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Desired conversion of Sir Charles.

The conditions

"Ay, do you proceed," said the marchioness to the prelate.
"It would be to no purpose, chevalier," questioned the
bishop, "to urge to you the topic so near to all our hearts?"
I bowed assent to what he said.

"I am sorry for it," replied the bishop.
"I am very sorry for it," said the count.

This referred, of course, to his own change of religion, and they all beset him again to shake his purpose.

"You have the example of great princes, chevalier," said Father Marescotti, "Henry the Fourth of France, Augustus of Poland-"

"True, father. But great princes are not always, and in every action of their lives, great men."

And so on, and so on, at great length, but they were already fully decided to surrender the point of Sir Charles's conversion to the Roman Catholic faith, on condition that he should never, by himself, or his English divines, attempt to pervert her; should allow her a con

of the marriage. fessor, that confessor Father Marescotti, their residence to be in England after the first year, which his sisters should pass with them in Italy. The long conversation settled everything in detail, the education of the children, daughters allowed to be Roman Catholics, sons to adhere to the faith of their father.

"All we have now to do," said the marquis, "is to gain his holiness's permission [the pope]. That has not been refused in such cases, where either the sons or the daughters of the marriage are to be brought up Catholics."

Such was the news in the three letters which Sir Charles sent off to Dr. Bartlett. He closes thus:

To-morrow I am to drink chocolate with Lady Clementina. We shall be left together perhaps, or only with her mother and Camilla.

A long interval had to elapse before the waiting circle. heard further news; it came thus:

SIR CHARLES GRANDISON TO DR. BARTLETT.

Bologna, Saturday ev'g.

news.

I sit down now, my dear and reverend friend, to write you Surprising particulars which will surprise you. There is not on earth a nobler woman than Clementina! What at last-But I find I must have a quieter heart, and fingers, too, before I can proceed.

He resumes later :

I think I am a little less agitated than I was. The above few lines shall go, for they will express to you the emotions of my mind when I attempted to write an account of what had then so newly passed.

What had newly passed was that Clementina, in the interview accorded, after showing great agitation at his addresses and the warmth of them, retired to a closet, putting a paper in his hand as she left him.

Clementina's

This paper revealed her absolute determination never to unite herself to a heretic, even if it were the beloved resolve. of her heart. Here is a part of it (translated by Dr. Bartlett):

"My tutor, my brother, my friend! oh, most beloved and best of men! Seek me not in marriage! I am unworthy of thee. Thy SOUL was ever most dear to Clementina. Whenever I meditated the gracefulness of thy person I restrained my eye, I checked my fancy; and how? Why, by meditating on the superior graces of thy mind. And is not that soul to be saved? thought I. Dear, obstinate, and perverse! And shall I bind my soul to a soul allied to perdition? That so dearly loves that soul, as hardly to wish to be separated from it in its future lot. Oh, thou most amiable of men, how can I be sure that were I thine, thou wouldst not draw me after thee by love, by sweetness of manners, by condescending goodness? I, who once thought a heretic the worst of beings, have been already led, by the amiableness of thy piety, to think more favorably of all heretics for thy sake!

"But dost thou indeed love me? Or is it owing to thy gener

Her determina

osity, thy compassion, thy nobleness for a creature, who, aiming to be great like thee, could not sustain the effort? It is in thy power to hold me fast or to set me free. I know thou lovest Clementina; it is her pride to think that thou dost. But she is not worthy of thee. Yet let thy heart own that thou lovest her soul. Thou art all magnanimity; thou canst sustain the effort which she was unequal to. Make some other woman happy! But I cannot bear that it shall be an Italian. My brain wounded, my health impaired, can I expect a long life? And shall I not endeavor to make the close of it happy? Let me be great, my chevalier!"

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Every effort to change this determination was vain, and tion irrevocable. after repeated efforts and a (really) touching final interview with Clementina, Sir Charles departed for England.

Grandmamma Shirley sees a ghost.

On Tuesday, September 5th, Lady G. writes:

Congratulate us, my dearest Miss Byron, on the arrival of my brother. He came last night. It was late, and he sent to us this morning, and to others of his friends. My lord and I hurried away to breakfast with him. Ah, my dear! we see too plainly that he has been very much disturbed in mind. He looks more wan, and is thinner than he was; but he is the same kind brother, friend, and good man.

