banishing Miss A--- from the kitchen during cooking hours, but a few
bars played on the piano were quite enough to distract my cook from
his work. My only quiet time was the afternoon, when about four
o'clock, my amateur servants all went out for a ride, and left me in
peace for a couple of hours. I had enough to do during that short
time to tidy up; to collect the scattered books and music, and
prepare the tea-supper, for which they came back in tearing spirits,
and frantically hungry, between seven and eight o'clock. After this
meal had been cleared away, and Mr. U--- and I had washed up (the
others declaring they were too tired to stir), we all used to
adjourn to the verandah. It happened to be an exceptionally _still_
week, no dry, hot nor'-westers, nor cold, wet sou'-westers, and it
was perfectly delicious to sit out in the verandah and rest, after
the labours of the day, in our cane easy-chairs. The balmy air was
so soft and fresh, and the intense silence all around so profound.
Unfortunately there was a full moon. I say "unfortunately," because
the flood of pale light suggested to these dreadful young men the
feasibility of having what they called a "servant's ball." In vain
I declared that the housekeeper was never expected to dance. "Oh,
yes! "laughed Captain George. "I've often danced with a
housekeeper, and very jolly it was too. Come along! F---, _make_
her dance." And I was forced to gallopade up and down that verandah
till I felt half dead with fatigue. The boards had a tremendous
spring, and the verandah (built by F---, by the way), was very wide
and roomy, so it made an excellent ball-room. As for the trifling
difficulty about music, that was supplied by Captain George and Mr.
U--- whistling in turn, time being kept by clapping the top and
bottom of my silver butter dish together, cymbal-wise. Oh, dear!
It takes my breath away now even to think of those evenings! I see
Alice A--- flitting about in her white dress and fern-leaf wreath,