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 EDINBURGH: Printed by BALFOUR & JACK, Niddry Street.
 
 TO 
 
 HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 IN VENTURING TO WRITE ON THE SUBJECT 
 
 OF 
 
 FEMALE EDUCATION AND CHARACTER, 
 IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO POINT OUT A MORE EXALTED MODEL, 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 IMITATION AND ATTACHMENT OF HER SUBJECTS, 
 THAN THE SOVEREIGN 
 
 TO WHOM THESE PAGES 
 
 ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY HER MOST FAITHFUL AND MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 CATHERINE SINCLAIR.
 
 THIS volume was revised and corrected by a vene- 
 rated parent, now no more. His opinion was as 
 much against books being published without the 
 author's name as against anonymous letters, and he 
 frequently expressed his desire, which was repeated 
 in his last sickness, that none of his family should 
 ever publish anonymously. It is in compliance 
 with his injunction that the author has ventured to 
 acknowledge her work, and to prefix to these pages 
 a name, which must have been entirely insignifi- 
 cant and unknown but for its connexion with her 
 distinguished and lamented father, SIR JOHN 
 SINCLAIR. 
 
 133, GEORGE STREET.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 VARIOUS editions of this work, both in England and 
 America, having been rapidly sold off within a very 
 short period, the authoress trusts she does not presume 
 too much on public favour by producing another ; and 
 having carefully revised and corrected it, she takes this 
 opportunity to announce, that, in compliance with very 
 frequent suggestions, she has brought forward a conclud- 
 ing volume, which may be read either separately or in 
 connexion with the present story. 
 
 An opinion having been occasionally entertained that 
 the characters sustained in this narrative were not always 
 fictitious, the author feels it necessary to say, that no 
 inducement could have justified, in her own estimation, 
 the drawing of a single portrait. Where accidental co- 
 incidences of name occur, they would have been carefully 
 avoided, had any thing personal been contemplated, and 
 whatever resemblances have been imagined must result 
 entirely from accident, her sole aim having been to re- 
 present classes of persons, whose trifling errors might, 
 she hoped, be made obvious to themselves, under the 
 disguise of an imaginary narrative, and thus Christians 
 may be led more circumspectly to watch, as those who
 
 must give an account, what is likely to be the effect of 
 their example and conversation. 
 
 Nothing can he more injurious to a good cause than 
 an indiscreet partisan ; and all men are eager to repress, 
 if possible, or to disown his officious zeal. With the 
 best intention, such a person excites prejudice against 
 the very individuals whom he is desirous to extol, and 
 testifies his attachment for them in the manner most 
 offensive to their taste, and injurious to their interests. 
 Religion, more especially, has been exposed, without 
 defence, to injury, from well-meaning but imprudent 
 and intrusive friends. In the eye of indiscriminating 
 Christians, any strong profession of attachment to Chris- 
 tianity sheds a sacred halo around the character, which 
 deprives them of courage to appreciate it by the ordi- 
 nary standard. This readiness to acquiesce in hasty 
 and unfounded pretensions has been the source of incal- 
 culable mischief; because the careless multitude are 
 misled into forming their estimate of Christian excel- 
 lence from the perverted judgment and glaring indiscre- 
 tion of a few confident professors ; and faults of natural 
 character, on a hasty view, seem identified with those 
 holy principles, which, if rightly understood, would in- 
 fallibly correct them. 
 
 In the following pages, actual hypocrisy is not the 
 subject treated of, because that odious vice has already 
 been held up sufficiently to contempt. It is intended 
 rather to separate the essentials of religious conduct 
 from its excrescences to distinguish feeling from ima-
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 gination to contrast the hypochondriacal fanaticism of 
 a disordered fancy with the purifying influence of an 
 enlightened faith to show how frequently well-inten- 
 tioned persons " know not what manner of spirit they 
 are of" how the Christian temper maybe substantially 
 contravened, while its dictates are professedly obeyed 
 and how the language of Scripture may be perversely 
 mis-quoted to support a line of conduct, which its benign 
 and gentle principles uniformly condemns. 
 
 An endeavour has also been made to illustrate the 
 pernicious consequences of an undue prominence in edu- 
 cation given to ornamental above useful acquirements, 
 when both, proportionably to their relative importance, 
 might be combined in the same system. Even in the 
 present life, all the glitter of brilliant accomplishments 
 will be but a poor compensation for the misery of ill- 
 regulated feelings, and of incapacity for mental exercise. 
 To provide resources of constant happiness within, is 
 incomparably more important than to derive a transient 
 and occasional gratification from exciting external ap- 
 plause. 
 
 Many good and worthy persons have objected to the 
 elucidation of evangelical truth by fictitious narrative. 
 They forget that if the Christian character could thus 
 be represented as it is described in Scripture, rather 
 than, as unhappily, it is too frequently exhibited in the 
 world, much prejudice and opposition might be pre- 
 vented. The mild, the persuasive, the dignified de- 
 meanor inculcated and inspired by the grace of God
 
 would be more readily appreciated ; while the austerity 
 of disposition, the aversion to control, the proneness 
 to interference, the affected language, the discontent, 
 the self-complacency, and positiveness, which so fre- 
 quently assume the holy name of religion, heing dis- 
 countenanced as they deserve, would impede no longer 
 that all-important cause which they are professedly 
 eager to advance. Nor let it be forgotten that our 
 Divine Teacher himself has sanctioned, by his use of 
 parables, the employment of imaginary histories to illus- 
 trate and enforce religious duty. 
 
 Nothing places abstract truth more vividly before the 
 mind than to see it represented acting and conversing 
 in real life. No doubt higher honour may be acquired, 
 and more extensive benefit conferred, in the graver and 
 more serious departments of composition ; yet, to attain 
 some degree of usefulness by the humblest work of fic- 
 tion, must be ranked among the objects of legitimate 
 ambition, however faint and unfounded may be the hope 
 of success.
 
 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 And e'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, 
 The heart distrusting, asks if this be joy. 
 
 GOLDSMITH. 
 
 XKVER were two ladies more fitted to adorn the 
 fashionable world in Edinburgh, than Lady Fitz Patrick 
 and Lady Howard, who both usually came, with their 
 families, in November, to spend a part of the winter at 
 their town residences in Moray Place and Charlotte 
 Square. Every body knew them, and they knew every 
 body; their equipages, their jewels, their houses, and 
 their establishments, were beyond the possibility of com- 
 petition or criticism ; and if each person's happiness were 
 really to be measured by the opinion and report of others, 
 we need only repeat what was daily remarked in every 
 boudoir and drawing-room where their names were men- 
 tioned, that nothing could be more fortunate or more 
 enviable than they both were, as they appeared to have
 
 2 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 taken out a patent for avoiding all the ordinary vexa- 
 tions and discomfitures of life. These ladies w ere sisters, 
 and their chief object in coming to Edinburgh, when our 
 story begins, was to give a last polish to the education 
 of their two eldest daughters, who were now at an age 
 to require what is emphatically termed a finishing; few 
 mothers being of opinion with the good divine, who re- 
 marks that the education of man can never be finished 
 during the present state of existence. The boys of both 
 families were scattered all over England at various pub- 
 lic and preparatory schools, whence they only returned 
 to riot during the holidays at home; but Eleanor Fitz- 
 Patrick and Matilda Howard having both recently 
 attained the age of sixteen, were now far advanced in 
 education, according to the views which were enter- 
 tained on the subject by their respective mothers, whose 
 methods and ideas, however, were as widely at variance 
 on the management of children, as on every other sub- 
 ject where fashion had established no certain and des- 
 potic law. 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick had once been the most celebrated 
 beauty of her day, and having preserved her sylph-like 
 figure and bright hazel eyes, lighted up with the assist- 
 ance of rouge, she still maintained an opinion, that to 
 feel young was the same as to be young; therefore her 
 costume was as juvenile as ever. She disdained the use 
 of caps or turbans, but wore her dark hair dressed with 
 jewels, and piqued herself upon leading the " best dressed 
 life" in the world of fashion, where existence itself seemed 
 to her a joyous carnival of continued and uninterrupted 
 festivity. Her whole time and thoughts were engrossed 
 in preparing to receive visitors, and in attracting admi- 
 ration when they came. She was all fascination for 
 strangers, but unfortunately the more nearly people
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 3 
 
 were connected with her, the less she cared for their 
 good opinion. her heart might be compared to a well- 
 frequented hotel, where the last comers were always the 
 most welcome, her conversation, her music, her dress, 
 and her smiles, were all put on, like her diamonds, for 
 public display; but when her husband or family wished 
 to share in private, what was so lavishly bestowed on 
 every one else, she complained of being languid, ner- 
 vous, indisposed, or any thing that gave her an excuse 
 for being indolent and ennuyee. In short, this lady was, 
 as she wished to be, the idol of all her mere general ac- 
 quaintances, who remarked with astonishment and dis- 
 approbation how carelessly Sir Richard listened to their 
 rapturous praises of her lively and captivating manners, 
 and how immediately he turned off the subject when the 
 grace and vivacity of his wife became, as it frequently 
 did, the topic of an unqualified panegyric. Sir Richard 
 Fitz -Patrick was an easy, indolent man, fond of good 
 eating and luxurious living, who often found his own 
 table in such a racket of confusion, or else so delivered 
 up to dulness, that he dined frequently at the club when 
 he could escape from home; and his children only saw 
 their mother when they were fantastically dressed in the 
 evening, in order to display their various accomplish- 
 ments, like so many little fantoccini, for the amusement 
 of the company. 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick's house was the surest avenue to 
 good society in Edinburgh, and whatever individual was 
 introduced by her, might be as certain of rapid circula- 
 tion as a new shilling out of the mint. Her house was 
 lighted up for company twice every week, and no one 
 else presumed to be " at home" on the nights when her 
 parties took place. She was lady patroness of every pub- 
 lic ball that was given during the season, she could fill
 
 4- MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 the theatre on a day's notice with a numerous and 
 fashionable audience, and her table was covered every 
 morning, like a snow-storm, with cards and invita- 
 tions, so that she often laughingly threatened to give 
 up residing in Edinburgh, to avoid the trouble of answer- 
 ing notes, or else to appoint a secretary of her own for 
 the home department. Such a brilliant and successful 
 career as we have described was the envy and admira- 
 tion of all competitors ; and though her own heart, which 
 had naturally been endowed with sensibility, did occa- 
 sionally feel some misgivings, whether the blaze of out- 
 ward prosperity were a sufficient substitute for that in- 
 ward peace which the world takes away, but never can 
 bestow, she soon stifled these unwelcome emotions, and 
 succeeded in persuading herself, that the first object in 
 life for herself, and for her lovely daughter, was to gain 
 applause and admiration from the surrounding world. 
 
 In Eleanor Fitz-Patrick's education, her mother did 
 as she would have been done by, carefully teaching every 
 accomplishment that could tend to embellish her man- 
 ner, or to increase her fascinations. She was trained 
 exclusively for the drawing-room, and it was her conduct 
 and appearance there which alone seemed of importance 
 to Lady Fitz- Patrick, who was in a constant fidget to 
 exhibit her, and who kept a list, as long as a newspaper, 
 of her delinquency, in appearance or address, for which 
 she required to be corrected. The care of Eleanor's 
 morals and religion was committed to the governess, 
 with a careless remark, that these things were quite out 
 of her own line, and as for any management of the mind 
 and temper, that was quite too much for her to attempt; 
 but as Eleanor had naturally great animal spirits, it be- 
 came the delight of her mother to encourage every indi- 
 cation of vivacity. All her childish Ion mots were
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. > 
 
 treasured up, and repeated to each successive visitor, in 
 Eleanor's presence, and even when she did not overhear 
 the exact purport of the communication, every one is 
 gifted with a natural tact, which reveals at once when 
 we are ourselves the subject of conversation, hy which 
 she discovered who was heroine of the tale. However 
 pert her replies might have heen, to any stranger who 
 addressed her, they were generally hailed with a burst of 
 rapturous applause, and the inherent turn for mimicry 
 which seems natural to all children, was cultivated in 
 Eleanor by the most unbounded commendation. If Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick occasionally reproved her daughter for imi- 
 tating the voice or manners of her friends, it was in a 
 tone of affected remonstrance, but with a laugh in her 
 eye, which showed anything rather than disapprobation, 
 and the little mimic was often desired, a minute after- 
 wards, to show how Sir Colin Fletcher walked, or Lady 
 Evans shook her head. The capricious preferences and 
 aversions which Eleanor expressed towards people, were 
 also made a subject of grave discussion, and actual im- 
 portance, how she had taken a strange unaccountable 
 antipathy to old Mrs Fortescue, and been most surpris- 
 ingly gracious to Lady Montague ; and the peculiarities 
 of her temper and conduct were watched as a matter of 
 diversion, but without the smallest idea of their being 
 corrected or improved. " Eleanor has an odd whim of 
 being very grave and pensive for the last few days," said 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick to her sister one day. " I have no 
 conception of the cause, but it rather becomes her for 
 variety ! You can scarcely imagine that her style of 
 features would suit the contemplative mood, but indeed 
 I can conceive no expression which would not look cap- 
 tivating in her faultless countenance." 
 
 Though Miss Fitz Patrick's governess had been very
 
 6 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 frequently changed, her mother was always fortunate 
 enough to secure one who had educated a certain num- 
 ber of accomplished Lady Carolines and Lady Sophias; 
 and as most of these pupils had since been brilliantly 
 established in life, " that was the best criterion," she re- 
 marked, " of the young ladies having been properly 
 brought up." In Eleanor's dress there was generally 
 something singular and fantastic, which claimed obser- 
 vation, and seemed to point her out, from her earliest 
 infancy, as an object of notice, and Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 had been always in the habit of boasting how constantly 
 her nurse had formerly been stopped in the street, and 
 asked, " whose charming child she was." The peculiar 
 cut of her bonnet might often have claimed some part 
 of the merit, but Eleanor Fitz-Patrick was indeed an 
 eminently beautiful girl. The regular contour of her 
 features, the transparent whiteness of her skin, the sunny 
 smile upon her face, and the laughing brightness of her 
 hazel eyes, gave a dazzling brilliancy and intelligence to 
 her countenance, which it was impossible to look at with- 
 out admiration. There was a murmur of applause when- 
 ever she entered her mother's drawing-room, which the 
 lovely object of it but too soon learned to interpret aright ; 
 and in case its import might have escaped attention, her 
 delighted mother generally entertained the maid, when 
 she superintended her daughter's evening toilette, with 
 anecdotes of the admiration which "those beautiful 
 ringlets" had excited, and how her foot had been com- 
 pared to a Chinese lady's, it was so " ridiculously 
 small." 
 
 " There is no advantage in concealing from a girl that 
 she is handsome," was a frequent remark of Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick in her most sensible tone ; " she soon finds 
 abundance of people to tell her so, and will become more
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 7 
 
 indifferent from being accustomed to consider herself an 
 acknowledged beauty. We always see that persons who 
 are born to high rank think less of it than those who are 
 promoted late in life; and I am convinced the same rule 
 will hold good with respect to admiration also : Eleanor 
 is born to it, and the sooner she is aware of her birth- 
 right the better !" 
 
 Her ladyship forgot, however, to guard the informa- 
 tion she so liberally afforded, with such an appearance of 
 indifference as might have fortified her daughter's mind 
 against over-estimating the gifts of nature; and when the 
 lovely Eleanor perceived that nothing distressed her mo- 
 ther so much as the most transient blemish in her looks, 
 she soon learned the too easy lesson of considering her 
 personal appearance as the most important object in 
 life, and would have shut herself up for a week, rather 
 than be seen under the slightest eclipse of her usual 
 brilliancy. 
 
 If Lady Fitz-Patrick led a life of busy idleness, labori- 
 ously, though often vainly, toiling after pleasure, which 
 has been so truly compared by the poet to quicksilver, for 
 it ' f still eludes us, but it glitters still," Lady Howard's 
 engagements were even more unrelaxed and incessant in 
 their exaction on her time and thoughts. She had never 
 been a beauty like her sister, and, therefore, thinking it 
 essential to become something wonderful in her own way, 
 she had early in life determined to be " prodigiously 
 clever." When a report first arose, many years before 
 the commencement of our story, that Sir Francis Howard 
 was to marry the blue-stocking Miss Neville, the rumour 
 was usually received with contemptuous incredulity ; and 
 after it had been at length duly confirmed, the gossiping 
 world in general declared, they never could cease to 
 wonder at so unsuitable a match; while many excellent
 
 8 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 people said (as they had remarked of a hundred mar- 
 riages before,) that " after this they could never be sur- 
 prised at any thing again I" Sir Francis Howard had 
 always been considered a mere horse-and-dog man, whose 
 studies were entirely confined to the Sporting Magazine 
 and the Racing Calendar, varied occasionally by a peep 
 at White's Farriery, when any of his horses were indis- 
 posed ; and the chief object of his attention, when he 
 opened a newspaper, was to know the state of the St 
 Leger, or to read of any extraordinary run that had taken 
 place with the Leicester or Yorkshire hounds; and what- 
 ever horses were to be sold at Tattersall's he carefully 
 traced their pedigree, and often proved some of them to 
 deserve a patent of nobility on account of their high 
 lineage. 
 
 Sir Francis Howard had been an English stranger for 
 the winter, when Miss Maria Neville made her debut in 
 Edinburgh, and he had admired her seat on horseback, 
 and her vivacity of look and manner, before the dreadful 
 truth became revealed to him, that she was "blue!" 
 His friends laughed at the discovery, and piqued him 
 into asserting that he liked her the better for it. They 
 tried to " show her up" on one occasion before him, and 
 asked her a number of unanswerable questions. " If 
 she knew what was written in the lost books of Livy ?" 
 " Whether Charles the Bald wore a wig ?" and " Who 
 commanded the left wing of the French at the battle of 
 Spurs?" Miss Neville had tact enough to encourage 
 the joke with liveliness and humour; Sir Francis pro- 
 tested that he admired spirit and intelligence ; his 
 friends laughed on, and at length laughed him into 
 marrying her. 
 
 Nobody could conjecture what number of languages 
 Lady Howard knew, and there was even a report that
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 9 
 
 she had been convicted of Greek and Latin. Her ac- 
 quaintance with literature became obvious every time 
 she spoke : for it was very seldom that Lady Howard 
 did not quote some book that no one else in the room 
 had ever either seen or heard of, so that she went for 
 some time under the sobriquet of " The Walking Li- 
 brary." She was a keen politician too, and constantly 
 received ''Private Letters from London," with all the 
 newest reports, which were " quite certain, and a great 
 secret." Once she had known a whole day before any 
 one at the club, that there would be a change of Minis- 
 try; find Sir Francis often lamented, on her account, 
 the want of a Petticoat Parliament, as she would have 
 been the greatest orator in it. Lady Howard's name was 
 in every book-club; she collected autographs and franks ; 
 composed a little volume of Sonnets on " Ruined 
 Towers," " Broken Lilies," and " Forget-me-nots :" 
 contributed to Blackwood's Magazine ; and once she ac- 
 tually perpetrated a pamphlet on the state of the nation, 
 which was handed about in confidence amongst a select 
 circle of friends, who pronounced it to be " well worthy 
 
 Of HER PEN." 
 
 Besides all this, Lady Howard patronized every body, 
 and Sir Francis often told her, that she saved their ac- 
 quaintances a perfect fortune in advertisements. If a 
 servant needed a place, if a friend wanted a house, 
 or a shop required customers, she was indefatigable, and 
 covered her chimney-piece with cards from singing- 
 masters who required scholars, and from decayed gentle- 
 women who washed lace. Her back drawing-room was 
 a perfect repository for the sale of paintings and pincush- 
 ions, to gain a livelihood for various deserving persons 
 in distress ; and it was reckoned quite a service of danger 
 to visit much at Lady Howard's, she had so many cha-
 
 10 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ritable traps set, to catch all the loose cash that might be 
 straying in her friends' pockets. Many who entered the 
 house with a firm resolution of being quite impregnable 
 to all assaults on their benevolence, found themselves re- 
 turning to their carriages afterwards most unaccountably 
 laden with " the sweetest little poem in the world by a 
 poor blind cobbler ;" or a pair of rickety hand-screens 
 that had been painted by an old woman in bed ; or 
 else a dozen of tickets for the raffle of some poor man's 
 watch, which was to be generously returned to him by 
 any one who had the good fortune to win it. Jf they 
 successively evaded all these temptations, then they gen- 
 erally found themselves pledged to employ, for the rest 
 of their lives, some distressed baker with a large family, 
 whose bread was not much sourer than other people's ; 
 or to be measured at some cheap shop for a pair of shoes 
 that it would be impossible ever to wear. 
 
 Sir Francis professed to be the only person who never 
 would listen to her recommendations, and he was often 
 known to insinuate, that she must certainly levy a per- 
 centage for the trouble she took. But his cellar and his 
 stable were both alike inaccessible to all her bargains, 
 and he sometimes laughed his friends completely out of 
 countenance when he saw them pinioned into a " cheap 
 coat," or suffering under a " treasure of a cook," war- 
 ranted and recommended by Lady Howard. 
 
 Her parties were of a perfectly different caste from 
 those of Lady Fitz- Patrick, though equally select and 
 exclusive in her own line. Any author who had ever 
 written, or was supposed to be writing, a book, was sure 
 to obtain a card; all artists who had pictures in the Ex- 
 hibition received invitations immediately ; advocates 
 who were too busy to attend parties in general ; travellers 
 who hail penetrated beyond the common orbit of Italy
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 11 
 
 and Switzerland ; professors of every science ; amateurs 
 in music, mathematics, or phrenology; young ladies who 
 could talk of taste and the fine arts ; and Members of 
 Parliament who had spoken in " the House," were all 
 assembled and mingled together at Lady Howard's " pe- 
 tites soirees." Sir Francis complained that it was almost 
 impossible to smuggle in any of his own friends, though 
 he protested that they were generally very illustrious 
 personages in their own departments ; gentlemen who 
 had bagged nearly a hundred brace of grouse in a single 
 day, or who had driven their own carriages so rapidly 
 as to outstrip the mail, or who could walk a mile in five 
 minutes; all put in their claims to be "lions," but 
 were very rarely admitted to pass muster, and only un- 
 der an embargo on their being ever asked again. In 
 short, nobody was ever half so busy or so clever in this 
 world before as Lady Howard ; and the labour of sup- 
 porting the character she assumed might have made her 
 an object of pity to the most worn-out actress. Night 
 and day she played her part, or occupied herself in pre- 
 paring for it. She kept up a correspondence that would 
 have wearied a secretary of state, and ran through so 
 many books, that it might have tired the eyes of Argus 
 to read them, or the hands of Briareus to turn the leaves 
 over. Her mind became like the bed of a river, where 
 every thing flowed through, and nothing remained. 
 History, reviews, pamphlets, magazines, poems, travels, 
 and biographies, were all strewed upon her table, waiting 
 to be read the first leisure moment, though frequently 
 she paid them off with the most transient glance, like 
 an insolvent debtor, who dismisses a host of creditors at 
 once, by paying a shilling in the pound. 
 
 When Lady Howard had got some degree in arrear 
 of her reading, she had an instinctive dread of the fre-
 
 12 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 quent opening question in a ^literary conversation, 
 ' f Have you read the last publication?" and she wished 
 at least to be able to reply in her usual tone of decided 
 criticism, " I began it, but the style did not please me ;" 
 or, " the little I had patience for seemed very hackneyed." 
 Occasionally she made some governess out of place mark 
 the most prominent passages of a new book, if she sud- 
 denly heard that the author himself was to appear at an 
 approaching party; and Sir Francis alleged that once 
 when a friend of her own had entrusted his manuscript 
 poem for perusal, which she entirely forgot till he sent 
 for the volume again, Lady Howard merely glanced 
 down the last word of every line, to see how they all 
 rhymed, and then wrote to him that she thought it "ex- 
 tremely harmonious." 
 
