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tures, and blend them together. Yet I must acknowledge that this letter is written rather from the surface, than the interior of the heart, from the playfulness of the mind, rather than the influence of the understanding.

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But to keep you no longer in suspense, we dined yesterday with Lady Mary -> according to the invitation I mentioned to you on Wednesday. The party, which was but small, proved very agre able, perhaps for that very reason We were the first arrivals, and I insisted upon seeing the child. After some hesitation, and a few very careless observations, a perfect cherub was produced. For my part, I was enchanted with it, took it in my arms, and continued to play with it till some others of the expected company arrived, when this strange mother indulged herself in the solitary remark, that I should have made || an excellent nurse for the Foundling Hospital. I could not help laughing at the unexpected ridiculousness of the remark, while the very moment after I could have wept with a 1 my heart at the reflection, that the lovely infant would probably have found more maternal affection among the strangers who govern that asylum for deserted children, than beneath its maternal roof.

In

Mr. Mis still in the country, and she treated his absence with the same kind of levity as she had done her child, and which, whatever after-reflections it may create, contributes, some how or other, to the mirth of the moment. the first place, she was so glad he did not return according to promise, because she was sure that something very pleasant had detained him; and she was so delighted when he was happy. That as for any disagreeable accident having happened to him, she entertained no alarm of that kind. Bad news always travels so fast that she should have heard if any disaster had befallen him long ago. Besides, she added, whenever he is vexed, or ill, or he has met any thing unpleasant in his way, he always comes home directly, which he considered as the greatest compliment he could pay to her. He might find pleasure or amusement any where, and he was in the right to go wherever he could be pleased or amused;--she herself did the same; but he could only find comfort at home; and whenever he really wanted it, home he came, and she always gave it him. If he were prescribed physic, he would take the bitter draught from no hand but her's. Heaven protect the man; it will be well for him if the bitter draughts from the apothecary's shop are

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the only ones which he is destined to receive for her.

It is very well known, she continued, that when he broke one or two of his ribs, I have forgotten which, by a fall from his horse in Rottenrow, that I stayed at home with him for a couple of weeks, in the prime of the winter, and played, and sung, and read half the novels in Hookham's library to him; in short, I made the time pass so pleasant, that the good humoured creature declared he would, with all his heart, break another rib to pass such another fortnight; that he desired no other society than mine, and that if I would stay at home and amuse him, as I had done, he would not go out again for three months; but there were three words to that bargain. I had for some time wanted a dashing landaulet, and the first day he was permitted to go out we went together to the coach-maker's and ordered it. Nor need I say to any body who knows any thing of the matter, that it is one of the handsomest vehicles of the kind about town; and, to crown the whole, my opposite neighbour, Lady D, has been literally dying with envy

ever since it came out,

In this way does she let loose her lively, and, after all, not unpleasant nonsense, for never did I see society more enlivened than by her vivacity. This I am compelled to acknowledge, though, I trust, it will never prove otherwise to me than a negative example. Indeed I am not altogether disinterested in giving you this sketch of your friend; I wish very much to know, not your opinion, for of that there can be no doubt, but the first feeling of your mind on reading it. For as to myself, you must be sensible, that I am, in my present situation, so prepared for these, and similar exhibitions, by living, as it were, in their very atmosphere, that I cannot quicken myself into serenity in judging of them. It must be from my dearest Eliza, whose thoughts float in the pure region of retirement, and are neither thwarted, shackled, or coloured by the sovereignty of fashion, or the caprices of high life, that I must receive the calm, unbiassed opinion of an unsophisticated mind. At the same time you well know that my heart, with all its fashionable flutters, participates in all your duties; and the venerable being knows it also who is the object of them. All my letters to you must be written with affection; but you inust perceive that the talisman has been prepared, and that this letter is sealed with it.

H-J-,

THE BEAU MONDE;

OR,

A HISTORY OF THE NEW WORLD.

LETTER SIXTH.

[Continued from Page 87.]

