Mrs. Reeves entered; and acknowledged the favour.

Sir Hargrave Pollexfen, and some of his brethren, are to dine with my brother, said my lady; and I, not being obliged to do the honours of the table, with my lord's consent, made my escape. I cannot endure the wretch, who could make such a vile attempt upon you, and who might have murdered my brother.-Come, will you let me see what you are writing? You can forgive Charlotte's freedom: will you excuse her sister's?

I cannot shew your ladyship all I have written; but I will read you some passages of the long letter before me.

I told her my subject, and read to her such as I thought I could read. She raved at Sir Hargrave: wondered he had the confidence. to approach me, especially with hope. She praised me. Yet said to my cousin Reeves, that he ought to have been denied the house; and the rather, as I was myself very unwilling to see him.

I own, I thought so too. Both my cousins are too goodnatured.

about the duel that was so gave us an account of

We had a great deal of talk happily prevented. Lady L that which her father fought; and to the issue of which they owed the loss of the best of mothers: and at and after dinner she piously expatiated on the excellencies of that mother; and demonstrated, what I have often thought of great consequence, (my grandmamma's and aunt Selby's examples before me affording the noblest proofs,) that the conduct of women in their families is of high importance; and that they need not look out of them so often as they do, to employ themselves; and that not only in the most useful, but in the most delightful manner.

My Lord L

having broke from the company at Sir Charles's, did us the honour to drink tea with us. Every thing, he said, passed very agreeable among the gentlemen

he had left; and it was his opinion, that his brother's noble behaviour, and the conversation that passed at table, and in which he left him and them engaged, would make more than one convert among them.

He told Lady L——, that Sir Charles was to set out on Monday for Canterbury; [for Canterbury, Lucy ;] and that he should take it for a favour, if she would give him her company for a few days to Colnebrook. Their new house, he said, would be ready to receive them in a week's time: it wanted nothing but a thorough airing. And if, said he, you could prevail upon Miss Grandison to be with us till her brother returns, and both sisters could induce Miss Byron to make a fourth, we shall be the happiest party in the world; and perhaps may get Sir Charles among us, on his return, for a day or two. I bowed.

I must tell you, my lord, that Charlotte and I thought to offer our attendance on Miss Byron to some of the public entertainments: but your lordship's pleasure shall determine me; and if we could be so happy as to have Miss Byron for our guest, I am sure of my sister; and it would be my preferable wish. Mr. Reeves, Mrs. Reeves, will you spare Miss Byron to me?

I looked as if for their leave.

They gave a smiling assent. My lord and lady both expressed themselves overjoyed. This Canterbury ran in my head. It was brought in naturally enough; and Mr. Reeves wondered, that Sir Charles kept secret the motive of his journeying thither backward and forward. The godlike man, said Mr. Reeves, in the words of a great poet, has nothing to conceal. For my part, replied my lord, I conclude the motive is rather a painful than a pleasurable one. Charlotte accuses her brother of reserves. I never found him reserved: but he loves to play with her curiosity, and amuse

her: for she is very curious, yet has her secret.-Has she not, Lady L

?

Indeed she has, replied my lady-Perhaps you, my dear, will be entrusted with it, when you are at Colnebrook together.

Pray, madam, said I to Lady L-, may I ask ?-Does Sir Charles give Lord G his interest in his addresses to

Miss Grandison?

LADY L. My brother wishes Charlotte married. He is a great friend to the married state; especially with regard

to our sex.

Mr. Reeves could not miss this opportunity. It is a wonder, said he, that Sir Charles himself does not think of marriage?

LADY L. That is a string that we but just touch sometimes, and away. There is a lady————

There she stopt. Had she looked with earnestness at me, I had been undone, I believe.

[Let me ask you, Lucy: you have passed the fiery ordeal-Did you ever find in yourself a kind of impatience, next to petulance; and in your heart, (only for fear of exposing yourself,) that you were ready to quarrel, or to be short, with any body that came upon you of a sudden; yet have no business of consequence to engage either your fingers or your thoughts?-Of late, my dear, I have been very often troubled with this odd sensation. But my whole temper is altering, I believe. I shall grow peevish, perverse, and gloomy, I doubt. O this wicked Sir Har grave!]

Pray, my dear, attend for the future to those indexes or hands; and forbear to read out the passages enclosed by them, if you can—But if you come upon them before you are aware, why then read on-with all my heart.

But to return to Lady L- -'s alarming hint― There is a lady'

MRS. REEVES. That Sir Charles loves, I suppose?

LADY L. That loves Sir Charles; and she has-But for the lady's sake-Yet, if it be allowable for any woman to be in love with any man, upon an uncertainty of return, it is for one that is in love with my brother.

HAR. And cannot Sir Charles make a return?-Poor lady!

My cousin afterwards told me, that my upper-lip then quivered like an aspin-leaf. I did not know that it did. I felt not a trembling at my heart; and when the lip trembles, the heart, I think, should be affected. There used to be a close connexion between mine.

MR. REEVES. Miss Grandison told me, that, if her brother married, half a score women would break their hearts.

LADY L. The words half a score run as glibly off the tongue as half a dozen: but I believe, let the envious, the censorious, maligu our sex, and charge us with the love of rakes and libertines, as they will, if all men were like my brother, there would not be a single woman, and hardly a bad one, in the kingdom. What say you, my lord?

LORD L. My dear life, you know I am all attention, whenever you, or my sister Charlotte, make our brother the subject of your panegyric. If, Miss Byron, you do not choose to hear so much said of this best of men, you will, I doubt, have an ill time of it in the favour you will do us at Colnebrook.

HAR. My lord, I should be very ungrateful, if I did not hear with pleasure every thing that shall be said in praise of Sir Charles Grandison.

LORD L. When I am out of conceit with men, as too often they give me cause to be, I think of my brother, and forgive them.

I wonder, Lucy, what every body means by praising Sir Charles Grandison so much in my hearing!-Shall I fly from town, to avoid hearing his praises!-Yes, say you ?— But whither? It must not be to Selby-house. Well then, I may as well go to Colnebrook. I shall there be informed of the reasons for all those general applauses; for hitherto I know nothing of his history, to what they tell me I am to know.

These general praises carried us away from a subject that I thought we should once have made more of―That one lady And I wanted to know, but had no opportunity to inform myself, whether that lady's relations, or herself, live at Canterbury. On Monday, it seems, Sir Charles sets out for that Canterbury!

Our noble guests would not stay supper. They had not been gone two hours before I had an humorous letter from Miss Grandison. I enclose it.

Sat. night, 10 o'clock.

LORD and Lady L rejoice me, by telling me, you will accompany them to Colnebrook on Monday.-That's my good girl!-I will go with them, for the sake of your company. Yet I had half-denied them: and why? Because, if you must know-but hush-and catch a mouseBecause, a certain impertinent proposes a visit there; and I had thoughts to take the opportunity of being alone in town, to rid my hands for ever, if possible, of another silly