her admirer, who was a Member for the county, and of Vivian's coming in as a Representative, under the Glistonbury interest. This county election, and the changing of his mansion into a Gothic castle, under the management of a modern improver, form the first two prominent errors in his character, but which he soon compensated in some degree by his patriotic exertions in Parlia

ment.

Attendance on his senatorial duty calls him to town, whilst Miss Sidney remains in the country; and in London he associates much with the Glistonbury family; but he is soon more dangerously situated from the deceitful friendship of a Mr. Wharton, an oppositionist, who had prepossessing manners, and with sufficient artfulness whenever he pleased, to make the worst appear the better reason. He was philosophically, politically, and fashionably profligate; had ruined his private fortune by unbounded extravagance, but lived on-nobody knew how, in careless profusion. He gave good dinners, and brought of course many round him; but paid his cook with money, and his wine merchant with promises. Wharton attaches himself to Vivian, in order to gain him to his party, and to profit from his easiness by borrowing money. He has a young and beautiful wife also, whom Vivian soon begins to love, after due encouragement, with platonic ardour. Careless behaviour on the part of Wharton, and artful behaviour on the part of his wife, leads to incidents from which Vivian is at length led into error, when the remonstrances of his mother, and the compunctions of honour and conscience, induce him to write a farewell letter to Mrs. Wharton, and an exculpatory one to Miss Sidney; but meeting Mrs. Wharton next evening at the Opera, he discovers by her checking him for putting his name to the letter, that he had actually mis-directed the letters, and of course sent them to the wrong persons.

In a few days he receives his letter from Miss Sidney, with a repetition of her former declaration of leaving him free from his engagements, which she had been prompted to give him, though she still loved him.

A severe illness now brings him to a sense of propriety; but having offended against that sense by paying another visit to Mrs. Wharton, with the best intentions, he was actually persuaded by this woman, whom he did not love, whom he could not esteem, to carry her off to the Continent, whilst at the very same time he still admired, esteemed, and loved Selina. With all the eloquence of beauty in distress, the artful Mrs. Wharton, after complaining of her husband's conduct, and declaring that she will live with him no longer, appeals to Vivian as her only friend; throws herself on his protection, vows that her destiny, her existence, were at his mercy the plan of elopement is formed and settled in a

few minutes, and on her part with all the apparent hurry of passion, and the same carriages and horses which were to have carried him to Miss Sidney, now take the fugitives on their first stage towards Brussels.

In a few weeks compunction seizes on Vivian, and he receives a letter from his friend Russel, who presses him to return to England, and informs him that a disappointed and enraged cham bermaid of the Wharton family, had given such evidence of collusion on the part of Wharton and his wife, that he was afraid to commence a prosecution. The same post brings Mrs. Wharton a notice of the discovery; she first attempts to throw the blame on her husband, wept and kneeled in vain, and finding Vivian determined to return to England, suddenly rises from her knees, and all beautiful as she was, looked in his eyes like a fiend, whilst ⚫with an unnatural smile, she said to him :-" You see, fool as I am thought to be, I have been too clever for some people; and I can tell Mr. Wharton that I have been too clever for him too. His heart is set upon a divorce; but he can't have it. He can't marry Miss Por yet her fortune, nor ever shall! I shall remain at Brussels. I have friends here-and friends who were my friends before I was forced to give my hand to Mr. Wharton, or my smiles to you, Sir! People who will not teaze me with talking of remorse and repentance, and such ungallant, ungentleman-like stuff; nor sit bewailing themselves like a country parson, instead of dashing out with me here in a fashionable style, as a man of any spirit would have done. But you!-you're neither good nor bad; and no woman will ever love you, or ever did.-Now you know my whole mind."

"Would to Heaven I had known it sooner!" said Vivian."No! I rejoice that I did not sooner know, and that I never have suspected such depravity! under such a form too!"

Mrs. Wharton's eye glanced with satisfaction upon the large mirror opposite to her. Vivian left her in utter disgust and horror." Drive on!" cried he, as he threw himself into the chaise-" faster! faster."

On his penitent return he was received by his mother; and soon after is introduced to Selina, who coolly and calmly tells him that she loves him no longer. He now caught the idea, that if he distinguished himself in public life, and if he there retained steadiness of character, he might win back Selina's esteem and affection. Fired with this hope, he immediately turned his whole mind to the object; applied with indefatigable labour, day and night, to make himself master of a subject likely to be discussed in Parliament. At length his application and his energy were crowned with success. On a question of considerable political importance, he made an excellent speech; and pursued his course

for some time with honour and increasing reputation. He was also encouraged in the practice of virtue by his friend Russel, who, though he never praised violently, could yet by a few words please him more than the most exaggerated encomiums of the public prints.

But Wharton, though of the same political party, endeavours to depreciate his talents, and always speaks of him with contempt. Vivian, however, was stimulated to fresh exertions by this conduct, and Wharton's enmity thus became of service to him, though it changed in some measure the purity of his first intentions, by mixing hatred, thoughts of vengeance, views of vulgar vanity, and interest, with love and honourable ambition. This now leads him into another of his errors. To prove that Wharton was mistaken in his prognostics, it seemed necessary to obtain the price and stamp of talents, it was essential to gain political power; and this could not be attained without joining a party; he joined therefore the opposition.

A hasty visit from Lord Glistonbury now takes him down to the Castle where private theatricals are now going on under the direction of Rosamunda, an actress, a poetess, and all that," who had been engaged by his Lordship as governess to Lady Julia, in order to educate her under the new philosophy, and save her from the starched antediluvian notions of Lady Glistonbury and Miss Strictland. On his arrival at the Castle he is introduced first to Lady Glistonbury and her eldest daughter; and her Ladyship takes an opportunity of hinting to him that he would be received on the same footing as before. He understands the hint, but has not sufficient steadiness to undeceive her Ladyship respecting his intentions.