LADY L IN CONTINUATION. CONFESS, my dear-don't I tire you to death with my scrawl. I will continue it, however, at the hazard of giving you a fit of the spleen. The visit to our country Rector is paid, and is well worth description. Have you any taste for simplicity and nature? There was a time, my dear Frail, when we both had a portion, the least spice of which in our present condition would be esteemed folly and romance. Now then for a rural scene, ancient simplicity, and a village dinner.

or confinement, it présented the most perfect image of retirement and village security.

By how strange and inexplicable a chain are our thoughts linked together, and with how gentle a touch do the chords of the heart vibrate! The tranquil beauty, the calm security, the air of peace and innocence in this village retirement, recalled to my mind the memory of distant days, when I would take in my hand one of my favourite romances, and throwing myself under some overshadowing tree, would fall into an insensible sleep; and following my fancy in its fairy rovings, dream of love and rapture in a scene like this. Oh Frail! I once had feeling! Dear girlish days, why are you so soon fled? Days of innocence and nights of rest, are you indeed fled for ever!-and for what have I exchanged you?

About three o'clock Sir Harry and myself in a sociable drove for the Parsonage, and the distance being but three miles, we soon reached it. The honest Rector came out to hand me from the vehicle, and I rejected Sir Harry's assistance for that of his honest rival. He conducted us immediately into the house, though Sir Harry delayed a few minutes at the gate, and expressed his admiration at the neat elegance of the parsonage; it was really of a most striking simplicity. Conceive one of those cottages you have often seen in a fancy landscape, seated on the brow of a small hill, and this hill green as an emerald; conceive its walls clothed with grape-in giving a character; they make no allowance

vines, and its windows scarcely visible through the embosoming foliage; in short, conceive swallows' nests, a thatched roof, and the lawn in which it stands enclosed into a kind of snugness by the surrounding shrubbery, and you will have some image of this elegant Parsonage. He conducted us into a parlour at the back of his house. "I dine," said he, "when alone, at two o'clock; but as you are people of fashion, I shall shew my breeding by keeping you waiting till four. We have half an hour yet:-will your Ladyship walk in my garden ?"

We readily accepted his invitation, and followed him through a glass door into the lawn. The garden was as striking as the house; it was very long-two high walls on the east and west, his house on the north, and a stream of water on the south end, contained it. The walls, however, were entirely concealed by trees, shrubs, or vines. By these boundaries it was enclosed from the country without; and being narrow enough to give the idea of snugness, with●ut being so much so as to have an air of huddle

Dear Frail, excuse my nonsense;-what a strange heart have I! I wrote the preceding passage, would you believe it, in tears! some levity has since succeeded, and I am now laughing at my weakness. How stupid is that rule of pedantry which affixes what it calls a distinguishing trait to every character, and decides against

all variation from it as unnatural contradiction! It is remarked that historians never err more than

for humour and caprice, but impute the most trifling actions to deep and secret causes. If a king is out of humour, he has discovered a plot, though he is all the time, perhaps, fretting at his cook or his mistress; in short, they would fix a man to the straight path, and condemn those deviations which are more natural than a perpetual consistency, as frivolous and absurd But where am I running? I hate argument. Let any one take the sentiment, and make the most of it. How I have wandered! I intended to describe a visit, and have run into a stupid episode of fairies and oak-trees, love and days of peace. But to recover my subject.

After our honest host had shewn us his flowers, his choice of pinks and tulips, his bed of violets, moss-roses, &c. &c. a humour that is one of his foibles, he asked Sir Harry if he were not sensible of the pleasures of a flower garden.—“ And your Ladyship," said he, "is not so refined, I hope, as to stop your nose at a violet, or catch a head-ache from gazing at a rose?"

