"From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide, "While China's earth receives the smoking tide. "At once they gratify their scent and taste, "And frequent cups prolong the rich repast." Rape of the Lock.
The recollection of the repeated admonitions of his mother, served to keep Job to his purpose. The instant the officer appeared, he held his way across the bridge, and after proceeding for a short distance further, along the water's edge, they entered a broad and well built avenue, which led from the principal wharf into the upper parts of the town. Turning up this street, the lad was making his way, with great earnestness, when sounds of high merriment and conviviality, breaking from an opposite building, caught his attention, and induced him to pause.
"Remember your mother's injunction," said the officer; "what see you in that tavern, to stare at?"
"'Tis the British Coffee-house!" said Job, shaking his head; "yes, any body might know that by the noise they make in't on Saturday-night! see, it's filled now, with Lord Boot's officers, flaring afore the windows, just like so many red devils; but to-morrow, when the Old South bell rings, they'll forget their Lord and maker, every sinner among them!"
"Fellow!" exclaimed the officer, "this is trespassing too far—proceed to Tremont-street, or leave me, that I may, at once, procure another guide."
The changeling cast a look aside at the angry eye of the other, and then turned and proceeded, muttering so loud as to be overheard—
"Every body that's raised in Boston knows how to keep Saturday-night; and if you're a Boston boy, you should love Boston ways."
The officer did not reply, and as they now proceeded with great diligence, they soon passed through King and Queen-streets, and entered that of Tremont. At a little distance from the turning, Job stopped, and pointing to a building near them, he said—
"There; that house with the court-yard afore it, and the pile-axters, and the grand looking door, that's ma'am Lechmere's; and every body says she's a grand lady, but I say it is a pity she isn't a better woman."
"And who are you, that ventures thus boldly to speak of a lady so much your superior?"
"I!" said the idiot, looking up simply into the face of his interrogator, "I am Job Pray, so called."
"Well, Job Pray, here is a crown for you. The next time you act as guide, keep more to your business.—I tell you lad, I offer a crown."
"Job don't love crowns—they say the king wears a crown, and it makes him flaunty and proud like."
"The disaffection must have spread itself wide indeed, if such as he refuse silver, rather than offend their principles!" muttered the officer to himself.—"Here then is half a guinea, if you like gold better."
The natural continued kicking a stone about with his toes, without taking his hands from the pockets where he wore them ordinarily, with a sort of idle air, as he peered from under his slouched hat at this renewed offer, answering—
"You wouldn't let the grannies whip Job, and Job won't take your money."
"Well boy, there is more of gratitude in that than a wiser man would always feel! Come, Meriton, I shall meet the poor fellow again, and will not forget this. I commission you to see the lad better dressed, in the beginning of the week."
"Lord, sir," said the valet, "if it is your pleasure, most certainly; but I declare I don't know in what style I should dress such a figure and countenance, to make any thing of them!"
"Sir, sir," cried the lad, running a few steps after the officer, who had already proceeded, "if you won't let the grannies beat Job any more, Job will always show you the way through Boston; and run your a'r'nds too!"
"Poor fellow! well, I promise that you shall not be again abused by any of the soldiery. Good night, my honest friend—let me see you again."
The idiot appeared satisfied with this assurance, for he immediately turned, and gliding along the street with a sort of shuffling gait, he soon disappeared round the first corner. In the meantime the young officer advanced to the entrance which led into the court-yard of Mrs. Lechmere's dwelling. The house was of bricks, and of an exterior altogether more pretending than most of those in the lower parts of the town. It was heavily ornamented, in wood, according to the taste of a somewhat earlier day, and presented a front of seven windows in its two upper stories, those at the extremes being much narrower than the othersThe lower floor had the same arrangement, with the exception of the principal door.
