Vanity Fair - Page 520/573

But so, in a word, and before the period of grief for Mr. Osborne's

death had subsided, Emmy found herself in the centre of a very genteel

circle indeed, the members of which could not conceive that anybody

belonging to it was not very lucky. There was scarce one of the ladies

that hadn't a relation a Peer, though the husband might be a drysalter

in the City. Some of the ladies were very blue and well informed,

reading Mrs. Somerville and frequenting the Royal Institution; others

were severe and Evangelical, and held by Exeter Hall. Emmy, it must be

owned, found herself entirely at a loss in the midst of their clavers,

and suffered woefully on the one or two occasions on which she was

compelled to accept Mrs. Frederick Bullock's hospitalities. That lady

persisted in patronizing her and determined most graciously to form

her. She found Amelia's milliners for her and regulated her household

and her manners. She drove over constantly from Roehampton and

entertained her friend with faint fashionable fiddle-faddle and feeble

Court slip-slop. Jos liked to hear it, but the Major used to go off

growling at the appearance of this woman, with her twopenny gentility.

He went to sleep under Frederick Bullock's bald head, after dinner, at

one of the banker's best parties (Fred was still anxious that the

balance of the Osborne property should be transferred from Stumpy and

Rowdy's to them), and whilst Amelia, who did not know Latin, or who

wrote the last crack article in the Edinburgh, and did not in the least

deplore, or otherwise, Mr. Peel's late extraordinary tergiversation on

the fatal Catholic Relief Bill, sat dumb amongst the ladies in the

grand drawing-room, looking out upon velvet lawns, trim gravel walks,

and glistening hot-houses.

"She seems good-natured but insipid," said Mrs. Rowdy; "that Major

seems to be particularly epris."

"She wants ton sadly," said Mrs. Hollyock. "My dear creature, you

never will be able to form her."

"She is dreadfully ignorant or indifferent," said Mrs. Glowry with a

voice as if from the grave, and a sad shake of the head and turban. "I

asked her if she thought that it was in 1836, according to Mr. Jowls,

or in 1839, according to Mr. Wapshot, that the Pope was to fall: and

she said--'Poor Pope! I hope not--What has he done?'"

"She is my brother's widow, my dear friends," Mrs. Frederick replied,

"and as such I think we're all bound to give her every attention and

instruction on entering into the world. You may fancy there can be no

MERCENARY motives in those whose DISAPPOINTMENTS are well known."

"That poor dear Mrs. Bullock," said Rowdy to Hollyock, as they drove

away together--"she is always scheming and managing. She wants Mrs.

Osborne's account to be taken from our house to hers--and the way in

which she coaxes that boy and makes him sit by that blear-eyed little

Rosa is perfectly ridiculous."