I replied, that it was rather a complaint against

wealth and grandeur, that it could not multiply the senses; not that it deprived us of the use of those we already had "Well then," he added, "those that enjoy them in full perfection, must delight in a garden. Your Ladyship will forgive my using the name of a philosopher; but Aristotle observes, that the poet is most pleased with his works because he calls, as it were, new creatures into being. To plant and raise flowers is, by the same logic, to make a new creation. Now, the highest compliment we can pay to your sex, is to dress you finely; we should be stow, therefore, one of the same kind on the mother earth, and shew our gladness for the fertility she gives us, by planting nosegays in her bosom."

I do not

We were now summoned to dinner, and sat down to a table as hospitable as neat. know whether it was owing to its novelty, but I relished the simple boiled mutton, the turnips as white as the table-cloth, and the homely apple-pudding, more than I ever did the most fashionable dinner. He made us no apology for the plainness of our entertainment, but turned it into a compliment in a manner of some elegance." I have not given you a fashionable dinner," said he, "because I could then have only given you what you could better have at home, nor could I have furnished a dish which you have not tasted before; but in a country dinner you will at least find one dish to your taste that of novelty; and I am happy to see that you, Sir Harry, do it so much honour."

He had reason in what he said, for Sir Harry really astonished me, so heartily did he relish his dinner. He had the appetite of a schoolboy in the holidays; and the old housekeeper chuckled

to see so fine a man eat so much of her applepudding.

The dinner over, our host, having first said grace, rose from table, and desired us to follow him into the garden. We obeyed, and he led the way to the middle of it, where was a raised mound, covered with green turf, and on it a kind of arbour around a low oak tree, which arose from its middle. Here a dessert of filberts, apples, pears, and other fruit was prepared for us, and set out with a neat taste on a table covered with a green cloth. From the arbour we could command the whole of the garden, from the house at the top, to the stream at the bottom; and as the afternoon was very fine, you can imagine nothing more pleasant. An odd comparison came into my head. The simple and respectable figure of our host eating dried fruits under an overhanging oak, made me for a moment draw a resemblance between him and one of the ancient patriarchs; and I could think of nothing but Abraham under the palm-ree. The sight of the water still improved the thought, and I was expecting to see a Sarah come up from it with a pail. There is certainly, my dear, something delightful in simplicity; the thought took up my whole mind, and I almost sighed that these were not patriarchal days. Could you have thought that I had a heart capable of such variety of feeling? Yet once I had indeed sensibility, and how was it misused! You shall know some time or another, Frail.

We returned to the house to our tea, and almost immediately afterwards drove home. Yours, &c.

[To be continued.]

L-.

COLONEL HOWARD TO CAPTAIN SEDLEY.

AGREEABLE to the promise I gave my good ment of my exiled friend; and while I endeavour Sedley at parting, I hasten to forward him by the to soften the pangs of disappointment, and of first packet, sme account of my proceedings" hope long deferred," my utmost interest shall since my arrival in my native country. After an be exerted to procure your speedy return to absence of nine years, you will readily suppose England and to happiness. Cheer yourself, thereI found our customs and manners had somewhat fore, dear Sedley! you have encountered and changed. But as you are anxious for a minute conquered the rigours of a destructive climate; detail of domestic occurrences, rather than the suffer not yourself to be subdued by a more insi. history of our politics or customs, and tell me dious foe! unrestrained sensibility will inevitably that the most trifling circumstance relative to sap the foundation of that patience and fortitude, that country, near and dear to your heart, will which might otherwise lead to glory and honour. be interesting to you; I shall endeavour to fulfil The best affections of the heart, my friend, must the preliminaries settled with you at parting, by be subject to the discipline of the head; or that employing my leisure in collecting, and recol-noble intrepidity of soul by which are accomJecting, observing and combining, for the amuse, plished those magnanimous actions, which asto

