Bed-time at last; and, as a matter of course, because we wanted her to go to sleep soon, Patty Smith began to write a letter home for another cake and a bottle of currant wine; but Miss Furness must come prowling about and see the light, and she soon put a stop to that; when poor simple Patty did get such a scolding that she sobbed, and cried, and boo-ood, and said it was only for a cake she was writing. Then Miss Furness--a nasty, aggravating old puss--must turn round and scold Clara and me, as she said, for encouraging her, so as to get part of the cake ourselves. Couldn't I have given her a shaking, that's all! Why, it was enough to make anyone feel vicious. At last, we lay there, listening to the different noises dying out in the house; and I could do nothing but cry for poor Achille's disappointment--for the way to the lumber-room was through the one in which the cook slept, and of course it was impossible to get any cord; and I dare not throw a note out of the window to Achille, for fear that he might not find it in the dark, and if it fell into wrong hands all would have been made known. So there I lay, crying for some time, till the noises in the house one by one died out, and all was still, when I pictured poor Achille watching and waiting, and accusing me of perfidy and cruelty, for making him come and then disappointing him--for he never would imagine that I had been stopped for want of a piece of string. Then came the sound of an owl, hooting and screeching as if in contempt of me for going to bed; and I declare, at last, I was about to creep away to the empty room, and add to the poor fellow's disappointment by opening the window and whispering to him--though I'm sure he could not have heard; when a strong feeling of stupor seemed to creep over me--a feeling that I could not fight against--while soon all was, as it were, a blank. The next morning when I talked about it to Clara, she said it showed how much I cared for him to fall asleep. Just as if it was sleep, and I did not know the difference. But there, she always was so absurd! And poor Achille was disappointed, and we had to make another assignation. CHAPTER FIFTEEN. MEMORY THE FIFTEENTH--'TWIXT CUP AND LIP.