ty usually did, and in a
few minutes she was giving him such a description of Lady Augusta's
unexpected appearance upon a like occasion in time past, that he laughed
until the room echoed, and forgot everything else but the audacious
grotesqueness of her mimicry.

It being agreed upon that Mollie's birthday was to be celebrated,
the whole household was plunged into preparations at once, though, of
course, they were preparations upon a small scale and of a strictly
private and domestic nature. Belinda, being promptly attacked with
inflammation of the throat, which was a chronic weakness of hers, was
rather inconveniently, but not at all to the surprise of her employers,
incapacitated from service, and accordingly Dolly's duties became varied
and multitudinous.

Sudden inflammation on the part of Belinda was so unavoidable a
consequence of any approaching demand upon her services as to have
become proverbial, and the swelling of that young person's "tornsuls,"
as she termed them, was anticipated as might be anticipated the rising
of the sun. Not that it was Belinda's fault, however; Belinda's anxiety
to be useful amounted at all times to something very nearly approaching
a monomania; the fact simply was, that, her ailment being chronic, it
usually evinced itself at inopportune periods. "It's the luck of the
family," said Phil. "We never loved a tree or flower, etc."

And so Belinda was accepted as an unavoidable inconvenience, and was
borne with cheerfully, accordingly.

It was not expected of her that she should appear otherwise on the
eventful day than with the regulation roll of flannel about her neck.
Dolly did not expect it of her at least, so she was not surprised, on
entering the kitchen in the morning, to be accosted by her grimy young
handmaiden in the usual form of announcement:--

"Which, if yer please, miss, my tornsuls is swole most awful."

"Are they?" said Dolly. "Well, I am very sorry, Belinda. It can't be
helped, though; Mollie will have to run the errands and answer the
door-bell, and you must stay with me and keep out of the draught.
You can help a little, I dare say, if you are obliged to stay in the
kitchen."

"Yes, 'm," said Belinda, and then sidling up to the dresser, and rubbing
her nose in an abasement of spirit, which resulted in divers startling
adornments of that already rather highly ornamented feature. "If yer
please, 'm," she said, "I 'm very sorry, Miss Dolly. Seems like I ain't
ne