 Such a public-spirited individual as we have described 
 could scarcely be expected to squander much time upon 
 the care of her children's education, yet she was a pro- 
 digious amateur in the systems and theories by which 
 infants can be trained into prodigies on the shortest no- 
 tice. Lady Howard had already lost several of her 
 family, who were successively the wonders of their dav. 
 Each of them knew his letters at three years old. sung 
 and repeated hymns at four, spoke French at five, and 
 died at six, to the surprise and grief of their mother, 
 who lamented her hard fate, and talked much of the se- 
 verity of her afflictions ; but she learned no caution by 
 experience, and educated those who were spared with 
 unrelaxing vehemence. Sir Francis mournfully de- 
 clared that his children had been worked to death ; but 
 not being gifted with sufficient moral courage to insist 
 on his own prerogative of absolute interference, he vainly 
 attempted to convince Lady Howard of her error, and 
 finding she was impregnable to argument or entreaty,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 13 
 
 he contented himself with banishing his three remaining 
 sons to school, and resolutely determined on estranging 
 his affections from Matilda, whom he regarded as an 
 object of painful sympathy, beyond the reach of his as- 
 sistance, and therefore inevitably a victim, like the rest, 
 to excessive cultivation. Lady Howard's utmost in- 
 genuity was exercised in devising plans of study for her 
 daughter, each of which required to be tried under the 
 dynasty of a different governess, so that, by the time 
 Matilda Howard attained the age of sixteen, she had 
 been successively taught by eight, all of whom were 
 instructed in the last " method" that had been invented 
 for making young ladies accomplished on the newest 
 pattern ; and though each of these preceptresses brought 
 recommendations and testimonials, setting them forth 
 as models of perfection, yet six months afterwards, 
 Lady Howard invariably found out some fatal deficien- 
 cy, which put a premature end to their reign. Sir 
 Francis had been heard to insinuate what many people 
 believed, that the pleasure she had in providing them 
 with situations among her friends made Lady Howard 
 fastidious, and still more the gratification of writing to 
 her correspondent at Berne or Schauffhausen, for a de- 
 scription of all the remaining Mademoiselles, with un- 
 pronounceable names, still en pension in the neighbouring 
 convents, together with a catalogue of their various 
 acquirements, which were then emblazoned and discuss- 
 ed at the next committee on education amongst her 
 literary friends. 
 
 Matilda Howard's beauty was as brilliant, and her ta- 
 lents were no less promising, than those of her cousin, 
 Miss Fitz Patrick ; but Lady Howard had a theory so 
 decidedly against any girl being either seen or heard of 
 till she was ready to be finally launched, that on the few
 
 14 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 occasions when Matilda appeared with her governess 
 before visitors,, she was merely permitted to be present 
 as a quiet spectator, instead of acting, like Eleanor, in the 
 capacity of principal performer ; and in the quiet recesses 
 of her own school-room, she was governed ostensibly ac- 
 cording to the code of laws established by Lady Howard, 
 but in reality according to the whim or caprice of the 
 last new administration from Switzerland. 
 
 In the fashionable world few people knew, and the 
 few who knew seldom recollected, that Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 and Lady Howard had an elder sister, who considered 
 herself as much a leader, and a person of consequence 
 in her own particular " set," as themselves j and if pos- 
 sible, she found more to do than either of them. Miss 
 Barbara Neville, in her youth, had been always much 
 overlooked, owing to the superior brilliancy of her younger 
 sisters, and with the same love of excitement, she tried 
 to dress like Lady Fitz-Patrick, and to talk like Lady 
 Howard, but some how it never succeeded ; she was 
 neither gazed at nor listened to as they were, and the 
 case seemed beyond all remedy, till at length it was sud- 
 denly announced, as publicly and decidedly as if she 
 had been going to be married, that " Miss Barbara Ne- 
 ville had become serious !" From that moment she was 
 never seen or heard of again at Lady Fitz-Patrick's balls, 
 nor at Lady Howard conversaziones, though she hence- 
 forth mingled in a world of her own, and enjoyed a reat 
 deal of what Sir Francis called " religious dissipation." 
 There was always some clergyman, as infallible as the 
 pope, whose preaching it seemed necessary to her salva- 
 tion to attend, and this unfortunately never happened to 
 be the pastor of her own parish, who was merely a man 
 of sincere but unpretending piety : and, accordingly, 
 every Sunday a coachman and a pair of horses were de-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 15 
 
 nied that rest which is the privilege of every living crea- 
 ture on the Sabbath, and obliged to convey Miss Barbara 
 Neville to hear what she called " a sweet or a striking 
 discourse." If any church was open for an extra sermon, 
 before breakfast or after dinner, she preferred attending 
 a third or fourth service to the more retired and equally 
 essential duties of private prayer and meditation. At 
 every missionary meeting Miss Barbara Neville secured 
 a front seat, and would gladly have mounted on the plat- 
 form if her ascent had been allowed. At the General 
 Assembly she might have been mistaken for a ruling 
 elder, her attendance night and day was so incessant; and 
 in every company indiscriminately she was ready to talk 
 of her experience, as if she were the only Christian of 
 the party, having misconceived cant for religion, like 
 those who fancy that the rumbling of a cart is thunder. 
 Every new doctrine found an advocate in Miss Neville ; 
 and far from concluding that the most important topics 
 are always most fully and distinctly enforced in Scripture, 
 she generally seized on those which were obscure and 
 difficult, maintaining that they were the most essential, 
 so that a novice in controversy might have imagined 
 that a new volume of the Bible had been recently dis- 
 covered, from the zeal with which she propagated opinions 
 which had been unknown in former ages to the humble, 
 the teachable, the learned and the devout students, who, 
 praying for the light of God's own Spirit, and studying 
 His word, to receive the sense and not to give it, had 
 lived under the influence of its precepts, and died in the 
 believing anticipation of its promise and hopes. Miss 
 Barbara Neville had moreover struck out a particular 
 interpretation of prophecy for her own use, and was 
 supposed to be writing on it for the public benefit, as she 
 talked slightingly of Newton and Keith, whom she stig-
 
 16 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 raatised as persons of" narrow views," and she evidently 
 thought that, for her own part, she 
 
 " Could deep mysteries unriddle 
 More easily than thread a needle." 
 
 Her very dress was religious ; she wore a cottage bon- 
 net as long and round as a telescope, a sad-coloured 
 gown of some remarkably dingy hue, and an enormous 
 basket on her arm, which left the imagination of specta- 
 tors at fault to conjecture whether it contained provisions 
 or clothing for a whole family in distress. Sir Francis 
 used to complain that in church no one disturbed his 
 devotions so much as Barbara, for if the most ordinary 
 remark occurred, on the shortness or uncertainty of hu- 
 man life, she sighed as audibly as an old woman on the 
 pulpit stairs, and if the sinfulness of our nature was 
 alluded to, she shook her head till her long narrow bon- 
 net vibrated like the pendulum of a clock. 
 
 There was one subject of mortification which con- 
 stantly teazed and annoyed Miss Neville, beyond all 
 power of endurance. By no possible device could she 
 ever contrive to impress on either of her sisters that she 
 was a religious character. All the genuine Christians 
 among her connections or acquaintances were ready to 
 put a charitable construction on her " little foibles,'' and 
 anxious to believe her a true, though injudicious convert. 
 Those who resembled herself in their love of religious 
 novelties and discoveries held her up as a perfect saint, 
 and the world in general seldom take the trouble of dis- 
 criminating between real and artificial devotion, so that 
 they were perfectly satisfied to consider any one who 
 wore a poke bonnet without trimmings, and attended 
 missionary meetings, as fully entitled to rank amongst 
 the general class of Methodists. But Lady Fitz Patrick 
 and Lady Howard affected not to perceive any change
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 17 
 
 whatever in Miss Neville, which annoyed her more than 
 the severest persecution could have done ; in that she 
 might have gloried, but there was no glory whatever in 
 being addressed as a mere every-day mortal. 
 
 " Ah ! Barbara, how has the world treated you since 
 we met last ?" said Lady Howard, one day, carelessly 
 extending a finger to be shaken, when she called in 
 Moray Place. 
 
 " It matters little to one who is above the world, how 
 she is treated by its votaries," replied Miss Neville, 
 angrily glancing at the solitary finger; 
 
 " My dear Barbara ! you are no more above the world 
 than myself," said Lady Howard, laughing ; " we are 
 both alike steeped in its interests and concerns, though 
 in a different line ; and we are ready to make very con- 
 siderable sacrifices to obtain its good opinion. I can 
 tell what true religion is, though, like Lord Byron, 'just 
 skill'd to know the right, and choose the wrong.' Yours 
 is a mere Birmingham imitation, which one would be 
 ashamed to wear. I could fancy you very capable, if cir- 
 cumstances required it, of going to the stake as a martyr, 
 or of taking the veil, or building an hospital ! But to sit 
 soberly down in peaceful insignificance, and consistently 
 fulfil the simple duties of your own station, is a piece of 
 religious heroism that you are quite unequal to." 
 
 "You are an imcompetent judge of Christian duties, 
 being very little in the habit of studying them," replied 
 Miss Neville, indignantly. 
 
 " No, Barbara," said Lady Howard, with some emo- 
 tion ; " I can love and venerate in others, what I might 
 vainly wish to become myself ; and you know we have, 
 amongst ourselves, one bright example of the utmost per- 
 fection to which our nature can be brought. Were so- 
 ciety composed of such angelic minds as hers, it would
 
 18 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 be like heaven already upon the earth ; for if there be 
 any mortal in existence, that it were possible for MB to 
 envy, it is one whose very presence acts like the spear 
 of Ithuriel, in shewing me the deformity of every thing 
 worldly, and makes me often feel, in spite of myself, 
 that there may be a dignity and a blessedness of spirit 
 beyond any thing that you or I have ever known, and 
 which would be cheaply purchased at the sacrifice of all 
 I ever expect to enjoy." 
 
 The person to whom Lady Howard alluded would 
 have been the very last to appropriate these character- 
 istics. Connected by marriage with the various indivi- 
 duals whom we have already described, she was really 
 all that they wished to appear. Beauty, talents, and deep 
 unaffected piety, were united in the widow of Lady How- 
 ard's only brother ; and though no one could have told 
 the precise hour at which Lady Olivia Neville first be- 
 came religious, yet the earliest traditions of childhood 
 had marked her out as one in whom the graces of the 
 Christian character were beautifully developed. Sur- 
 rounded, as she had once been, by all that could have 
 served to gratify her vanity, or to engage her affections in 
 the world, she had gone on in the strait and narrow path 
 of duty and devotion, unbiassed by the allurements of the 
 present scene, though not insensible to its events. Like 
 the disciples of our Great Master, who plucked the ears 
 of corn as they passed along, but yet considered it their 
 main object to follow after Him, she kept her eye stead- 
 ily fixed upon that Saviour whom it was the continual 
 desire of her heart to imitate ; and without either court- 
 ing the applause of the world, or defying its censure, she 
 conciliated the regard of all who approached her, by the 
 gentleness of her address, and the frankness of her man- 
 ner, while she yet maintained the consistency and integrity
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 19 
 
 of her own conduct. It proceeded from no motive of 
 self-love, that Lady Olivia Neville had been wont to 
 seek the good-will of those who might be placed within 
 the sphere of her influence ; but love to God and to her 
 neighbour was the ruling principle of her conduct ; 
 and believing that there was no happiness for others but 
 where it had been found by herself, she almost felt like 
 the apostle that she could be all things to all men, so 
 that by any means she might win some. 
 
 Advancing years perfected, in the furnace of affliction, 
 that work of grace in the heart of Lady Olivia, which all 
 the adulation and prosperity of the world had scarcely 
 served to impede; and, after a succession of sorrows, which 
 she was only enabled to survive by the consciousness 
 that they came from the chastening hand of a Father, 
 who would not needlessly afflict her, she at length reaped 
 the benefit of that promise which is made to every suf- 
 ferer, " The righteous shall cry, and the Lord shall hear, 
 and deliver them out of all their troubles." JMany a day 
 of solitary mourning marked the progress of Lady Oli- 
 via's deep afflictions, but not one hour of murmuring or 
 discontent. Grief had withdrawn her from much inter- 
 course with the world, but she lived in it as a calm, 
 and sometimes even as a cheerful stranger, who desired 
 to diffuse the light of truth and happiness among all 
 who approached her, and to pour the balm of peace and 
 consolation into every heart that had bled like her own. 
 In the dark hour of anguish and sorrow, all afflicted 
 mourners felt the power of her mind, she had but to 
 take the hand of those who had been bereaved of what 
 was dearest to them on earth; and while she sat, in 
 silent sympathy, by their side, they felt that she under- 
 stood their whole hearts, and had suffered like them- 
 selves. She had but to speak words of faith and re-
 
 20 MODERN ACCOMPLISH MEXTS, 
 
 signation, on such occasions, when all might see that it 
 was not the cold theory of one who knew not how to 
 feel, but the sympathy of a heart, softened with every 
 sentiment of tenderness and pity. Who has not found, 
 that those who would bring comfort to mourners, must 
 have mourned themselves ; and that, in approaching our 
 Divine Redeemer, for help in every time of extremity, it 
 is our chief source of confidence that he has been tempt- 
 ed like as we are that He hath wept like ourselves ? 
 
 From the earliest period of their lives, a mutual at- 
 tachment had existed between Colonel Neville, and his 
 cousin, Lady Olivia Clifford ; but the ambitious expec- 
 tations of her father delayed their union, and with im- 
 plicit submission to his commands, their intercourse was 
 entirely suspended for several years ; but long separa- 
 tion seemed only to increase that affection which was 
 founded in perfect similarity of character and sentiment, 
 till, at length touched by the high principle of Colonel 
 Neville, who never attempted to see Lady Olivia without 
 his sanction, and by her uncomplaining obedience in sacri- 
 ficing her own wishes to his, Lord Hargrave, a short time 
 before his own death, unexpectedly consented to terminate 
 the long and painful probation which he had inflicted. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the happiness of Colonel and 
 Lady Olivia Neville, during the years of devoted attach- 
 ment and mutual confidence which succeeded their union ; 
 each anniversary was commemorated with fervent grati- 
 tude to Him whose bountiful hand seemed to lavish the 
 choicest blessings upon them ; and as time flew on, it only 
 riveted their affection, and deepened the sympathy of 
 their hearts. There are joys peculiar to the Christian, 
 which can only be appreciated by those who are like- 
 minded with himself; these Lady Olivia shared with 
 her husband ; and the few sorrows which clouded their
 
 011 THE MAKCH OF INTELLECT. 2 I 
 
 union only seemed to increase the tenderness and in- 
 tensity of their attachment ? but 
 
 Mortal pleasure, what art thou in truth ! 
 The torrent's smoothness ere it dash below. 
 
 Lady Olivia Neville had become the mother of se- 
 veral very promising children; and with all the indul- 
 gent tenderness of a mother's feelings, she watched over 
 their happiness, at the same time that, with anxious soli- 
 citude, she bore continually in mind the solemn responsi- 
 bility that a Christian parent must feel, in the thought of 
 having given existence to those who shall never cease to 
 live throughout the endless ages of eternity. While Lady 
 Olivia encouraged her children in every innocent enjoy- 
 ment, she yet made it the continued subject of her prayers 
 and endeavours, that they should seek God early, and find 
 in Him their chief happiness and their most precious in- 
 heritance. Her conversation with them was frequently 
 devoted to this great object, and from the moment that 
 their young minds were capable of receiving the simplest 
 truths, she took unwearied pains in adapting her expres- 
 sions to their juvenile capacities, and in trying to give 
 clearness and precision to their thoughts on religion. 
 She watched over theirdispositionswith anxious affection, 
 in order to take advantage of any tendency that might 
 be guided towards enlightening the heart or understand- 
 ing, and every little incident of the day was improved 
 to some useful purpose of instruction. She interested 
 them with narratives adapted to their tastes, and told 
 them facts calculated to impress the importance of reli- 
 gion on their hearts, evincing, by her own example, how 
 essential it was to the enjoyment of real happiness. Co- 
 lonel Neville also found no occupation so delightful as to 
 lead forth his children amongst the wonders and the
 
 22 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 beauties of nature, shewing them the wisdom, the benevo- 
 lence, and the glory of that Great Being whom they were 
 called on to serve and love, while he encouraged them to 
 converse on terms of confidence, and to trust him with all 
 their most secret thoughts and feelings, becoming thus the 
 companion and the sharer of their greatest enjoyments. 
 
 With respect to this world, the cares and the hopes of 
 Colonel and Lady Olivia Neville were doomed to be 
 disappointed, and had their views been confined to the 
 present scene, they must have mourned with sorrow as 
 hopeless as it was bitter ; for, in rapid succession, three 
 of their beloved children were hurried to the grave by a 
 malignant fever which broke out in the neighbouring 
 village, bringing grief and desolation into every house. 
 Lady Olivia was stunned by the sudden and fearful ra- 
 vages of a malady that left her almost childless. She 
 scarcely knew which of her lovely infants was taken and 
 which was spared, while she sat in speechless anguish 
 watching the sufferings which she could not alleviate, 
 and trembling over the expiring struggles of those whom 
 she would willingly have died to preserve. Often did she 
 raise her eyes to Heaven in deep conviction how help- 
 less is human affection in the hour of utmost need, and 
 she cast herself before the throne of God, in token of that 
 resignation to His will, which her lips could not utter. 
 No hour was so dark, but what she still clung to that 
 gleam of consolation which the utmost extent of human 
 suffering cannot utterly extinguish in a Christian's breast, 
 and Lady Olivia Neville felt, amidst the desolation of all 
 she loved on earth, that there could be but a few years 
 to mourn, before she was called to that world where she 
 would see cause to rejoice that the will of God had been 
 done, however agonizing and fearful the stroke which 
 had severed her from those she had loved so tenderly.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 23 
 
 Let no one ever say that his cup of affliction is full, for 
 often when we think that the utmost judgments of the 
 Almighty have been broken over our heads, there are 
 yet more and yet severer in reserve, that Christians may 
 learn to testify acquiescence in their Father's will, though 
 there be nothing left to live for, except to prove our sub- 
 mission under His chastisements, and our readiness pa- 
 tiently to survive, if such be his decree, the wreck of all 
 that nature holds most dear. One only child was left to 
 Colonel and Lady Olivia Neville, "the loveliest and the 
 last.'' She was all that their most sanguine wishes could 
 have desired, and to her they fondly looked for consola- 
 tion, as they contemplated the opening graces of her dis- 
 position, and the devotedness of her attachment towards 
 themselves. The sudden bereavement of her former 
 companions gave a cast of melancholy tenderness to the 
 character of Laura Neville, which endeared her more 
 than ever to her afflicted parents ; but having at length 
 become very solicitous to remove any remaining ten- 
 dency to depression on her spirits, they resolved after the 
 lapse of a month, to make a tour in the north, and to 
 spend some time at Colonel Neville's shooting box, in a 
 remote part of the Highlands, where an entire change of 
 air, of scenery, and of occupations, was thought to give 
 the speediest hope of restoring the tone to their daughter's 
 nerves, and reviving her wasted strength. 
 
 Though Lady Olivia Neville's feelings had in some de- 
 gree subsided from the first sudden burst of anguish and 
 amazement with which she had been overpowered, yet 
 every voice which she heard in the distance was still to 
 her fancy like the voices of her absent children, and every 
 footstep that approached seemed to remind her of the 
 time when they used to fly into her arms with all the 
 jocund glee of youth and health and spirits. Her room
 
 24 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 was embellished with their portraits, which she had not 
 resolution to displace. The scenes they had once en- 
 livened by their presence looked as bright as before to 
 every eye but hers. The very flowers that they had planted 
 had survived them, and in spite of every strenuous effort 
 to the contrary, Lady Olivia's mind continually brooded 
 over all that cherished and aggravated her affliction, until 
 Colonel Neville perceived that to her also a change of 
 secne had become absolutely essential, and he eagerly 
 prepared to take an excursion, from which he augured 
 the most salutary effects to those whose health and hap- 
 piness were dearer to him than his own. 
 
 It was the finest season that had ever been remembered 
 in the month of August, when Colonel and Lady Olivia 
 Neville, with their only remaining child, set out in a 
 light open phaeton, on their journey to Ross-shire. The 
 clear blue sky was unclouded over their heads, the fields 
 were covered with a luxuriant harvest, and the whole 
 scene through which they passed was bathed in the rich- 
 est tints of autumn. All was cheerfulness and beauty as 
 they passed along inhaling the pure gales of the morning, 
 or basking in the glories of the evening sun-set. The 
 smiling villages stretched along the road, the gleaners 
 scattered upon the fields in groups, the school- boys 
 shouting in noisy glee, the children nutting in the 
 woods, the sportsman surrounded by his dogs, and the 
 fisherman plying his patient vocation, all called forth the 
 sympathy of Lady Olivia, who was ever ready to parti- 
 cipate in the feelings of others, while her exquisite taste 
 for the charms of nature never allowed her to be satiated 
 with admiring each bold romantic scene which succes- 
 sively presented itself before her. The rugged moun- 
 tains, varied to their very summits with rocks and heather, 
 the golden blossoms of the furze adorning the valleys, the
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 25 
 
 scarlet berries of the mountain ash, the deep red tints of 
 the beech and the oak relieved against the pale bright 
 hue of the plane, the silver stems of the birch, and the 
 dark fantastic forms of the fir tree, gave altogether a 
 magic variety of colouring to the scenery, the bright 
 mountain torrents dashing rapidly over their pebbly beds, 
 tinged with so bright a yellow that every stone took the 
 tint of a cairngorum, the willow and " the ladye of the 
 woods" dipping their long festoons into the stream, and 
 the large deep Highland lochs, in which the craggy moun- 
 tains and the drooping coppice were reflected as in a 
 mirror, and the heron and the wild deer might rest in 
 security amidst the solitude of nature. Such scenes as 
 these called forth Lady Olivia's thoughts from the sor- 
 row that had so long corroded within her breast, and she 
 rewarded the anxious solicitude of Colonel Neville by an 
 appearance of returning serenity, and by at least conceal- 
 ing from him much of the sorrow she could not entirely 
 conquer. At each place where they stopped, some glen 
 was to be explored, or some landscape of more than usual 
 loveliness to be seen from the neighbouring eminences, 
 to which Colonel Neville delighted to conduct her, and 
 whatever he proposed to promote her restoration, she un- 
 hesitatingly complied with, and seconded by her own 
 efforts and prayers. He conversed with her often on the 
 pleasures and duties which might still be sources of happi- 
 ness to them both, and exercised all the ingenuity which 
 tenderness and sympathy could suggest, in reminding her, 
 that though much had been taken, still much remained 
 to bless them both ; and that no affliction could leave 
 them utterly comfortless, while they had the mournful 
 privilege of sharing it together. In leading Lady Olivia 
 to look abroad on the loveliness of nature, where the 
 majestic glories of creation were displayed in rich pro- 
 
 c
 
 "26 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 fusion before her, Colonel Neville remarked, howinfinite 
 was the condescension of its Almighty Lord in revealing 
 Himself to her as one who pitied her sorrows, even as a 
 father pitieth his children, and that thus, the very tender- 
 ness with which she mourned for her own offspring, 
 showed more affectingly the beauty and the expressive- 
 ness of that consoling assurance. 
 
 All the sensibility of Lady Olivia's heart was soothed 
 by the consciousness of her husband's considerate affec- 
 tion, and the returning health of their interesting Laura 
 became a continual source of pleasure to her parents, 
 so that, as they approached the cottage of Colonel Ne- 
 ville, perfect serenity and peace appeared to have been 
 restored to their hearts, and they both felt that in their 
 mutual affection, and in the love of God, they had a secure 
 foundation for happiness, which the storms of life might 
 shake but never could destroy. 
 
 A long precipitous hill led towards the gate of Glen- 
 Alpine Cottage, so deep and rugged as to be often con- 
 sidered dangerous, though it had never occasioned any 
 serious accident. On the evening that they reached the 
 gate, night was fast closing in, and their servant being 
 impatient to arrive, omitted to stop the carriage and put 
 a drag on the wheels, which Colonel Neville did not re- 
 mark till he had proceeded a considerable way down, after 
 which it was impossible to stop their descent. The horses 
 slipped and scrambled for a considerable way, till at length 
 the road suddenly took a sharp turn, the carriage went 
 off the track, and in an instant more their equipage was 
 upset, and the whole party scattered over a bank beneath. 
 
 Colonel Neville, though he had met with a violent 
 contusion on the head which stunned him for some time, 
 was the first to recover consciousness, and having ascer- 
 tained that Lady Olivia was severely hurt, he became
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 27 
 
 unmindful of every thing but the safety of his family, 
 and overlooking his own sufferings entirely, he hastened 
 to the lodge, which was still nearly a mile distant, to 
 spread the alarm, and to bring immediate assistance. A 
 crowd was speedily assembled from the village, who ac- 
 companied him to the fatal spot, where Lady Olivia was 
 still completely insensible, and as her shoulder seemed 
 to be dislocated, his first care was to have her con- 
 veyed on a shutter to the nearest house. Colonel Neville 
 then anxiously turned to the place where his daughter 
 had been cast. The country people and servants stood 
 in a silent group round the spot where she lay, and when 
 they observed him approaching, a momentary effort was 
 made to impede his progress; but the agitated father, 
 alarmed at their looks of grief and consternation, broke 
 through the assembled multitude, and gazed upon the 
 face of his child she was a corpse her head had evi- 
 dently been dashed with violence against the trunk of a 
 tree, and she seemed instantly to have expired. 
 
