28 The Story of the Hamiiltons.

Presently, however, she was touched by Clara,
who, in a low whisper, asked for a pin ; in a
moment she guessed its use, and could scarcely
refrain from laughter, but as she had before de-
termined to have nothing to do in the business,
she quietly declined furnishing the pin. Clara,
nothing daunted, soon discovered one in the
collar of her cloak, and Edith presently heard
it scraping cautiously against the egg-shell, in
Clara's endeavour to make an aperture, which
at first appeared somewhat difficult. Edith
kept her eyes fixed on the lecturer, but she
could scarcely help seeing out of the corners
of them what Clara was about. After a while,
she partly saw, partly felt that Clara was con-
veying the egg, enveloped in her pocket-hand-
kerchief, up to her mouth; it speedily found
its way back to her lap, to Edith's great
relief, and her amusement was extreme when
Clara again whispered to her that it was not
nice." This announcement had the effect of
setting them both off in fits of stifled laughter,
which, by dint of repeated efforts, they at
length succeeded in stopping without any one
having noticed them, and by some exertion
they managed to become interested in the
concluding portion of the lecture. At length
the hour and a half were ended, there was a