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I want to know, methinks, whether Sir Charles is very much in earnest in his favour to Lord G. with regard to Mifs Grandifon. I doubt not, if he be, but he has good reafons for it.

Were this vile Sir Hargrave out of my head, I could fatisfy myfelf about twenty and twenty things, that now-and-then I want to know.

Mifs Jervois behaved very difcreetly. With what pleasure did the hang on every word that fell from the lips of her guardian! I thought more than once of Swift's Cadenus and Vaneffa. Poor girl! how I fhould pity her, were she infenfibly to fuffer her gratitude to lead her to be in love with her benefactor! Indeed I pity every body who is hopelefly in love.

Now don't thake your head, my uncle! Did I not always pity Mr Orme and Mr Fowler? You know I did, Lucy.

Mifs Jervois had a fmile ready for every one; but it was not an implicit, a childish smile. It had distinction in it; and fhewed intelligence. Upon the whole, the faid little; and heard all that was faid with attention: And hence I pronounce her a very difcreet young lady.

But I thought to have done with the men firft ; and here is Mr Grandifon hardly mentioned; who, yet in his own opinion, was not the laft of the men at table.

Mr Grandifon is a man of middling ftature, not handsome in my eyes; but fo near being handfome, that he may be excufed, when one knows him, for thinking himself fo; because he is liable to make greater miftakes than that.

He dreffes very gaily too.

He is at the head of the fafhion, as it feems he thinks; but, however, is one of the first in it, be what it will. He is a great frequenter of the drawing-room; of all manner of public spectacles; a leader of the tafte at a new play or opera. He dances, he fings, he

laughs;

laughs; and values himself on all three qualifications: And yet certainly has fenfe; but is not likely to improve it much; fince he feems to be fo much afraid of fuffering in the confequence he thinks himself of, that whenever Sir Charles applies himself to him, upon any of his levities, tho' but by the eye, his consciousness, however mild the look, makes him fhew an uneasiness at the instant : He reddens, fits in pain; calls for favour by his eyes and his quivering lips; and has, notwithstan ding, a fmile ready to turn into a laugh, in order to leffen his own fenfibility, fhould he be likely to fuffer in the opinion of the company: But every motion fhews his confciousness of inferiority to the man, of whofe fmiles or animadverfions he is fo very apprehenfive.

What a captious, what. fupercilious husband, to a woman who should happen to have a stronger mind than his, would Mr Grandifon make! But he values himself upon his having preferved his li berty.

I believe there are more bachelors now in England by many thousands, than were a few years ago: And probably, the numbers of them (and of fingle women of course) will every year increase. The luxury of the age will account a good deal for this; and the turn our fex take in un-domefticating themselves, for a good deal more. But let not thofe worthy young women, who may think themselves deftined to a fingle life, repine over-much at their lot; fince, possibly, if they had no lovers, or having had one, two, or three, have not found a husband, they have had rather a miss than a lofs, as men go. And let me here add, that I think, as matters stand in this age, or indeed ever did stand, that those women who have joined with the men in their infolent ridicule of old maids, ought never to be forgiven: No, though Mifs Grandifon fhould be one of the ridiculers.

An old

maid may be an odious character, if they will tell us, that the bad qualities of the perfons, not the maiden state, are what they mean to expose: But then they must allow, that there are old maids of twenty; and even that there are widows and wives of all ages and complexions, who, in the abusive fenfe of the words, are as much old maids as the moft particular of that class of females.

But a word or two more concerning Mr Grandifon.

He is about thirty-two. He has had the glory of ruining two or three women. Sir Charles has restored him to a fenfe of fhame [all men, I hope, are born with it], which a few months ago he had got above. And he does not now entertain ladies with inftances of the frailty of individuals of their fex; which many are too apt, encouragingly, to smile at; when I am very much mistaken, if every woman would not find her account, if the wishes herself to be well thought of, in difcouraging every reflection that may have a tendency to debafe or expofe the fex in general. How can a man be fuffered to boaft of his vilenefs to one woman in the prefence of another, without a rebuke that should put it to the proof, whether the boafter was, or was not past blufhing.