 With a groan of agony, Colonel Neville sunk upon the 
 ground, and clasping his daughter in his arms, he became 
 nearly as lifeless as herself. The stillness of death reigned 
 among the sympathizing spectators, and nothing awoke 
 him from a stupor of overwhelming grief, till the sudden 
 remembrance of Lady Olivia's precarious situation roused 
 up the manly energy of his character. By a powerful 
 effort he stifled his agony, and reflected how much must 
 be done to screen the worst from her knowledge, till she 
 was prepared for the blow; and in silent but bitter 
 anguish Colonel Neville withdrew from the scene of his 
 misfortune, and placed himself beside the couch of his 
 suffering wife, resolved that no tongue but his own should 
 reveal to her the last and greatest of all her bereavements. 
 Night and day he watched with fervent anxiety beside
 
 28 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 her pillow, fearful lest some imprudent attendant, or 
 some accidental circumstance, might prematurely dis- 
 close it all, and dreading, yet almost longing for the 
 moment when their tears should be mingled together, and 
 he might give vent to the deep tide of sorrow that had 
 so nearly overpowered him. 
 
 At length all danger of fever seemed to be at an end. 
 Lady Olivia's pulse became regular, her pain subsided, 
 and Colonel Neville was informed that the hour had come 
 when it might be prudent, as well as necessary, to tell 
 the anxious mother that she was childless. Then was 
 the time when his courage failed and his heart sunk, for 
 he was called on to communicate to another the blow 
 which had stunned and overwhelmed himself. The 
 struggle for composure and fortitude was long and severe, 
 till at length bodily exhaustion, combined with mental 
 anguish, brought on a brain fever, of which in a few 
 days he expired. 
 
 We must draw a veil over many years, during which 
 the bereaved wife and mother was buried in unapproach- 
 able sorrow, while her tears would have incessantly 
 flowed, but for the rich consolations that were still 
 poured into her breast by the hand that is strong to 
 smite, but omnipotent to save. There was a gulf into 
 which she dared not look, for every past scene of happi- 
 ness appeared now rising up like a scorpion to sting her, 
 and every future hour of life was darkened down to 
 naked waste. " If in this life only we have hope, I should 
 be of all beings the most miserable," was the continual 
 reflection of her heart, while she struggled to fix her 
 thoughts on the bright scene of futurity. " Is there any 
 sorrow like unto my sorrow," was the language of nature ; 
 for her soul was wrung with bitter remembrance of for- 
 mer joys; but still, like the patriarch of old, she
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 29 
 
 could say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in 
 him." 
 
 Lady Olivia Neville had never before mourned alone, 
 but now the eye which had watched over her with deep- 
 est sympathy was closed for ever the hand which had 
 so tenderly dried up her tears was cold in the grave, 
 the tongue that had spoken words of holy hope and pious 
 consolation, was never to be heard again. " But, oh ! 
 the thought that he is safe !" that was what first enabled 
 Lady Olivia to contemplate the past and the future with 
 composure. " I shall go to him, but he shall not return 
 to me I A few short years of evil past, and death-divid- 
 ed friends shall meet to part no more." 
 
 It is in so dark a night of desolation as had gathered 
 around Lady Olivia Neville, that the bright star of hea- 
 venly promise shines with redoubled lustre, and seems to 
 point our way towards the Saviour, who veiled His glory 
 in an earthly form, that he might teach us how to suf- 
 fer, and where to seek for help. She meditated on His 
 agonies till her own appeared to become lightened, she 
 remembered the sympathy He has promised to His 
 afflicted children, and felt that she was not alone in her 
 sorrows ; she contemplated the glory with which He is 
 now for ever surrounded, and anticipated with fervent 
 desire the time when faith should be swallowed up in 
 sight, and hope in enjoyment. But though she trusted 
 that the night was far spent, and that the day was at 
 hand, she yet remembered the example as well as the 
 promises of her Redeemer, and tried, like Him, in every 
 hour of temptation and sorrow, to pray, and constantly 
 to remember, that while she lived, much was given her 
 to do as well as to suffer, and she must work the works 
 of Him that sent her, as the hour would come when 
 she could work no more.
 
 SO MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Yet in my dreams a form I view- 
 That thinks on me, and loves me too ; 
 1 start, and when the vision's gone, 
 I weep that I am all alone. 
 
 ODE TO SOLITUDE. 
 
 " THE heart will break, yet brokenly live on." The af- 
 fections may be blighted by sorrow and bereavement, 
 but they never become utterly extinguished in the human 
 breast ; for while life remains, we must have something 
 to love, and something to live for. Lady Olivia looked 
 abroad upon the desolate waste around, and all that had 
 been nearest and dearest to her was swept away. She 
 felt like " a withered scroll, a scattered leaf, seared by 
 the autumn blast of grief." 
 
 An ordinary mind must have sunk beneath the weight 
 of such accumulated calamities, but though her wasted 
 form and pallid cheek bore painful testimony to the depth 
 of her sorrows and none who saw her could suppose 
 any earthly joy might ever reach that heart again yet 
 there survived in her spirit that general feeling of bene- 
 volence, which created a desire to diffuse amongst all 
 who came within the sphere of her influence such hap- 
 piness as she was never herself to know again, and 
 wherever she heard of sorrow or suffering in her neigh- 
 bourhood, she left the privacy of her own home, to place 
 herself in the midst of a scene, where those who mourned 
 often found their first consolation in pouring out the 
 whole feeling of their hearts to one who was ready to
 
 Oil THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 31 
 
 unite her tears, as well as her prayers, with every afflicted 
 sufferer, and whose words were the more impressive, on 
 account of the feeble frame and fading colour, which 
 seemed to tell that she would lead the way towards that 
 happier state of existence, to which she so earnestly di- 
 rected her fellow-travellers. 
 
 But the warmest earthly affections of Lady Olivia 
 Neville soon became centred in her two young and 
 lovely nieces, for it seemed almost like the revival of a 
 mother's tenderness, when she gazed on their bright and 
 happy countenances, and heard their cheerful voices 
 calling on her to rejoice with them in all their juvenile 
 enjoyments. No human eye ever witnessed the tears 
 she often shed at the remembrance that her owu Laura 
 might have been such as they, nor the prayers and the 
 efforts that it cost her to meet them with that smile of 
 benignity and affection, which invariably marked her 
 reception of Eleanor and Matilda, whenever they were 
 sent to visit her. It would have been difficult to say 
 which was the most beautiful and fascinating of Lady 
 Olivia's nieces, who were thought by strangers to bear a 
 remarkable resemblance to each other. Matilda's eyes 
 rivalled the hue of the violet, and Eleanor's were hazel, 
 but the same classical outline marked their features, and 
 the same transparent complexion was conspicuous m 
 both. Their superb hair flowed in silken ringlets over 
 their fair white foreheads, and the laughing smile that 
 dimpled their cheeks, and lighted up their countenances 
 with perpetual sunshine, attracted such admiration, that 
 each was thought the most lovely and animated when 
 her cousin was absent, and both were acknowledged to 
 eclipse every competitor for the palm of beauty and 
 grace. This likeness between their daughters gave ad 
 ditional interest to the keen rivalship between Lady
 
 32 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Fitz Patrick and Lady Howard, which of them should 
 enjoy the greatest advantages in future life, and be the 
 most universally admired. " I only wish our uncle Sir 
 Philip could see Eleanor !" said Lady Fitz-Patrick, with 
 a glance of approbation at her beautiful daughter; "he 
 is such an enthusiast about symmetry of features and 
 elegance of accomplishments, that I am sure he would 
 appreciate her " 
 
 " As far as the hands and feet can be cultivated, she 
 is certainly unrivalled/' replied Lady Howard sarcasti- 
 cally, " and that is all Sir Philip will ever trouble his head 
 about ; but my system comprehends rather more than 
 yours, and by the time I have finished reading all the 
 books on education that are now on the table, I hope to 
 have completed my new method, and that Matilda will 
 have some mind, as well as manner, before she goes into 
 the world." 
 
 Being desirous to see much of her nieces, Lady Olivia 
 Neville resolved to settle, while they were in Edinburgh, 
 at Ashgrove, a cottage only two miles distant, which had 
 belonged to her husband, and where she had spent many 
 of her happiest years, before the afflicting period, when 
 their children had withered, like blossoms of spring, in 
 her arms, and the beloved partner of her sorrow had 
 himself been so suddenly snatched away. It was a 
 lovely retreat, which an artist would have desired to 
 paint, or a poet to sing, as the appropriate refuge of in- 
 nocence and peace. The house was smaller than might 
 have been required with her very liberal income, but it 
 was well adapted to Lady Olivia's secluded habits ; and 
 its rustic elegance, and cheerful aspect, pleased the taste 
 of all who saw it. The wide casements of the windows 
 were wreathed with China roses, passion flowers, and 
 garlands of clematis, and the porch was embowered with
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 33 
 
 luxuriant jessamine, varied by the gayer blossoms of the 
 golden budliah, and the crimson fuschia, while the air 
 was perfumed with the aromatic flavour of the delicious 
 verbena, and the luxuriant sweet-briar. A lovely green 
 lawn sloped to the edge of the deep blue sea, and was 
 washed by its waves, the garden was covered with a 
 rich and brilliant tapestry of flowers, and a grove of lofty 
 sycamores and beeches varied, by their dark embowering 
 foliage, the brightness and gayety of the surrounding 
 scene, while the patches of light that stole through the 
 branches gave variety to the velvet turf beneath. Not 
 a sound was to be heard but the song of the blackbird 
 and thrush, the deep cooing of the wood- pigeon, the 
 sighing of the breeze, and the roar of the ocean. Lady 
 Olivia delighted to dwell amidst the sounds, as well as 
 the sights of nature. The wild cry of the sea-bird was 
 music to her ears, at a time when her blighted heart 
 would have recoiled from more harmonious tones. The 
 conflict of the elements reminded her of Him who rides 
 in the whirlwind; and the dashing of the mountain stream 
 over its pebbly bed, brought to her remembrance that 
 voice which has been compared to the sound of many 
 waters. There was not a changing hue in the smallest 
 leaf which she did not view with interest, as connected 
 with Him who orders each revolving season, there was 
 not an insect beneath her feet in which she could not 
 trace her Maker's hand, and the sublimest features in 
 the surrounding landscape acquired grandeur and interest 
 in her conception, when she reflected that they had been 
 called forth from nothing by the word of His power. 
 
 ' This earth is said to be but a leaf in the forest com- 
 pared with countless worlds by which we are surround- 
 ed," thought she ; " and I am one individual amono- the 
 generations that are successively swept from its surface.
 
 34 MODEBN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 With what an oppressive sense of nothingness should I 
 he overpowered by such a reflection, were it not for the 
 merciful assurance of God's own word, that in His eye 
 no human soul is insignificant, and were it not for the 
 mighty proof He has given of His care over us, in 
 sending His only Son to die, that we might live in His 
 presence for ever ?" 
 
 As Eleanor and Matilda had masters for every hour 
 of every day during the week, it was at length granted, 
 to the earnest entreaty of Lady Olivia, that each Satur- 
 day should be spent with her ; and nothing could exceed 
 the eagerness and joy with which they both anticipated 
 that morning which was destined to gild the gloom of the 
 whole preceding week, and give them some hours of 
 natural enjoyment, after the heartless toil to which they 
 were incessantly inured. Lady Olivia seemed to forget 
 every care, from the moment they arrived at her house, 
 except that of affording rational and varied amusement. 
 She entered into all their diversions, and continually 
 planned new pleasures that never would have occurred 
 to themselves, so that all the joyous recollections of happy 
 childhood became connected with their visit to Ashgrove. 
 She laid out gardens for both of them, which were em- 
 bellished according to their individual directions, and to 
 which she carefully attended herself during their absence. 
 She had poneys for them to ride, and poultry and pets 
 of every kind, which belonged entirely to themselves, and 
 by such a continual sympathy with their juvenile tastes, 
 she acquired unlimited influence over their affections. 
 
 "When Eleanor and Matilda were one evening taking 
 leave of their aunt, she was surprised to observe an un- 
 wonted cloud of disappointment and chagrin on their 
 usually animated countenances, of which she had some 
 difficulty in ascertaining the reason.
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 35 
 
 " Aunt Barbara wished us not to mention what she 
 said," replied Matilda, when Lady Olivia affectionately 
 inquired the cause of her vexation. 
 
 " But I hate small secrets, and there can be no good 
 cause for keeping this/' interrupted Eleanor. " Aunt 
 Barbara says, that since there is to be a sermon in church 
 next Saturday, previous to the Sacrament, we shall be an 
 interruption by coming here, and that therefore it would 
 show a proper degree of consideration for your engage- 
 ments to remain at home." 
 
 "My dear girls ! how glad I am that this is explained, 
 for the disappointment would have been quite as great 
 to me as to yourselves," said Lady Olivia affectionately. 
 " My duties, on the present occasion, though very solemn 
 and important to myself, cannot interfere with your 
 coming, especially as I am confident you will gladly 
 conform in some measure to my circumstances in the 
 prospect of so soon attending the Sacrament, and that 
 our conversation in the evening may be rather of a more 
 serious nature than usual." 
 
 If Miss Neville had dropt the most distant hint of a 
 " serious" conversation, both Eleanor and Matilda would 
 have dreaded something very much resembling a scold ; 
 but with Lady Olivia they felt safe, and only antici- 
 pated a more interesting discussion than usual of that 
 one great subject, which was more or less connected 
 with all she ever said to them ; and therefore on the fol- 
 lowing Saturday, they entered her room with their usual 
 expression of joyful hilarity, which was reflected in the 
 looks of Lady Olivia when she tenderly embraced and 
 welcomed them. "Before you ride, or go to the garden, 
 my dear girls, I wish to produce the present that I pro- 
 mised you lately," said she, displaying two large and 
 splendidly bound Bibles, which Eleanor and Matilda
 
 36 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 received with the most joyous expressions of gratitude 
 and pleasure, examining the ornaments and the type 
 with the air of connoisseurs, and expressing themselves 
 completely satisfied with both, and delighted to possess 
 such treasures. 
 
 " Many fervent prayers have accompanied them," said 
 Lady Olivia in a voice of tremulous emotion, " and 
 many more shall often ascend before the throne of grace, 
 that you may always place a due value on the contents 
 of that book. I have frequently advised you each to 
 read the Bible as a message to your own soul, and as if 
 it had been written for no other individual in the world 
 but yourself; and I trust you pray frequently, that He 
 who sends it as his best gift to man, will also grant the 
 teaching of His Holy Spirit, which can alone enable us 
 to understand and appreciate it." 
 
 Matilda placed her hand affectionately in that of her 
 aunt, and gazed at her with earnest and grateful atten- 
 tion, while Eleanor continued to examine her own re- 
 cent acquisition, and to admire its elegant decorations, 
 and beautiful title-page. 
 
 " We are living at a period, my dear girls, when but 
 too many Christians are ' more curious than devout,' 
 more occupied respecting ' new nothings than old truths,' 
 and I am anxious to take this opportunity of warning 
 you against endeavouring to be wise above that which is 
 written. While others dispute, let us enjoy, for he 
 assured that one spark of love to God is worth a folio 
 volume of opinions." 
 
 "Yes !" said Matilda; " 'Out of the heart proceed the 
 issues of life ;' and I recollect your saying, that a person 
 who can talk fluently on religious subjects, without feel- 
 ing them, knows no more than if a blind man discussed 
 the beauties of nature, which he had never seen."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 37 
 
 " Precisely," continued Lady Olivia; " and it is im- 
 possible to express how much I am often astonished and 
 distressed to hear the spirit of vehement and angry war- 
 fare in which many people read and debate upon those 
 blessed Scriptures which awakened the earliest affections 
 of my own childhood, and seemed even then completely 
 adapted to my taste and capacity, which afterwards 
 followed me in my happiest hours, with still brighter 
 promises of hope, and in all my sorrows cheered me 
 with sympathy and consolation, so that they have seemed 
 continually like the eyes of a picture that were directed 
 towards myself in every changing scene of life; but 
 now, how sadly have I seen them perverted into food for 
 violent contention and presumptuous speculation!" 
 
 ' ' I often feel the truth of that remark when we have 
 visitors at home," said Matilda; " they seem, as you once 
 observed, so full of definitions and metaphysical distinc- 
 tions, that they are like people who could not quench 
 their thirst with a draught from the purest spring, unless 
 they could analyse its contents, nor rest their wearied 
 frame on a couch, without proving that it was intended 
 for themselves, when both appear so suited to their ne- 
 cessities, that it would be most natural at once thank- 
 fully to make use of the refreshment they offer." 
 
 " True, my dear Matilda, most true !" replied Lady 
 Olivia, contemplating her animated countenance with 
 the tenderest interest. " The Bible seems to me a 
 medium, clear as glass, through which I can trace, with 
 daily increasing pleasure, the glory of God our Father, 
 the mercy of Christ our Saviour, the purity of the 
 Spirit our Sanctifier, and the happiness of heaven already 
 begun upon earth, in the character and feelings of those 
 who are lightly prepared for it. I see in myself, that 
 the sufferings of life are most justly deserved, being
 
 38 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMEXTS, 
 
 chiefly caused by our own evil hearts, and that all the 
 peace I have ever known comes immediately from God ; 
 and I thankfully believe, that in his own good time and 
 way, He will perfect that work of mercy in my soul, 
 which I have so long and so earnestly prayed him to 
 accomplish. I can trace back, through the remembrance 
 of many past years, the wise and necessary discipline 
 of a Father's hand; it is not yet completed; but 
 what is once begun on my behalf, will yet be perfected 
 by a power far greater than mine; and I can confidently 
 await the purpose of God's providence towards me, in 
 every unforeseen circumstance of life, desiring that each 
 wish of my heart may be implicitly prostrated before His 
 will, and that he Avould order all things as shall be most 
 for my own real good and for his glory." 
 
 " Eleanor and Matilda ! my dear children the only 
 children now remaining to me it is seldom I dare trust 
 myself in conversation with even a transient glance at 
 the past; there are inward sorrows that never leave my 
 thoughts, but are buried there in perpetual silence; yet, 
 for once I have desired to open my heart to you both, 
 in the full belief and hope, that it will the more securely 
 confirm our mutual confidence and affection. You 
 already know how the whole sunshine of my existence 
 became suddenly darkened, how all earthly hope was 
 crushed at once, how every succeeding year has been 
 one of loneliness and sorrow; but you cannot know how 
 the afflictions that were ready to destroy me have been 
 alleviated. Could any ray of hope have cheered me in 
 this world, seeing that the husband and children, who 
 were dearer to me than life, can never be restored; yet 
 in this precious volume I read of promises which are 
 daily drawing nearer to their fulfilment, many of which 
 have been realized to me already, and which I expect to
 
 OR THE MABCH OF INTELLECT. 3iJ 
 
 find sufficient in that hour, when all else that I could 
 have ever known or trusted to must fail. May neither 
 of you, my dear girls, ever need the consolations of 
 Scripture so much as I have done; but in every emer- 
 gency I cannot wish you more than that they prove as 
 perfectly sufficient as I invariably find them, for truly 
 these words of Scripture cannot fail to be fulfilled, ' He 
 who trusteth in God shall never be put to confusion.' "
 
 40 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 
 
 Talking is not always to converse 
 Not more remote from harmony divine 
 The constant creaking of a country sign. 
 
 Cow PER. 
 
 IT may be easily imagined, that amidst the vortex of 
 gnyety and business in which Lady Fitz-Patriek and 
 Lady Howard involved themselves, they very rarely 
 snatched a moment to look in at the quiet retreat of 
 Lady Olivia Neville ; yet both these ladies felt an invo- 
 luntary respect and affection for her, which kept them 
 in a continual state of self-reproach whenever she oc- 
 curred to their recollection, with the usual remembrance 
 of " what an age it was since they had seen her ;" and 
 their ingenuity was continually exercised in the compo- 
 sition of apologetic notes, written on pink and blue em- 
 bossed paper, setting forth how inconsolable they felt, 
 that the most indispensable business had occupied them 
 constantly during the last few weeks, or that they had 
 been actually on their way down to visit her when one 
 of the horses fell lame. A great impediment in the way 
 of their going to Ashgrove more frequently was, that 
 both Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady Howard had an in- 
 stinctive dread of visiting there alone. Lady Olivia had 
 never made a censorious remark to either of them, but 
 yet the tenor of her own occupations, pursuits, and opi- 
 nions, was so obviously at variance with theirs, that the 
 whole course of her existence was inevitably felt as a sort
 
 OR THE .MARCH OF INTELLECT. 41 
 
 of tacit reproach to themselves; and they could not avoid 
 occasionally placing their minds in the same elevation 
 from which she viewed the busy scenes of life, and per- 
 ceiving for a moment, with her eyes, the insignificance 
 arid folly of all that occupied and interested them. 
 
 There was a degree of peace and serenity in the as- 
 pect of Lady Olivia's retired little dwelling, that insen- 
 sibly spoke the language of nature to their hearts, for it 
 seemed like the breath of morning to a fevered soul, or like 
 the calmness of healthful repose after the tossings of de- 
 lirium, when their eyes rested on the refreshing sight of 
 nature's loveliness. At no season of the year did that soli- 
 tary retreat appear otherwise than beautiful, whether it 
 were in the depth of winter, when the crisp hoar frost 
 had spangled the turf and the ivy with a light unbroken 
 powdering of purest white, or when the richest tints of 
 autumn were first beginning to glow upon the surround- 
 ing woods ; or in spring, that brightest season of all, 
 which seems to break upon our delighted senses anew 
 every successive year, as if we had never before witnessed 
 its joyous opening, enlivened by the sunny hedge-rows 
 bursting into life ; the fresh bright tints of the forest ; 
 the early blossom of the fruit trees ; the tufts of primroses 
 and violets, the lilacs, rhododendrons, and laburnums, the 
 snow-drops and hyacinths, enamelling every bank ; the 
 soft gentle breeze ; the clear blue sky, and the chorus of 
 a thousand songsters. Even the hackneyed minds of 
 those like Lady Fitz -Patrick and Lady Howard, whose 
 joys were all artificial, could not but pause in such scenes 
 for a moment, to ask themselves whether the tumultuous 
 pleasures of their existence w r ere not dearly purchased at 
 the price of such peace as the world knows not of, and 
 which they had never experienced themselves, though 
 they could trace its existence and its influence in the
 
 42 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 calm and dignified countenance of Lady Olivia Neville, 
 whose whole aspect and deportment showed the serenity 
 that reigned within, undisturbed by a single care re- 
 specting the busy competitions and petty rivalships of 
 fashionable life, and only anxious to preserve that peace 
 in her heart, and in her home, which she felt to be the 
 true secret of happiness. 
 
 Whatever length of time might elapse between the 
 visits of her sisters in-law, Lady Olivia received them 
 with invariable kindness. She expressed no surprise at 
 their absence, but welcomed them with the most cordial 
 affection, and patiently listened to the whole torrent of 
 their apologies and regrets with a satisfactory aspect of 
 credulity and good humour. On similar occasions, Miss 
 Barbara Neville generally overwhelmed her sisters with 
 bitter civilities and sarcastic remarks, " wondering that 
 they could find any time at all to waste on such an in- 
 significant person as herself, remarking how lonely she 
 must hare felt, but for dear Lady Such-a-one, who never 
 neglected her friends when they required attention;" and 
 sometimes affecting not to recognise them, when they 
 first entered the room, and then dryly observing, that 
 " really when people met so seldom, it could not be 
 wondered at if her memory failed, and she expected 
 they would soon be strangers altogether." 
 
 When Lady Howard did venture to Ashgrove, she 
 made a point of always arriving brimful of news, taking 
 it for granted that nothing could be more delightful to 
 a hermit like Lady Olivia, than to be put an courant du 
 jour about the affairs of the world, and to be informed 
 what had been thought of the King's last speech to the 
 House of Commons, and when parliament was likely to 
 be dissolved. She generally brought all the most recent 
 newspapers and pamphlets in her hand, to leave at the
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 43 
 
 cottage, and recommended a perfect library of new books, 
 which it was absolutely essential for every mortal to read. 
 Religion being a branch of literature, was sometimes in- 
 troduced also for Lady Olivia's edification, and most 
 fluently discussed. There was generally some point of 
 deep controversy, which had caused a great deal of wit 
 and learning to be recently expended, and wherein squad- 
 rons of texts were drawn up against each other in hostile 
 array ; and in whatever form the attacks or replies might 
 be laid before the public, Lady Howard brought the 
 whole packet of them as an ap^ ropriate gift for her sis- 
 ter-in-law, who found great difficulty in politelv evading 
 the promise which was often nearly extorted from her, 
 that she would carefully study the subject, and mark the 
 passages she approved of! 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick was equally kind and communica- 
 tive in her own line, during her visits to Lady Olivia, 
 for whose amusement she generally began with announ- 
 cing a long list of marriages between persons whom her 
 auditor had never seen or heard of, with an elaborate 
 description of the trousseaux and settlements. She had 
 frequently some quarrel with her milliner to give the 
 particulars of or a new lady's maid, whose qualifications 
 must be described. Sometimes, also, she enlarged at 
 great length on the splendour of her last new carriages, 
 or on the magnificence of some recent addition to her 
 jewel-box, being scarcely able to persuade herself that 
 such a recital should not awaken some degree of that 
 interest and envy in the breast of Lady Olivia which 
 they infallibly excited in ordinary minds ; but the mere 
 spectacle of life had never at any time power to raise 
 the most transient emotion in one who acknowledged no 
 happiness but that which sprung from the heart ; and 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick little thought it was only when she
 
 44* MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 made some passing allusion to her husband or children, 
 that a sigh rose from the inmost feelings of Lady Olivia, 
 when she reflected, that if hers had been spared, no 
 splendour could have added to her happiness, nor any 
 poverty diminished it. Occasionally in her conversation, 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick stumbled on some anecdote of the 
 theatre, which was hastily suppressed, as not being suit- 
 able to her auditor ; but there was another ground upon 
 which she always felt perfectly secure. Every instance 
 she could mention was carefully hoarded up for her visits 
 to Ashgrove, of the dreadful crowds she had encountered 
 to hear some celebrated preacher, and of the rapturous 
 admiration with which he had filled her. His style, his 
 language, his voice, his manner, were all described and 
 commented on with the most enthusiastic delight, and 
 she generally wound up the whole by eagerly insisting, 
 that LadyOlivia ought to drive to town the following 
 Sunday, and enjoy such a treat as she had described. 
 
