"And yet, I dare say, these very strangers do good," rejoined Eve. "Many of them must have been respectable in their native places, and ought to be an acquisition 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."