his hothouse produced none so fine; for the currants were
as large as apples, and two cherries filled a dish.

Rose and her companions performed the active duties of waiting at table
on these occasions; but the lame footman was generally brought out of
the hall, and propped up against the sideboard, where he stood looking
respectable but awkward.

At these pleasant parties I saw a great range of characters, for Rose's
young visitors were various in their tastes, and their dolls used to be
dressed in every known costume. Besides plenty of pretty English
damsels, I was introduced now to a Turkish sultana, now to a Swiss
peasant; one day to a captain in the British army, another day to an
Indian rajah. One young lady liked to make her dolls personate
celebrated characters; and when she visited us, most distinguished
guests graced my table. I have had the honor of receiving the Queen and
Prince Albert themselves; the Duke of Wellington, Sir Walter Scott, and
Miss Edgeworth, have all dined with me on the same day, and Robinson
Crusoe came in the evening.

But it was at these social meetings that I became most fully aware of
the liability of dolls to loss of limbs. I never remember giving a party
at which the guests could boast of possessing all their legs and arms.
Many an ingenious contrivance hid or supplied the deficiencies, and we
were happy in spite of our losses; still, such was the case: and I saw
that dolls, however beloved and respected, could not last for ever.

For some time