Page:Lady Anne Granard 1.pdf/11

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6
LADY ANNE GRANARD.

ter—the rain beats on your side; you know that you are not half such a good contriver as I am."

And, under the appearance of making a better arrangement of their scanty wrappings, Isabella contrived to give her sister the benefit of nearly all her own.

While this conversation was going on outside the carriage, one much more interrupted was kept up within. Muffled in furs from head to foot, occupying at least half the carriage with herself and her Blenheim, who accompanied every movement of his companion with a shrill cross bark, Lady Anne Granard had at least not neglected her own comfort. Though she had five daughters, she would not for the world have had any thing but a chariot; so the two girls were left to manage as well as they could, having, moreover, to take especial care not to disarrange any of Lady Anne's numerous packages.

Of course, she could only travel with four horses; and, to patch up a sort of union between show and economy, the carriage was loaded to the last extremity. The two younger girls were in the rumble, the French maid and page on the coachbox, and Lady Anne and her three eldest daughters inside, to say nothing of imperials, boxes, parcels, and last, but not least, the dog, the only over-petted and over-fed thing in his mistress's possession.

"Never were any girls so stupid as you are," exclaimed Lady Anne, when, after many vain attempts at conversation, her daughters had sunk into silence.