nish and delight the world, will be lost in enervating and insignificant pursuits, and glory will supinely repose on the lap of pleasure. But I know you will say that this is the general preaching of those whose hearts are at ease. Not so, my friend; my batteries have been attacked, but I defended bravely, and drove the enemy from the field, with only a trifling injury sustained by my outworks. You are a British sailor, and should therefore be invulnerable. Tell me no more, "that except in one instance you are so;" remember it is the aim of a judicious foe to discover and take advantage of the assailable part. Achilles, you know, was destroyed by an arrow in his heel!— But to quit a subject which has so often formed a part of our personal conversation, I will hasten to tell you, that after a tedious passage of more than two months, I arrived safe in this splendid metropolis, which notwithstanding the burden of heavy taxes, and the scourge of a four een years war, seems to rise superior amidst the wreck of nations, and to have maintained its privileges, its opulence, and independence. Having reposed myself for a day or two in snug security within the walls of St. James's Hotel, I sent for my old tradespeople, in order to modernize my external; and with my slouched hat, high cravat, Brutus crop, padded coat, and rucked boots, I soon exhibited a metamorphosis which would not have disgraced an Ovid.

speak-but in vain, and he re-seated himself in silent dismay, without articulating a word.Some wags, taking advantage of this his unfortunate failure, instantly caused papers to be printed and circulated through the streets of London and Westminster, on the top of which appeared, the maiden speech of Sir A. D. as delivered this morning in the House of Commons; the rest of the paper was blank; and scarcely had the members been returned to their respective homes before these squibs were cried in all the principal streets of Westminster. The lady of Sir A. D. hearing the outcry, and exulting in the consequence and popularity of her husband, instantly rung for her foot n, and desired he would purchase some of the papers of the poor man in the street; he having obeyed her command, immediately presented them to his lady, who, on viewing the blank paper, exclaimed with violence-"Why, fellow, you are a foolyou have brought nothing!" "No, my lady," drily replied the servant, "it is my master, for he said nothing." I give little credit myself to this ridiculous tale, but was told it as an absolute. fact. From the library of Sir A. D. I was conducted with much ostentation to the drawingroom of his lady. She received me with an air of assumed affability, and affected that ease and freedom of manners which she had doubtless observed to distinguish persons of high breeding, and which, originating in vanity, is properly deShe congra

Having thus acquired the exterior of a man of fashion (that necessary passport to rank, dissipa-nominated proud condescension. tion, and folly), I sallied forth to the habitation of my old friend Sir A. D. in Portman-square I found him surrounded with titled guests, and ministers of the new administration, to which he professes himself a faithful ally. Two years since he is said greatly to have impaired his paternal || inheritance, by putting up for the Borough of K, and after a warm contest he was elected by a majority of votes, which his liberality had procured, and the following session took his seat in parliament. The natural self-importance of his character is not (you will imagine) diminished by this his advancement to the board of honour. He addresses you with a commanding air, and converses in a true senatorial accent, but his eloquence has never yet extended beyond the walls of his own mansion. They tell you a laughable anecdote of him, which was doubtless the offspring of ridicule, and the fabrication of his opponents. On his first taking his seat in the house, he is said to have formed a maiden speech, in the delivery of which he expected to rival Demostenes; but it so happened (from what cause is not absolutely declared), that though the speech was transferred from his head to the lining in his hat, yet the perspicuity of utterance was filed. He rose-essayed to

tulated me on my return to my native country, spoke of iny good looks, declared the West Indies had improved me, and that I was considerably more embonpoint than she expected to have found me. I bowed low, partly to hide the blushing recolle tion of my padded coat, which at that time associated itself with the word embonpoint. She introduced me to her daughter, who I remember to have left a child when I quitted England, but who was now transformed inte a very beautiful and accomplished young woman, evidently educated in all those fashionable ac complishments of the day, but which I fear are too often cultivated at the expence of the head and the heart. I had not an opportunity of discovering how far this opinion was exemplified in the fair Theodora. Her mother seemed anxious only to display her accomplishments, and by the desire of the former she gave several beautiful airs on the harp, which she touched with all the grace of scientific execution. Her voice, with which it was accompanied, was natural sweetness, improved by taste, and cultivated by genius. Her foot, which rested on the pedal, was symmetry itself; her finely turned arm was a model for the sculptor; and her pliant fingers swept across the strings with the swift confidence

