`Ibegyourpardon！’exclaimedhe——`It’stheladiesthatareaccompanyingme，notIthem。Youhadallhadapeepatthiswonderfulstranger，butme，andIcouldenduremywretchedignorancenolonger——comewhatwould，Imustbesatisfied；soIbeggedRosetogowithmetothehall，andintroducemetoheratonce。Shesworeshewouldnot，unlessMissElizawouldgotoo；soIrantothevicarageandfetchedher；andwe’vecomehookedalltheway，asfondasapairoflovers——andnowyou’vetakenherfromme；andyouwanttodeprivemeofmywalkandmyvisitbesides——Gobacktoyourfieldsandyourcattle，youlubberlyfellow；you’renotfittoassociatewithladiesandgentlemen，likeus，thathavenothingtodobuttorunsnookingabouttoourneighbours’houses，peepingintotheirprivatecorners；andscentingouttheirsecrets，andpickingholesintheircoats，whenwedon’tfindthemreadymadetoourhands——youdon’tunderstandsuchrefinedsourcesofenjoyment。’
`Can’tyoubothgo？’suggestedEliza，disregardingthelatterhalfofthespeech。
`Yes，bothtobesure！’criedRose；`themorethemerrier——andI’msureweshallwantallthecheerfulnesswecancarrywithustothatgreat，dark，gloomyroom，withitsnarrowlatticedwindows，anditsdismaloldfurniture——unlesssheshowsusintoherstudioagain。’
Sowewentallinabody；andthemeagreoldmaidservant，thatopenedthedoor，usheredusintoanapartment，suchasRosehaddescribedtomeasthesceneofherfirstintroductiontoMrsGraham，atolerablyspaciousandloftyroom，butobscurelylightedbytheold-fashionedwindows，theceiling，panels，andchimney-pieceofgrimblackoak——thelatterelaborately，butnotverytastefullycarved，——withtablesandchairstomatch，anoldbookcaseononesideofthefireplace，stockedwithamotleyassemblageofbooks，andanelderlycabinetpianoontheother。
Theladywasseatedinastiff，high-backedarmchair，withasmall，roundtable，containingadeskandaworkbasket，ononesideofher，andherlittleboyontheother，whostoodleaninghiselbowonherknee，andreadingtoher，withwonderfulfluency，fromasmallvolumethatlayinherlap；whilesherestedherhandonhisshoulder，andabstractedlyplayedwiththelong，wavycurlsthatfellonhisivoryneck。Theystruckmeasformingapleasingcontrasttoallthesurroundingobjects；butofcoursetheirpositionwasimmediatelychangedonourentrance；IcouldonlyobservethepictureduringthefewbriefsecondsthatRachelheldthedoorforouradmittance。