vouring, mumbled fomewhat I neither understood, nor wifhed to understand; and immediately his whole features took the moft fmirking turn imaginable when in pops the old lady-and the whole myftery was at once unravelled. have suspected that our aunt Should you was a plotter? No matter for your fufpicions, I tell you she is an arrant one → it was all her fcheme - the preachment, probably, only a repetition of her very expreffions. She certainly gave him his - cue as well as contrived the tete a tete, or my fwain, I am convinced, would have purfued a lefs antiquated plan, Encouraged by the apparent good footing we were upon, she was for officiously beftowing my hand in form, as an earnest at once of her approbation, and in order to hook me into a pofitive engagement. She She advanced-the colonel looked confident-told no tales.-Don't you tremble for your fifter's fate. Oh, the facrifice! hide me, hide me, I am unequal to the fight. You foolish girl you, did you imagine I fhould not protect myself from fuch horrid violence? But how? nay, if you are fo very impatient, you must go uninformed; my pen can never keep pace with your rapid imagination. You ftruggled, fainted, ran away;-not one of the three I do affure you I would have affumed a ftern brow, but that would not have fuited the old lady; a fmile, you know, would have been too encouraging for the gentleman: - fo, steering fkilfully between Scylla and Charibdas with "foftly, foftly, my good madam, I "hate repetitions-let me be given away "but once, I beseech you.-I believe the E 4 ❝ colonel "colonel is too well-bred to play the "encroacher, and too well fatisfied with "the favourable acknowledgments I have "already made, to complain."—I came off with flying colours. Our aunt gave me an approving twinkle of her eye (for glance you could not call it): my admirer, indeed, raised his with melancholy deliberation - fighed—as if he had faid-there is no remedy !-cruel and provoking though thou art I must still love on; but as this half-rebellious behaviour was unperceived by the good lady➡ the affair ended with the utmost appearance of general fatisfaction. But I must obferve, that my aunt's over-fight was rather owing to accident than any defect in her penetration ; for that vile cough fhe has for so long been fubject to, happened to feize her at the very juncture I could have wished ; and continuing until the colonel was in the the utmost harmony of fpirits, from merely the filly incident of hitting his head against mine, by his officioufnefs in reaching the gally-pot we are wont to have recourfe to upon fuch occafions, it was impoffible fhe fhould fufpect he had felt the fmalleft difcontent. Now I recollect myself, on my word I believe he almost kissed me - head did I fay - how could I make fo egregious a mistake — it was his face that came bounce against mine; and an admirable hard one it is! But not a fyllable of all this to papa:→ he is too confiderate, and too wife, even to defire to see the nonfenfe that paffes between a couple of filly girls: that's a good papa; whilft you forbear to seek, your dutiful daughter will never hide. After all, is it not wrong-judged in your elderly folks, to reduce their poor children to ftratagem, in innocent cafes as |