rtlandt."

"Much less than they ought, if my opinion is to be taken," said
Grace, laughing, "for the great inroad of strangers has completely
deranged all the suitablenesses, in that respect."

"And yet, I dare say, these very strangers do good," rejoined Eve.
"Many of them must have been respectable in their native places, and
ought to be an acquisition to a society that, in its nature, must be,
Grace, _tant soit peu_, provincial."

"Oh!" cried Grace, "I can tolerate any thing but the Hajjis!"

"The what?" asked Sir George, eagerly--"will you suffer me to ask an
explanation, Miss Van Cortlandt."

"The Hajjis," repeated Grace laughing, though she blushed to the
eyes.

The baronet looked from one cousin to the other, and then turned an
inquiring glance on Mademoiselle Viefville. The latter gave a slight
shrug, and seemed to ask an explanation of the young lady's meaning
herself.

"A Hajji is one of a class, Sir George Templemore," Eve at length
said, "to which you and I have both the honour of belonging."

"No, not Sir George Templemore," interrupted Grace, with a
precipitation that she instantly regretted; "he is not an American."

"Then I, alone, of all present, have that honour. It means the
pilgrimage to Paris, instead of Mecca; and the Pilgrim must be an
American, instead of a Mahommedan."

"Nay, Eve, _you_ are not a Hajji, neither."

"Then there is some qualification with which I am not yet acquainted.
Will you relieve our doubts, Grace, and let us know the precise
character of the animal."

"_You_ stayed too long to be a Hajji--- one must get innoculated
merely; not take the disease and become cured, to be a true Hajji."

"I thank you, Miss Van Cortlandt, for this description," returned Eve
in her quiet way. "I hope, as I have gone through the malady, it has
not left me pitted."

"I should like to see one of these Hajjis," cried Sir George.--"Are
they of both sexes?"

Grace laughed and nodded her head.

"Will you point it out to me, should we be so fortunate as to
encounter one this evening?"

Again Grace laughed and nodded her head.

"I have been thinking, Grace," said Eve, after a short pause, "that
we may give Sir George Templemore a better idea of the sets about
which he is so curious, by doing what is no more than a duty of our
own, and by letting him profit by the opportunity. Mrs. Hawker
receives this evening without ceremony; we have not yet sent our
answer to Mrs. Jarvis, and migh