_Mrs. Blandish._ Oh, with the mixture of those charming Italian flowers, and the knots of pearl that gathered up the festoons, never any thing had so happy an effect----It put the whole ball-room out of humour. Monsieur Chignon, that pin a little more to the front. _Miss Als._ And what did they say? _Mrs. Blandish._ You know it is the first solicitude of my life to see the friend of my heart treated with justice. So when you stood up to dance, I got into the thick of the circle----Monsieur, don't you think this large diamond would be well placed just in the middle? _Chignon._ Eh! non, madame; ce ne releve pas----Dat give no relief to de weight of de curl----Full in de front un gros bouton, von great nob of diamond! pardie ce seroit un accommodage à la Polyphême; de big eye of de geant in de centre of de forehead. _Miss Als._ Chignon is right in point of taste, though not quite so happy in his allusions as he is sometimes. _Chignon._ Ah! Madame, you have done von grande injure to my contrée: You go for von monthe, and bring avay all de good taste----At Paris----all von side----de diamond--de cap--de glance--de bon mot même--All von side, nothing direct à Paris. _Miss Als._ [_Smiling at CHIGNON, and then turning to MRS. BLANDISH._] Well!----And so---- _Mrs. Blandish._ So it was all admiration! Elegant, says Lady Spite--it may do very well for Miss Alscrip, who never looks at expense. The dress of a bridal princess! cries Mrs. Scanty, and for one night's wear too! _Miss Als._ Delightful! the very language I wished for----Oh, how charmingly apropos was my accident! did you see when my trimming in the passe-pied of a cotilion came luckily in contact with Billy Skim's great shoe-buckle--How it ripped away? _Mrs. Blandish._ Did I see it? _Miss Als._ One of the great feathers stuck fast on the shoe, and looked for all the world like the heel wing of a Mercury in a pantomime. _Mrs. Blandish._ Oh! you witty creature, how you describe! _Miss Als._ It was a most becoming rent! _Mrs. Blandish._ And what a display of indifference; what an example for a woman of fortune, did you exhibit in the bustle of picking up the scattered fragments! _Miss Als._ When the pearls were trundling about, and I insisted upon the company being no longer disturbed, but would leave what remained for fairy favours to the maid who swept the room. He! he! he! Do you think Lady Emily would have done that better? _Mrs. Blandish._ Lady Emily? poor girl!--How soon must she submit to be the humble second of the family. _Miss Als._ He! he! he! Do you sincerely think so, Blandish? And yet it would be strange if it were otherwise, for I could buy her ten times over. _Chignon._ Madame, vat humeure vould you wear to-day? _Miss Als._ Humour, Chignon? What am I dressed for now?