to a society that, in its nature, must be, Grace, tant soit peu, provincial."
"Oh!" cried Grace, "I can tolerate any thing but the Hajjis!"
"The what?" asked Sir George, eagerly--"will you suffer me to ask an explanation, Miss Van Cortlandt."
"The Hajjis," repeated Grace laughing, though she blushed to the eyes.
The baronet looked from one cousin to the other, and then turned an inquiring glance on Mademoiselle Viefville. The latter gave a slight shrug, and seemed to ask an explanation of the young lady's meaning herself.
"A Hajji is one of a class, Sir George Templemore," Eve at length said, "to which you and I have both the honour of belonging."
"No, not Sir George Templemore," interrupted Grace, with a precipitation that she instantly regretted; "he is not an American."
"Then I, alone, of all present, have that honour. It means the pilgrimage to Paris, instead of Mecca; and the Pilgrim must be an American, instead of a Mahommedan."
"Nay, Eve, you are not a Hajji, neither."
"Then there is some qualification with which I am not yet acquainted. Will you relieve our doubts, Grace, and let us know the precise character of the animal."
"You stayed too long to be a Hajji--- one must get innoculated merely; not take the disease and become cured, to be a true Hajji."
"I thank you, Miss Van Cortlandt, for this description," returned Eve in her quiet way. "I hope, as I have gone through the malady, it has not left me pitted."
"I should like to see one of these Hajjis," cried Sir George.--"Are they of both sexes?"
Grace laughed and nodded her head.
"Will you point it out to me, should we be so fortunate as to encounter one this evening?"
Again Grace laughed and nodded her head.
"I have been thinking, Grace," said Eve, after a short pause, "that we may give Sir George Templemore a better idea of the sets about which he is so curious, by doing what is no more than a duty of our own, and by letting him profit by the opportunity. Mrs. Hawker receives this evening without ceremony; we have not yet sent our answer to Mrs. Jarvis, and might very well look in upon her for half an hour, after which we shall be in very good season for Mrs. Houston's ball."
"Surely, Eve, you would not wish to take Sir George Templemore to such a house as that of Mrs. Jarvis!"
"I do not wish to take Sir George Templemore any where, for your Hajjis have opinions of their own on such subjects. But, as cousin Jack will accompany us, he may very well confer that important favour. I dare say, Mrs. Jarvis will not look upon it as too great a liberty."
"I will answer for it, that nothing Mr. John Effingham can do will be thought mal à propos by Mrs. Jared Jarvis. His position in society is too well established, and hers is too equivocal, to leave any doubt on that head."
"This, you perceive, settles the point of côteries," said Eve to the baronet. "Volumes might be written to establish principles; but when one can do any thing he or she pleases, any where that he or she likes, it is pretty safe to say that he or she is privileged."
"All very true, as to the fact, Miss Effingham; but I should like exceedingly to know the reason."
"Half the time, such things are decided without a reason at all. You are a little exacting in requiring a reason in New-York for that which is done in London without even the pretence of such a thing. It is sufficient that Mrs. Jarvis will be delighted to see you without an invitation, and that Mrs. Houston would, at least, think it odd, were you to take the same liberty with her."
"It follows," said Sir George, smiling, "that Mrs. Jarvis is much the most hospitable person of the two."
"But, Eve, what shall be done with Captain Truck and Mr. Bragg?" asked Grace. "We cannot take them to Mrs. Hawker's!"
"Aristabulus would, indeed, be a little out of place in such a house, but as for our excellent, brave, straight-forward, old captain, he is worthy to go any where. I shall be delighted to present him to Mrs. Hawker, myself."
After a little consultation between the ladies, it was settled that nothing should be said of the two first visits to Mr. Bragg, but that Mr. Effingham should be requested to bring him to the ball, at the proper hour, and that the rest of the party should go quietly off to the other places, without mentioning their projects. As soon as this was arranged the ladies retired to dress, Sir George Templemore passing into the library to amuse himself with a book the while; where, however, he was soon joined by John Effingham. Here the former revived the conversation on distinctions in society, with the confusion of thought that usually marks a European's notions of such matters.
Chapter IV.
"Ready."
"And I."
"And I."
"Where shall we go?"
MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.
Grace Van Cortlant was the first to make her appearance after the retreat from the drawing-room. It has often been said that, pretty as the American females incontestably are, as a whole they appear better in demi-toilette, than when attired for a ball. With what would be termed high dress in other parts of the world, they are little acquainted; but reversing the rule of Europe, where the married bestow the most care on their personal appearance, and the single are taught to observe a rigid simplicity, Grace now seemed sufficiently ornamented in the eyes of the fastidious baronet, while, at the same time, he thought her less obnoxious to the criticism just mentioned, than most of her young countrywomen, in general.
An embonpoint that was just sufficient to distinguish her from most of her companions, a fine colour, brilliant eyes, a sweet smile, rich hair, and such feet and hands as Sir George Templemore had, somehow--he scarcely knew how, himself--fancied could only belong to the daughters of peers and princes, rendered Grace so strikingly attractive this evening, that the young baronet began to think her even handsomer than her cousin. There was also a charm in the unsophisticated simplicity of Grace, that was particularly alluring to a man educated amidst the coldness and mannerism of the higher classes of England. In Grace, too, this simplicity was chastened by perfect decorum and retenue of deportment; the exuberance of the new school of manners not having helped to impair the dignity of her character, or to weaken the charm of diffidence. She was less finished in her manners than Eve, certainly; a circumstance, perhaps, that induced Sir George Templemore to fancy her a shade more simple, but she was never unfeminine or unladylike; and the term vulgar, in despite of all the capricious and arbitrary rules of fashion, under no circumstances, could ever be applied to Grace Van Cortlandt. In this respect, nature seemed to have aided her; for had not her associations raised her above such an imputation, no one could believe that she would be obnoxious to the charge, had her lot in life been cast even many degrees lower than it actually was.
It is well known that, after a sufficient similarity has been created by education to prevent any violent shocks to our habits or principles, we most affect those whose characters and dispositions