Mr Grandifon is thought to have hurt his fortune, which was very confiderable, by his free living, and an itch of gaming; to cure him of which, Sir Charles encourages him to give him his company at all opportunities. He certainly has understanding enough to know how to value the favour; for he owns to Mifs Grandifon, that he both loves and fears him; and now and then tells her, that he would give the world, if he had it, to be able to be just what Sir Charles is. Good God! at other times he has broke out, what an odious creature is a rake! How I hate myfelt, when I contemplate the excellencies of this divine brother of yours!

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I fhall fay nothing of Sir Charles in this place. You, I know, my Lucy, will admire me for my forbearance.

Lady L. and Mifs Grandifon were the graces of the table. So lively, fo fenfible, so frank, so polite, fo good-humoured, what honour do they and their brother reflect back on the memory of their mother! Lady Grandifon, it seems, was an excellent woman. Sir Thomas was not, I have heard, quite unexceptionable. How ufeful, if fo, are the women in the greater, as well as in the leffer parts of domeftic duty, where they perform their duty! And what have those, who do not, to anfwer for, to God, to their children, and even to their whole fex, for the contempts they bring upon it by their useleffnefs, and perhaps extravagance; fince, if the human mind is not actively good, it will generally be actively evil.

Dr Bartlett I have already spoken of. How did he enliven the conversation, whenever he bore a part in it! So happy an elocution, fo clear, fo juft, fo folid his reafoning! I wish I could remember every word he said.

Sir Charles obferved to us, before we faw him, that he was not forward to speak: But as I hinted, he threw the occafion in his way, on purpose to draw him out: And at fuch times, what he faid was eafy, free, and unaffected: And whenever a fubject was concluded, he had done with it. His modefty, in fhort, made him always follow rather than lead a fubject, as he very well might do, be it what it would.

I was charmed with the Brachman's prayer; which he, occafionally, gave us on the antient Perfians being talked of..

Looking up to the rifing fun, which it was fuppofed they worshipped, thefe were the words of the Brachman:

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"O THOU (meaning the ALMIGHTY) by whom "Thou (meaning the fun) art enlightened, illumi"nate my mind, that my actions may be agree"able to THY will!"

And this I will think of, my Lucy, as often as my early hour, for the future, fhall be irradiated by that glorious orb.

Every body was pleafed with Mr and Mrs Reeves. Their modefty, good fenfe, and amiable tempers, and the kind, yet not oftentatious regard which they expreft to each other (a regard fo creditable to the married ftate), cause them to be always treated and fpoken of with diftinction.

But I believe, as I am in a fcribbling vein, I muft give you the particulars of one converfation; in which farther honour was done to Dr Bartlett.

After dinner, the Counters, drawing me on one fide by both my hands, faid, Well, our other fifter, our new found fifter, let me know how you like us; I am in pain left you should not love us as well as you do our Northamptonshire relations.

You overcome me, madam, with your goodness. Mifs Grandifon then coming towards us, Dear Mifs Grandifon, faid I, help me to words

No, indeed, I'll help you to nothing. I am jealous. Lady L. don't think to rob me of my Harriet's preferable love, as you have of Sir Charles's. I will be beft fifter here. But what was your fubje&t?-Yet I will anfwer my own queftion. Some pretty compliment, I fuppofe; women to women. Women hunger and thirst after compliments. Rather than be without them, if no men are at hand to flatter us, we love to fay handfome things to one another; and fo teach the men to find us out.

You need not be jealous, Charlotte, faid the Countess: You may be fure. This faucy girl, Mifs Byron, is ever fruftrating her own pretenfions. Can, flattery, Charlotte, fay what we will, have place

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