And next from Selby House, Wednesday, September 20th, comes this from Harriet :

MY DEAREST LADY G.: Do you know what is become of your brother? My grandmamma Shirley has seen his ghost, and talked with it near an hour; and then it vanished. Be not surprised, my dear creature. I am still in amaze at the account my grandmamma gives us of its appearance, discourse, and vanishing! Nor was the dear parent in a reverie. It happened in the middle of the afternoon, all in broad day.

Thus she tells it: "I was sitting," said she, "in my own drawing-room, yesterday, by myself, when in came James, to whom it first appeared, and told me that a gentleman desired to be introduced to me. I was reading 'Sherlock upon Death' with that cheerfulness with which I always meditate the subject. I gave orders for his admittance; and in came, to appearance, one of the handsomest men I ever saw in my life, in a riding dress. It was a courteous ghost; it saluted me, or

at least I thought it did; for it answering to the description that you, my Harriet, had given me of that amiable man, I was surprised. But contrary to the manner of ghosts, it spoke first. 'Venerable lady,' it called me, and said its name was Grandison, in a voice so like what I had heard you speak of his that I had no doubt but it was Sir Charles Grandison himself, and was ready to fall down to welcome him."

vanishes.

The ghost left a great packet of letters for Harriet, The ghost refused refreshments, desired in a courtly manner an answer to what it had discoursed upon, made a profound reverence, and vanished.

So now, through the length of two more volumes, everything flows smoothly, but not rapidly. Sir Charles's advances are made by parallels, beginning with the excellent grandparent. When he approaches the citadel, it is with caution and great delicacy. This delicacy arose from the doubt whether Miss Byron would be willing, or should be permitted, to condone the previous preoccupation of his heart with another lady. And Harriet does not surrender without endless punctilio and reticence. He took her hand and was bowing upon it at page 65; on page 81 the real offer of marriage begins, The offer of and extends to page 89, during which space he talks steadily but well. At this first pause she writes:

Not well before, I was more than once in apprehension of fainting, as he talked, agreeable as was his talk, and engaging as was his manner. My grandmamma and aunt saw my complexion change (they had been silent throughout) at his particular address to me in the last part of his speech. I held my handkerchief now to my eyes, and now as a cover to myselffelt varying cheek.

In the most respectful and graceful manner he pressed a hand of each with his lips; mine twice. I could not speak. My grandmamma and aunt, delighted, yet tears standing in their eyes, looked upon each other, and upon me; each as expecting the other to speak. But he was ready to continue: "I have, perhaps," said he with some emotion, "taken up too

marriage.

The offer accepted.

The glorious wedding.

much of Miss Byron's attention in this my first personal declaration. I will now return to the company. We will for this evening postpone the important subject."

At last, later on, the “man of men gave Miss Byron an opportunity to accept him. He then, on one knee, taking her passive hand between both his, and kissing it once, twice, thrice-"Repeat, dear and ever dear Miss Byron," and so on, and she took out her handkerchief. Endless delays, before she could be persuade to fix the day.

"Why hesitates my love?"

"Do you think six weeks-"

"Six ages, my dearest, dearest creature! Six weeks! For heaven's sake, madam-"

He looked, he spoke impatience.

On his leaving me to return to company below he presented me with four little boxes. 'Accept, my beloved Miss Byron,"

said he, "of these trifles."

"Very handsome jewels" they proved to be.

The rest of the sixth volume is occupied with accounts infinitely detailed of the glorious wedding, all in letters to Lady G., who was unavoidably absent. The seventh volume describes the happiness of Sir Charles and Lady Grandison, and a visit they received from Clementina and all the Porrettas. But the book really ends with the wedding.

Joy, joy, joy, was wished the happy pair from every mouth. "See, my dear young ladies," said the happy and instructing Mrs. Shirley, "the reward of duty, virtue, and obedience."

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Life and Correspondence of Samuel Richardson. Mrs. Barbauld.

Mrs. Barbauld's Life in "English Poetesses," by Eric S. Robertson, M. A.

Richardson's Complete Works (any edition).

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