giddy to have her clothes in order, or to think of
any thing before the last moment. Every article that she was to wear
this evening required some alteration, which Juliet was called upon to
make, till Lucy, a mulatto seamstress that lived in the family, came up
to assist the young ladies in dressing. Madeline's white satin
under-frock was longer than the tulle dress that she wore over it: and
after it was put on, it was necessary to make it shorter by turning the
hem up all round and running it along with a needle and thread. Her
satin belt would not meet, and after a great deal of pulling and
squeezing in vain, the only remedy was to take off the hooks and eyes
and set them nearer to the ends. She desired Lucy to arrange her hair
for her, which was a difficult task, as Madeline would not hold still a
moment; and after it was at last accomplished, she declared that Lucy
had made a fright of her, and demolished the whole structure with her
own hands, strewing the floor with hair-pins and flowers. She then
called Juliet to her assistance; and, in the course of time, her hair
was finished to her satisfaction.

When Madeline was dressed, she took a lamp from the mantlepiece and
setting it on the floor, that she might see her feet to advantage with
her embroidered silk stockings and white satin shoes, she began to caper
and dance; and in performing one of her best steps she kicked down the
lamp, which splashed all over her right foot, and over the lower part of
her dress, beside deluging the carpet with oil. She screamed violently,
and her volatility seemed to forsake her when she held up her beautiful
tulle dress bespattered with lamp-oil. Juliet endeavoured to console
her, and lent her another pair of silk stockings, and Lucy was sent to
the nearest shoemaker's to bring several pair of white satin shoes that
Madeline might choose from among them. But what was to be done with the
disfigured frock? Madeline declared she had no other dress that was
handsome enough to wear that evening, and said she would rather stay
away from the ball than not look as she wished. Juliet, who was about
the same size, offered to lend her a frock, even the clear muslin she
was to wear that night herself; but Madeline said that Juliet's dresses
were all too plain for her, and that she had set her mind upon the white
silk-sprigged tulle, and nothing else.

She continued to lament her misfortune, when a thought struck her that
it was possible to