erence with him, Mrs. Somers came to
me, inquiring earnestly,

"'Cousin Fanny, have you ever had the measles?'

"I replied in the affirmative.

"'Oh, I am very glad!' was her response; 'for little Ella is attacked
with them, and very severely; but, if you will take charge of her,
I shall feel no anxiety. It is dreadful in sickness to be obliged to
depend upon hirelings.'

"So I was duly installed as little Ella's nurse, and, as she was a
spoiled child, my task was neither easy nor agreeable.

"No sooner was the whining little creature sufficiently improved to
be taken to her own home, than the house was thrown into confusion by
preparations for a brilliant party. Laura took me with her on a shopping
excursion, and bade me select whatever I wished, and send the bill with
hers to Mr. Somers. I purchased a few indispensable articles, but I felt
embarrassed by her calm, scrutinizing gaze, and by the consciousness
that every item of my expenditures would be scanned by, perhaps,
censorious eyes.

"What with my previous fatigue while acting as Ella's nurse, and the
laborious preparations for the approaching festival, I felt, as the time
drew near, completely exhausted. Yet I was determined not to so far give
way to the depressing influences that surrounded me, as to absent myself
from the party. So, after snatching an interval of rest, to relieve my
aching head, I dressed myself with unusual care, and repaired to the
brilliantly lighted rooms. They were already filled, and murmuring like
a swarm of bees, although, as one of the guests remarked, there were
more drones than workers in the hive. I was now no drone, certainly, and
that was some consolation. When I entered, Laura was conversing with a
group of dashing young men, who were blundering over a book of charades.
Seeing me enter, she came towards me immediately.

"'Cousin Fanny, you who help everybody, I want you to come to the aid
of these stupid young men. Gentlemen, this is our Cousin Fanny, the very
best creature in the world.' And with this introduction she left me, and
turned to greet some new arrivals. After discussing the charades till my
ears were weary of empty and aimless chatter, I was very glad to find my
group of young men gradually dispersing, and myself at liberty to look
about me, undisturbed. George soon came to me, gave me his arm, and took
me to a room where were several ladies, friends of his father, and who
had known me very well as a child.