"quarter of an hour. She is obliged to go out of town early in the morning."

What shall I do now? faid I. I was in a flutter; not being fully recovered from that into which Sir Hargrave's vifit had thrown me.

What now?What now? faid Mifs Grandifon.' Ah! Harriet, we fhall find you out by degrees.

By the way, Lucy, you are fond of plays; and it is come into my head, that to avoid all fays-l's and fays-fhe's, I will henceforth, in all dialogues, write names in the margin: So fancy, my dear, that you are reading in one of your favourite volumes.

Harriet. Do you know Lady D. ?

Mifs Gr. Very well: But I did not know that you did, Harriet.

Lady. L. And I know she has a fon: And I know fhe wants him to marry.

Harriet. That I may keep no fecrets from my two fifters, my aunt Selby has written to meMifs Gr. Lately?

Harriet. Very lately.

Mifs Gr. O because you had not told me of that.

Mrs Reeves. And pray, ladies, what is Lady D.'s character?

Lady L. She is a very fenfible and prudent wo

man.

Mifs Gr. I am not very intimate with her, but have feen her in two or three of my vifits. I have always thought her fo. And pray, Harriet, don't you want to know what character my Lord bears. Harriet. My Lord is nothing to me. I have anfwered. I have given my negative.

Mifs Gr. The deuce you have!-Why, the man has a good 12,000%. a-year.

Harriet. I don't care.

Mifs Gr. What a deuce ails the girl!
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Then

Then humorously telling on her fingers-ORME, cne, FENWICK, two; GREVILLE, three; FoWLER, four I want another finger; but I'll take in my thumb SIR HARGRAVE, five;-And now (putting the forefinger of one hand on the thumb of the other) LORD D. fix!-And one of them the man! -Depend upon it, girl, pride will have a fall.

What could fhe mean by that?-Sir Charles Grandifon's fifters, I hope, will not-But I believe fhe meant nothing.

Have I pride, Mifs Grandifon? coldly and grave ly asked I, as my coufin observed to me afterwards.

Mifs Gr. Have you pride?—Yes, that you have ; or you have worse.

What could this mad lady mean by this?—And what could I mean! For I had tears in my eyes. I was very low-fpirited at that moment.

Lady L. Well, but Mifs Byron, fhall we be impertinent, if we stay to fee the lady? I have a great value for her. She has been an admirable executrix and trustee for her fon; and was as good a wife. I was just going; but, as fhe goes out of town to-morrow, will ftay to pay my compliments to her. We can withdraw till you have had your talk.

Mifs Gr. Does the come to perfuade you, Harriet, to retract your refufal?

I wrote my

Harriet. I know not her business. mind to my aunt Selby. But I believe my aunt could not have written, and the Countefs received what fhe wrote, by this time. But do not can have no private talk.

go:

We

Mifs Gr. Well, but now I will tell you, without punishing your curiofity further, what Lord D.'s character is. He is as fober a man as most of the young nobility. His fortune is great. In fenfe he neither abounds, nor is wanting; and that clafs of men, take my word for it, are the best

qualified

qualified of all others to make good hufbands to women of fuperior talents. They know just enough to induce them to admire in her what they have not in themselves. If a woman has prudence enough to give confequence to fuch a one before folks, and will behave as if the thought him her fuperior in understanding, fhe will be able to make her own will a law to him; by the way of I will, fhall I?-Or, If you pleafe, my dear, I will do--what I think fit. But a fool and a wit are the extreme points, and equally unmanageable. And now tell me, Harriet, what can be your motive for refusing fuch a man as this?

Harriet. I wish, my dear, you would not talk to me of these men. I am fick of them all-Sir Hargrave has cured me

Mifs Gr. You fib, my dear—But did you ever fee Lord D.?

Harriet. No, indeed!

Mifs Gr. "No, indeed!"-Why then you are a fimpleton, child. What, refufe a man, an eart too! in the bloom of his years, 12,000 good pounds a-year! yet never have feen him-Your motives, child! Your motives! I wish you are not already-There fhe ftopt.

Harriet. And I wish, Mifs Grandison, with all my heart, if that would tame you, that you were in love over head and ears, and could not help it!

Mifs Gr. And with you me that for fpite, or to please me?—I am in love, my dear; and nothing keeps me in countenance, but having company among the grave ones. Dearly do I love to find girls out. Why, I found out Lady L. before the would own a tittle of the matter. So prim!"And how can you think fo, Charlotte? Who, I, in love! No indeed! No man has a place in my heart!"-Then I was refolved to have her fecret I began with my roundabouts, and my fuppojes's

out.

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ofes's-A leer as thus-[I was both vexed and pleafed with her archnefs] And then a supposeThen came a blush-" Why, Charlotte, I cannot but fay, that if I were obliged to have the one man or the other" Then came a figh, endeavoured in hafte to be returned to the heart whence it came; and when it could not find its way back, to be cut into three halves, as the Irishman faid; that is, into two half-fighs, and a hem; and a "Get you gone, for an impertinent"-As much as to fay, "You have it!"—And when I found. I had, and the owned it, why then I put my mad head to her grave one, and we had. but one heart betwixt us.

Lady L. (laughing)-Out of breath, Charlotte, I hope.

Mifs Gr. Not yet-How often have I kept watch and ward for her! Sometimes have I lent her my dreffing-room for their love-meetings:. Yet, for the world, fhe would not marry without her papa's confent: No, but like the rest of us, fhe would fuffer her affections to be engaged, without letting him know a fyllable of the matter. --Very true, Lady L. what fignifies looking ferious?

Lady L. Strange creature!

Mifs Gr. Once or twice did I change dreffes. with her. In fhort, I was a perfect Abigail to her. in the affair: And let me tell you, two fifters,, agreed to manage a love-affair, have advantages over even a ady and her woman.

Lady L. Mad creature!

Mifs Gr. All this I did for her without fee or reward; only from the dear delight of promoting. the good work, and upon the Chriftian principle of, Do as you would be done by.-Is not all this true, Lady L.? Deny it if you can.

Lady L. And have you done, Charlotte? Ah!. my dear Mifs Byron, you'll never do any thing,

with this girl, except you hear all fhe has to fay.、 And if you have a fecret, 'tis better to let her know it at firft. Charlotte is a generous girl,. after all; but fometimes, as now, a very impertinent

one

What could these ladies mean by this I wonder? If they fufpect me to love fomebody, furely this is not the way that two fuch ladies, in generofity, fhould take; when they think I have no engage ment, and know that the doubt muft lie on their brother's fide, whom, with all their roundabouts, as they call them, they cannot fathom.

I would give any thing, methinks, to know if Sir Charles was ever in love.

Just then a rapping at the door made us fuppose it was the Countefs. It was. After compliments to Mrs Reeves and me, fhe embraced Lady L. very affectionately, and Mifs Grandifon kindly; afking the first after Lord L.'s health, and the other after her brother: He is the man of all men, Mifs Grandifon, faid fhe, that I want to fee. We fhall be in town foon, for a month or two; and then you must make me known to one whom every body calls the best of men: As here, faid fhe, coming up again to me, I have longed to be acquainted with one of the best of women.

Lady L. Mifs Byron is indeed an excellent young woman. We do ourselves the honour of calling her fifter.

Lady D. What an encouragement is that to be good? Even in this age, bad as it is, true merit will never want admirers. And let me fay, that where beauty and goodness meet, as here, they adorn each other..

Agreeable Lady D.! thought I: My heart will not fuggeft a thought in favour of your fon; but I fhall eafily be in love with you. The heart hardly deferves praife, my Lucy, that is not fond of it from the worthy..

Her