hood of Portland-place, and which by his address and recommendation he succeeded in procuring for them. Quick and keen-sighted as he ever was in forming conclusions of what might militate against the plans he had formed, Mrs. Herbert's dry salutation whenever he called upon her friends had not escaped him; but what was the most annoying to him in her conduct, whenever he intended to avail himself of a vacant chair by the side of Rosilia, Mrs. Herbert, as if purposely to oppose his so doing, was always certain to throw herself into it. "The cursed inquisitive looks of that beldame," ejaculated he upon quitting her house; "I must try to get rid of her, or she may outwit me." With such a determination, he contrived to draw away Rosilia and her parents from under her roof, to which they had been induced to consent by the airy situation of the new house, and the fine prospect it commanded.
Becoming nearly a daily visitor at their new residence, Sir Howard was so assiduous in forming some new engagement to enliven and steal away time that Rosilia could no longer complain of the monotony of her life. It was to the civilities and contrivances of Sir Howard she was at this period indebted for her every gratification. It was the merits of Sir Howard to which her attention was continually being attracted. Whence came it then that she still remained unconfiding and mistrustful of him? Did it originate in a too nice and sensitive delicacy that she thus shrunk from his notice, timidly to retire within
