or five
hundred per cent. above cost price, for articles quite useless to them;
other feebler souls object to it, and would rather see the prince of
darkness himself at their door any morning than that phantom basket,
brought with "Mrs. Rouse's compliments; and please, ma'am, she says it's
your turn now."

Miss Helstone's duties of hostess performed, more anxiously than
cheerily, she betook herself to the kitchen, to hold a brief
privy-council with Fanny and Eliza about the tea.

"What a lot on 'em!" cried Eliza, who was cook. "And I put off the
baking to-day because I thought there would be bread plenty to fit while
morning. We shall never have enow."

"Are there any tea-cakes?" asked the young mistress.

"Only three and a loaf. I wish these fine folk would stay at home till
they're asked; and I want to finish trimming my hat" (bonnet she meant).

"Then," suggested Caroline, to whom the importance of the emergency gave
a certain energy, "Fanny must run down to Briarfield and buy some
muffins and crumpets and some biscuits. And don't be cross, Eliza; we
can't help it now."

"And which tea-things are we to have?"

"Oh, the best, I suppose. I'll get out the silver service." And she ran
upstairs to the plate-closet, and presently brought down teapot,
cream-ewer, and sugar-basin.

"And mun we have th' urn?"

"Yes; and now get it ready as quickly as you can, for the sooner we have
tea over the sooner they will go--at least, I hope so. Heigh-ho! I wish
they were gone," she sighed, as she returned to the drawing-room.
"Still," she thought, as she paused at the door ere opening it, "if
Robert would but come even now how bright all would be! How
comparatively easy the task of amusing these people if he were present!
There would be an interest in hearing him talk (though he never says
much in company) and in talking in his presence. There can be no
interest in hearing any of them, or in speaking to them. How they will
gabble when the curates come in, and how weary I shall grow with
listening to them! But I suppose I am a selfish fool. These are very
respectable gentlefolks. I ought, no doubt, to be proud of their
countenance. I don't say they are not as good as I am--far from it--but
they are different from me."

She went in.

Yorkshire people in those days took their tea round the table, sitting
well into it, with their knees duly introduced under the mahogany. It
was essential to have a multitude of plates of br