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present alteration in the state of affairs ? What had cooled off
the parties ? Beatrice was not unwilling, I may say in this place,
that there should be an end to the conspiracy against her happi
ness and that of ed. But she had no desire that there should
he a cloud and a wall between the two families. She was worried
accordingly. Mammas, she well knew, having single,—ought I
not rather to say only,—daughters, are apt to be fussy and fidgetty;
just as you see an old hen, of whom the hawk has robbed every
chicken but one, —making more clack and clutter, and showing
more pride and pother, than all the poultry yard beside ; —and
the dear girl had long since resolved, that she, at least, would not
contribute in any way to make herself the chicken so ridiculously
conspicuous. There was no more unpresuming, unpretending
damsel, for one of her pretensions, in the world. Now, as the last
sentence of her mamma was tingling in her ears, she fancied she
could catch the clues of her difficulty; but her guess did not per
suade her to spare the excellent old lady any portion of the neces
sity of speaking out, in proper terms, the subject of her embar
rassment.
“ Really, mamma, you speak in oracles. I can’t conceive why
you should speak of society accorded to you as a benevolence
rather than as a due, —and that, too, on the part of the Bulmer
family. They seem to me to have always distinguished you with
the most becoming attentions. Miss Janet is one of the most do
cile and humble creatures in the world, and she has been solicit
ously heedful of us both ; the old Major, himself, has been so at
tentive, particularly of late, that, really, mamma, I had begun to
entertain some apprehensions that the Fates were about to punish
me with a step-father, in order to make me atone for some of my
offences.”
u Beatrice, —Miss Mazyck,”—with a most freezing aspect of re
buke, —the old lady drawing up her knees and laying her hands
solemnly in her lap,—“ You know'not what you are saying.”
“ Oh! yes, mamma, I know very well. How else could I ac
count for the long letter you received from the Major last sum
mer, and the long letter you wrote to him in return, neither of
which did you suffer me to see, though you do me the honour
usually to make me your amanuensis with all your other corres
pondents.”
“ There were reasons for the exception, Miss Mazyck.”
“ Precisely, mamma; that’s what I’m saying,—there was a spe
cial reason for that exception ”
“ I said reasons , not a special reason, Miss Mazyck.”
“ Well, mamma, and I thought it only reasonable to conclude
your reasons to be resolvable into a special reason. YY hen, after
our return, the Major was the first to call upon you, and when
you took him out, under the pretext of visiting the loom-house,
and the smoke-house, and the poultry-yard, and heaven knows
where else ; and when you w r ere gone together almost an hour,
bow could I suppose any thing else, than the particular danger iO
myself, if not to you, that I have mentioned.”
“ You are disrespectful, Beatrice.”
“ Surely not, mamma.”
u Y ou know not what you are saying. You know’ not the busi
ness on which Major Bulmer wrote me that letter and paid me
that visit.”
“ Certainly not, mamma, I only conjectured, and I give you my
THE GOLDEN CHRISTMAS.
conjecture. As you never condescended to let me into the secret,
naturally thought that it more particularly concerned yourself.”
You are a very foolish child, Beatrice. The letters concerned
you, lathei tnan me. The visit was paid on your account. If I
went out with Major Bulmer, you were left here with his son.”
“ No > mamma, you mistake; I was left with Mr. Cooper.”
Yes, Miss Mazyck, and that reminds me of the first show of
disiespect, to our family, on the part of Major Bulmer’s. Mr. Ed
waid Lulmer treated you with so little consideration, that he left
you as soon as our backs were turned, and, w'hen found, w r as
stretched off and sleeping in the library. Was that proper treat
ment of my daughter ?”
4 * Really, mamma, I never missed him.”
Ihe old lady gave her daughter a severe and suspicious glance,
but did not answ r er the remark. She proceeded thus :
“ Whether you missed him or not, does not alter the fact with
regard to his conduct on that occasion. It was highly improper,
and very disrespectful. But his disrespect did not end here. On
the night of the party, he did not dance with you once.”
“In that, if there be any thing to blame, I am the offender.
He applied to me twice or three times for the privilege of dancing
with me, and each time I was engaged.”
“ Y es, but could he not have engaged you for the dance after
wards 3”
lam not sure but he sought to do so. It is certain, that, through
out the evening, I was engaged, most usually, one or more dances
ahead.”
“ If there had been a will for it, Beatrice, there had been a way.”
“ That is, if both our wills agreed. There, I conceive, the diffi
culty to have lain. I confess, I see nothing in Mr. Bulmer’s con
duct, on that occasion, which could be construed into slight or dis
respect.”
“ YY>u do not want to see, Beatrice.”
“Y ou are right, mamma. I am not anxious, at any time, to pick
out and seek for the flaws and infirmities in my neighbour.”
“ That may be a very pious principle of conduct, my daughter,
which, in every day matters, I cannot disapprove of; but there are
cases where a proper pride requires the exercise of proper resent
ment. The conduct of Major Bulmer and his son, has not satisfied
me since the night of the ball. They have neither of them dark
ened these doors since.”
“ Why, mother, how’ could they ? You surely could not expect
them, suffering, as they did, from such an accident that night.
Mr. Edward Bulmer has been laid up with a broken arm, and the
old Maior was covered with bruises.”
V
“ But he could find his limbs and body sound enough to visit
Mrs. Girardin.”
“ Surely, and he was bound to do so; the friendly care, the
charitable kindness, the magnanimity of the old lady, that night,
in giving her assistance, so promptly, and with so much real bene
volence and kindness to the sufferers, called for the earliest and
most grateful acknowledgment. Asa gentleman, merely, if not
as a Christian and human being, Major Bulmer could do no less
than pay her a visit, of thanks and gratitude, as soon as he was
able.”
“ Yes, and Miss Bulmer could go too. Both could pay their
respects in that quarter, and neither in ours.”
37
