箦 as to the aged; to the unlettered spinster, as to the profound scholar; he was caressed and admired where his superiors in rank and fortune sunk into comparative insignificance. I bear a charmed heart,' said Maria, else should this attractive Charles Delacour be a dangerous intimate for me: how little do we appreciate the equality with which gifts are dispensed; where fortune is liberal, nature is often niggardly; to this young man the latter has been lavish of her donations; handsome, talented, amiable, virtuous; would that some rich heiress might surrender to him herself and possessions; saying with Angelina. Wisdom and worth were all he had, 65 CHAP. IV. Is it beneath the taper's ray, THE eleventh of October at length ar rived, and the first events of the day were inauspicious, Mr. Vernon being necessitated to attend a visitation, and Mrs. Vernon so violently attacked by rheumatism as to ren der it impossible she could venture from home. It was agreed to request that Mrs. Wingfield, a very elegant woman, residing one mile from Glendalough, might take charge of Maria for the evening a note was, accordingly, despatched to Myrtle Grove, and was answered by an assurance E that Mrs. Wingfield should feel particular pleasure in chaperoning Miss Vernon, for whom she would call at an appointed hour.' This important matter adjusted, her dress was the next consideration of Maria: she paused to reflect had Captain Maxwell ever expressed admiration of any particular style or colour; and recollecting to have heard him declare his decided preference of white, as emblematic of innocence and purity; and of simplicity, as the genuinely graceful; she determined her garments should be colourless, and her hair without ornament. The necessary arrangements being made, she attempted to read, it was impossible- to play, her fingers produced discordance ;-and, as the day advanced, she evinced such agitation and restlessness, that Mrs. Vernon requested she might try to compose her spirits, which should, otherwise, be so exhausted as to incapacitate her for encoun tering the fatigues of a ball-room. The remonstrance produced a salutary effect; she consented, at the desire of her mother, to read aloud; and the interest excited in perusing The Retrospect,' diverted her attention until the hour for dressing. The enthusiastic Harriet insisted on be ing president at the toilette of her sister; encouraging her, as she disposed each article, by exclaiming, how unusually well you look! there will not be a nicer girl in the room.' When dressed, Mrs. Vernon acknowledged, with secret satisfaction, that, although her daughter was not a beauty, her appearance announced the perfect gentlewoman." From a self-discontentedness, frequently attendant upon an over anxiety to please, Maria could not be persuaded but that she' might have substituted for her very elegant white satin and gauze, a dress more advantageous. Harriet proposed that she should make the addition of a wreath of French roses, or a plume of white feathers, in her hair, if she conceived her dress too unadorned. No: she had heard him observe that flowers were decorations only for opera dancers; and feathers, for tragedy queens.' We must with pain confess that, on this occasion, she displayed an ungrateful rejection of kindness, and an irritability of temper but too often elicited from young persons by the preparation for scenes which, apparently in themselves innocent, are not unfrequently the origin of fretfulness, vanity, deception, rivalry, and falsehood. For the first time Mrs. Vernon and Harriet felt relieved by the departure of Maria, who entered Mrs. Wingfield's carriage with a palpitating heart, and found her party to consist in that lady, her eldest son, and her daughter. This family being remarkable. for the most polished affability of manner, |