Strong lights were shining in many parts of the house, which gave it, in comparison with the gloomy and darkened edifices in its vicinity, an air of peculiar gaiety and life. The rap of the gentleman was answered instantly by an old black, dressed in a becoming, and what, for the colonies, was, a rich livery. The inquiry for Mrs. Lechmere was successful, and the youth conducted through a hall of some dimensions, into an apartment which opened from one of its sides. This room would be considered, at the present day, as much too small to contain the fashion of a country town; but what importance it wanted in size, was amply compensated for in the richness and labour of its decorations. The walls were divided into compartments, by raised panel-work, beautifully painted with imaginary landscapes and ruins. The glittering, varnished surfaces of these pictures were burthened with armorial bearings, which were intended to illustrate the alliances of the family. Beneath the surbase were smaller divisions of panels, painted with various architectural devices; and above it rose, between the compartments, fluted pilasters of wood, with gilded capitals. A heavy wooden, and highly ornamented cornice, stretched above the whole, furnishing an appropriate outline to the walls. The use of carpets was, at that time, but little known in the colonies, though the wealth and station of Mrs. Lechmere would probably have introduced the luxury, had not her age, and the nature of the building, tempted her to adhere to ancient custom. The floor, which shone equally with the furniture, was tessellated with small alternate squares of red-cedar and pine, and in the centre were the `saliant Lions' of Lechmere, attempted by the blazonry of the joiner. On either side of the ponderous and laboured mantel, were arched compartments, of plainer work, denoting use, the sliding panels of one of which, being raised, displayed a beaufet, groaning with massive plate. The furniture was old, rich, and heavy, but in perfect preservation. In the midst of this scene of colonial splendour, which was rendered as impressive as possible by the presence of numerous waxen lights, a lady, far in the decline of life, sat, in formal propriety, on a small settee. The officer had thrown his cloak into the hands of Meriton, in the hall, and as he advanced up the apartment, his form appeared in the gay dress of a soldier, giving to its ease and fine proportions, the additional charm of military garnish. The hard, severe eye of the lady, sensibly softened with pleased surprise, as it dwelt on his person for an instant after she arose to receive her guest, but the momentary silence was first broken by the youth, who said—
"I have entered unannounced, for my impatience has exceeded my breeding, madam, while each step I have taken in this house recalls the days of my boyhood, and of my former freedom within its walls."
"My cousin Lincoln!" interrupted the lady, who was Mrs. Lechmere; "that dark eye, that smile, nay, your very step announces you! I must have forgotten my poor brother, and one also who is still so dear to us, not to have known you a true Lincoln!"
There was a distance in the manner of both, at meeting, which might easily have been imparted by the precise formula of the provincial school, of which the lady was so distinguished a member, but which was not sufficient to explain the sad expression that suddenly and powerfully blended with the young man's smile, as she spoke. The change, however, was but momentary, and he answered courteously to her assurances of recognition—
"I have long been taught to expect a second home in Tremont-street, and I find by your flattering remembrance of myself and parents, dear madam, that my expectations are justified."
The lady was sensibly pleased at this remark, and she suffered a smile to unbend her rigid brow, as she answered—
"A home, certainly, though it be not such a one as the heir of the wealthy house of Lincoln may have been accustomed to dwell in. It would be strange, indeed, could any allied to that honourable family, forget to entertain its representative with due respect."
The youth seemed conscious that quite as much had now been said as the occasion required, and he raised his head from bowing respectfully on her hand, with the intention of changing the subject to one less personal, when his eye caught a glimpse of the figure of another, and more youthful female, who had been concealed, hitherto, by the drapery of a window-curtain. Advancing to this young lady, he said, with a quickness that rather betrayed his willingness to suspend further compliment—
"And here I see one also, to whom I have the honor of being related; Miss Dynevor?"
"Though it be not my grand-child," said Mrs. Lechmere, "it is one who claims an equal affinity to you, Major Lincoln; it is Agnes Danforth, the daughter of my late niece."
"'Twas my eye then, and not my feelings that were mistaken," returned the young soldier; "I hope this lady will admit my claim to call her cousin?"
A simple inclination of the body was the only answer he received, though she did not decline the hand which he offered with his salutations. After a few more of the usual expressions of pleasure, and the ordinary inquiries that succeed such meetings, the party became seated, and a more regular discourse followed.
"I am pleased to find you remember us then, cousin Lionel," said Mrs. Lechmere; "we have so little in this remote province that will compare with the mother country, I had feared no vestiges of the place of your birth could remain on your mind."
"I find the town greatly altered, it is true, but there are many places in it which I still remember, though certainly their splendour is a little diminished, in my eyes, by absence and a familiarity with other scenes."
"Doubtless, an acquaintance with the British court will have no tendency to exalt our humble customs in your imagination; neither do we possess many buildings to attract the notice of a travelled stranger. There is a tradition in our family, that your seat in Devonshire is as large as any dozen edifices in Boston, public or private; nay, we are proud of saying, that the king himself is lodged as well as the head of the Lincoln family, only when at his castle of Windsor!"
