"Well," said I, "what? let me hear too." She put her hand on her
heart. "I never was so frightened," whispered she, "I thought I
should have fainted right away. To hear that elegant lady use such a
word as crime,--"

"What elegant lady?" interrupted I. "Don't begin in the middle of your
story, that's a good girl; I want to hear it all."

"Well," said she, calming down a little, "Mrs. Daniels had a visitor
to-day, a lady. She was dressed--"

"O, now," interrupted I for the second time, "you can leave that out.
Tell me what her name was and let the fol-de-rols go."

"Her name?" exclaimed the girl with some sharpness, "how should I know
her name; she did'nt come to see me."

"How did she look then? You saw her I suppose?"

"And was'nt that what I was telling you, when you stopped me. She
looked like a queen, that she did; as grand a lady as ever I see, in
her velvet dress sweeping over the floor, and her diamonds as big
as--"

"Was she a dark woman?" I asked.

"Her hair was black and so were her eyes, if that is what you mean."

"And was she very tall and proud looking?"