"You need not look so angry," returned Lady Mary; "at all events, not at me; I am not responsible for the established principles of society; I only stated what they are."
"The more I see of society," interrupted Lady Marchmont, "the more disgusted I am with it!"
"Fortunately for you, it does not return the compliment!" said Lady Mary: "but do send for Lord Marchmont again, if you want somebody to quarrel with: a husband is the only legitimate resource on such occasions!"
"What do you say to a lover?" asked Henrietta, laughing.
"Oh, you quarrel with your lover on his own account, he is not a resource! A lover's quarrel is made up of jealousies, doubts, hopes, fears, and all sorts of fantastic fancies: a matrimonial dispute, on the contrary, is composed of familiar and ordinary matter, a sort of ventilator to the temper!"
"But," said the young countess, "Lord Marchmont and I never quarrel."
"Oh!" returned her ladyship, with a sneer, "you are