"Ravenscliffe is certainly a place of some magnitude," returned the young man, carelessly, "though you will remember his majesty affects but little state at Kew. I have, however, spent so little of my time in the country, that I hardly know its conveniences or its extent."
The old lady bowed with that sort of complacency which the dwellers in the colonies were apt to betray, whenever an allusion was made to the acknowledged importance of their connexions in that country toward which they all looked as the fountain of honour; and then, as quickly as if the change in her ideas was but a natural transition in the subject, she observed—
"Surely Cecil cannot know of the arrival of our kinsman! she is not apt to be so remiss in paying attention to our guests!"
"She does me the more honour, that she considers me a relative, and one who requires no formality in his reception."
"You are but cousins twice removed," returned the old lady, a little gravely;" and there is surely no affinity in that degree which can justify any forgetfulness of the usual courtesies. You see, cousin Lionel, how much we value the consanguinity, when it is a subject of pride to the most remote branches of the family!"
"I am but little of a genealogist, madam; though, if I retain a true impression of what I have heard, Miss Dynevor is of too good blood, in the direct line, to value the collateral drops of an intermarriage."
"Pardon me, major Lincoln; her father, colonel Dynevor, was certainly an Englishman of an ancient and honourable name, but no family in the realm need scorn an alliance with our own. I say our own, cousin Lionel, for I would never have you forget that I am a Lincoln, and was the sister of your grandfather."
A little surprised at the seeming contradiction in the language of the good lady, the young man bowed his head to the compliment, and cast his eyes at his younger companion with a sort of longing, to change the discourse, by addressing the reserved young woman nigh him, that was very excusable in one of his sex and years. He had not time, however, to make more than one or two common-place remarks, and receive their answers, before Mrs. Lechmere said, with some exhibition of staid displeasure against her grandchild—
"Go, Agnes, and acquaint your cousin of this happy event. She has been sensibly alive to your safety, during the whole time consumed by your voyage. We have had the prayers of the church, for a `person gone to sea,' read each Sunday, since the receipt of your letters, announcing your intention to embark; and I have been exceedingly pleased to observe the deep interest with which Cecil joined in our petitions."
Lionel mumbled a few words of thanks, and leaning back in his chair, threw his eyes upward, but whether in pious gratitude or not, we conceive it is not our province to determine. During the delivery of Mrs. Lechmere's last speech, and the expressive pantomime that succeeded it, Agnes Danforth rose and left the room. The door had been some little time closed before the silence was again broken; during which, Mrs. Lechmere evidently essayed in vain, once or twice, to speak. Her colour, pale and immovable as usually seemed her withered look, changed in its shades, and her lip trembled involuntarily. She, however, soon found her utterance, though the first tones of her voice were choked and husky.
"I may have appeared remiss, cousin Lionel," she said, "but there are subjects that can be discussed with propriety, only between the nearest relatives. Sir Lionel—you left him in as good a state of bodily health, I hope, as his mental illness will allow?"
"Not in fifteen years; my presence was said to increase his disorder, and the physicians forbade any more interviews. He continues at the private establishment near town, and, as the lucid intervals are thought to increase, both in frequency and duration, I often indulge in the pleasing hope of being restored again to my father. The belief is justified by his years, which, you know, are yet under fifty."
A long and apparently a painful silence succeeded this interesting communication; at length the lady said, with a tremour in her voice, for which the young man almost reverenced her, as it so plainly bespoke her interest in her nephew, as well as the goodness of her heart—
"I will thank you for a glass of that water in the beaufet. Pardon me, cousin Lionel, but this melancholy subject always overcomes me. I will retire a few moments, with your indulgence, and hasten the appearance of my grandchild. I pine that you may meet."
