Page:Lady Anne Granard 2.pdf/196

194 Two or three Americans, proud of their country-women's beauty, came in for the express purpose of examining and comparing that which they had at home with that which "these Britishers" were exhibiting, "calculating and guessing," that more might be seen in the Broadway in an hour than in Brighton in a day; they soon, however, found that the stand of the duchess was "a fix;" and, being too well acquainted with the nature of commercial affairs not to know what was required of them, began to buy from the fair hands of Lady Ginevra with all their might. The duchess humoured their peculiarities, praised their country, extolled their taste, and joined in their laughter, so that, in a short time, a kind of infectious mirth and pride in their bargains took possession of the place, and every one bought something, holding out their purchases to view, and praising them in the words and phraseology of the young yankees, who, finding their own importance, were not slow to avail themselves of it, and walked from stand to stand, wherever beauty attracted them, making comments which had more truth than politeness, but never failed to be well received by those whom they distinguished. Poor Lady Anne did not take a single dollar from them, though she was pronounced "a regular-built senate-house of a woman, fit for the wife of a president," when her stand was pointed out by the duchess as abounding in beautiful things; but Lady Penrbyn got her share—every body admired the stand; and