 There was often an air of good-humoured patronage 
 in the tone of both Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady How- 
 ard, when they took leave after paying what they con- 
 sidered a successful and entertaining visit, and their re- 
 peated promises to return very soon were reiterated in 
 a voice which plainly shewed what a favour their coming 
 at all really ought to be considered. If they arrived, as 
 was often the case, during Lady Olivia's dinner, they 
 smiled at her early hours and simple diet, but she was 
 always ready to join in the laugh, and to insist on its 
 being their luncheon, as she maintained that her own 
 country fare ought to be an agreeable variety, after the 
 " loitjours perdrix" to which they were accustomed at 
 home. " You certainly mean to live for ever, Olivia ! 
 as one might suppose that Sancho's doctor had banished 
 all your dressed dishes every day," said Lady Howard,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 45 
 
 laughingly, drawing in her chair opposite to her hostess, 
 one afternoon at Ashgrove. " There is surely a stereo- 
 typed edition of this roast mutton in your house, for I 
 see it so often here." 
 
 " ' When unadorned, adorned the most,' is a favourite 
 motto in my kitchen," replied Lady Olivia, smiling; u I 
 could always resist the machinations of your French cook, 
 with his pales a la merveille, and his soufflets a I'outrance, 
 for I really think my own good honest Mrs. Millar worth 
 all the Monsieur Chef-d'ceuvres that ever were imported; 
 I like always to have some guess what we are eating, 
 and my housekeeper's dinners are about as plain and 
 unsophisticated as herself." 
 
 Mrs Millar, to whom Lady Olivia alluded, was quite 
 a domestic of the old school. Devotedly attached to her 
 mistress, whom she had served for more than twenty 
 years, she was a perfect enthusiast in all that related to 
 her own department, and managed to inspire the same 
 spirit into all her assistants. No one was ever known to 
 excel Mrs Millar in the excellence of her preserves ; she 
 had gained a prize at the Highland Society twice for her 
 balm and gooseberry wine, and her cakes and jellies were 
 beyond all comparison the best in the whole neighbour- 
 hood. Lady Howard seldom failed to gratify the honest 
 pride of Mrs Millar, by visiting the housekeeper's room, 
 where large presses of snowy damask were ostentatiously 
 thrown open for her inspection, and an extensive range 
 of fine old china displayed with unconcealed exultation. 
 On these occasions, Lady Howard always pretended to mis- 
 take Mrs Millar's elderwine for champagne, and general- 
 ly poached upon her preserves, as she called it, by carry- 
 ing away some jars of sweatmeats for breakfast next 
 morning. Mrs Millar employed all the old women in 
 the neighbourhood to spin, she assisted Lady Olivia in
 
 46 MODERN* ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 superintending her Sunday School, and acted as the doc- 
 tor's deputy in the village. But her chief glory was in 
 her poultry yard and dairy, which she kept in exquisite 
 order ; swarms of bantams, turkeys, ducks, peacocks, and 
 guinea fowls, answered to her call, flocking around her in 
 cheerful animation, and the pride of her heart was to 
 take Lady Howard and Lady Fitz-Patrick to admire the 
 pyramids of new-laid eggs, and of cheeses meant to 
 pass for Stilton, which were ranged on the white marble 
 shelves of her dairy, along with dishes of the richest 
 cream and of the most exquisite butter, bearing testimony 
 to the skill and activity of her management. 
 
 Mrs Millar's cares, however, were not confined to any 
 one department of the house, for they extended over 
 every thing, the exquisite neatness of the rooms, the 
 spotless whiteness of Lady Olivia's muslins and laces, 
 were all owing to the active zeal of Mrs Millar, who 
 would have abridged her natural rest rather than have 
 left a single servant without her own careful superintend- 
 ence. " I believe you would start out of bed at midnight, 
 if you suspected that a grain of dust was lurking in any 
 part of the house, and never rest again till it was dis- 
 lodged," said Lady Howard one day, in a tone of good- 
 humoured raillery ; " pray tell me candidly, Mrs Millar, 
 have you forty-eight hours in a day, or how do you man- 
 age to get through all your clerical, medical, and magis- 
 terial duties in this house?" 
 
 " Why, Madam, I always consider it a Christian duty 
 to be active in whatever is given us to do, within our 
 own sphere," replied Mrs Millar, in a tone of honest sa- 
 tisfaction. " As worthy John Newton says, my lady, if 
 a Christian man is appointed to be only a shoe-black, he 
 will try to be the best shoe-black in his parish." 
 
 Equally active in his own place, and far more conse-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 47 
 
 quential, was Hurley, the old butler,, whose reverence 
 for Lady Olivia seemed the mainspring of his whole 
 existence. She often smiled to see the fresh flowers he 
 gathered every morning to decorate her breakfast-table, 
 and he made a point of serving up her simple fare with as 
 much form and taste as if she had been surrounded by 
 a whole troop of domestics. When Harley attended on 
 his mistress at dinner, in his silk stockings, buckles, and 
 well powdered hair, no one would have supposed that 
 his mornings were devoted to the garden, where he might 
 be seen by the peep of day toiling amidst the straggling 
 honeysuckles, or drilling a whole regiment of carnations. 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick usally fell into raptures with all the 
 finest camelias, chrysanthemums, heliotropes, and gera- 
 niums, which Lady Olivia delighted to see her gather, 
 and answered all her apologies for doing so, with the 
 heartfelt assurance that she felt better recompensed for 
 the trouble of rearing flowers, if they gave pleasure to 
 another, than when they wasted their sweets in the de- 
 sert air. 
 
 Ladv Howard always expressed her wonder that Lady 
 Olivia had not purchased some new plant which was re- 
 cently invented, or imported from Terra incognita, with- 
 out which no conservatory could be worth a glance. She 
 ridiculed the garden for its contracted dimensions too, 
 and once remarked on its being so limited, that if ever 
 there was too much rain, Harley might shelter it all 
 with an umbrella. Lady Olivia never seemed in the 
 least degree annoyed with either the raillery or the conde- 
 scension of her sisters-in-law, but cheerfully entered into 
 their jests, when these were merely directed at herself. 
 -She had been long and painfully sensible that her words 
 were listened to with restraint and distrust, whenever she 
 attempted to introduce any thing tending to seriousness
 
 48 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 in conversation, and that the smallest item of a religious 
 sentiment was looked upon as the giving out of a text, 
 which must inevitably be followed by a sermon; and 
 therefore she tried to conciliate their confidence and re- 
 gard, by attending to whatever they said with affection- 
 ate interest, and by evincing, that however trifling it 
 might have appeared as relating to herself, yet in so far 
 as her friends felt affected by circumstances, they became 
 important to her ; and Lady Olivia patiently awaited the 
 time when God in His good providence would, she trust- 
 ed and believed, give her a favourable opportunity of 
 imparting that light and peace to her nearest connec- 
 tions, which she had been so often the means of com- 
 municating to comparative strangers. 
 
 Sir Francis Howard was the most good-natured, easy 
 man in the world, and dropped in continually upon Lady 
 Olivia, at all hours and in all weathers, without fear, 
 doubt, or apprehension on the score of their religious 
 differences. " I don't know what you call a Methodist," 
 he often said, drawing in his chair at Ashgrove ; " but 
 if they are all like you, Olivia, I shall join the society 
 ravself." When she spoke upon religion, he leaned back 
 in his chair, with smiling resignation, and patiently wait- 
 ed till Lady Olivia concluded, without making any reply 
 or objection, having discovered that expedient to be the 
 easiest way of getting over the subject, and then he 
 talked about the game laws, and his own preserves, de- 
 scribed the last day's hunting, and made her the confi- 
 dante of all his grievances. If Sir Francis had his dogs 
 ill-broken, or if his moors had been poached, there were 
 no bounds to the sympathy and commiseration he ex- 
 pected. <c Poor soul !" said he to Lady Howard one day, 
 " it does Olivia good when I invade her solitude now 
 and then, to remind her that there is another human
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 49 
 
 being in the world besides herself; and if she likes to 
 prose a little occasionally, it is well meant, and all fair, 
 in return for the patience with which she listens to me. 
 Lady Olivia certainly has had great distresses, like other 
 people; and I never shall forget how kindly she entered 
 into my feelings this morning, on the loss of poor Petru- 
 chio !" 
 
 " Is Petruchio dead ! that noble horse for which you 
 paid two hundred guineas last year; how very teazing !" 
 exclaimed Lady Howard. " I am sure, Sir Francis, the 
 vulgar proverb about being as strong as a horse cannot 
 have originated in your stable, where they appear to do 
 nothing but die. We shall soon be absolutely ruined." 
 
 " So much the better !" replied Sir Francis. " Nothing 
 can equal complete bankruptcy for setting one above the 
 world, and all its trifling cares. You will see a rich man 
 driving a hard bargain for his place in an omnibus, but 
 a ruined man travels with post-horses, and his wife has 
 always the prettiest little poney-carriage in the world. 
 You may have every thing in splendour when I have 
 been whitewashed by paying a shilling in the pound." 
 
 ' f There is some truth in what you say," answered Lady 
 Howard. " I observe people who have been considered 
 perfectly ruined, ever since I can recollect, and who never 
 find a necessity for denying themselves any thing. It is 
 a secret known only to the initiated how they get on so 
 well ; but my old-fashioned idea of ruin, when people 
 used to retrench, is quite exploded now, even among 
 milliners and shopkeepers, who rise superior to the 
 frowns of fortune, and expand into more splendid dimen- 
 sions than ever, after being gazetted." 
 
 " I remember seeing a book of Cobbett's to show how 
 a man may live well and keep his carriage on L.500 
 a year," continued Sir Francis; " but some of my own 
 
 D
 
 50 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 friends are much cleverer, since they live well, and keep 
 half-a-dozen hunters upon nothing at all ; so I must apply 
 to them for a hint or two upon ways and means, if your 
 prophecy be ever realized, and we give up attempting to 
 keep within, the trammels of an income." 
 
 There were few things in the world that Sir Richard 
 Fitz-Patrick thought so seriously about as his dinner, 
 and the cook had not more trouble in preparing ragouts 
 than he had himself in preparing an appetite. Dr. 
 Mansfield once jocularly told him, his only chance of 
 health would be to live on sixpence a-day, and to earn it 
 himself, as he required so much exercise ; and therefore 
 occasionally, when Sir Richard felt rather " off his feed," 
 as sportsmen express themselves, he extended his consti- 
 tutional walk as far as Ashgrove ; but he considered it 
 a waste of time to sit down above ten minutes, and, with 
 compliments to Lady Olivia on the appetizing effects of 
 sea air, and a steady refusal of any refreshment that 
 might endanger the full enjoyment of his approaching 
 meal, he generally hastened on, giving a glance of anxious 
 solicitude at his watch, to ascertain whether he had left 
 ample time to reach home with his usual punctuality for 
 dinner. If Sir Richard Fitz-Patrick could have been 
 gifted with an unlimited power of eating and sleeping, 
 his life would have been divided between these two states 
 of enjoyment, for he knew nothing else that deserved the 
 name of pleasure, and was often heard to declare, that 
 the only thing in the twenty-four hours worth living for 
 was the sound of the gong. With such a person, it was 
 difficult for a mind like Lady Olivia's to find any subject 
 of common interest. But, independently of her kind 
 feelings towards every one, she considered her con- 
 nexions as having been given to her by Providence for 
 some wise purpose that it was in the sphere where He
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 51 
 
 had placed her that her most immediate duties were to be 
 found, and that such influence as she should gain over 
 the mind of Sir Richard Fitz-Patrick, by showing him 
 all the kindness and courtesy in her power, was a trust 
 which she must endeavour to preserve and to exercise 
 for the advancement of religion in his heart, whenever 
 an opportunity offered of impressing its importance, or 
 of recommending its blessed influence, either by her ex- 
 ample or her conversation. 
 
 One morning, soon after Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady 
 Howard had arrived, to settle for the season in Moray 
 Place, Lady Olivia was, as usual, quietly seated in her 
 boudoir, surrounded with books and work the table 
 covered with flowers, and the sunshine streaming in at 
 every window the tame robins hopping on the balcony, 
 and not a sound to be heard but the autumn leaves rust- 
 ling in the wind. It was the solitude she loved, and her 
 eye rested pensively on those portraits that hung on the 
 opposite wall, which were still the favourite companions 
 of her thoughts. She meditated on the blessed ages of 
 futurity, when every cherished hope of her existence 
 would certainly be realized, and when, in the presence of 
 that God whom it was her happiness to serve, she should 
 yet be restored to all that she had loved and mourned 
 upon earth. The remembrance cheered her of many 
 around, whose sorrowful hearts she had comforted, and 
 though weaned entirely from the world, and living en- 
 tirely for another, she still occupied her thoughts with 
 plans of unwearied benevolence, and generous kindness 
 to all whom she could benefit. 
 
 With such a heart, it was impossible that Lady Olivia 
 could feel herself alone; wherever she turned, there was 
 some object of interest, and whatever she did had a mo- 
 tive in it, which animated her to exertion : Hers was
 
 52 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 no dull and heartless routine of duties ; but whether in 
 prayer, in solitary meditation, or in active employment, 
 her chief pleasure was to do her Master's work, and to 
 feel that it was towards a world of endless glory, whither 
 she was hastening herself, and endeavouring to allure 
 others by her example and her influence. If there was 
 any pleasure in the world which Lady Olivia Neville 
 supremely valued, it was the privacy she enjoyed in her 
 own home, the hours of peaceful retirement and holy 
 meditation, which she spent, as we have described, in the 
 solitude of her boudoir, and a shade of deep regret 
 passed over her countenance when she opened her writ- 
 ing-desk on the morning in question, and wrote a letter 
 of considerable length, which she hastily sealed and in- 
 stantly despatched. " It must be done," thought she 
 with a sigh, as Harley closed the door ; " let no selfish 
 consideration interfere with this duty; ought not I 
 rather to rejoice that something can now be sacrificed 
 as a proof that it is not in mere idle words, but in deed 
 and in truth, that I place all I have, and all I enjoy, at 
 the disposal of Him who appoints every trial, and who 
 will give me his blessing only in the line of duty, and 
 of cheerful obedience ?" 
 
 Soon after Lady Olivia had resumed her reading, the 
 door was unexpectedly thrown open by Harley, to an- 
 nounce Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady Howard, who called 
 so much earlier than they had ever done before, that his 
 curiosity was evidently aroused, and he stirred the fire, 
 which was already in a blaze, and lingered for some mo- 
 ments to arrange the tables, though they were always in 
 perfect order ; but Lady Howard waited impatiently til[ 
 his manoeuvres were exhausted, and the instant he left 
 the room she began upon the object of her visit in a tone 
 of great anxiety and vexation. " My dear Olivia ! we
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 53 
 
 are come to request what you seldom offer, though you 
 can always give it of the best quality when required 
 I mean a little morsel of good advice. You have heard 
 no doubt of Barbara's misfortune ! it turns out to be 
 quite certain that her agent has failed, and all her little 
 fortune is utterly lost ! she is at this moment quite 
 pennyless I Now we know, that whatever is most judi- 
 cious and most generous will at once occur to you, and 
 we mean to place ourselves entirely in your hands, to 
 act towards her on this occasion as your wisdom and 
 kindness may suggest." 
 
 " Thank you, Maria," replied Lady Olivia, warmly. 
 " I heard what you tell me last night with sincere regret, 
 and was anxious that we should all consult together what 
 is best to be done. In one respect, I have perhaps anti- 
 cipated you both. I need scarcely remind you," she 
 added in a tone of deep but suppressed emotion, while 
 the colour glowed for a moment on her sorrow-stricken 
 countenance, " I need not remind you who would have 
 been Barbara's kindest friend, and her natural protector 
 now, had he been mercifully spared. I know that in 
 such a case her home would have been in her brother's 
 house, and I have therefore written this morning to beg 
 that she will come here immediately, and remain as long 
 as it suits her." 
 
 A pause of speechless surprise, on the part of her 
 visitors, followed this unexpected declaration. 
 
 " Impossible, Olivia ! are you distracted ?" exclaimed 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick, in a tone of animated remonstrance. 
 " I never heard of such a rash act in my life ! Why ! 
 she may stay with you perhaps for ever !" 
 
 " So I expect, and perhaps it is better that she should," 
 replied Lady Olivia, calmly; " we are told it is not good 
 for any one to be alone; and you know, Sophia, it may
 
 54 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 be more cheerful at dinner to hear another knife and fork 
 in action besides my own, and my solitary tea-cup will 
 look less deserted at breakfast with another to keep it in 
 countenance." 
 
 " If you thought so, Olivia, there are always many of 
 your own selected friends ready to take advantage of 
 your slightest invitation. I know how they all prize 
 your society," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, " and you will 
 never be able to have them here in peace or comfort again." 
 
 " This plan will never do I" observed Lady Howard, 
 emphatically ; " for my own part, I would give up half 
 my income to Barbara with pleasure, but as for tolerat- 
 ing her society during more than half an hour in the day, 
 it is an utter impossibility; and how much more insuf- 
 ferable must she be to a mind like yours ? Barbara is 
 a perpetual parody upon yourself, Olivia and if ever I 
 am inclined to admire the Christian character in you, I 
 have only to look at her and be disgusted." 
 
 " Why should you look at either of us ?" said Lady 
 Olivia, earnestly; " no human being can ever fairly repre- 
 sent the Christian character, we are at best but faint 
 and blundering copies of that great and perfect original, 
 which was once exhibited on earth for our imitation ; 
 and instead of lamenting the failures, or even emulating 
 the success of those around, is it not better to keep our 
 attention fixed on that divine portrait which the Scrip- 
 tures hold up to our view, till we can appreciate all its 
 beauties, and imitate its perfections ?" 
 
 " Say what you please," continued Lady Howai'd, 
 smiling; " but you and Barbara together will inevitably 
 remind me of the unfortunate prisoners who were chain- 
 ed by Mezentius to a dead body !" 
 
 " No, no," replied Lady Olivia, |seriously, " we shall 
 suit each other much better than you imagine, particu-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 55 
 
 larly now that your sister is unfortunate. I know she is 
 sincerely interested in religion, and that, though we 
 differ in some points, we shall agree with respect to its 
 infinite importance and its inexhaustible consolations." 
 
 " Well, Olivia, on this occasion, as on every other, 
 you judge more charitably than any one else," said Lady 
 Howard, affectionately. ' Barbara's religion, if she had 
 any, would be like the blazing of a comet, and yours 
 shines like a star with mild unchanging lustre, which 
 never seemed more lovely to me than at this moment. 
 All you ever say is suitable to the dignity and serious- 
 ness of the subject; but whenever my sister speaks of 
 religion, I think she is as completely out of good sense and 
 good taste as the pious well meaning old woman who said 
 she had one foot in the grave and the other in the stars." 
 
 " "What carriage is this that I see approaching?" ask- 
 ed Lady Fitz-Patrick, from her seat in the window. 
 
 " I had ordered mine to convey me to Edinburgh," 
 replied Lady Olivia; " but since you have not yet called 
 on Barbara, we may as well go together, and send my 
 chariot away." 
 
 " Thank you," said Lady Howard, dryly, " but I 
 would rather not face Barbara yet. She knows I dare 
 not fly out upon her in the midst of all these misfor- 
 tunes, so she would be tremendously sententious to-day, 
 and very probably bestow a volley of admonitions on 
 myself. No, Olivia you are the only person on earth 
 who could have patience to stand the first explosion of 
 Barbara's common-places ; so pray go alone, and set us 
 an example of martyrdom." 
 
 " Say every thing kind and civil from me," added 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick ; " we shall certainly call some day 
 soon ; and in the meantime settle what you please as to 
 pecuniary affairs, for Sir Richard has been exceedingly
 
 56 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 genteel on the occasion, and says he will concur with 
 myself in any arrangement you suggest." 
 
 " I have been calculating this morning," said Lady 
 Olivia, " that the income which remained to Barbara 
 beyond the amount of her house-rent was so very trifling, 
 that by sharing the expense amongst us, we might very 
 easily settle an annuity upon her for life, equal to what 
 she has lost." 
 
 " Agreed," exclaimed Lady Howard; " only I must 
 move one amendment in our little committee on ways 
 and means, that the honourable member who spoke last 
 shall be exempted from any share in the subscription, 
 having already done only too much." 
 
 " Remember, Maria, whom it is that I represent on 
 this occasion," said Lady Olivia, mournfully, " I have 
 fewer claims on my purse, and on my time, than you, 
 and it will gratify my whole heart if either of them 
 can be serviceable to one who was the companion of 
 
 of his childhood, and whom I know he sincerely 
 
 loved." 
 
 " Then, if you will not take my advice, I shall at least 
 take yours," replied Lady Howard ; " and whatever is 
 the amount of our settlement on Barbara, Sir Francis 
 says he shall consider it as his annual tribute to all sorts 
 of schools, and to every branch of every society that ever 
 was, or ever may be established." 
 
 " Barbara's mon.ey has always been very liberally be- 
 stowed," replied Lady Olivia, gravely, " and, as far as 
 she could, she made it useful." 
 
 " Look me in the face, and say you are quite serious," 
 exclaimed Lady Howard, in a tone of incredulity. " My 
 dear Olivia, your own charities are so judicious, that you 
 cannot surely approve of all the novelties on which Bar- 
 bara scatters her funds. I admire your Bible and Mis-
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 57 
 
 sionary Societies, where the means are in some degree 
 adequate to the undertaking, and some foreign objects 
 are well deserving of attention ; but as for my sister 
 why, her whole fortune goes for the education of 
 Greek children, and to establish schools in Greenland 
 and the Cape de Verd Islands, our own poor High- 
 landers are much too accessible to be fit objects for her 
 compassion. She would spend L.50 in sending a school- 
 master to the banks of the Mississippi, but not a guinea 
 to establish one in the wilds of Argyleshire ; and would 
 prefer a scheme in favour of Timbuctoo to one for the 
 benefit of India, because it is more inaccessible. She is 
 secretary to a society of ladies for transporting all the 
 people of colour from America to the coast of Africa, 
 of whom she assured me that there were not above 
 20,000, and the expense only L.3 for each man ; but 
 she Avould not find the same excitement in subscribing 
 to enlighten and feed the starving and ignorant popula- 
 tion of Ireland. Many ladies, whom I know and respect, 
 unite such active benevolence, and such cautious discre- 
 tion in their charities, that, though they are unknown 
 to the world in general, their influence is felt wherever 
 sickness or sorrow, or even guilt, can be enlightened or 
 relieved, among the destitute of their own sex; they 
 personally superintend those institutions which are for 
 the good of others, and without any peculiarities of 
 dress or of idiom, might justly be designated as Pro- 
 testant Sisters of Charity ; but I like to see people's 
 schemes of benevolence within the sphere of possibility, 
 otherwise their plans are no better than if they took the 
 fuel out of a grate to diffuse its genial warmth more ex- 
 tensively by scattering it over the ground." 
 
 " Still, though some of the fire might be wasted, more 
 would remain than where no effort whatever is made in
 
 58 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 the sacred cause/' replied Lady Olivia, " I always en- 
 courage people to bestow as much as they are inclined 
 to part with on charitable errands, for whatever be the 
 object, the more they give, the more they will be inclined 
 to give again ; and you may feel assured that, to the 
 best of her judgment, Barbara will be a faithful steward 
 of whatever our better fortune enables us to spare." 
 