Her absence just at that moment was too agreeable to the feelings of Lionel, for him to gainsay her intention; though, instead of following Agnes Danforth, who had preceded her on the same duty, the tottering steps of Mrs. Lechmere conducted her to a door which communicated with her own apartment. For several minutes the young man trampled on the `salient lions' of Lechmere, with a rapidity that seemed to emulate their own mimic speed, as he paced to and fro across the narrow apartment, his eye glancing vacantly along the laboured wainscots, embracing the argent, azure and purpure fields of the different escutcheons, as heedlessly, as if they were not charged with the distinguishing symbols of so many honourable names. This mental abstraction was, however, shortly dissipated by the sudden appearance of one who had glided into the room, and advanced to its centre, before he became conscious of her presence. A light, rounded, and exquisitely proportioned female form, accompanied by a youthful and expressive countenance, with an air in which womanly grace blended so nicely with feminine delicacy as to cause each motion and gesture to command respect, at the same time that it was singularly insinuating, was an object to suspend, even at a first glance, provided that glance were by surprise, the steps of a more absent and less courteous youth than the one we have attempted to describe. Major Lincoln knew that this young lady could be no other than Cecil Dynevor, the daughter of a British officer, long since deceased, by the only child of Mrs. Lechmere, who was also in her grave; and consequently that she was one to whom he was so well known by character, and so nearly allied by blood, as to render it an easy task for a man accustomed to the world as he had been, to remove any little embarrassments which might have beset a less practised youth, by acting as his own usher. This he certainly attempted, and at first, with a freedom which his affinity, and the circumstances, would seem to allow, though it was chastened by easy politeness. But the restraint visible in the manner of the lady was so marked, that by the time his salutations were ended, and he had handed her to a seat, the young man felt as much embarrassment as if he had found himself alone, for the first time, with the woman whom he had been pining, for months, to favour with a very particular communication. Whether it is that nature has provided the other sex with a tact for these occasions, or that the young lady became sensible that her deportment was not altogether such as was worthy either of herself, or the guest of her grandmother, she was certainly the first to relieve the slight awkwardness that was but too apparent in the commencement of the interview.
"My grandmother has long been expecting this pleasure, major Lincoln," she said, "and your arrival has been at a most auspicious moment. The state of the country grows each day so very alarming, that I have indeed long urged her to visit our relatives in England, until the disputes shall have terminated."
The tones of an extremely soft and melodious voice, and a pronunciation quite as exact as if the speaker had acquired the sounds in the English court, and which was entirely free from the slight vernacular peculiarity which had offended his ear, in the few words that fell from Agnes Danforth, certainly aided a native attraction of manner, which it seemed impossible for the young lady to cast entirely aside.
"You, who are so much of an English woman, would find great pleasure in the exchange," he answered; "and if half what I have heard from a fellow passenger, of the state of the country be true, I shall be foremost in seconding your request. Both Ravenscliffe and the house in Soho, would be greatly at the service of Mrs. Lechmere."
"It was my wish that she would accept the pressing invitations of my father's relative, Lord Cardonnel, who has long urged me to pass a few years in his own family. A separation would be painful to us both, but should my grandmother, in such an event, determine to take her residence in the dwellings of her ancestors, I could not be censured for adopting a resolution to abide under the roofs of mine."
The piercing eye of major Lincoln fell full upon her own, as she delivered this intention, and as it dropped on the floor, the slight smile that played round his lip, was produced by the passing thought, that the provincial beauty had inherited so much of her grandmother's pride of genealogy, as to be willing to impress on his mind that the niece of a viscount was superior to the heir of a baronetcy. But the quick, burning flush that instantly passed across the features of Cecil Dynevor, might have taught him, that she was acting under the impulse of much deeper feelings than such an unworthy purpose would indicate. The effect, however, was such as to make the young man glad to see Mrs. Lechmere re-enter the room, leaning on the arm of her niece.
"I perceive, my cousin Lionel," said the lady, as she moved with a feeble step toward the settee, "that you and Cecil have found each other out, without the necessity of any other introduction than the affinity between you. I surely do not mean the affinity of blood altogether, you know, for that cannot be said to amount to any thing; but I believe there exist certain features of the mind that are transmitted through families quite as distinctly as any which belong to the countenance."
"Could I flatter myself with possessing the slightest resemblance to Miss Dynevor, in either of those particulars, I should be doubly proud of the connexion," returned Lionel, while he assisted the good lady to a seat, with a coolness that sufficiently denoted how little he cared about the matter.
"But I am not disposed to have my right to claim near kindred with cousin Lionel, at all disputed," cried the young lady, with sudden animation. "It has pleased our fore-fathers to order such—
"Nay, nay, my child," interrupted her grandmother, "you forget that the term of cousin can only be used in cases of near consanguinity, and where familiar situations will excuse it. But major Lincoln knows, that we in the colonies are apt to make the most of the language, and count our cousins almost as far as if we were members of the Scottish clans. Speaking of the clans, reminds me of the rebellion of '45. It is not thought in England, that our infatuated colonists will ever be so fool-hardy as to assume their arms in earnest?"