would sail, I quitted this amiable family and repaired to my hotel. I have since passed an evening with them, the only rational one since my arrival in this gay city. I will give you some account of our public amusements hereafter. I shall conclude this epistle with a subject more congenial to your feelings, and honestly tell you, that if Maria Darnly were not your Maria, if she possessed a tolerable fortune, with one or two other ifs essential to my rational ideas of matrimonial felicity, I really believe I could love her well enough to make her my wife. She is much improved in her person since you left England; to those who admire a striking figure she might be considered as too small; but to me who am fond of every thing feminine in woman but strength of mind, she appears the perfection of symmetry and beauty. In her manners is displayed that correct medium between inordinate vivacity and the cold fastidiousnsss of prudish reserve. In her affections she is all heart, and

of Trepsicore; her attire was of the Grecian order, a style of dress now generally adopted by the fashionable fair of this country, and though the round chubby features, and robust form, to which it is sometimes attached, exhibits rather a grotesque assemblage, yet no attire could better correspond with Theodora's style of fea tures, or the graceful dignity of her figure. She looked a second Cleopatra. Smile not, my friend, at this lengthened description of the attractive Theodora, nor think me taken captive by her charms. I admire a beautiful woman, it is true, with somewhat more warmth than I would a beautiful picture; but it must be united to more solid endowments before it can touch my heart, and personal grace is now so common in this splendid city, that the pure love of novelty alone would lead one to search for the graces of the mind and the virtues of the heart. Having prolonged my visit to this fashionable family beyond the limits which etiquette prescribes to a morning call, I took my leave, and directed myself is banished at the call of sympathy and be. steps to the more humble abode of your Maria. She was seated at her writing table when my name was announced, and her mother (still very handsome) was industriously repairing the ravages which time or accident had made in some part of her daughter's wardrobe. She received me with that unaffected cordiality which is the welcome of the heart. Maria rose with agitation-alternately the rose and lily triumphed in her cheek.

nevolence. Her attire is at all times consistent with her general character; it is neat, plain, simple, elegant, and sufficiently in fashion as not to appear particular. Her person is never so exposed as to offend the chaste eye of delicacy, nor so concealed as to appear affected, or ostentatiously singular. The candour of a pure heart, and the charity of a benevolent soul, shine in her general conversation; she would vindicate an aspersed friend against an host of false acI hastened to relieve her embarrassment, bycusers; she arrests the sly shaft of innuendo by presenting your letter. She took it in silence; the frankness of her retorts; and towards a fallen the tear of sensibility, hitherto restrained by de-sister the censure of silence is accompanied with corum, instantly rushed to her eyes, and she hastily quitted the room. Left alone with Mrs. Darnly, our conversation naturally turned to you. She expressed her high sense of your worth; spoke of your having smoothed the pillow of her dying husband; called you the disinterested protector of herself and child; lamented your protracted detention in a country so unhealthy as the West Indies; and added, that she knew not how her daughter would sustain this new demolition of her hopes. At this moment Maria entered; and though she had carefully wiped away the traces of sorrow, yet to me they were discernible in the lucid lustre of her eye, and the glazed glow on her cheek, which || was polished with the purity of nature's tear. She rallied her spirits, and attempted to join in conversation; but I saw the effort was painful, and having informed her when the next packet

the sigh of commiseration and pity. Such a creature is your Mária. Cheer you, therefore, dear Sedley, for her heart is all your own! I see it in every action, in her whole deportment. You are, I must confess, worthy of each other; and you may depend, more than ever, on my friendship, to accelerate your promotion, your return to England, and your union with this worthily beloved, and interesting woman.

A card of invitation has this moment arrived from Sir A. D.-a dinner party this day fortnight. I expect an ostentatious display of all that pomp and splendour can collect. I shall go-but were it practicable, would rather take a sober bottle with my friend. I may possibly give you some account of this visit in my next, if in want of a better subject for the present, good night.

London.

[To be continued.]

C-M

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