Thinking that the general aspect of the conveyance, driver, and steed, left something to be desired, Mrs. Tomkin-Jones said in her grandest manner, 'Everything may not be quite as might be desiderated, but I study safety above all else. It is my first consideration, and one is compelled to sacrifice appearances to that!'――she shrugged her shoulders――'I can rely on this chariot. The horse I have known never to fall, though it sometimes coughs. The coachman I knew by long acquaintance――I mean employment――as one who does not drink. One cannot be too cautious. An inebriate driver, even with the most sober horse, may do terrible things. Moreover, Baker is attached to the family by cords of gratitude, as he was attended in a case of considerable internal complication by my dear husband. The horse has good blood in him. Observe the nose and the hanging underlip――it was a characteristic of Charles the Fifth. Will you favour me by stepping in? The cushions and lining have a smell――a mouldy, damp, strange savour――but it is wholesome, and was particularly recommended by the dear doctor in cases of hay fever――from which I suffer.' Winefred had never sat in any other carriage than a carrier's van or a mail-coach, and she was in no mood to note the defects in that she now entered. Her heart swelled with pride. She was made much of, was indulged, treated with some deference. She had passed into a new world in which the atmosphere was new. She was away from the suspicion, the slander of Axmouth. She would not have been a woman and young not to have felt elated at the thought that she was rich, and on account of her riches was respected. Yet withal she was uneasy at her surroundings, so different from any wherewith she had been acquainted, and she was afraid of exposing her ignorance. Her mother had so often and so earnestly commented to her on lack of social culture as having been the cause of her own undoing, as having blasted her entire life, that Winefred, standing at the threshold of a new career in which this desideratum was to be acquired, felt timorous, lest she should make some great mistake, commit some solecism at the outstart. 'Hah!' said Mrs. Tomkin-Jones, throwing herself back in the chariot, 'there passed my Lady Vire de Vétte. How unfortunate that she was looking in the wrong direction and did not catch my eye and my greeting.' 'Mamma,' said Jesse, 'there is Aunt Jose on the footway, shall we take her up?' Mrs. Tomkin-Jones did not hear her. She was studying the chimney tops of the houses on the opposite side of the street, and so failed to see Mrs. Jose. 'Baker!' said the lady, 'drive to Miss Prance, the milliner.' Then half to Jesse, half to Winefred, 'It is essential that we get our dear child equipped properly. Then we will go on to the mercer's.' Winefred looked from side to side with undisguised admiration. She saw Mrs. Jose, caught her eye, and smiled and signed to her. So also Jesse, who kissed her hand.