"There are various opinions on that subject," said Lionel. "Most military men scout the idea; though I find, occasionally, an officer that has served on this continent, who thinks not only that the appeal will be made, but that the struggle will be bloody."
"Why should they not!" said Agnes Danforth, abruptly; "they are men, and the English are no more!"
Lionel turned his looks, in a little surprise, on the speaker, to whose countenance an almost imperceptible cast in one eye, imparted a look of arch good nature that her manner would seem to contradict, and smiled as he repeated her words—
"Why should they not, indeed! I know no no other reasons than that it would be both a mad and an unlawful act. I can assure you that I am not one of those who affect to undervalue my own countrymen; for you will remember that I too am an American."
"I have heard it said that such of our volunteers as wear uniforms at all," said Agnes, "appear in blue, and not in scarlet."
"'Tis his majesty's pleasure that his 47th foot should wear this gaudy colour," returned the young man, laughing; "though, for myself, I am quite willing to resign it to the use of you ladies, and to adopt another, could it well be."
"By resigning your commission with it."
Mrs. Lechmere had evidently permitted her niece to proceed thus far, without interruption, to serve some purpose of her own; but perceiving that her guest by no means exhibited that air of pique which the British officers were so often weak enough to betray, when the women took into their hands the defence of their country's honour, she rang the bell, as she observed—
"Bold language, major Lincoln! bold language for a young lady under twenty. But Miss Danforth is privileged to speak her mind freely, for some of her father's family are but too deeply implicated in the unlawful proceedings of these evil times. We have kept Cecil, however, more to her allegiance."
"And yet even Cecil has been known to refuse the favour of her countenance to the entertainments given by the British officers!" said Agnes, a little piquantly.
"And would you have Cecil Dynevor frequent balls and entertainments unaccompanied by a proper chaperon," returned Mrs. Lechmere; "or is it expected that, at seventy, I can venture in public to maintain the credit of our family. But we keep major Lincoln from his refreshments with our idle disputes. Cato, we wait your movements."
Mrs. Lechmere delivered her concluding intimation to the black, in attendance, with an air that partook somewhat of mystery. The old domestic, who, probably from long practice, understood, more by the expression of her eye than by any words she had uttered, the wishes of his mistress, proceeded to close the outer shutters of the windows, and to draw the curtains with the most exact care. When this duty was performed, he raised a small oval table from its regular position among the flowing folds of the drapery that shrouded the deep apertures for light, and placed it in front of Miss Dynevor. A salver of massive silver, containing an equipage of the finest Dresden, followed, and in a few minutes a hissing urn of the same precious metal garnished the polished surface of the mahogany. During these arrangements, Mrs. Lechmere and her guest had maintained a general discourse, touching chiefly on the welfare and condition of certain individuals of their alliance, in England. Notwithstanding the demand thus made on his attention, Lionel was able to discover a certain appearance of mystery and caution in each movement of the black as he proceeded leisurely in his duty. Miss Dynevor permitted the disposition of the tea-table to be made before her, passively, and her cousin Agnes Danforth threw herself back on one of the settees, with a look that indicated cool displeasure. When the usual compound was made in two little fluted cups, over whose pure white a few red and green sprigs were sparingly scattered, the black presentod one containing the grateful beverage to his mistress, and the other to the stranger.
"Pardon me, Miss Danforth," said Lionel, recollecting himself after he had accepted the offering; "I have suffered my sea-breeding to obtain the advantage."
"Enjoy your error, sir, if you can find any gratification in the indulgence," returned the young lady.
"But I shall enjoy it the more, could I see you participating in the luxury."
"You have termed the idle indulgence well; 'tis nothing but a luxury, and such a one as can be easily dispensed with: I thank you, sir, I do not drink tea."
"Surely no lady can forswear her Bohea! be persuaded."
"I know not how the subtle poison may operate on your English ladies, major Lincoln, but it is no difficult matter for an American girl to decline the use of a detestable herb, which is one, among many other, of the causes that is likely to involve her country and kindred in danger and strife."
The young man, who had really intended no more than the common civilities due from his sex to the other, bowed in silence, though, as he turned from her, he could not forbear looking toward the table to see whether the principles of the other young American were quite as rigid. Cecil sat bending over the salver, playing idly with a curiously wrought spoon, made to represent a sprig of the plant whose fragrance had been thus put in requisition to contribute to his indulgence, while the steam from the china vessel before her was wreathing in a faint mist around her polished brow.
