to be rather angry at the manner of it; and thought that this frolicsome style of wooing, evinced very little consideration for her feelings, and showed that, provided he was secure from the possibility of being interrupted in what he said, he little cared how publicly it was made.

Lord Midhurst was also displeased, partly with Agnes, for having rejected him, partly with himself. He now found that the scheme by which he thought to have so cleverly secured an uninterrupted tête-à-tête had placed him in rather an awkward situation. It was a measure, planned in the ardour of confidence, and was calculated only for successful warfare, as it afforded no means for an unobserved and honourable retreat. To have rowed the lady triumphantly to shore, blushing acknowledgements of his power over her captive heart, or even coyly entreating to be allowed time to reflect upon his offer, would have been pleasant enough; while, as he homeward plied his sculls, he might have still enforced his suit, or discussed the arrangements for their happy union. But he had never calculated upon the absolute rejection which he had received; and now, to have taken so much trouble for worse than nothing, to have schemed only for the publication of his own defeat, and to be authoritatively told by the somewhat indignant lady, to convey her instantly back again, all this was very mortifying. He had received the just punishment of his overweening confidence; and we doubt not that a galley slave may often have tugged at his oar with less uncomfortable feelings, than were those of Lord Midhurst during their short passage to the opposite bank.

As they ap

But the worst was yet to come. proached the side, three gentlemen, who had been, till that instant, concealed from their view by the shrubs, walked up to assist at the disembarkation. They were Lord Malvern, Huntley, and Lacy, the

person of all others, whose observation both Lord Midhurst and Agnes would have most wished at that moment to avoid. Lacy had felt some surprise and a considerable degree of jealous uneasiness, at seeing her on the water accompanied only by Lord Midhurst. It was a pointed mark of intimacy, which made him sensible, for the moment, how great a pang her marriage would cost him. He, however, struggled against any betrayal of his feelings, and stepping cheerfully on before the others, was foremost with the offer of his hand to help Miss Morton out of the boat. Then he could not but notice her constrained air, her flushed cheek, and the nervous tremour of her hand. Thence it was plain, that the interview had been of an agitating nature. He could gain no immediate intelligence from his observation of Lord Midhurst, who was busying himself, with extraordinary earnestness, in securing the boat at its moorings, and examining the bottom inside and out, as if he thought he had discovered a leak.

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"A neat little boat this," were his first words, spoken in a tone that was not perfectly easy, and without looking any one in the face. "I have just been rowing Miss Morton to that part of the lake where the house looks so well."

Lacy's eye turned towards Agnes at this moment, to see how far she acquiesced in this explanation of their proceedings. He gathered only its refutation from her indignant glance, and the words, "You were very obliging," scornfully uttered in a low tone; for Agnes, though anxious to escape observation, did not choose to become an accessary to the equivocation of Lord Midhurst's remark.

Lord Midhurst, who had now no longer any pretence for busying himself about the boat, and was obliged to stand erect, and look about him, could not help seeming vexed and embarrassed. Hence Lacy, on whom no indications were lost,

plainly inferred that if a proposal had been made, it had not been favourably received by Agnes. The same thoughts appeared to be passing in the minds of Lord Malvern and Huntley, for as the eyes of each met those of Lacy, there was in them a look of consciousness and intelligence, which confirmed each in his opinion. These looks were not unobserved by Agnes and Lord Midhurst, and added considerably to their uneasiness. The latter, evidently ill at ease, sauntered behind, and presently turned away in a different direction to that which the party were pursuing, leaving Agnes to be escorted home by the other gentlemen, She exerted herself to talk; but the exertion was evident, and Lacy perceived that she conversed because she felt herself called upon to say something, and not because it gave her any pleasure. The gentlemen, however curious, politely abstained from all attempt to extort an explanation of what had passed; and a little sober converse about the scenery of Huntley and other places, was all that ensued du ring their walk to the house.

CHAPTER IX.

It was the time when Ouse display'd,
His lilies newly blown;

Their beauties I intent surveyed,

And one I wish'd my own.

COWPER.

It soon became known to all at Huntley, that Lord Midhurst had made an unsuccessful proposal to Miss Morton. Agnes very naturally told her sister what had passed, and Lady Malvern, though angry with her for having refused so good an offer, yet as the mischief was done, wisely determined to make the best of it. She was too proud of her sister's having had so rich a prize within her grasp, not to whisper it as a profound secret, to those discreet and trusty matrons, Lady Appleby and Mrs. Poole; and they, as was expected, soon divulged it, under a similar pledge, to others. Lord Midhurst also chose to be the herald of his own disgrace. Secresy did not enter into the composition of his character, and he could not refrain from imparting his griefs to his friend Luscombe. Luscombe was very properly shocked and surprised at the unaccountable folly of the young lady: but at last suggested, with a view to sooth his companion's wounded vanity, that she might have been engaged to somebody else. Lord Midhurst approved of the idea, and regretted that he had not thought, at the time, of asking her that question.

Lacy owed his information principally to Lord Malvern, with whom he had some conversation on

the subject, on the following morning. Lord Malvern was a sensible man, now about eight and twenty. He was grave, quiet, shy, and not a person who brought himself forward, or could excite much attention in any large party. He had the character of being proud, a character often given to reserved persons, and often, as in the present case, unjustly. Far from being proud, he was only too diffident; and far from asserting his rank, he shrunk from attentions which he always feared were paid rather to his situation than to himself. He liked Lacy, who had the happy art of adapting himself equally to the society of the grave and gay; and Lacy, who was fond of discoveries, liked him because he found in him more talent than he had expected. Lord Malvern, who thought that Lacy would be a very good match for his sisterin-law, and who was not without some idea of promoting it, told him, in confidence, a good deal of what he had gathered from his lady. He also added several encomiums of Agnes, and mentioned traits of character, which tended to raise her still higher in Lacy's estimation, and coincided very agreeably with those favourable impressions which he was now so ready to entertain. Lord Malvern

did not seem to regret her rejection of Lord Midhurst, but rather rejoiced at her superiority to all ambitious or mercenary views, and doubted not that her great merits would eventually ensure her as good a match.

Lord Midhurst took his leave on the day after his rejection. It was not to be expected, with his good spirits and easy temper, that he should exhibit much of the appearance of a disconsolate lover. Nobody, therefore, was much surprised, at seeing how easily he recovered his gaiety. Partly from natural inclination, and partly from the wish of showing Agnes how little he minded her treatment of him, he talked and laughed quite as