every shade of colour, every variety of texture, and were in form Grecian, Chinese, Roman, Egyptian, Parisian, Gothic, and Turkish. The astonished visitors remained in the silence of perplexity for nearly a quarter of an hour, but it was then broken by Mrs. Crosbie exclaiming, with her usual acrimony--"Well, I'm sure, if I was Mrs. Sullivan, and was _forced_ to go to a pawnbroker's for my settee and chair-frames, I would at least make my covers all of a piece!--What folks will do to make up a show!--I'm sure those musty old chests an't a whit better than what's in my grandmother's garret; and I gave my little William the other day, for a play-thing, a china image as like that white woman and child as two peas."--"Though to be sure all these are very fine," said Mrs. Martin, "Sir Henry Seymour's is the house for me; three drawing-rooms with not a pin difference; and up stairs always six bed-rooms of a pattern--then Mrs. Galton is so neat! not a cobweb to be seen in the house.--Bless me, Lucy! your cheek is all dirty, and your gloves such a figure!"--"Why, don't you see," interrupted Mrs. Crosbie, "that the china is brimfull of dust! such slattern folks, pshaw!"--To all which Mrs. Lucas returned her usual assenting, "He--hem!" Mr. Lucas, in time recovering from his first dismay, rose from "_The place of his unrest_," and, with Mr. Crosbie, proceeded to examine the contents of a mongrel article between a cabinet and a table, on which were _thrown_ rather than _placed_ a variety of curiosities; such as, a stuffed hog-in-armour, a case of tropical birds, flying-fish, sharks' jaws, a petrified lobster, edible swallows' nests, and Chinese balls; with numerous mineral specimens neatly labelled, zeolite, mica, volcanic glass, tourmaline, &c. "_Multum in parvo_," said Mr. Crosbie, with a smirk at his own latinity; "Young Mr. Webberly must be vastly learned," replied Mr. Lucas, "I should like to talk to him about the plants of the West Indies, and the practice of physic in those parts, for all the planters are obliged to attend to the health of the poor negroes for their own profit, if they don't do it for humanity's sake." Here the good man was electrified by a violent ringing of bells, followed by the sound of a sharp female voice, running through all the notes of the gamut in a scolding tone, of which the visitors could only hear detached sentences, such as, "I _insist_ upon it, you never let them in again--how could you say we were at home? Can I never drive into your silly pate, that we are never at home to a _hired_ post chaise, or to any open carriage, except a curricle and _two_ out-riders, or a landaulet and four?"--"It wasn't me, Miss, it was William; I always attend to your directions ma'am--I denied you the other day to your own uncle and aunt, because they came in a buggy."--"Uncle, Sir! I have no uncle.--Well, I give orders at the porter's lodge to-morrow--Go and ask Miss Wildenheim to receive them; and if she won't, say we are all out; I