 " As usual, Olivia, you remind me of Mr Allworthy 
 in the novel, where it was said that the judgment of the 
 best of heads was often misled by the tenderness of the 
 best of hearts," replied Lady Howard affectionately ; 
 " if all the world were like you, we should already feel 
 as if heaven were come upon earth." 
 
 " Maria," said Lady Olivia, " you must not be en- 
 tirely blinded by partiality, for I shall feel guilty of hy- 
 pocrisy if you think better of me than I deserve ; the 
 only thing in which I approach to what I should be is 
 in the knowledge of myself, and that keeps me humble. 
 But if we could suppose the world to be peopled with 
 such perfect beings as you have imagined, let us recol- 
 lect that we should still want what is the first object of 
 every Christian's desire the enjoyment of God's pre- 
 sence for ever in heaven."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 59 
 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Xrffcov/!!A tM 'iosw J.rr 
 
 Some quit their sphere and rush into the skies. 
 
 Miss BARBARA NEVILLE out-did Lady Howard's utmost 
 anticipations, during Lady Olivia's visit of condolence. 
 She talked of her trials as if no human being had ever 
 suffered before; and she spoke volumes of beautifully 
 expressed resignation, though at the same time she could 
 not but say it was a mysterious Providence that she 
 should be deprived of all means of usefulness, while 
 others, who wasted their substance in luxury and dissi- 
 pation, were still left to enjoy prosperity and comfort. 
 
 Many were the vain attempts that Lady Olivia made 
 to be heard ; for her gentle tones were invariably drowned 
 in the superior volubility of Miss Barbara, who always 
 answered her own remarks, and fancied that she could 
 anticipate what was to be said, or that her sententious 
 reflections and long-winded sentiments would be still 
 more suitable and interesting than any thing that could 
 possibly be elicited by another. An hour had nearly 
 elapsed before Lady Olivia could attract Miss Neville's 
 attention to the arrangement which had been made for 
 her future comfort by Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady 
 Howard, to whom their ambassadress gave all the credit 
 that was possible, and rather more than was their due 
 in the business. 
 
 " I hope, my dear Barbara/' she continued in a sooth-
 
 60 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ing tone, " that you will soon feel but slight cause to 
 regret this little vexation, as it occasions no actual change 
 to you, except that we shall be more together in future 
 than we have ever been before." 
 
 " That is a mutual advantage, certainly," replied Miss 
 Neville; " and it will be some consolation on this trying 
 occasion, if, in return for the comfortable home you have 
 offered me, I may yet hope to be a great means of use- 
 fulness to yourself. There are many important points, 
 my dear Olivia, on which I have long thought you ex- 
 tremely defective ; and nothing is more profitable to 
 any one, as I am sure you will be the first to acknow- 
 ledge, than to associate with farther advanced Christians 
 than yourself; it will therefore give me real pleasure to 
 introduce many of my sweet inestimable friends to your 
 intimate acquaintance ; and I hope soon to see you quite 
 one of ourselves." 
 
 " I cannot answer for that," said Lady Olivia, in a 
 mild but firm tone. " Your friends. Barbara, shall al- 
 ways be most welcome at Ashgrove, whenever they 
 choose to visit you there ; and I have desired my little 
 boudoir to be prepared that they may be received at 
 all times in it, without restraint or interruption. But as 
 to my own visitors, the few intimate friends with whom 
 I now wish to hold much intercourse must be chosen by 
 myself. We shall have many opportunities together of 
 discussing whatever you think likely to benefit me; and 
 by uniting to study the Scriptures with fervent prayer 
 and deep humility, we shall both obtain that teaching of 
 the Spirit, which can alone enable us to distinguish truth 
 from error, and right from wron<r." 
 
 " True," answered Miss Barbara, in an indifferent 
 tone ; " but," added she eagerly, " I have a sweet tract 
 to show you, by dear Miss Rachel Stodart, proving
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 61 
 
 that in every text of Scripture, without exception, we 
 may find three meanings literal, figurative, and pro- 
 phetical. You must do me the favour to study it care- 
 fully, and I am confident there are many things in it 
 that never struck you before." 
 
 " Very probably," said Lady Olivia; " but you know, 
 Barbara, that the Bible, in its clearest possible interpre- 
 tation, is the only test I acknowledge of the truth or 
 importance of any doctrine. It was not written merely 
 for metaphysicians or philosophers to exercise their in- 
 genuity on, but we are told that it is meant to teach us 
 a safe and simple path, in which the wayfaring man, 
 though a fool, cannot err. Let scholars and divines ex- 
 plore for us those heights which no human intellect can 
 entirely reach, and those depths which the utmost wis- 
 dom of man has never been able to fathom, but a 
 woman's place, as represented in the gospel, is always 
 one of simple devotion, and of humble though active 
 duties." 
 
 " You give us rather a narrow sphere," replied Miss 
 Barbara, in a tone of pique ; " but my mind is not so 
 easily tethered as yours." 
 
 " Recollect the examples of all the most eminent wo- 
 men in Scripture," continued Lady Olivia. " Mary stood 
 by the cross of Christ, when all the courageous and 
 learned among his disciples had deserted him, but we 
 never read of her entering into any controversies ; Dor- 
 cas clothed and visited the poor; Mary Magdalene 
 anointed the Saviour's body ; and the sister of Lazarus 
 sat at Jesus' feet. Such are the feminine characters that 
 are held up to our imitation ; and I feel assured, that 
 the question which Christ asked of his disciples, will be 
 the great test by which our lives will be tried ' Lovest 
 thou me ? ' May both of us be enabled, by divine grace,
 
 62 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 to answer as Peter did, ' Lord, thou knowest that I love 
 thee.' " 
 
 Miss Barbara Neville looked much dissatisfied, and a 
 little contemptuous. " You are but on the first step of 
 the ladder," she said, as Lady Olivia was about to take 
 leave ; " by the time I have been a few weeks at Ash- 
 grove, you will see your way more clearly." 
 
 " Are you not rather afraid to soar above the light and 
 strength that are given to us ?" replied Lady Olivia ear- 
 nestly. " There are very narrow limits to the capacity 
 of man, which should make us extremely apprehensive 
 of presumption in our interpretation of Scripture. It has 
 been well remarked, that the very difficulties we meet 
 with in studying the Bible are a tacit promise of im- 
 mortality, since God does nothing in vain, and what the 
 human mind cannot comprehend now, is reserved for 
 us in our glorified state hereafter. Let us then be satis- 
 fied to seek God in simplicity, and he will be found of 
 us, and bless us, in ourselves and in our families." 
 
 " You would shut us out at once, then, from all the 
 most interesting subjects of speculation," interrupted 
 Miss Barbara, indignantly, "the origin of evil, necessity, 
 and free-will, the intermediate state of the soul, and 
 many other topics of endless discussion, which Miss 
 Rachel Stodart says, she thinks no one can be safe with- 
 out fully understanding." 
 
 " There are many mysterious depths of doctrine which 
 wise and learned men have spent their whole lives in 
 investigating," said Lady Olivia, very seriously. " On 
 some occasions they have received a rich reward, in the 
 most sublime conceptions of the divine nature and go- 
 vernment, and in the clearest revelation of much that 
 has been hid from mere superficial Christians ; but I 
 consider that few women have sufficient metaphysical
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 63 
 
 clearness fully to comprehend the doctrinal distinctions 
 which are frequently essential, when they attempt to go 
 beyond a safe and simple creed, the chief articles of 
 which should consist in love to God and to our neigh- 
 bour." 
 
 " There I have you !" exclaimed Miss Barbara, with 
 argumentative eagerness ; " you cannot possibly mean 
 to forbid our understandings from being exercised in 
 the study of prophecy ?" 
 
 " No, certainly," replied Lady Olivia; " as far as the 
 prophecies are clearly shown to have been fulfilled, it is 
 one of the most cheering occupations for a devotional 
 spirit to trace the hand of God working out, according 
 to his own will, the events which had been so long and 
 so truly predicted ages before. But it requires such a 
 knowledge of biblical language, of the original tongue, 
 and of past history, to understand even those parts which 
 are already come to pass, that I believe we shall best 
 comprehend what is to be learned on the subject by read- 
 ing the works of those authors who have really studied 
 them deeply. You know the wren found she could 
 mount as high as the eagle, but that was only to be done 
 by getting on his back. As for the study of future pro- 
 phecy, all coming events are so carefully veiled from our 
 sight, that it seems no better than fortune-telling to an- 
 ticipate them. It is revealed to me for certain, that at 
 some period or other I shall die ; but if I were to begin 
 guessing the time, place, and circumstances, you would 
 probably see me equally mistaken in them all ; and we 
 must never pledge the truth of sacred Scripture on any 
 random conjectures of our own. It is very important, 
 Barbara, to notice on the subject of ancient prophecy 
 that it was of two kinds ; the one was literal, such as 
 when the Jews were told that in a certain number of
 
 64 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 . 
 
 years Jerusalem would be destroyed ; and this they an- 
 ticipated with certainty and precision ; but the rest was 
 given in types, which could not possibly be understood 
 until the key was given : and predictions were often far 
 advanced towards fulfilment before being laid open We 
 have our book of prophecy now, but the key is not yet 
 given to us, and no one can tell how near or how distant 
 may be the complete accomplishment, until, like the 
 Jews, we have those mysterious types explained. I am 
 satisfied with the words of our Saviour himself on the 
 subject : ' This I tell you before it come to pass, that 
 when it is come to pass ye might believe.' It is not for 
 us to know the times and the seasons, which the Father 
 hath put in his own power." 
 
 Now, Miss Barbara Neville had already calculated to 
 an hour, with the assistance of Miss Rachel Stodart, 
 when the millennium was to commence, and sighed for 
 the " narrow views" of Lady Olivia, who retired to spend 
 a last evening of quiet retirement, in peaceful and happy 
 consciousness, that whatever be the future events of this 
 world, she was in the safe and everlasting keeping of Him 
 who orders them all, and with whom one day is as a 
 thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 
 
 If the visits of Lady Fitz-Patrick and Lady Howard 
 had been rare at Ashgrove formerly, they seemed, from 
 the time of Miss Neville's arrival there, to have entirely 
 ceased ; and any stranger who had seen all their letters 
 of apology, would have pitied them as the most unfor- 
 tunate beings upon earth, they appeared to live in such 
 a succession of disasters ; nervous headaches, sick chil- 
 dren, lame horses, drunken coachmen, broken springs, 
 and troublesome visitors, were all quoted and commented 
 upon, as insuperable obstacles to their venturing off the 
 stones Miss Barbara very soon collected nearly a quire
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 65 
 
 of these apologetic notes, and returned them in a parcel 
 ;o Lady Howard, remarking that it was a pity she should 
 waste her ingenuity in composing new ones, when she 
 had only to alter the dates of these, and they would suit 
 equally well a second time. But Lady Olivia, on the 
 contrary, appeared as good-naturedly blind as ever to 
 their truant habits, and persevered in sending her sisters- 
 in-law specimens of the rarest flowers and earliest vege- 
 tables. She always defended Lady Howard and Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick from the censures of Miss Barbara, as if 
 she had been one of the offending party herself, indul- 
 gently finding out excuses for them, or giving additional 
 weight to those which they had appropriated to them- 
 selves ; but vainly did she sometimes try to soften the 
 asperity of their sister's animadversions, for it seemed 
 only to add fuel to the fire. 
 
 " Cold, heartless, selfish beings !" exclaimed Miss Ne- 
 ville indignantly, throwing down the last note that Lady 
 Howard had penned ; " I may be thankful never to have 
 known such prosperity as they have, if it would have 
 made me resemble them." 
 
 " I have a great dislike to invective, Barbara," said 
 Lady Olivia, mildly. " If we were in real want of society, 
 I am confident your sisters would make a point of being 
 more here ; but they know we are both very indepen- 
 dent, and that therefore they need consult nothing but 
 their own convenience at present, which you see must 
 have been greatly sacrificed, had they come when you 
 expected." 
 
 " If they stay away till I need their society, it may 
 be long enough indeed," replied Miss Barbara, bridling ; 
 " we have very little in common to make my intercourse 
 with them at all profitable; and with such a circle of 
 highly gifted friends as those whom it is my privilege
 
 66 MODERN' ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
 
 to enjoy, it seems a waste of precious time to associate 
 with any one who is not qualified to unite with us." 
 
 This observation was meant to cut two ways, and in 
 case its edge should not be properly felt, a glance and 
 an emphasis accompanied the words, which conveyed 
 their intended meaning to her auditor. The fact was, 
 that nothing mortified and astonished Miss Barbara Ne- 
 ville half so much as the very sparing advantage which 
 Lady Olivia took of her own society, and that of her 
 associates, who thought it an unspeakable advancemenc 
 for any person to be admitted into their clique, whicl. 
 was, in general, on as exclusive principles as any fashion- 
 able preserve in London. Each of Miss Barbara's friends 
 appeared, by her own description, to be almost super- 
 human, in some way or other ; and, amidst the pity and 
 indignation with which she viewed the follies of all other 
 people, it seemed her greatest consolation to exalt the 
 perfections of her friends, and to derive additional lustre 
 to her own virtues from the reflection of theirs. Much 
 of the conversation in Miss Neville's society consisted 
 of confidential communications respecting the mental 
 state of their nearest relatives ; and each individual 
 came prepared to sacrifice some of her own connexions 
 at the shrine of spiritual pride. All the party professed 
 to hate scandal, and to despise gossip ; but Miss Rachel 
 Stodart frequently confessed her anxiety as to the rather 
 unsatisfactory state of her brother's mind. Mr. Harvey, 
 in return, imparted to her sympathizing attention, how 
 deeply he was afflicted on account of the discomfort he 
 had in associating with his father, who differed most 
 lamentably from himself; and Miss Barbara Neville was 
 universally communicative under seal of the strictest 
 secrecy about the incurable worklliness of her sisters, 
 respecting whom she was considered to be suffering deep
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 67 
 
 and continual affliction. She also hinted mysteriously 
 about the trials she had with Lady Olivia ; but as no 
 specific charge could be brought forward, a general feel- 
 ing of disapprobation and suspicion throughout the whole 
 circle was all that ensued. One thing was very evident, 
 that few of Miss Neville's friends had parents or relatives 
 who were fit for them to live with, and that much as 
 they were inclined to acknowledge, in general terms, the 
 wisdom of their Creator, they were yet far from per- 
 ceiving, that the connexions whom He had ordained for 
 them were well or wisely appointed, and that to them 
 their first duties of charity and affection were so strictly 
 owing that nothing could cancel the debt. 
 
 Miss Rachel Stodart had so many superlative duties 
 to do, that little time was left at her disposal for common 
 ones ; and her brother's " very unsatisfactory state of 
 mind" was certainly not likely to be brought round in 
 consequence of the discomfort to which he often found 
 himself consigned at home, while she attended to the 
 wants of any one else in preference, as she had a conti- 
 nual tendency to do every other person's duty rather than 
 her own, and felt more excitement in conferring her at- 
 tentions upon strangers than in bestowing them where 
 they were a right, in her own home for the words of 
 our Saviour to the poor man at Decapolis seemed to 
 have been entirely overlooked in her study of Scripture, 
 " Go to thine own house, and there show the great things 
 which God hath done for thee." 
 
 It was a frequent subject of self- congratulation with 
 the exclusives of Miss Neville's coterie, to boast of " their 
 familiarity with Scripture ;" but as familiarity has been 
 thought to lead, on many occasions, towards irreverence, 
 that rule would not have been thought, by judicious ob- 
 servers, to have found an exception in their case. The
 
 68 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 names by which our Divine Saviour has permitted him- 
 self to be known to his creatures on earth, wei'e used with 
 such expressions of intimate endearment as are only al- 
 lowable in general between those friends who live on 
 terms of equality ; and the great name of Jehovah, the 
 Creator of the universe, which should be approached 
 with awe and veneration by his creatures at all times, and 
 which some good men have felt it so solemn to pronounce, 
 that the excellent Robert Boyle never mentioned the name 
 of God without preceding it by a visible pause, that 
 holy word was spoken with a degree of carelessness, that 
 seemed to Lady Olivia very nearly approaching the sin 
 of taking it in vain. The jests which were in common 
 circulation at these assemblies were an equal subject of 
 surprise to Lady Olivia Neville. Anecdotes of clergy- 
 men, whatever their nature or tendency might be, were 
 invariably received with animated interest by the whole 
 party, stories were told of those who had blundered in 
 the midst of their sermons ; of others who had excited the 
 risibility of a whole congregation by ill-timed jests ; and 
 of many who had tired their audiences, or irritated them, 
 by the extraordinary length of their addresses. Laugh- 
 able accounts were related also of any ignorance which 
 might be betrayed of Scripture by their former asso- 
 ciates of the violence of their opposition to the gospel, 
 of the perverted use that had been made of the sacred 
 Scriptures, and of the various apologies and evasions by 
 which their relatives had contrived to excuse themselves 
 from attending the ordinances of God. Miss Rachel 
 Stodart described one day how her uncle had said, he 
 was never in church but once in his life, to be christened, 
 and that he did not propose going again until he went to 
 be married ; but instead of ever affecting the deep regret 
 with which such a sentiment ought to have been heard
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 69 
 
 by one who professed to know the value of an immortal 
 soul, she brought it forth like any ordinary piece of gos- 
 sip, and a smile passed round the whole circle of her 
 auditors when she concluded. Mr. Harvey mentioned as 
 an amusing circumstance, that in a country church in 
 "Wales his old mother had once taken her knitting, be- 
 cause it helped to keep her awake, and that she was ex- 
 tremely indignant when forbid to continue the indul- 
 gence ; and a profusion of anecdotes were thus detailed 
 and enjoyed, of a nature which Christians in general 
 would have heard with the same mournful commiseration 
 for the souls of others, that would have been excited if 
 their bodies had been endangered by some mortal disease 
 to which they had voluntarily exposed themselves. 
 
 There were some favourite expressions in continual 
 use with Miss Neville's friends, among which the term 
 Sweet seemed to be literally a word of-all-work. There 
 were sweet books, sweet feelings, sweet moments, and 
 sweet tea; there were people who lived sweetly, and 
 who died sweetly. 
 
 Lady Olivia was equally astonished at the perverted 
 use Miss Neville and her associates made of the Avord 
 " resignation," for they seemed to bring a thousand 
 misfortunes on themselves by their mismanagement or 
 imprudence, and then they sighed and declared their 
 entire submission to " the will of Providence !" One 
 lady who had utterly neglected the education of her 
 children, so that they turned out ill, expressed her " re- 
 signation ;" another who had over-tasked her strength, 
 till her exertions almost amounted to a gradual suicide, 
 was continually talking of her " resignation ;" and Miss 
 Rachel Stodart, who had quarrelled with all her family 
 upon unnecessary punctilios, talked with a strange kind 
 of arrogant humility about her " trials" and her " resig-
 
 70 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 nation." None of these persons seemed to consider that 
 it was their duty, if possible, to avert such afflictions, for 
 it can only be considered the will of God when we suf- 
 fer privations which our own utmost efforts could not 
 have prevented, and then we must endeavour, with pious, 
 enlightened, and cordial resignation, still to " serve God, 
 and be cheerful." 
 
 Each of these individuals inculcated patience on 
 others, and bore the misfortunes of their neighbour with 
 submission, but they all considered themselves separate- 
 ly as objects of painful sympathy, on account of the 
 exaggerated view they took of their own trials. It was 
 even a subject one day of consideration at Miss Rachel 
 Stodart's, whether it was right that Christians should 
 wear mourning for each other, and there was a sort of 
 emulation in the coterie, who should exhibit the greatest 
 example of rejoicing that their friends had been re- 
 leased from such a world of woe ; but Lady Olivia simply 
 stated her own opinion when called on, that as Christ 
 had wept for the death of Lazarus, we were privileged 
 to indulge the natural feelings to a certain extent, and 
 that no one could be considered amiable or Christian 
 without them. She remarked, that it was impossible 
 to endure our own personal sufferings too patiently or 
 too cheerfully, if it were no more than the drawing of a 
 tooth, but that when parents and children were able to 
 bear the loss of their relatives with extraordinary firm- 
 ness, it often proceeded from a natural hardness and 
 coldness of heart, which was not commendable, and 
 that in the much-admired case of Brutus condemning 
 his sous to death, she would have thought his patriotism 
 more unquestionable had it involved the amputation 
 of one of his own limbs. " If it become hereafter the 
 etiquette of fashionable life," said she one day to Miss
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 71 
 
 Neville, " to take no notice whatever of the death of our 
 nearest relatives, I should see little to admire in the 
 achievements of those who could actually mix in society 
 without exhibiting any visible feeling, and we should 
 take care never to attribute to religious principle any 
 thing which may proceed from natural defect of sensibi- 
 lity ; for it is too nearly the case already, as was once 
 anticipated by the old Duke of Argyle, that at last no 
 one would stay at home on account of any death, except 
 the corpse. In this respect, as in most things, the good 
 old way is still the best, to retire amidst those who suffer 
 with ourselves; to be reserved in communicating with 
 strangers, and deeply as we may mourn, to seek most 
 for the sympathy and consolation of our never-absent 
 Saviour. The love of display and of excitement are so 
 very insidious, that 1 begin to fear there was more know- 
 ledge of human nature than I was willing to credit, in 
 the French author who maintained, that a man would 
 return with elated spirits from the funeral of his best 
 friend, if he managed it, and performed the most con- 
 spicuous part himself." 
 
 Lady Olivia Neville felt frequently surprised also at 
 the very prominent place which was given, in the con- 
 versation of Miss Barbara's friends, to the subject of for- 
 giving their enemies. She was not conscious of hav- 
 ing any herself, and had never found a moment's effort 
 in pardoning the petty acts of malice, unkindness, or 
 ingratitude, such as all are liable to suffer from in their 
 intercourse with the world, but the continual profession 
 of forgiveness would, in her estimation, have seemed to 
 imply a lurking animosity, and a recollection of trifling 
 vexations, which she thought it her best comfort to for- 
 get ; and, therefore, within her peaceful breast there 
 lived not the remembrance of a single individual whom
 
 72 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 she would have felt the slightest difficulty in meeting 
 with cordial feelings of good- will, while she made a duty 
 of praying, that IF she had enemies they might be for- 
 given, and that if any real injuries were hereafter in- 
 flicted on her, they might be readily pardoned. 
 
 A favourite doctrine of Miss Neville and her party 
 was, that the human character was capable of being 
 brought to perfection on earth, and that it was possible 
 to live in the world without sin. The sin of spiritual 
 pride, that leak in the vessel which sinks so many fair 
 and promising characters seemed in this instance to have 
 completely escaped their remembrance, as many be- 
 lieved that they were actually living in this state of 
 moral purity, and Miss Rachel Stodart declared she had 
 certainly done so for a week. Once or twice Lady 
 Olivia attempted to combat this idea by a reference to 
 Scripture, showing the corruption of human nature, and 
 that even the prophets and apostles are represented as 
 distrusting their own hearts, and fearing temptations to 
 the very last; but she was answered with such angry 
 asperity, that she allowed herself to be silenced, though 
 she could not be convinced. " Alas 1" thought she, " if 
 we were endowed, for one hour, with such unerring 
 judgment as that with which God views all our actions 
 and motives, how would the fabric of self-esteem, with 
 which we are so prone to clothe ourselves, vanish at once, 
 and we should then acknowledge, with more ardent gra- 
 titude and deeper humility, that our brightest hope is, 
 to be spared, for Christ's sake, according to the multi- 
 tude of God's mercies." 
 
 Lady Olivia generally seized the earliest opportunity 
 of absenting herself from Miss Neville's CAT-terie, as 
 Sir Francis called it, when any unavoidable circumstance 
 had entangled her amongst them, though her manner, as
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 73 
 
 long as she remained, was full of urbanity and kindness. 
 There were some that she certainly distinguished more 
 than others in the number, but to Miss Neville's sur- 
 prise, it was neither Miss Rachel Stodart, nor any of 
 those who were reckoned most " eminent ;" the leaders 
 of the party shook their heads at Lady Olivia's want of 
 " spiritual discernment ;" and it was disapprovingly ob- 
 served, that she never made the slightest approximation 
 to the use of that peculiar idiom in which all the initiated 
 among Miss Neville's circle were accustomed to converse 
 about their " frames," and to discuss every event in " the 
 religious world," as they designated themselves. The 
 manner and disposition of Lady Olivia Neville had 
 always been so frank and accessible, that on the shortest 
 acquaintance people were apt to imagine they knew her 
 perfectly, though the intercourse of a lifetime served only 
 to show those whom she admitted to her intimacv, that 
 truly to estimate such a character as hers would have 
 required " long converse and the scrutiny of years." 
 Hers was that polish of the manners which proceeds 
 from the polish of the mind, and with the kindest feel- 
 ings towards every one in society, she considered it due 
 to all with whom she had any communication, that if it 
 were to last but for half an hour of their lives, that half 
 hour should be as pleasing and as improving as possible ; 
 not that Lady Olivia was always forming resolutions to 
 be agreeable or edifying, but it was her habitual desire, 
 as the pilgrim who advances towards his home is not 
 continually renewing his purpose to go thither, though 
 every step that he takes carries him forward by natural 
 impulse. After a very few transient interviews, the 
 friends of Miss Barbara Neville felt themselves compe- 
 tent thoroughly to appreciate her, and pronounced their
 
 74 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 final verdict, that she was a " sweet woman," and it was 
 a thousand pities she still remained in darkness. 
 
