‘AND HER CAT. 25

the search; each carried a light, and one or other of them

groped into every hole and corner, from the cellar to the

garret, from the yard to the garden; while Sharpphiz led

the van with officious zeal. After a long and fruitless

search, Dame Mitchell, overcome with fatigue and excite-
_ment, flung herself exhausted into an elbow-chair.

   
  
   
  
  

     
   
       

   

Wed
y fe iy

(te

 

aS

i
ee?

y
———— f |

SS

—S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

« Alas!” said she, “I only left him for a short time,
and it was to perform an act of charity.”

“J begin to think that your cat is really lost,” replied
Sharpphiz, bitterly. “This is a sad misfortune for you.
What will Lady Greenford say when she returns? She
will perhaps turn you away!”

“Turn me away !” exclaimed Dame Mitchell, starting
and standing straight up all at once: but the next moment
she sunk back, she changed colour, her eyes closed, and
she fell into a fit.

Daddy Sharpphiz looked on without pity, without a
single touch of remorse; the ruthless villain even laughed
in his sleeve at her anguish.