Conjuration, sleight of hand, magic, witchcraft
were the subjects of the evening. Miss
Pole was slightly sceptical, and inclined to
think there might be a scientific solution
found for even the proceedings of the Witch of
Endor. Mrs. Forrester believed everything,
from ghosts to death-watches. Miss Matey
ranged between the two—always convinced
by the last speaker. I think she was naturally
more inclined to Mrs. Forrester's side,
but a desire of proving herself a worthy sister
to Miss Jenkyns kept her equally balanced—
Miss Jenkyns, who would never allow a servant
to call the little rolls of tallow that
formed themselves round candles, " winding-sheets,"
but insisted on their being spoken of
as " roly-poleys! " A sister of hers to be
superstitious! It would never do.

After tea, I was despatched downstairs
into the dining-parlour for that volume of the
old encyclopedia which contained the nouns
beginning with C, in order that Miss Pole
might prime herself with scientific explanations
for the tricks of the following evening.
It spoilt the pool at Preference which Miss
Matey and Mrs. Forrester had been looking
forward to, for Miss Pole became so
much absorbed in her subject, and the plates
by which it was illustrated, that we felt
it would be cruel to disturb her, otherwise
than by one or two well-timed yawns, which
I threw in now and then, for I was really
touched by the meek way in which the two
ladies were bearing their disappointment.
But Miss Pole only read the more zealously,
imparting to us no more interesting information
than this:—

"Ah! I see; I comprehend perfectly. A
represents the ball. Put A between B and
D—no! between C and F, and turn the
second joint of the third finger of your left
hand over the wrist of your right H. Very
clear indeed! My dear Mrs. Forrester, conjuring
and witchcraft is a mere affair of the
alphabet. Do let me read you this one
passage? ''

Mrs. Forrester implored Miss Pole to spare
her, saying, from a child upwards, she never
could understand being read aloud to; and I
dropped the pack of cards, which I had been
shuffling very audibly; and by this discreet
movement, I obliged Miss Pole to perceive
that Preference was to have been the order of
the evening, and to propose, rather unwillingly,
that the pool should commence. The
pleasant brightness that stole over the other
two ladies' faces on this! Miss Matey had
one or two twinges of self-reproach for having
interrupted Miss Pole in her studies; and
did not remember her cards well, or give her
full attention to the game, until she had
soothed her conscience by offering to lend the
volume of the Encyclopædia to Miss Pole,
who accepted it thankfully, and said Betty
should take it home when she carne with the
lantern.

The next evening we were all in a little
gentle flutter at the idea of the gaiety before
us. Miss Matey went up to dress betimes,
and hurried me until I was ready, when we
found we had an hour and a half to wait
before the "doors opened at seven, precisely."
And we had only twenty yards to go! However,
as Miss Matey said, it would not do to
get too much absorbed in anything, and forget
the time; so, she thought we had better sit
quietly, without lighting the candles, till five
minutes to seven. So Miss Matey dozed, and
I knitted.

At length we set off; and at the door,
under the carriage-way at the George, we met
Mrs. Forrester and Miss Pole: the latter was
discussing the subject of the evening with
more vehemence than ever, and throwing As
and Bs at our heads like hail-stones. She had
even copied one or two of the " receipts " as
she called them—for the different tricks, on
backs of letters, ready to explain and to
detect Signor Brunoni's arts. We went into
the cloak-room adjoining the Assembly Room;
Miss Matey gave a sigh or two to her departed
youth, and the remembrance of the last time
she had been there, as she adjusted her pretty
new cap before the strange, quaint old mirror
in the cloak-room. The Assembly Room had
been added to the inn about a hundred years
before, by the different county families, who
met together there once a month during the
winter, to dance and play at cards. Many a
county beauty had first swam through the
minuet that she afterwards danced before
Queen Charlotte, in this very room. It was
said that one of the Gunnings had graced
the apartment with her beauty; it was certain
that a rich and beautiful widow, Lady
Williams, had here been smitten with the
noble figure of a young artist, who was
staying with some family in the neighbourhood
for professional purposes, and accompanied
his patrons to the Cranford Assembly.
And a pretty bargain poor Lady Williams
had of her handsome husband, if all tales
were true! Now, no beauty blushed and
dimpled along the sides of the Cranford
Assembly Room; no handsome artist won
hearts by his bow, chapeau bras in hand: the
old room was dingy; the salmon-coloured
paint had faded into a drab; great pieces of
plaster had chipped off from the white
wreaths and festoons on its walls; but still a
mouldy odour of aristocracy lingered about
the place, and a dusty recollection of the days
that were gone made Miss Matey and Mrs.
Forrester bridle up as they entered, and walk
mincingly up the room as if there were a
number of genteel observers, instead of two
little boys, with a stick of toffy between them
with which to beguile the time.

We stopped short at the second front row;
I could hardly understand why, until I heard
Miss Pole ask a stray waiter if any of the
County families were expected; and when
he shook his head, and believed not, Mrs.
Forrester and Miss Matey moved forwards,