Her
banquets, like Eve's, consisted of little beside fruits and herbs, and
the only ornaments she could arrange in the apartments were flowers; but
she had preserved the damask table-suit of her own spinning; and the
gold brocade gown, received as an heir-loom from her mother, was in high
preservation. She thought an exhibition of these would convince the
rebel lady, that though the King's friends now wore sad-coloured camlet,
they had once been people of consequence. She received Lady Bellingham
with one of her stiffest courtesies at the door of their best apartment,
and motioned with her hand for her to sit down with an air that spoke
conscious equality, and a determination not to be disconcerted by one
who required her hospitality. Constantia stood behind her aunt, pale,
dejected, clad in the deepest weeds of woe. Isabel did not appear. Her
beloved father had long required her constant attendance. With infinite
gratitude to Heaven, she acknowledged its goodness in again restoring to
him the use of that reason which enabled him to appreciate her filial
excellence.
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