All the rural thanes and thanesses attended on
these occasions; and such was the number of cocked
hats and silken trains, that the little town seemed
for a time totally to have changed its inhabitants.
On this occasion, persons of a certain quality only
were permitted to attend upon the nightly balls
which were given in the old Townhouse, and the
line of distinction excluded Mr Gray's family.
The aristocracy, however, used their privileges
with some feelings of deference to the native beaux
and belles of the burgh, who were thus doomed to
hear the fiddles nightly, without being permitted
to dance to them. One evening in the race-week,
termed the Hunters' Ball, was dedicated to general
amusement, and liberated from the usual restrictions
of etiquette. On this occasion all the
respectable families in the town were invited to
share the amusement of the evening, and to wonder
at the finery, and be grateful for the condescension,
of their betters. This was especially the
case with the females, for the number of invitations
to the gentlemen of the town was much more limited.
Now, at this general muster, the beauty of
Miss Gray's face and person had placed her, in the
opinion of all competent judges, decidedly at the
head of all the belles present, saving those with
whom, according to the ideas of the place, it would
hardly have been decent to compare her.
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