Comical People | Page 4

brother of the noble Earl of
Ravenskind, and with him was the Honourable Miss Pigeon. Lord
Crowe is a good-looking fellow, rather dark, it must be confessed; but
as he wears glasses, he looks very interesting. They say that his brother,
the Earl, has picked up his great wealth in a most unaccountable

manner, and that the whole family have a singular want of
discrimination in the meaning of the words meum and tuum. His partner,
who had a nice, dove-coloured dress on, appeared very desirous of
pleasing the young Lord, and I thought they seemed very happy
together. The other couples were Sir Hector Downcharge, of
Kennelhouse, a great sportsman, who came in his militia uniform, and
Miss Pie, the daughter of the celebrated Mrs. Margaret, or Mag Pie, as
her neighbours call her. And opposite to them were a Mr. Puddock, a
person connected with the City, who, through the death of a relative,
has just come into possession of a fine marshy estate among the
Lincolnshire Fens; and Miss Lavinia Greyhound, who, as all the world
knows, was a long time engaged to young Hare, who ran away from her
in a very shameful way, and hurt her feelings so much that she did not
appear again in public for several months.
Drinkwater and I stood aside, and entertained ourselves with quiet
remarks to each other, not always complimentary to the company. He
thought Miss Pie the prettiest of the dancers, and certainly she was
sweetly dressed, and looked very well. Her partner, Sir Hector, was,
without doubt, the handsomest of the gentlemen, though he appeared to
me to give himself airs, like an overfed spaniel that has been too much
petted, and to lounge about in a way not at all becoming a lady's
ball-room. The little fellow from the City, his vis-à-vis, was a very
different person--he seemed determined to let us all know that he had
lately been taking twelve dancing-lessons of Madame Hopper, for he
turned his toes out in the most elegant way, and was evidently quite
impressed with a belief that he was astonishing the spectators with his
surprising agility. The very tie of his cravat made Drinkwater nearly die
with suppressed laughter; and when the youth began dancing, we were
obliged to take a walk into the adjoining Conservatory, lest our
merriment should be discovered. I never knew a more delightful place
than this Conservatory; the flowers in it are brighter than I have seen
elsewhere; and some that Drinkwater gathered for me were far sweeter
than any I had ever known before. We staid sometime in this
Conservatory looking at the beautiful exotics, and talking of nothing
else but of them and the weather; and it was not till we had been there
more than half-an-hour that I discovered that we were quite alone. We

immediately returned to the ball-room, where, luckily, our absence had
not been discovered, and in a few minutes were whirling round in a
most delightful waltz.
But I have forgotten the rest of the company. Foremost in dignity was
the Countess Auk, of Stornaway Rock, in the Hebrides; and with her
were her two nieces, Lady Isabella Snipe and the Honourable Miss
Woodcock. I saw Mr. Reynard, the celebrated member for Hollowoak,
having a long gossip with the Countess and her young charges, for both
of whom he seemed to profess great admiration. Mr. Jay, the member
for Chatterfield, was likewise there, and paid a good deal of attention, I
thought, to the Honourable Miss Dove, a cousin of Miss Pigeon's. Miss
Dove plays very nicely, and sometimes, when the band required rest,
she rattled off a waltz in fine style, Mr. Jay most attentively turning the
music-leaves.
Drinkwater also pointed out to me Miss Stork, the daughter of the
Attorney-General, so famous for the length of his bill; Miss Blaccap,
who, they say, sings as sweetly as a Robin-Redbreast; Lord Bruin, who
has just come from a tour in Russia; the Right Honourable Mr.
Ramshead; and a crowd of folks, more or less known, most of whom
would stand by the doorway and prevent the servants and the fresh air
from entering the room.
About three o'clock the Countess of Auk's carriage was summoned, and
the company began to retire. Drinkwater and I stood shivering on the
stairs full half-an-hour before Lady Goldfinch's brougham was
announced; and when we reached home, I found I had been fast asleep
with my head on Drinkwater's shoulder.
Ten days after Lady Chaffinch's ball, I was obliged to tear myself away
from my kind aunt and my dear cousin, and with only Tom-tit for my
companion, to return to this dismal Gorse Bush, which I used to think
the sweetest of homes. Now I do nothing but wonder how