the highest room."

Her aunt sat down beside her, and spent the first ten minutes of the
drive in enjoining on her proper behaviour at Lady de la Poer's. The
children there were exceedingly well brought up, she said, and she
was very desirous they should be her niece's friends; but she was
certain that Lady de la Poer would allow no one to associate with
them who did not behave properly.

"Lord de la Poer was very kind to me just as I was," said Kate, in
her spirit of contradiction, which was always reckless of
consequences.

"Gentlemen are no judges of what is becoming to a little girl," said
Lady Barbara severely. "Unless you make a very different impression
upon Lady de la Poer, she will never permit you to be the friend of
her daughters."

"I wonder how I am to make an impression," meditated Kate, as they
drove on; "I suppose it would make an impression if I stood up and
repeated, 'Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!' or something of that
sort, as soon as I got in. But one couldn't do that; and I am afraid
nothing will happen. If the horses would only upset us at the door,
and Aunt Barbara be nicely insensible, and the young countess show
the utmost presence of mind! But nothing nice and like a book ever
does happen. And after all, I believe that it is all nonsense about
making impressions. Thinking of them is all affectation; and one
ought to be as simple and unconscious as one can." A conclusion
which did honour to the countess's sense. In fact, she had plenty of
sense, if only she had ever used it for herself, instead of for the