 " Barbara !" said Lady Olivia, rising from breakfast 
 on the first Sunday after her being settled at Ashgrove, 
 " we shall be in very good time for church by setting 
 out in half an hour, when the bells begin to ring ; it is 
 only a ten minutes walk." 
 
 " I do not propose attending church at all, while I 
 am settled here," replied Miss Neville, with a self-satis- 
 fied look. 
 
 tf No !" exclaimed Lady Olivia, in an accent of the 
 most unfeigned astonishment. 
 
 " No !" answered Miss Neville 'in an oracular tone. 
 " I consider that Mr Arnold does not preach as he ought 
 to do." 
 
 "My dear Barbara ! I trust you are not serious," re- 
 plied Lady Olivia in a tone of earnest remonstrance. 
 " Pray consider what you are about ! Mr Arnold is the 
 established clergyman of this parish, deservedly beloved 
 and respected by all his congregation, to whom he acts 
 the part of a faithful and diligent pastor." 
 
 " That is YOUR opinion !" said Miss Neville dryly. 
 
 " And that of all who see his worth and excellence, 
 as I do," added Lady Olivia. " He has long known 
 each individual amongst his congregation personally, 
 and, far from confining his ministrations to the pulpit, 
 he teaches, exhorts, and prays with them in their own 
 homes, and watches as one who knows he must give aii 
 account. Mr Arnold may not be exactly according to 
 your taste as a preacher, but he gives us good, plain, 
 wholesome diet, and is himself a most sincere and ex- 
 emplary Christian." 
 
 " There is always a strong tinge of Arminianism in
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 
 
 what he calls the practical exhortation at the end of his 
 sermons," replied Miss Neville, shaking her head, " and 
 that will never do for me."- 
 
 " But, Barbara, we have no other church within 
 reach," said Lady Olivia in a persuasive tone. " It must 
 surely require much stronger objections to justify your 
 forsaking the assembling of ourselves together." 
 
 " Let me tell you," replied Miss Neville, in a confi- 
 dential voice, and with a very significant look, " Mr 
 Arnold is still quite in the dark." 
 
 " Do you really mean, then, always to remain at home 
 on Sundays ?" inquired Lady Olivia, in a tone of unaf- 
 fected regret. 
 
 " Not exactly," answered Miss Neville. " Some of 
 my friends who live in this neighbourhood are to meet 
 on alternate weeks at each other's houses for conference 
 and prayer, when Mr Harvey has agreed to preside." 
 
 " Mr Harvey, the friend of Sir Francis !" exclaimed 
 Lady Olivia, with astonishment, almost amounting to 
 incredulity. 
 
 " Yes !" said Miss Neville, decidedly. " Mr Harvey, 
 who was once a friend of Sir Francis, and of many others 
 whom he now abjures. He is, as Miss Rachel Stodart 
 says, ' a splendid Christian.' " 
 
 " You cannot surely be in earnest, Barbara," replied 
 Lady Olivia. " Why ! it is but a short year since he 
 began to consider these subjects at all ! What can he 
 teach you that will not be still better enforced within 
 the house of God, by one who has been a pious and con- 
 scientious clergyman of our church for thirty years ? 
 Oh, Barbara ! beware of false teachers and false pro- 
 phets; let us be diffident of our own judgment, and 
 careful to ascertain that we have the sanction of God's 
 own word for all we do, and His glory as our first ob-
 
 76 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ject. One thing more you must pardon me for hinting, 
 with the most sincere regret if it should at all hurt your 
 feelings. Viewing this subject as I do, it is my earnest 
 request that no meeting, such as you describe, may ever 
 be held in this house." 
 
 " Any one will have much to answer for, Olivia, who 
 impedes Mr Harvey's usefulness," said Miss Neville, 
 in an admonitory tone. " He is a deeply experimental 
 preacher." 
 
 " Rather too experimental in one sense, I should 
 imagine," replied Lady Olivia. " Does he never remind 
 you, Barbara, of that text in Scripture, ' clouds they are 
 without water, carried about of winds, and trees whose 
 fruit withereth ?' Let us remember the advice of the 
 prophet to ' stand upon the old ways, and see which is 
 the right and good way, and walk therein.' " 
 
 " All you say merely confirms my own opinion, as it 
 shows me how little you can appreciate Mr Harvey ; but 
 I must take you to one of our meetings some day, and 
 then you will be astonished," said Miss Neville, in a pa- 
 tronizing tone. " He completely explains the Prophecies 
 from beginning to end." 
 
 " Do you believe that to be possible ?" asked Lady 
 Olivia. " It is more than St Augustine, or Calvin, or 
 any of the sages or saints of antiquity, ever thought 
 themselves competent to do : they respectfully received 
 those truths which were revealed to their understand- 
 ings, and silently adored the mysteries which it was not 
 meant that they should yet comprehend. They did not 
 set themselves up as judges in these matters, but trusting 
 more to faith than to human reason, their respect for 
 divine revelation was not lessened by its being difficult. 
 The Revelations of St John are, as Saurin has remarked, 
 ' un des plus mortifians ouvrages, pour un esprit avide
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 77 
 
 de connoissance et de lumiere; mais un des plus satis- 
 f'aisans pour un coeur avide de maximes et de preceptes.'" 
 " I kno\v you would forbid the study of prophecy!" 
 exclaimed Miss Barbara indignantly. 
 
 "No! by no means," replied Lady Olivia. "As I 
 observed to you lately, the study of those predictions 
 which are already fulfilled, forms as safe and interesting 
 a subject of contemplation as any that a Christian mind 
 can engage in ; but we should take warning by the Jews 
 on this subject, who have so deeply suffered for hasty 
 and literal interpretations of prophecy, which prevented 
 their recognising the real Messiah when he came, because 
 their minds were so filled with false expectations of his 
 temporal splendour, on account of their mistaken read- 
 ing of the Old Testament, that they could not recognise 
 the Saviour of the world, when He appeared on earth as 
 ' a man of sorrows,' and as one whose ' kingdom was not 
 of this world.' " 
 
 " Then I suppose you never read the Book of Revela- 
 tion at all ?" said Miss Neville. " How can you justify 
 such an omission?" 
 
 " On the contrary, I study it continually," replied 
 Lady Olivia. " There is no book in the whole oracles of 
 God more sublime, or more deeply interesting. Amongst 
 much that is symbolical and mysterious, there is also 
 much that the most ignorant may understand and medi- 
 tate on with advantage. "We there distinctly trace the 
 majesty of Almighty God the power of Jesus Christ 
 the formidable attempts of Satan against the church 
 the terrors of the last day, the remorse of the reprobate, 
 and the consummate happiness of the saints in heaven. 
 In short, my dear Barbara, we may feel assured that 
 every prophecy contained in that book will be fulfilled 
 in its appointed time, and that then we shall perfectly
 
 78 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 understand them, but not sooner. Meantime, we may 
 study the sublime revelations of Scripture now for saving 
 knowledge, without entering into curious speculation. 
 It is astonishing to read in history of the flagrant blun- 
 ders into which good and well-meaning people have been 
 led, by venturing presumptuously to guess the future 
 purposes of God. They seem to have been punished 
 for attempting to pluck from the tree of knowledge what 
 they were not warranted to seek. You must recollect 
 the well-known fact, that in the year 1000 so univer- 
 sal an expectation had been disseminated of the world 
 coming to an end, that people could hardly be persuaded 
 to sow any corn, or to cultivate their fields." 
 
 " It has not many more years to last now,'' said Miss 
 Neville, in an oracular tone. " The signs of the times," 
 as dear Miss Rachel Stodart says, " indicate that the end 
 of all things is at hand." 
 
 " I observe, both in religion and politics, people are 
 always apt to fancy that the period of their own exist- 
 ence must be the grand crisis of the universe," said Lady 
 Olivia, smiling. " It is impossible to believe that events 
 can go on in an every- day manner while we are in the 
 world, and something wonderful must happen to mark 
 the period of our existence, which of course appears to us 
 the most important era in history. But nature continues 
 its course, while croAvds successively appear on the stage 
 of life, and vanish silently away, and all things shall 
 continue as they were till the number of God's people 
 is completed, which he alone can know. This world 
 will be spared, like the cities of Lot, so long as there 
 remain ten righteous men, whose probation it may be 
 the will of God to continue here ; and for ourselves, we 
 need only bear in mind, that to us the end of all things 
 is indeed at hand, for every day brings our short span
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT- 79 
 
 of existence nearer to a close, and there can be no uncer- 
 tainty as to that, nor any danger in our contemplating 
 it too much, or thinking it too near." 
 
 " Your views are extremely unsatisfactory," replied 
 Miss Neville, in a tone of conscious superiority. " But 
 what can be expected from any one who attends such a 
 drone as Mr. Arnold ?" 
 
 " Barbara," said Lady Olivia, seating herself once 
 more at the breakfast table, with a look of anxious kind- 
 ness, " let me for once speak my whole mind to you 
 on this subject, and then I shall implicitly commit our 
 difference of sentiment, with fervent prayer and entire 
 submission, into the hands of God, trusting that he will 
 pardon all our errors of judgment, and enable us to pros- 
 trate our opinions, as well as all our desires, before the 
 sovereignty of His word and will." 
 
 " "Well, say on," replied Miss Neville, impatiently. 
 " Only let me premise, that if you expect to persuade me 
 that it would be better to take pot-luck with Mr. Arnold, 
 than to hear such a man as Mr. Harvey, you will only 
 waste words and time upon a vain attempt, as my mind 
 is made up only to attend where I find satisfaction." 
 
 " It is a serious step, Barbara, in any one to renounce 
 their allegiance to that church which has been the very 
 gate of heaven to thousands who have gone before us, and 
 who have thought that one of their highest blessings and 
 privileges was in belonging to it," said Lady Olivia, in 
 a tone of impressive seriousness. " God has, at all times 
 that we read of, been worshipped under a settled form 
 in public; the Almighty laid strong injunctions on his 
 people of old not to worship him in ' every place,' and the 
 Jews (even while they wandered in the wilderness) were 
 commanded to have an established clergy. God appoint-
 
 80 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ed these, and it was the people's duty to recognise and 
 follow them. When the temple was huilt, they were on 
 no pretext to forsake it, and who that reads Solomon's 
 dedication of that house to God, would not feel the im- 
 portance of prayer being offered up within its walls, and 
 that God's more immediate presence was to be expected 
 there?" 
 
 " It is the preacher, and nBt the place, I am objecting 
 to," said Miss Neville ; " and you know the sons of 
 Aaron, who were appointed to be priests in those davs, 
 were consumed for offering strange fire on the altar." 
 
 " True," replied Lady Olivia, " but that was an imme- 
 diate judgment of God, for the congregation of Jews had 
 no power to depose or condemn their priests. "We live 
 under a different dispensation, but still under the same 
 superintending Providence ; and though the clergy of our 
 church are not appointed immediately by the Almighty 
 himself, yet they may be considered as lineally descended 
 from the apostles, who were selected by Christ, and who 
 ordained their own successors. These have appointed 
 others in regular array, from the time of our Saviour to 
 the present hour ; and it is a beautiful confirmation of 
 our faith, to trace this lengthening chain through every 
 successive age, when God has never left himself with- 
 out a witness, according to his own promise." 
 
 " Your view of the subject is very popish," said Miss 
 Neville dryly ; " we shall hear next, I suppose, of an 
 infallible church." 
 
 " No," replied Lady Olivia, " but I consider our parish 
 church as the ordinance of God to us, and unless our 
 clergyman teaches contrary to the word of Scripture, we 
 must on no account abandon his ministrations. As long 
 as he directs us to a crucified Saviour, and to the Holy
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 81 
 
 Spirit for guidance and comfort, there can be no cause 
 for disunion. We read, in the Revelations of St. John, 
 that God's message to the seven churches of Asia was 
 delivered to the minister of each, but not directly to the 
 people, and when the centurion was favoured with a 
 direct inspiration from God, it did not tell him what he 
 was to know, but desired him to send for Peter, who 
 would deliver the message of his Master. As a father 
 should provide for the religious education of his child- 
 ren, so should a government for the instruction of its 
 subjects. This should teach us to look for edification 
 only from legitimate sources, and to expect it most in 
 the path of humble and implicit obedience. If there 
 were but one spring of water in this neighbourhood, you 
 would feel obliged to partake of it, though the refresh- 
 ment might not be equal to what you had derived in 
 other places, and, at all events, it would be preferable to 
 any draught which was suspected of being noxious and 
 intoxicating." 
 
 " Meaning Mr. Harvey's discourses," interrupted Miss 
 Neville, indignantly ; " let me tell you, he would soon 
 preach Mr. Arnold ' bare to the very sexton,' for such a 
 blaze of eloquence is seldom to be heard in a church, and 
 will soon make itself known and admired. No, Olivia ! 
 you will never make a formalist of me, though I am sor- 
 ry to think what a mere church-goer you are yourself. 
 It is an easy way to secure the world's esteem by con- 
 forming to its customs in that respect, but such approba- 
 tion I have no desire to possess. Indeed, if every body 
 spoke well of me, as they do of you, I should be apt to 
 suspect there was something amiss." 
 
 " I apprehend no danger that the world will ever 
 think either of us too faultless, Barbara," replied Lady
 
 82 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Olivia, smiling ; " it is seldom so lenient a judge of any 
 one ; and at the same time I would observe that, though 
 Christians must make no sacrifice of principle to obtain 
 the good opinion of others, yet we neither can nor 
 should exterminate that desire for the esteem and affec- 
 tion of our friends and neighbours, which enables us to 
 serve them the more, if we exert our influence for good, 
 and which is natural to every one who is capable of be- 
 nevolence or good feeling." 
 
 " But, as our whole nature is depraved, whatever is 
 natural to us must be bad," replied Miss Neville ; " it is 
 no defence of any propensity to say it is natural, the 
 most important characteristic in a Christian is noncon- 
 formity to the world in all respects." 
 
 " We must certainly be a ' peculiar people' in many 
 ways, and especially in our zeal to do good," said Lady 
 Olivia ; " but I would only wish to be peculiar in what 
 is really essential, and not in trifles, for which I think 
 many well-meaning people are too ready to contend, 
 often indulging a naturally arbitrary temper, or an in- 
 terfering disposition, under the cloak of religious duty ; 
 and perverting the name of devotion for what is merely 
 the enthusiasm of an excited imagination." 
 
 " I see what you mean," replied Miss Neville, rising; 
 " but I shall never sit under any clergyman, unless his 
 doctrines and preaching are exactly such as I approve." 
 " Then, Barbara, you will be like a kite without a 
 string, blown about by every wind of doctrine," said 
 Lady Olivia, rising also ; " but I trust you will still keep 
 in view that anchor of safety to us all, secret prayer and 
 meditation. Try to compose your mind in solitude, my 
 dear Barbara, on this important subject which we have 
 discussed to-day ; avoid all excitement for a time, and
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 83 
 
 let me hope you will not be pledged to any sect or party, 
 till you feel assured of being so on grounds that are per- 
 fectly sufficient and scriptural." 
 
 Miss Neville silently left the room, but Lady Olivia 
 had soon many vexatious evidences, that nothing was 
 farther from the intention of her guest than to pursue 
 that cautious and rational line of conduct which she had 
 suggested. 
 
 One afternoon, having rung for Mrs. Millar at an 
 unusual hour, she obtained no answer till after repeating 
 the summons several times, when at length the drawing- 
 room door was hurriedly opened, and the housekeeper 
 entered in breathless haste. " I beg your pardon, my 
 Lady," she said, " but Miss Neville had not quite finish- 
 ed her exposition when your Ladyship's bell rung, and 
 I could not interrupt the meeting." 
 
 " I merely rung to settle this bill with you," said 
 Lady Olivia ; " but what did you say about an exposi- 
 tion?" 
 
 " I thought your Ladyship had known," replied Mrs. 
 Millar, " that Miss Neville assembles us all every even- 
 ing in her room to explain the Scriptures, and to teach 
 us Mr. Harvey's new views, which are most surprising, 
 and quite different from any thing I had ever known 
 formerly." 
 
 Lady Olivia looked up from her writing desk with 
 extreme astonishment, and paused in silence for some 
 moments. " Pray, Millar, how long have you been in 
 the habit of hearing Miss Neville expound ?" she said 
 at length, in a tone of some anxiety. 
 
 " Ever since she came here, Madam," replied Mrs. 
 Millar. " I hope your Ladyship will not be displeased, 
 for we all fancied you had known it, or not one of the 
 servants would have attended."
 
 84 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " No, Millar, I was not aware of this," said Lady 
 Olivia ; " and am very glad to have been informed of it 
 now, though you need not suppose that I blame any one, 
 as it is all intended for the best. I must, however, 
 observe, that as there have been so many wise and good 
 Christians before us, it is most probable that any entire- 
 ly new views of religion must be entirely wrong, and 
 that we should beware of being like the men of Athens, 
 who were always inquiring for some new thing. God 
 originally promised never to leave himself without a 
 remnant of true believers on the earth, and it is not pro- 
 bable that he will reveal now what has been hitherto 
 concealed. But I shall converse with Miss Neville on 
 this subject to-morrow, and in the meantime, I think, 
 Millar, that as we have family prayers here twice a-day, 
 it may be as much as you can do with advantage to 
 attend these, along with the more private devotions, 
 in which, I hope and believe, you regularly engage." 
 
 Mrs. Millar respectfully withdrew, and Lady Olivia 
 took the earliest opportunity which occurred of speak- 
 ing to Miss Neville, though she did so with that painfully 
 nervous feeling which is common to every mind of sen- 
 sibility when duty obliges them to discuss or criticise 
 the conduct of another. " Barbara !" said she, the fol- 
 lowing morning, in her most conciliatory tone, " I un- 
 derstand you have begun a course of reading to the ser- 
 vants, which I am sorry you did not mention, that I 
 might have been present also. It has occasioned me 
 much regret, since your arrival here, that you have 
 never joined my family circle at prayers, and I shall be 
 happy now to make some arrangement by which we may 
 divide the duty, and enjoy the pleasure together, if that 
 would be agreeable to you." 
 
 " Our views are so very different," said Miss Neville,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 85 
 
 " that your presence would rather restrain the freedom 
 of my expositions." 
 
 " We might at least agree in the importance of study- 
 ing the Scriptures," replied Lady Olivia ; " and I have 
 no objection to confine myself to these for the present, 
 if it will induce you to join me. Where explanation is 
 desirable, you may name the works of any ordained 
 clergyman you please, and I shall be happy to coincide 
 in reading them ; but, my dear Barbara, I consider 
 myself answerable for any instruction which is imparted 
 in this house to my servants, and on so serious an oc- 
 casion as that of being taught from the word of God, 
 I cannot allow them to assemble without being present 
 myself." 
 
 Miss Neville's look was more in anger than in sorrow 
 at this declaration, and feeling herself extremely ill- 
 treated, she soon after left the room, while Lady Olivia's 
 countenance assumed for some moments an unwonted 
 expression of chagrin and anxiety, which soon yielded, 
 however, to its usual look of calm and peaceful medita- 
 tion, while these words occurred to her thoughts, " Let 
 not your hearts be troubled : ye believe in God, believe 
 also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions ; 
 I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there 
 ye may be also." " Who would willingly forsake such 
 ti simple belief as this teaches," thought she, " for all the 
 learned controversies of the present day ! Here are doc- 
 trine, precept, and prophecy, all comprised in a single 
 page, and level to every capacity ; I could meditate for 
 ever on this one text, and there are hundreds to be found 
 in Scripture of equal signification and interest. It holds 
 out a balm for every worldly sorrow; and if I find it 
 sufficient, surely there are few hearts upon earth that 
 can need it more." Lady Olivia glanced around her
 
 86 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 silent and solitary drawing-room, while the images of 
 her husband and her children crowded into her thoughts, 
 and the tears insensibly flowed down her cheek. ' I 
 believe in God, therefore I am comforted," thought she, 
 covering her face with her hands, and struggling for 
 composure ; " I believe in a Saviour, and therefore I 
 feel myself pardoned and pitied. I look to the mansions 
 where those whom I loved will yet dwell with me in 
 eternal blessedness, and I feel that my hour of sorrow 
 is short and easy. I think upon the path of suffering 
 through which Christ went on his mission of mercy, and 
 I long to follow Him, and to rejoice in his presence for 
 ever. Oh ! surely these consolatory thoughts are indeed 
 to me the fulfilment of that Scripture, ' My grace is suf- 
 ficient for thee ; my strength is made perfect in thy weak- 
 ness ;' for these words give to me that ' peace' which 
 Christ bequeathed as His last best gift to His disciples, 
 and which is like the white stone mentioned in the 
 Revelation, ' which no man knoweth saving he that 
 receiveth it.' "
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 87 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Her maternal care 
 
 Incessant watches o'er the feeble frame, 
 And bids the changing scenes of life prepare 
 Our rising nature to a nobler aim. COWPEB. 
 
 SOME weeks after Miss Neville had been domesticated at 
 Ashgrove, Lady Olivia was one morning alarmed and 
 grieved to receive a letter from Lady Howard, mention- 
 ing that Lady Fitz-Patrick's son having recently had a 
 severe typhus fever, she had invited Eleanor to take re- 
 fuge at her house, but that, in spite of every precaution, 
 both the girls had been seized with that dangerous com- 
 plaint in its worst form, and were considered to be 
 alarmingly ill. 
 
 It was many years since Lady Olivia had left her own 
 house, but without a moment's delay she proceeded to 
 Barry's hotel, accompanied by Miss Neville, and pre- 
 pared with all a mother's anxiety and tenderness to take 
 her place by the bedside of the beloved invalids, and to 
 watch over them with the same deep solicitude and affec- 
 tionate care which had once been so unavailingly exert- 
 ed for her own children, who were scarcely more dear to 
 her than Eleanor and Matilda. 
 
 " There is a right and a wrong way of doing every 
 thing," as the Frenchman said, who wrote a book on the 
 best way of blowing out a candle ; and nothing in the 
 world shews greater diversity of character and disposi- 
 tion than attending a sick-bed. Every affection of the 
 heart is then called forth, and must be accompanied with
 
 88 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 fortitude and prudence to impart that comfort and sup- 
 port to the sufferer which we often require at the same 
 time ourselves. Few are capable of entirely neglecting 
 those who need their care; but, on the other hand, fewer 
 still can give all the consolation that might be expect- 
 ed on such an occasion, because there is a perpetual 
 danger of officiousness, and still more of being ostenta- 
 tious in conferring attention on those whose situation 
 obliges them to be under incessant obligations. A mind 
 of true delicacy will carefully screen from observation 
 all the labour and care which her attendance occasions, 
 while the fretfulness of pain and dependence may be a 
 continual trial to the temper, in causing peevishness and 
 misrepresentations from those whom it is the first ob- 
 ject of solicitude to relieve and comfort. No one ever 
 attained more perfectly than Lady Olivia Neville that 
 total forgetfulness of self which is the first essential in an 
 attendant on sickness. She seemed to have no thought 
 on earth beyond the sick-room, and to see no object in 
 it but the two beloved invalids. If they were feverish, 
 she soothed them ; if they slept, she seemed scarcely to 
 have life or motion herself; if their spirits were depress- 
 ed, she whispered words of encouragement and comfort; 
 and when their sufferings were beyond the reach of her 
 alleviation, they saw by her looks of silent distress how 
 deep was her sympathy; and often a short but fervent 
 prayer breathed from her lips, brought the light of an- 
 other world to shine npon the darkness of the present. 
 
 To Eleanor and Matilda, Lady Olivia's entrance 
 seemed always the harbinger of peace and consolation. 
 Their first thought on awakening was to ascertain if she 
 were near ; and they closed their eyes to sleep with an 
 additional feeling of tranquillity when they saw her 
 watching with gentle, but unobtrusive care. She added
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 89 
 
 to their comfort by a thousand contrivances which oc- 
 curred to no one else ; for truly those who have watched 
 much over the sufferings of a sick-bed, become fearfully 
 ingenious in anticipating and relieving its wants. 
 
 Eleanor and Matilda scarcely needed to express their 
 wishes, for they had only to lie still, like the Prince in 
 the Arabian Nights, who was waited upon by hands, 
 and every thing was done by an invisible agency. The 
 invalids could often only guess to whom they were in- 
 debted for what afforded them pleasure or relief, but 
 they never found themselves mistaken in attributing 
 every instance of considerate kindness or watchful care 
 to Lady Olivia Neville. 
 