"You at least, Miss Dynevor," said Lionel, "appear to have no dislike to the herb, you breathe its vapour so freely."
Cecil cast a glance at him which changed the demure and somewhat proud composure of her countenance into a look of sudden, joyous humour, that was infinitely more natural, as she answered laughingly—
"I own a woman's weakness.—I must believe it was tea that tempted our common mother in Paradise!"
"It would show that the cunning of the serpent has been transmitted to a later day, could that be proved," said Agnes, "though the instrument of temptation has lost some of its virtue."
"How know you that?" said Lionel, anxious to pursue the trifling, in order to remove the evident distance which had existed between them; "had Eve shut her ears as rigidly as you close your mouth against the offering, we might yet have enjoyed the first gift to our parents."
"Oh, sir, 'tis no such stranger to me as you may imagine from the indifference I have assumed on the present occasion; as Job Pray says, Boston harbour is nothing but a `big tea-pot!' "
"You know Job Pray, then, Miss Danforth!" said Lionel, not a little amused by her spirit.
"Certainly; Boston is so small, and Job so useful, that every body knows the simpleton."
"He belongs to a distinguished family, then, for I have his own assurance that every body knows his perturbed mother, Abigail."
"You!" exclaimed Cecil, again, in that sweet, natural voice that had before startled her auditor; "what can you know of poor Job, and his almost equally unfortunate mother!"
"Now, young ladies, I have you in my snares!" cried Lionel; "you may possibly resist the steams of tea, but what woman can withstand the impulse of her curiosity! not to be too cruel with my fair kinswomen on so short an acquaintance, however, I will go so far as to acknowledge that I have already had an interview with Mrs. Pray."
The reply which Agnes was about to deliver was interrupted by a slight crash, and on turning, they beheld the fragments of a piece of the splendid set of Dresden, lying at the feet of Mrs. Lechmere.
"My dear grand-mama is ill!" cried Cecil, springing to the assistance of the old lady. "Hasten, Cato -major Lincoln, you are more active— for heaven's sake a glass of water—Agnes, your salts."
The amiable anxiety of her grand-child was not, however, so necessary as first appearances would have indicated, and Mrs. Lechmere gently put aside the salts, though she did not decline the glass, which Lionel offered for the second time in so short a period.
"I fear you will mistake me for a sad invalid, cousin Lionel," said the old lady, when she had become a little composed; "but I believe it is this very tea, of which so much has been said, and which I drink to excess, from pure loyalty, that unsettles my nerves—I must refrain, like the girls, though from a very different motive. We are a people of early hours, major Lincoln, but you are at home here, and will pursue your pleasure; I must, however, claim an indulgence for threescore-and-ten, and be permitted to wish you a good rest after your voyage. Cato has his orders to contribute all he can to your comfort."
Leaning on her two assistants, the old lady withdrew, leaving Lionel to the full possession of the apartment. As the hour was getting late, and from the compliments they had exchanged, he did not expect the return of the younger ladies, he called for a candle, and was shown to his own room. As soon as the few indispensables, which rendered a valet necessary to a gentleman of that period, were observed, he dismissed Meriton, and throwing himself in the bed, courted the sweets of the pillow.
Many incidents, however, had occurred during the day, that induced a train of thoughts, which for a long time prevented his attaining the natural rest he sought. After indulging in long and uneasy reflections on certain events, too closely connected with his personal feelings to be lightly remembered, the young man began to muse on his reception, and on the individuals who had been, as it were, for the first time, introduced to him.
It was quite apparent that both Mrs. Lechmere, and her grand-daughter were acting their several parts, though whether in concert or not, remained to be discovered. But in Agnes Danforth, with all his subtlety, he could perceive nothing but the plain and direct, though a little blunt, peculiarities of her nature and education. Like most very young men, who had just been made acquainted with two youthful females, both of them much superior to the generality of their sex in personal charms, he fell asleep musing on their characters. Nor, considering the circumstances, will it be at all surprising when we add, that before morning, he was dreaming of the Avon, of Bristol, on board which stout vessel he even thought that he was discussing a chowder on the Banks of Newfoundland, which had been unaccountably prepared by the fair hands of Miss Danforth, and which was strangely flavoured with tea; while the Hebelooking countenance of Cecil Dynevor was laughing at his perplexities with undisguised good-humour, and with all the vivacity of girlish merriment.