The theatrical party now advances from their dressed rehearsal. In the midst of this motley groupe, there was one figure who stood receiving and expecting universal homage; she was dressed as the Fair Penitent, but her affected vivacity of gesture and of countenance was in striking contrast to her tragic attire. Vivian could hardly forbear smiling at the manner in which she listened and talked to the gentlemen around her: now languishing, now coquetting, rolling her eyes, and throwing herself into a succession of studied attitudes, dealing repartee to this side and to that; and in short, making the greatest possible exhibition both of her person and her mind-Such was Rosamunda.

Vivian is informed now by Lord Glistonbury of the principle on which she is to instruct Lady Julia. I never mind names,' says his Lordship, but things, as the metaphysicians say, distinguish between essentials and accidents-sound philosophy, that! hey? and, thank Heaven, a gentleman or a nobleman need not apologize in these days for talking of philosophy before ladies!"

He is soon after introduced to Lady Julia, and was struck with the great change and improvement in her appearance. Instead of the childish girl he had formerly seen flying about, full only of the frolic of the present moment, he sees her now a fine graceful woman, with a striking countenance, indicating both genius and sensibility. She received Vivian so courteously, and with such ingenuous pleasure in her countenance, that he began to rejoice in having accepted the invitation to Glistonbury: at the same instant he recollected a look which his mother had given him before, when he first saw Lady Julia on the terrace of the Castle. This determines him, and commences a new æra; for Lord Glistonbury calling upon Lady Julia to repeat a speech from the Fair Penitent, about which she and her brother, Lord Lidhurst, had heen arguing, she shewed a slight degree of unaffected timidity at first; but when he bid her let him see no vulgar bashfulness, she obeyed, recited charmingly, and when urged by a little opposition from her brother, grew warm in defence of her own opinion; displayed in its support such sensibility, with such a flow of eloquence, accompanied with such animated and graceful, yet natural gesture, that he became astonished at such an early developement of feeling and intellect; nay, such was the enchantment of her eloquence and beauty, that after a quarter of an hour spent in her company, he did not know whether to wish that she had more sedateness and reserve, or to rejoice that she was so animated and natural.

Russel, who he still finds here as tutor to the young Lidhurst, endeavours to check him in his new passion for Julia, but in vain; he even endeavours to convince him that Miss Sidney is the person most likely to make him happy; but Vivian is piqued by the opposition, and is more confirmed in his purposes. The circumstances of the family, the reserve of Lady Glistonbury and her eldest daughter, and the new philosophy of Rosamunda, all tend to strengthen his passion; but as all his attention was now fixed upon Lady Julia, he observed with satisfaction, that notwithstanding her governess's example and excitement, Lady Julia did not show any exorbitant desire for general admiration, and that her manners were free from coquetry and affectation. Nay, she seemed rather to disdain the flattery, and to avoid both the homage and the company of the men who were her inferiors in mental qua lifications, and to address her conversation principally to Vivian and Russel. And now, her being capable at so juvenile an æra of appreciating Russel's character and talents; of preferring his solid sense and plain sincerity to all the brilliancy and all the fashion, nay even all the gallantry of all the men whom her father had here collected round her; all these appeared to him as unequivocal proofs not only of the superiority of her understanding,

but also of the innate sweetness of her disposition. She appeared to him, indeed, a new character, for she seemed to pay a deference to his friend's opinion, and seemed to listen with readiness to reason-from him!

A fancy ball was now to be given. Rosamunda claimed, and was allowed, the sole management and direction of it. Anxious only to display herself, she was long uncertain whether to adopt the character of Circe or Sigismunda; but Lady Julia having given Vivian a hint, that as she could not assume but one, the other would fall to her lot, though very unwilling to appear in the former character, he, by some well-timed flattery induced the heroine gouvernante to fix upon Circe. But a new difficulty arose; Lord Lidhurst, who was to have been the Tancred, was too ill to appear; when Vivian eagerly seized the opportunity of claiming that character, On the evening of the ball, however, Julia excused herself; did not appear, but staid in her brother's sick chamber, and Vivian was obliged to dance all the evening with her apparently petrified sister, Lady Sarah.

No sooner was the ball at an end, than Vivian seized an opportunity of declaring his passion for Lady Julia, to her father. His Lordship was highly pleased, and the next day took an occasion of stating the proposal to his daughter, by asking her to walk on the terrace. After some conversation they parted; when the impatient Vivian joined her Ladyship, who, without permitting him to address her, immediately said, with the calm philosophy of the new school, though with most enchanting animation:

Perhaps, Mr. Vivian, I ought at this instant to pretend to be ignorant of the honour you have done me; and perhaps, I ought to wait in form, and affect pretty surprize, at hearing from you what I have just learned from my father. But I am little skilled in coquetry; I disdain all female affectation, though I trust I am not deficient in maidenly modesty, when that is not incompatible with what I deem a higher virtue, sincerity. Now and ever, frankness is, and ever shall be only policy.-My heart is no longer in my power to bestow. It is, young as I am, I dare to pronounce the words, irrevokably fixed upon one who will do honour to my choice.' After some other philosophical explanations of her passion, at the same time without mentioning the object of it, she concluded with saying:- I request that you will not only keep secret all that I have said to you, but that if accident, or your own penetration, should hereafter discover to you the object of my affection, you will refrain from making any use of that discovery to my disadvantage.'

After some further conversation, Lady Julia was sent for, and Vivian was immediately after beset successively by three civil gentlemen, hangers on of the Earl, a chaplain, a lawyer, and a