 It was far otherwise with respect to their aunt Barbara, 
 the very sound of whose footstep ascending the stair 
 made the patients shrink with anticipations of future en- 
 durance; and when she entered the room, it was with an 
 air of conscious merit that seemed to tell what an act of 
 duty and of kindness she was about to perform in visit- 
 ing the sick, and in braving the infection of a fever, the 
 danger and contagiousness of which became her favourite 
 theme. Whatever might be the state of their nerves, or 
 of their pulses, she made a point of asking the invalids 
 a train of questions and cross-examining them. If they 
 felt better ? If they felt worse ? If they had slept 
 well ? If they had taken their medicine ? If the doctor 
 had been there lately ? If their heads ached ? and 
 whether they felt prepared to die should their illness be 
 fatal, which she frequently hinted was more than pro- 
 bable. Miss Neville generally ended her visit with a 
 selection of trite and common-place remarks on the ne- 
 cessity of patient submission to suffering, on the shortness 
 of life, and on the certainty of death. 
 
 If Dr Jones came in, Miss Barbara scarcely let him
 
 90 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 speak to his patients, she had so much to say. She told 
 him how they were ; descanted on her own excessive 
 attention and skill, suggested various remedies that she 
 wondered he had not prescribed, and asked him whether 
 it was prohable they should recover or not. Whatever 
 position Eleanor or Matilda might be lying in when she 
 entered, Miss Neville invariably thought she could make 
 them more easy, and insisted on their altering it. "My 
 dear ! how can you stay in bed with your head so high ? 
 Let me remove one of those pillows," said she one day 
 to Eleanor, " and pray turn your back to the light, which 
 would be much more comfortable." 
 
 " Aunt Barbara ! do let me be miserable my own way," 
 replied Eleanor impatiently ; " it is not the sun that is 
 annoying me most at present, but something much more 
 teazing and unwelcome." 
 
 The invalids often pretended to be asleep when Miss 
 Neville entered the room, in hopes of being allowed to 
 repose in peace; but this expedient scarcely at all availed 
 them, as she generally peered into their faces to ascer- 
 tain if they really were so, and seemed willing to awaken 
 them in order to inquire how they slept. 
 
 Miss Barbara Neville was quite an adept at that 
 peculiar sort of whisper, which seems the established 
 mode of communication in sick-rooms. It is just low 
 enough to excite attention, and loud enough not to balk 
 it. There is a mysterious and impressive earnestness in 
 it which commands the most intense curiosity ; and the 
 invalid who is supposed to be too weak or too drowsy 
 for listening to anything, is generally kept in a feverish 
 state of interest and anxiety by its continual sound near 
 his bed, and learns by means of it, all that ought to be 
 most cautiously concealed. In vain did Lady Olivia try 
 to discourage Miss Neville's loquacity, for the invalids,
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 9l 
 
 either sleeping or waking, only experienced a change 
 from the sound of her voice at its full pitch, or when 
 reduced to that irritating whisper which they dreaded 
 more than the drone of a bagpipe at their ears. 
 
 " I see poor Matilda is asleep at last," whispered Miss 
 Neville across the bed to Lady Olivia, who was quietly 
 seated at her work on the opposite side ; " she has had 
 a dreadful day of it ! Indeed, I am sorry to mention, 
 Dr Jones thinks it a great chance if she can survive this 
 night unless her pulse falls." 
 
 Lady Olivia made signs to stop Miss Neville's impru- 
 dence, and clasped her hands with an imploring look, to 
 show how earnestly she begged her silence ; but it was 
 all in vain. 
 
 " She is quite sound asleep, I assure you," continued 
 the whisperer ; " and I am very thankful to see it, for 
 that is her only chance of coming through." 
 
 "I am not asleep, aunt Barbara!" said Matilda, 
 faintly ; " I hear all you say." 
 
 " My dear girl ! how sorry I am ! Did I disturb you ? 
 Have you slept at all ? Do turn yourself round, and 
 try to be composed." 
 
 A gentle hand was laid upon Barbara's arm, and Lady 
 Olivia led her towards the door. " It is, as you know, 
 a case of life and death this night, and quietness is our 
 only hope," said Lady Olivia, impressively, as soon as 
 they were beyond the possibility of being heard ; " ex- 
 cuse me, Barbara, but for your own sake, and that of all 
 who love the dear girl, I cannot allow you to remain 
 another moment in that room." 
 
 Lady Olivia hastened instantly back, and found Ma- 
 tilda in a state of alarming agitation. Her whole frame 
 was trembling, and she entreated her aunt not to stir 
 out of sight for a moment, but to talk to and comfort
 
 92 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 her, and to try if she could lead her mind into a state 
 of composure and peace, as the idea of death, so nearly 
 impending, had never before been impressed on her 
 thoughts. 
 
 " You often told me formerly, my dear aunt, when I 
 talked presumptuously of being ready to die, that death 
 at a distance or near, was as different to our apprehen- 
 sions as if we saw a lion painted on a sign, or met him 
 roaring in the forest ; and I now feel painfully sensible 
 how true it is." 
 
 Lady Olivia laid herself down on the bed beside 
 Matilda, and affectionately folded her in her arms. ' " My 
 dearest child," she said in an under tone, " you and I 
 have often talked of death, and thought of it formerly ; 
 and we have prayed together that God would be with 
 you in the hour of danger and of suffering. These 
 prayers will all be remembered now, when you cannot 
 speak the language of supplication yourself. The Holy 
 Spirit of God will intercede for you, and the Saviour is 
 ready to bless and to preserve you. Place your whole 
 trust in his all-sufficient merit ; and be thankful that it 
 is his merit, and not your own, that you now depend 
 upon. Try to sleep, my beloved Matilda, and be assured 
 I shall remain here and pray for you till you awaken 
 again." 
 
 Nature had been so nearly exhausted by fever and 
 restlessness, that all the soothing cares of Lady Olivia 
 were for some time unavailing ; but still Matilda felt 
 encouraged and consoled by her presence ; and a calm 
 insensibly stole over her spirits, when she gazed on the 
 countenance of her aunt, which was so peaceful and so 
 sanctified, that all human passion seemed utterly extinct 
 there, except when she turned a look of fond and anxious 
 solicitude on the object of her affectionate care. Gra-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 93 
 
 dually the perfect stillness of all around, and the grow- 
 ing composure of her inward thoughts, had the desired 
 effect, and Matilda at length dropped into a quiet and 
 refreshing slumber, which brought the crisis of her fever 
 to a favourable termination. It was not without tears 
 of joy and thankfulness that Lady Olivia learned from 
 Dr Jones, on the following morning, that both the young 
 ladies might be considered out of danger, and that in 
 a few weeks he was confident they would be perfectly 
 restored. 
 
 Never did Matilda Howard afterwards forget that 
 hour, when the gulph of eternity seemed suddenly to 
 have opened beneath her feet, and when all her terrors 
 had been soothed and allayed by the message of gospel 
 mercy. The more she meditated on it, during the time 
 of her convalescence, the more she saw its adaptation 
 to her wants, and the more truly she loved its Author. 
 Many days were afterwards spent in deep and earnest 
 conversation with Lady Olivia, during which her mind 
 seemed visibly to expand, and she received a degree of 
 pleasure and interest from these interviews, of which her 
 whole future life showed the salutary impression. 
 
 Lady Fitz- Patrick professed to be so occupied with 
 her son at home, that she could seldom come to see 
 Eleanor ; and she indulged a most unconquerable terror 
 of infection also, which combined with other things to 
 render her visits both few and hurried. The apartment 
 was always carefully fumigated before she entered; her 
 pocket handkerchief was steeped in Eau de Cologne for 
 the occasion ; her gloves were changed after she left the 
 room, and she kept cloves in her mouth the whole time 
 she spoke. Sometimes she did not venture to enter, but 
 thrust her head in at the door, and held a dialogue from 
 thence, to ascertain how her daughter felt.
 
 94 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " I would come in with pleasure, my love, but it could 
 be of no use to you," said Lady Fitz-Patrick one day ; 
 " and being so lately from the fresh air, would make me 
 very liable to catch the fever. I hope you have every 
 thing necessary, and that you will soon be quite well." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick's head was then hastily withdrawn, 
 before there was time for any answer, and she returned 
 home to tell Sir Richard that Eleanor was really won- 
 derfully better, and she could see no good reason for 
 their sending an apology to Lady Amelia Douglas. 
 
 Lady Howard was as clever in the science of physic 
 as in everything else. She had studied profoundly in 
 Buchan's Domestic Medicine. She knew the Code of 
 Health and Longevity by heart, and had read " Every 
 Man his own Doctor," and " The infallible Shield against 
 Sickness and Death," several times over. Her well-stocked 
 medicine chest was of most portentous dimensions ; and 
 she had even invented a pill of her own, which was a 
 secure remedy for every sort of incurable complaint. 
 She quacked herself by the newspapers continually, and 
 sent for a trial of almost every new discovery in physic 
 which was advertised, declaring she or some of her friends 
 had undoubted symptoms of the disease it professed to 
 cure. Lady Howard's children also enjoyed the benefit 
 of her prescriptions. Many a Nabob, whose liver has 
 been fried in India for twenty years, never swallowed 
 more calomel than Matilda. If she looked flushed with 
 exercise and animation, it was administered to cool her ; 
 if she felt languid with fatigue, she must require it for 
 being bilious ; and if she were undeniably well, there 
 was nothing more effectual as a preventive of disorders 
 than calomel. On the occasion of Matilda's severe ill- 
 ness, Lady Howard was determined to shine. She had 
 a theory of her own for fevers, and was with the greatest
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 05 
 
 difficulty prevented by Dr Jones from following it out 
 in her treatment of the invalid, and he felt often nearly 
 in a fever himself with the trouble she occasioned him. 
 Every draught that \vas sent to the house she made a 
 point of tasting, in order to ascertain its ingredients, and 
 generally threw out a rough guess when next he called, 
 that she might impress him with a due sense of her dis- 
 crimination. 
 
 " I rather suspect, Dr Jones," said she one day, " that 
 there was ^laudanum in the composing draught you sent 
 for Matilda last night, which is a thing I never allow 
 my children to take ; so we merely administered the half 
 of it, which was fortunate, since I rather think it did her 
 harm. Do you never prescribe Valerian instead ?" 
 
 Another day she said, " Would there be any risk, Dr 
 Jones, in doubling the dose you prescribed last night? It 
 did some good, and I conceive the contents are merely 
 antimonial wine and hartshorn, disguised in a little rose 
 water." 
 
 " Madam," cried Dr Jones in a paroxysm of vexation, 
 " either you or I must give up practice in this house, for 
 Miss Howard could not survive a week of your treat- 
 ment." 
 
 " Olivia," said Lady Fitz Patrick, one day when she 
 saw her leaving the sick-room, " how I envy your nerves! 
 they would be fit for a sick-nurse at the Infirmary. You 
 appear to have no fear of infection, so it is quite safe 
 for you to brave it ! but as I live in constant terror, you 
 know I am much more liable to be seized with the com- 
 plaint than any one else. You have always been, in 
 every circumstance of life, a strong-minded person, who 
 could bear any thing. If you could form any idea of 
 my acute sensibility on all occasions, you would really
 
 96 MODERN* ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 pity me ; but it is what, I should think,you can scarcely 
 even imagine." 
 
 Lady Olivia coloured deeply at this implied accusation 
 of insensibility, and turned silently away, for her heart 
 was too full to speak. " Alas!" thought she, "'The heart 
 knoweth its own bitterness ;' how many fervent prayers, 
 and how many solitary struggles, has it cost me to attain 
 that outward calmness which shrouds from her view the 
 anguish and sorrow that have long been buried in my 
 breast, and which must last ' till mourn'd and mourner 
 lie together in repose.' " 
 
 " You really have quite a genius for a sick-room," said 
 Lady Howard drawing in her chair, " and I often think, 
 Olivia, how unlucky it is that you never tried to pick 
 up a little knowledge of medicine ; it might render you 
 still more useful in attending upon invalids, which you 
 seem to be so fond of doing." 
 
 "We should scarcely agree quite so well as we do 
 now, Maria, if I took out a diploma," replied Lady Olivia, 
 sitting down beside her. " I believe Esculapius himself 
 would be puzzled in your well-stored laboratory, and I 
 certainly am completely so ; however, in medicine, still 
 more than in any thing else, it is most true that a little 
 learning is a dangerous thing ; and it is too late for me 
 now to acquire all the skill and practice that you have." 
 
 " You are pleased to be satirical," said Lady Howard, 
 laughing, " and as a punishment, I prescribe for you to 
 read carefully through this invaluable work upon diet, 
 entitled ' The Life Preserver.' " 
 
 " Thank you," answered Lady Olivia ; " but I never 
 feel in such danger of becoming fanciful about my health 
 as when I begin to study the subject ; and the most in- 
 curable complaints of all are those of the imagination.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 97 
 
 I once read the description of a polypus in the nose till 
 I actually felt as if it were beginning to grow in my 
 own." 
 
 " I perceive that your chief deficiency as a sick-nurse, 
 Olivia, is rather a want of activity," said Miss Neville, 
 in a tone of perfect self-complacency. " I thought, more- 
 over, that you lost several opportunities, when the girls 
 were at their worst, of saying something striking and im- 
 pressive, which they would have remembered the longest 
 day they had to live." 
 
 " Do you think so, Barbara," answered Lady Olivia, 
 in a tone of reflection. " I can acquit myself of an in- 
 tentional omission, but we have so solemn a responsibi- 
 lity to promote the glory of God, and the good of those 
 we love, that I never can feel satisfied it has been fully 
 performed, and am quite ready to coincide with you, 
 that more might have been done, though I trust our 
 endeavours, such as they were, will have the blessing of 
 God, which can alone render them effectual." 
 
 " To do you justice, my dear Olivia, I see no one 
 who has so varied and interesting a method of talking 
 to children as yourself," interrupted Lady Howard, af- 
 fecting not to notice that Miss Neville, who had risen to 
 leave the room, was going to speak ; ' you never tease 
 them when they are unfit for it, like some people; and 
 when you do give religious advice, it is administered to 
 them, as their medicines are, so wrapped up in sweet- 
 meats, that one can scarcely pity them for being obliged 
 to swallow it." 
 
 " You know, Maria, afflictions have been called pre- 
 sent medicine for everlasting health, and I was anxious 
 to take advantage of their illness, to impress both upon 
 Eleanor and Matilda, the importance of being freed from 
 that moral disease of the soul which each of us is born 
 
 F
 
 98 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 with which causes all the sufferings they ever see or 
 feel which brings death to our families and to our- 
 selves and which must send us to everlasting destruc- 
 tion, if we do not apply to that great Physician who is 
 able and willing to cure us." 
 
 " Well, Olivia, I have positively thought, very often, 
 after hearing you talk to Eleanor, that if by tossing all 
 my novels and visiting cards out of the window, or by 
 shutting myself up in a dungeon, or cutting off my right 
 hand, or any other desperate effort you please, I could 
 all at once become as pious and amiable as you are, I 
 should almost be tempted to try it," said Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick, sighing, while she threw herself full length on 
 a sofa ; " but as for settling the whirl of my mind into 
 a calm, and all at once sitting down to be ' good,' that 
 is quite out of the question." 
 
 " If you expect to find strength in yourself to do so, 
 it certainly is impossible/' said Lady Olivia, earnestly ; 
 " the man has never yet been born who could conquer 
 the enticements of this world by his own unassisted 
 efforts. Sin, in some shape or other, governs every 
 human being, till the grace of God gives us a victory 
 which we never could accomplish ourselves." 
 
 " I cannot but think, however, in spite of all you have 
 ever said on the subject, Olivia," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, 
 " that if we only do our best, that is all which can pos- 
 sibly be expected." 
 
 " And yet, do you recollect the case of Cornelius in 
 the Bible," replied Lady Olivia, " a devout man, who 
 feared God and gave alms to the poor, but a vision was 
 sent to him, in order that he might become a Christian ; 
 he seems to have been doing his best, as far as nature 
 could enable him, but he still required the light, and 
 grace, and comfort of the Gospel."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 99 
 
 " I know no one whose life is visibly under its influ- 
 ence except your own, Olivia," said Lady Howard ; " but 
 with you every action seems dictated by religion, which 
 is as continually prevalent in all you do, as we observe 
 vanity, and selfishness, and ambition, to pervade every 
 thought, word, and deed, of worldly men. Do not con- 
 tradict me, Olivia I know all you are going to say ; but 
 let me for once speak out my whole mind while I am in 
 the humour of being so candid. You often remind me 
 of that image of virtue which the poet describes as be- 
 ing placed before the eyes of condemned souls in purga- 
 tory, to shew them the glory that they have lost ; these 
 are represented as turning aside continually, but they 
 cannot close their eyes against its dazzling brightness. 
 And let me acknowledge what I never confessed be- 
 fore, and never would say to a living person but your- 
 self, that the graces of your own character sometimes 
 force themselves in a similar way on my thoughts, till I 
 feel unable to shut my eyes to the contrast there is be- 
 tween us." 
 
 " What a strong figure of speech, Maria," said Lady 
 Olivia, calmly. " It is worth while to be your friend, 
 as that always blinds you at once ; but recollect we are 
 warned not to measure ourselves by ourselves, nor com- 
 pare ourselves with ourselves. You are aware how much 
 sorrow I have had to estrange me from loving this world 
 too well ; and that so many of its dearest ties have been 
 broken, that it would be extraordinary if I found any 
 difficulty in withdrawing from its scenes. But, Maria, 
 we may be quite indifferent to this world, and yet be 
 very much unprepared for a better. If you knew the 
 snares into which I am every hour in danger of falling, 
 you would see that while life remains, sin and temptation 
 continue to assail us. They find a ready access to the
 
 100 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 heart of even the most devoted Christian, though by the 
 grace of God they may be more and more subdued." 
 
 " Then, my dear Olivia, since you are in danger of 
 falling, what is to become of me ?" exclaimed Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick. " If an eagle cannot rise to a sufficient eleva- 
 tion from the earth, what can a mere butterfly do ?" 
 
 " The same Almighty hand forms and sustains us all," 
 replied Lady Olivia, impressively. " The wise men who 
 saw that star in the heavens which was to guide their 
 steps to a promised Saviour, lighted no lamps of their 
 own to help them by the way, and the Bible is sent to 
 be our sure and sufficient guide to Christ. If we steadily 
 fix our eyes on the light that is there revealed to us, our 
 path will become plain and easy. We shall then see the 
 heavens, as it were, opened, and the Spirit of God de- 
 scending into our hearts, to strengthen, to purify, and to 
 enlighten them. It will be like the morning light, be- 
 coming brighter and brighter unto the perfect day ; and 
 though we shall have to mourn frequently and deeply 
 that we have fallen into sin, we shall still have the means 
 afforded us of being preserved from utter condemnation." 
 
 "That is a distinction without a difference," said Lady 
 Howard ; " all sin is said to be utterly condemned." 
 
 " Yes !" replied Lady Olivia ; " but yet let us remem- 
 ber that though God hates all sin, He loves the souls of 
 men, and while we were yet sinners, He gave His only 
 Son to bear the punishment of our transgressions. An 
 atonement must be made for every offence we commit, 
 but our Saviour's is sufficient, if we can place our whole 
 reliance in him, though, at the same time, a true Chris- 
 tian's conduct will exemplify as much purity as if his 
 salvation depended on his own actions. I look not to 
 myself but to Jesus Christ, and nothing can shake my 
 belief in His ability and willingness to save me. If my
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 101 
 
 guilt appear odious in my own eyes, I know that it is 
 riot in my nature to hate sin, and that my abhorrence 
 of it is, in itself, an evidence that the grace of God has 
 begun that good work in me, which I now humbly trust 
 he will accomplish." 
 
 " My good friend, to hear this fap on de purler, one 
 would suppose you had committed some unheard-of 
 crimes," said Lady Fitz-Patrick ; "and I really do not 
 believe you are any worse than ourselves. Now, what 
 temptations have we ? I never broke one of the com- 
 mandments in my whole life." 
 
 " You think so, from not having fully considered all 
 they require," answered Lady Olivia. " Unless people 
 actually worship images, or commit murder, they are apt 
 to fancy that, by keeping from extremes of sin, they are 
 not infringing the law at all." 
 
 " Let me be your father-confessor, then, Olivia, and 
 tell me a catalogue of your greatest offences," said Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick. " I assure you the worse they are, the bet- 
 ter I shall like you, because the chief objection I have 
 to you is, for being too faultless." 
 
 " It is easy to appear so before our fellow-creatures," 
 replied Lady Olivia ; " and if God were such an one as 
 ourselves, who only saw outward actions, it might be 
 possible to deceive Him also ; but he sees our motives 
 likewise. These are often hid from ourselves, so it is no 
 wonder if they be concealed from the knowledge of all 
 but God. If we seek for honour to ourselves, rather than 
 to Him, it is yielding to the temptation which Satan held 
 out to Adam, and desiring to be < as gods.' If our prayers 
 are merely to escape from the punishment rather than 
 from the power of sin, then He sees in us the fear of a 
 slave rather than the love of a child ; and if we give 
 way to spiritual pride, which is generally the final temp-
 
 102 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 tation that assails the Christian, it is like the crime of 
 Moses and Aaron, taking merit to ourselves for what is 
 the work of God." 
 
 " On the score of spiritual pride, I may acquit you, 
 Olivia, for never in my whole life did you say to me, by 
 word or look, ' Stand by, for I am holier than thou,' " ob- 
 served Lady Howard warmly ; " and it is that humility 
 on your part which makes me so ready to see and ac- 
 knowledge the difference. It is impossible, my dear 
 Olivia, to look into the mirror of such a mind as yours, 
 and not to feel, as I have sometimes done, that, after all, 
 you have chosen the better part, not merely for a future 
 world, but even now." 
 
 et Last time we had a conversation of this kind," said 
 Lady Fitz- Patrick. " if you will believe me, I positively 
 sent an apology to several balls during the following week, 
 was denied to morning visitors, and read through a whole 
 volume of tracts ; but it did not succeed, for no tongue 
 can tell the weariness I felt, surrounded with sermons, 
 and every day like a Sunday." 
 
 " I can easily believe it/' replied Lady Olivia, unable 
 to repress a smile. " Only imagine a young lady desired 
 to spend her whole day with a harp and piano-forte which 
 she had never been taught to use, and how little enjoy- 
 ment she could have in them ; but Eleanor, who is ac- 
 customed to create the most delightful harmony for hours 
 together, and never to tire, how differently she would 
 feel if she were shut up with nothing else for any length 
 of time. It is the same with all the enjoyments of reli- 
 gion. To those who do not understand them they are 
 an intolerable restraint ; but to those who practise the 
 exercises of devotion, how sublime are the emotions 
 how unfailing the resources they supply." 
 
 " No doubt you find it so," answered Lady Fifz-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 103 
 
 Patrick, suppressing a yawn ; " but I have not energy 
 or resolution now to change my habits of living and of 
 thinking." 
 
 " Still the old mistake, Sophia, trusting to yourself in- 
 stead of to God," said Lady Olivia earnestly. " Oh, if 
 you would but pray for that change of heart which makes 
 every sacrifice easy, and every duty delightful, then you 
 would see no cause to despair. The door of religion is 
 open to all, and yet they wish to climb in at the window, 
 without assistance. You might read sermons night and 
 day, but it would be as useless a penance as that of the 
 Egyptian fanatic who meditated his whole life on the 
 summit of a pillar. It is not the mere service of the body 
 it is not the mere labour of the mind that will please God, 
 but it is the devotion of the whole heart it is that sin- 
 cere love and confidence which He inspires into the heart 
 of all who desire to feel it, and which must be accom- 
 panied with humility to acknowledge, that in ourselves 
 we cannot so much as think a good thought." 
 
 " Ah ! there is another difficulty," cried Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick. " I take myself regularly to church, and read 
 the Bible generally once a-day ; but as for thinking about 
 either of them with that pleasure which you have some- 
 times described, that is quite out of the question. I once 
 even began to copy out some parts of the Bible in my 
 own hand-writing, in hopes to acquire a greater know- 
 ledge of it, but in short, I never was born to be reli- 
 gious." 
 
 " We are all born with an aversion to it, replied 
 Lady Olivia, " and it is the peculiar mercy of God to 
 each individual who is happy enough to become other- 
 wise. How delighted it has made me this evening to 
 hear you express a wish to increase in the knowledge 
 and love of God, for no heart can conceive how fervent
 
 104 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and how frequent my prayer- are for you both. My 
 chief object on earth now is, the happiness of yourselves 
 and of your dear children; and the only remaining wish 
 for which I desire to live is, that I may yet see you all 
 safely rooted and built up in Christ. Each of us is build- 
 ing for eternity, and the storm and the tempest must 
 soon arise which are to try whether we have built on a 
 foundation of rock or of sand. Let us often anticipate 
 that awful hour that day when we shall either call 
 upon the mountains to fall on us, and the hills to cover 
 us from the wrath of an eternal God or else arise with 
 songs of joy and rejoicing, to tune our voices for an 
 anthem of everlasting praise and thanksgiving. My dear 
 sisters, if I transgress on your patience to-night, excuse 
 me, as we are soon to part; and before I return home, 
 let me tell you how constantly you are in my thoughts, 
 and how often, when my heart has been but too cold and 
 inanimate in commending my own soul to the care of 
 our Almighty Father, it has been awakened to new life 
 and energy when I thought of you and your children, and 
 the tears have flowed from my eyes while I implored for 
 you the same blessings that I had asked for myself." 
 
 " You are only too kind, Olivia," said Lady Fitz- Pa- 
 trick in a tone of some feeling ; " and I will say this, if 
 any good ever comes of me, your gentle forbearance has 
 done more for me than if you had rung the church bells 
 in my ears every day, as Barbara does. My heart al- 
 ways opens at once to you, and shuts up instantly at the 
 sight of her. She has such a disapproving look, as 
 Sir Francis calls it, and cavils so constantly at every 
 thing I say or do, that it is impossible to feel any confi- 
 dence or comfort when she is present." 
 
 " What is it that makes so wide a difference between 
 Barbara and you. Olivia, when you both profess the
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 105 
 
 same thing?" inquired Lady Howard. " She seems always 
 to be weighing her own merits against mine, as if we 
 were in a pair of scales, and that the lower she depressed 
 my conduct, the higher she elevated her own." 
 
 " It requires long experience of our own deceitful 
 hearts to keep us humble," replied Lady Olivia ; " and 
 persons who are converted late in life generally make 
 themselves more conspicuous than those with whom the 
 dawn has been gradual. It is like a blind man receiving 
 his sight in the meridian day, they are so apt to be 
 dazzled by the glory that is revealed to them." 
 
 " I am quite of that opinion," exclaimed Lady How- 
 ard. " Barbara is, as you say, a mere owl in the sun- 
 shine." 
 
 " My dear Maria!" interrupted Lady Olivia, in a tone 
 of remonstrance. 
 
 " Yes !" continued Lady Howard, speaking rapidly, 
 " she had never any thing generous or comprehensive 
 in her mind since I knew her. Barbara's very virtues 
 have something diminutiveand contemptible about them ; 
 she never ' rives an oak,' but she spends her life in ' pick- 
 ing up pins, and carving heads upon cherry stones.' Sir 
 Francis declares it his serious belief that Barbara is ex- 
 pecting her memoirs to be written and published when 
 she dies, and I know she keeps copies of her letters on 
 purpose for the biographer. She is certainly one of the 
 most voluminous controversial writers of her day, for I 
 never see one of her weekly despatches to Miss Rachel 
 Stodart that is not longer than any newspaper, and will 
 look splendid in the printing-press. She actually lives as 
 much for fame as Frederick the Great did; and as small 
 vessels are more easily filled than large ones, her mind 
 is as full of vanity in her small way as " 
 
 " Tray stop, Maria ! let me say one word," said
 
 106 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Lady Olivia. " I was reading an author lately, who ob- 
 served, that if every individual knew exactly what is said 
 of him behind his back, no two people in the world 
 would be on speaking terras. It was a painful view of 
 human nature, and not, I trust, at all warrantable ; but 
 surely the friendship of sisters at least ought to be such 
 as might survive that ordeal." 
 
 " Yours would, I know," replied Lady Howard, tak- 
 ing her affectionately by the hand, as she rose to leave 
 the room; '-'and in return for the lenient view you take 
 of all my own failings, Olivia, I promise henceforth to 
 wink as hard as I can at Barbara's oddities. In short, 
 I shall be * to all her faults a little blind,' or completely 
 so, if you prefer it. Adieu for the present. I knew 
 that our conversation would come to an untimely end 
 whenever my sister appeared on the tapis, for I cannot 
 resist giving a critique upon her, and you never can bear 
 to hear it. You have the worst opinion in the world of 
 human nature in general, Olivia, but the best opinion in 
 the world of every individual in the creation ; so I must 
 ascertain some day how such a contradiction can be re- 
 conciled."
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 107 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 In her thy well-appointed proxy see, 
 Armed for a work too difficult for thee ; 
 Prepared by taste, by learning, and true worth, 
 To form thy child, to strike her genius forth ; 
 Beneath thy roof, beneath thine eye to prove 
 The force of discipline, when backed by love ; 
 To double all thy pleasure in thy child, 
 Her mind informed, her morals undented. 
 
 Cow PER. 
 
 THE evening before Lady Olivia and Miss Neville pro- 
 posed returning to the cottage, Sir Richard and Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick joined Lady Howard's family circle at tea, 
 when the whole party seemed to vie with each other 
 who should contribute most to the pleasure and anima- 
 tion of the conversation. Sir Francis began with telling 
 all his best anecdotes of massacring game, and Sir Rich- 
 ard exchanged some valuable information about the most 
 scientific mode of dressing it. Lady Olivia endeavoured 
 to look as if she were interested and Miss Barbara tried 
 to show she was not. At length Lady Fitz-Patrick and 
 Lady Howard got complete possession of the field, by 
 starting the only subject in which they had a common 
 interest, and which was perfectly inexhaustible between 
 them when once it was begun. A volume could not 
 have contained all the anecdotes they had to exchange, 
 showing the torment they both endured from abigails 
 and governesses, most of whom were as usual in the act 
 of departing.
 
 108 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " It would save one-half the trouble, Maria, if you and 
 Lady Fitz- Patrick would effect a monthly exchange of 
 all the ' treasures' that I continually hear you are ex- 
 pecting home," said Sir Francis; " for, as Dr Johnson or 
 some of your people used to say, ' nothing is lost that a 
 friend gets.' " 
 
 " It would be the shortest plan to keep none at all, as 
 I do," said Miss Neville, sharply. " I would not become 
 so helpless as Maria to be a duchess." 
 
 " My reason for parting with Phillips at present is, 
 that her officiousness is quite unbearable," continued 
 Lady Howard, without noticing these unwelcome re- 
 marks. " If you will believe me, she yesterday washed 
 my Mechlin lace cap without leave, though I had in- 
 tended sending it to be done at Madame Debris', whom 
 I am so anxious to patronize." 
 
 " Intolerable !" exclaimed Lady Fitz- Patrick, drawing 
 her chair still nearer Lady Howard's, while Miss Neville 
 took up a book to show how tired she was of the sub- 
 ject. " My maid Darrell has become completely spoiled. 
 The other day when I rung several times in vain, she 
 came up at last saying, that as the house-keeper had not 
 made the move after dinner, when I first summoned her, 
 it was impossible to stir ! I am told, too, that she drinks 
 beer and eats with her knife." 
 
 " Pray, Lady Olivia, if we may ask, how long has 
 Millar served you?" asked Sir Francis slyly. " We 
 change our attendants like our dresses, at all the four 
 seasons regularly." 
 
 " I have had Millar for twenty-five years," replied 
 Lady Olivia, " and I hope she will remain with me al- 
 ways." 
 
 " How fortunate you are !" exclaimed Lady Fitz- Pa- 
 trick with a sigh ; " indeed, I have often intended to
 
 On THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 109 
 
 beg, that if she ever leaves you, I may have the first 
 offer of Millar there cannot be a greater treasure." 
 
 ' No, no, Sophia," replied Lady Olivia, laughing, 
 " you would not keep her a month. Millar has many 
 faults and deficiencies, but I have made up my mind that 
 every one must have some. It is strange that the only 
 persons in whom we expect to find perfection are our 
 servants." 
 
 " Yes," interrupted Sir Francis. " We allow for the 
 faults of our friends we palliate our own ; but an unfor- 
 tunate abigail must have every virtue under the sun, or 
 she is good for nothing. It is not amongst ladies' maids 
 that one would expect such ' a faultless monster as the 
 world ne'er saw ;' I should as soon go hunting in search 
 of a fox with two tails. By the bye, we are in full cry 
 after a governess also, are we not, Maria ?" 
 
 " Yes, and so is my sister," answered Lady Howard, 
 trying not to be out of countenance. " Mademoiselle 
 Bernstein has become intolerably susceptible of affronts, 
 and is always imagining them to be intended, which is 
 the only reason for my parting with her so soon. If I 
 am reading a newspaper in the evening, and do not ob- 
 serve her entree to tea, she comes up with the air of a 
 tragedy queen, to hope she has not offended my Ladyship. 
 When I talk of girls who have been ill-educated, she 
 takes it for granted I level all I say at her, and is sorry 
 Miss Matilda's proficiency does not satisfy me ; and if 
 I admire any young lady's manner or accomplishments, 
 she tells me how very hard she has worked lately, but 
 that ' Miss Matilda has been sadly mismanaged.' " 
 
 " True enough," muttered Miss Neville, in an under 
 tone. 
 
 " I must really send Eleanor to some school in Eng- 
 land, or to some convent abroad, rather than encounter
 
 110 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 all the vexation of another Madame Pirouette," said 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick ; " it will be the joy of my life when 
 she makes her conge, for her tongue is so incessantly ac- 
 tive that she talks in her very sleep." 
 
 ' f I will venture to mention a request of mine, with- 
 out binding you at all to grant it," said Lady Olivia, in 
 a tone of some diffidence and hesitation. " Perhaps one 
 of my sisters may be disposed to indulge me, and if that 
 is not convenient, let us forget that I have mentioned 
 the subject, for I shall press it no farther. The person 
 whom I once hoped to have employed in my own family 
 as governess, is now in want of a situation, and I believe 
 if she were engaged in that capacity, you would soon 
 think I had conferred as great a favour as I feel myself 
 to be asking on her behalf, if you are prevailed upon to 
 try her qualifications for teaching. I do not ask you to 
 retain Miss Porson a day longer than she gives satisfac- 
 tion, but it would gratify me much if you would engage 
 her by way of experiment." 
 
 " We can at least let her walk through the school- 
 room, as so many of her predecessors have done already," 
 said Sir Francis. " I think the governess before last 
 remained a year ; and poor Matilda was so unaccustomed 
 to keep one so long, that she shed tears at her depar- 
 ture." 
 
 " A governess !" exclaimed Lady Howard, looking 
 aghast ; " and of course, by the name, Miss Porson must 
 be of British growth." 
 
 " Does she play on the harp and sing in perfection ?" 
 asked Lady Fitz-Patrick, who professed the most enthu- 
 siastic love of music, and generally interrupted it with a 
 profusion of affected exclamations ; ' Ah ! and Bravo ! 
 and Charming !' coming in at the most inappropriate 
 places, and nodding time with her head in regular
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. Ill 
 
 measure, but usually half a note out of time. " Music 
 is my chief requisite in a governess, and quite indispens- 
 able/' 
 
 " Miss Person performs on the piano-forte admirably," 
 replied Lady Olivia, " and she would be most diligent 
 in superintending any masters you might engage." 
 
 " Excuse me then," exclaimed Lady Fitz-Patriok, 
 shrugging her shoulders and making a grimace. " She 
 could be of no use to Eleanor now ; and besides, I am 
 already more than half engaged to take Miss Marabout 
 from Lord Fitz-Arran's. Her pupil, Lady Sarah Jen- 
 kins, was married not six weeks ago to the old Duke of 
 Orion." 
 
 " We must take better care of Eleanor," said Lady 
 Olivia, smiling ; " it was a sad fate for Lady Sarah, at 
 eighteen, to throw herself away on a notorious gambler." 
 
 " Miss Marabout is quite a prima donna among gover- 
 nesses," continued Lady Fitz-Patrick, " but her terms are 
 so enormous, I almost hesitated. She has a voice that 
 might fill the opera-house, and indeed I have heard she 
 was originally intended for the stage." 
 
 Miss Neville sighed audibly, but Lady Olivia was not 
 addicted to sighing. Miss Neville shook her head, but 
 Lady Olivia's remained unmoved ; yet a shade of deep 
 disappointment and anxiety clouded her usually placid 
 countenance, while she listened to Lady Fitz-Patrick's 
 triumphant panegyric on Miss Marabout. " I hope she 
 will give all the satisfaction that is possible," replied 
 Lady Olivia ; " but I should have felt more sanguine 
 if you could speak of her qualifications for forming the 
 heart and understanding. It has been well observed, 
 that the care of a governess is like that of a bird for its 
 young; for she knows that whenever her pupils are 
 grown up she must abandon them, and her sole anxiety
 
 112 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 may be directed to the outward accomplishments, on 
 which her own credit depends ; but a mother's solicitude 
 should be chiefly devoted to the formation of a character 
 with which she is to be connected for ever." 
 
 "As for her disposition," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, in- 
 differently, " Eleanor is really a very good average sort 
 of girl. At her age they are all rather irritable and self- 
 sufficient ; but with this new patent governess from Lord 
 Fitz-Arran's, I expect she will become all I could desire, 
 and do me great credit in the world." 
 
 " I have been thinking that it must be several weeks 
 before my letters arrive from Berne/' said Lady Howard, 
 observing the regret and disappointment with which 
 Ladv Olivia had listened to her sister; "and in the 
 meantime I have no objection to your sending me a sight 
 of Miss Person, that we may talk over her ' method/ and 
 hear what ' system' she follows." 
 
 " Hers is a very simple one," replied Lady Olivia, 
 " With a judicious mind, and an active but kind-hearted 
 disposition, she suits her plan to the varying circum- 
 stances and tendencies of those she instructs. Christian 
 principle is her ruling object in every thing, and she has 
 the art of inculcating it with all the occupations that in- 
 terest her pupils." 
 
 " Then she must be something like yourself, Olivia ! 
 and that ought to be an ample recommendation," replied 
 Lady Howard, warmly ; " let her come to me to mor- 
 row." 
 
 " It will be the best consolation I can have for not 
 requiring her services in my own family, if she is useful 
 to Matilda," said Lady Olivia, with some emotion. " I 
 trust, dear Maria, you will never have cause to regret 
 having indulged me on this occasion. In essential points 
 I know Miss Person to be all that a mother's heart should
 
 OR THE .MARCH OF INTELLECT. 113 
 
 desire ; and with respect to those graceful and ornamen- 
 tal accomplishments, which are at hest the mere frame 
 to a picture, I believe her teaching will be such as to 
 satisfy your utmost wishes." 
 
 " As for Miss Marabout," cried Miss Neville, bitterly, 
 " I have no doubt she is some superficial dressed up fine 
 lady, who cannot speak her mother tongue correctly." 
 
 " For once, in a way, you are right, Barbara I" ex- 
 claimed Lady Howard, laughing. " I observed, in the 
 peep that Sophia gave me of her letter, Miss Marabout 
 said that she would not be ' af-fraid' to ' except' the 
 situation. Now to do her justice, I really believe she 
 would have been incapable of committing blunders so 
 flagrant in either French or Italian." 
 
 " Well, we cannot have every thing," replied Lady 
 Fitz- Patrick, impatiently ; " and there are thousands of 
 people who can spell correctly for one who can sing like 
 Miss Marabout. I have no desire to make a bas bleu of 
 Eleanor." 
 
 " My dear Sophia, you must not undervalue the im- 
 portance of a literary education," said Lady Howard, in 
 a tone of dignified remonstrance ; " consider how it 
 strengthens the faculties how it enlarges our resources 
 for happiness and occupation how it acquaints us with 
 ourselves, and with all that is noble, elevated and inte- 
 resting in the past history of man, or in his present cha- 
 racter and circumstances." 
 
 " Addison or Johnson, hem !" said Sir Francis, laugh- 
 ing. 
 
 " Maria, all that you say on the superiority of litera- 
 ture over mere accomplishments is very true," observed 
 Lady Olivia; " but if the one excels the other so infi- 
 nitely, how much more do religious principles outweigh 
 all that can be said of what is merely for the present
 
 114 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 hour. You will find in Miss Porson one who can dis- 
 criminate the relative importance of them all, and who, 
 while she will neglect nothing that it is your desire Ma- 
 tilda should learn, is peculiarly capable of guiding and 
 improving her taste in reading." 
 
 " I have always considered that reading aloud well is 
 an extremely pretty accomplishment for girls," said 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick, looking very intellectual; "and 
 when Eleanor has time, I mean to have Mr. Barnet, the 
 elocution master, for an hour every week to keep her in 
 practice." 
 
 " Miss Porson tells me," continued Lady Olivia, '' that 
 she considers one of the most important means of in- 
 structing girls to be by conversation. Young people 
 often attend but slightly to what they read, but always 
 remember what they hear. They frequently take up 
 confused or mistaken notions from books, which a judi- 
 cious friend may soon discover and explain in the course 
 of discussion; and it exercises their judgment in forming 
 and expressing their opinions, which so few girls are 
 accustomed to do, with any clearness or precision." 
 
 " So much the better!" exclaimed Sir Francis; "I 
 never wish to see a girl with opinions of her own ; it 
 only makes her tiresome and pedantic. I like nothing 
 so much as the agreeable nonsense of young ladies, who 
 never think or reflect for an hour of their lives, and you 
 will ruin Matilda entirely by making her too sensible. 
 She will do nothing but speak moral sentences, like 
 Joseph Surface, and be just as little in earnest as he was. 
 I detest all humbug." 
 
 " So do I !" replied Lady Olivia, smiling at the vehe- 
 mence of Sir Francis. " I quite coincide in your enjoy- 
 ment of a little lively persiflage, and would be sorry to 
 see Matilda's present gayety and animation smothered
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 115 
 
 under a mountain of good sense. But still there is a time 
 for every thing; and as you see that the brightest colours 
 look the gayest on a dark ground, so I am convinced 
 that the liveliest spirits come out with the most effect 
 from a mind where the ground- work is sober and rational 
 reflection. Miss Porson lays aside some part of every 
 day for a calm and serious discussion of all her pupils' 
 studies, occupations, and plans not merely for a lec- 
 ture, but she encourages the girl herself to talk. If her 
 opinions are correct, she receives them with deference ; 
 and where they are not formed on right principles, she 
 endeavours carefully, but very gently, to rectify them." 
 
 "Well! it sounds all vastly judicious," said Lady 
 Fitz-Pa trick, laughing; "but, as Sir Francis observes, I 
 would not give much for the opinions and reflections of 
 a young philosopher like Matilda, scarcely yet sixteen 
 years old." 
 
 " "What plans or objects could she have in view," add- 
 ed Sir Francis, " except to be admired for a certain 
 number of years, and then married at last ?" 
 
 " Probably nothing better, unless she is carefully in- 
 structed," replied Lady Olivia earnestly. " Every thing 
 depends upon the understanding being cultivated and 
 enlarged, and on the heart being directed aright. When 
 I see an unfortunate girl who is blindly driven on in the 
 acquisition of her various tasks by a governess who 
 holds out no right motive for the efforts of her pupil, 
 it reminds me of a race- horse, mounted by a skilful 
 jockey, and whipped and spurred along the course. The 
 poor animal cannot perceive the design of all this heart- 
 less labour, except that he is surrounded by competitors 
 whom he is evidently expected to outstrip, and encour- 
 aged and urged on by acclamations and applauses from 
 all the assembled spectators."
 
 116 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " A very graphic description," said Sir Francis; " and 
 I am sure both Eleanor and Matilda seem to be fairly 
 entered for the sweepstakes." 
 
 " But, on the contrary," continued Lady Olivia, ear- 
 nestly, " if you fully point out to a girl the evils of ignor- 
 ance, she will long to be freed from them. Hold out to 
 her the pleasure she may confer in her own domestic 
 circle, by the exercise of her accomplishments, and she 
 will desire to excel in them. Explain to her the dignity 
 of character and the peace of mind which result from 
 laying aside the petty rivalships and jealousies that must 
 degrade those who seek for the world's applause, and she 
 will soon rise above its influence. Impress upon her the 
 blessedness that may be found in the sure prospect of 
 everlasting felicity, and, by the grace of God, she will 
 at length know from her own experience, that there is 
 no other foundation on which we can rest our happiness 
 with security." 
 
 " What you say is really excellent," replied Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick, suppressing a yawn; "but it would take 
 more time than we could possibly spare, considering all 
 that Eleanor has to do. I shall be grievously disappoint- 
 ed in her, if, two years hence, when she is to come out, 
 my daughter is not perfect mistress of French, Italian, 
 and German." 
 
 " You should give her a different language for every 
 day of the week !" interrupted Miss Neville satirically. 
 
 " She must paint flowers, landscapes, and miniatures, 
 like an artist, besides playing on the harp and piano-forte 
 in perfection," continued Lady Fitz-Patrick. " She is 
 now practising the guitar, and will certainly be a first- 
 rate singer. AVhatever leisure Eleanor may have she 
 devotes to embroidering, in which I am really anxious 
 for her to excel; and I think it of great importance that
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 117 
 
 she should keep up her dancing, and calisthenic exer- 
 cises." 
 
 Sir Francis groaned aloud. " What a tread mill the 
 poor girl's mind is in ! The arts and sciences must bo 
 thrown into a state of picturesque confusion during the 
 twenty-four hours in which she has to study them all. 
 Why, Sophia, a professor thinks his life laboriously 
 occupied in mastering one branch of art, but our friend is 
 to be perfect in them all before she is eighteen." 
 
 " Eleanor is fully more eager than myself," observed 
 Lady Fits-Patrick, dryly ; " she would not abate one of 
 her tasks on any account." 
 
 " Ah ! very likely, for all girls have so much vanity, 
 they will make any exertion to excel," continued Sir 
 Francis. " It is a curious fact, that the willing horse iu 
 a mail-coach is always shorter lived than those that are 
 indolent, for he overstrains his powers. But I need not 
 speak of Eleanor she gets off cheaply compared with my 
 own Matilda, who is destined, besides all you have named, 
 to acquire a ' supercilious' knowledge of history and 
 mathematics. She must repeat the name of every cap- 
 tain of cavalry at the battle of Blenheim ; and her last 
 governess was dismissed for ignorance, because she 
 could not recollect how many children Queen Anne had, 
 though not one of them lived a year." 
 
 " Keep to facts, Sir Francis," interposed Lady Ho ward, 
 " I have a great dislike to embellishment." 
 
 " Can you deny, then, that I caught Matilda in tears 
 over a primrose the other day, because she had called it 
 a monopetalous corolla, instead of some other designa- 
 tion equally insigniBcant to her ? It made me mournful 
 really to contrast the poor girl's feeling with my own 
 juvenile associations, when the sunny primrose banks of
 
 118 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 spring used to fill me with such rapture, that even yet 
 the sight of one makes me young again." 
 
 " I agree with you in lamenting," said Lady Olivia, 
 " the years of joyous youth and natural pleasure which 
 are often sacrificed, that a child may accumulate those 
 accomplishments which it will probably be the first act 
 of her liberty to relinquish, while no time is left for ob- 
 serving what is around us, or for exercising the charities, 
 the affections, and the duties of life." 
 
 " Yes!" interrupted Sir Francis, " the education-fever 
 must have nearly reached its crisis now, for every young 
 lady makes her debut with a mass of accomplishments, 
 a threatening of spine complaint, a confirmed tendency 
 to headachs, and her own particular diet, which she 
 cannot exist without observing." 
 
 " I never remember our being so nearly of the same 
 opinion on any subject before, Sir Francis !" said Lady 
 Olivia, laughing; " but I agree with you perfectly in 
 grudging the happy hours of childhood that are now- 
 sacrificed to vanity, at a time when the mere conscious- 
 ness of young and joyous existence gives a spring and 
 elasticity to the spirits, which often pervades all our re- 
 maining years. The salutary exercise and necessary 
 repose of young people are constantly circumscribed, 
 their faculties are overstrained, and when they stop to 
 take breath after the long career of emulation and dis- 
 cipline, their first impulse will probably be, to relax into 
 the unbounded enjoyment of that rest and leisure which 
 they must so often have longed to taste." 
 
 " It is singular," observed Sir Francis, " how many of 
 the most celebrated men have had great disadvantages 
 of education to struggle against, so that we never should 
 have expected them to attain eminence at all. But I
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 119 
 
 suspect we often destroy the vigour of intellect by too 
 incessant cultivation." 
 
 " I believe you are right," said Lady Olivia. " Every 
 one must have remarked, that the instinctive love of self- 
 preservation in children among the higher classes, is 
 seldom so active as in those who are less objects of care 
 and solicitude, because, being accustomed to depend on 
 the watchfulness of others, they lose that quick percep- 
 tion of danger which is as natural to infants as it is to 
 animals. The eagerness for knowledge also, which is 
 born with all children, becomes surfeited by over-indul- 
 gence, and enervated by too much aid. But the curiosity 
 of young people should be excited on all useful subjects, 
 and ought to receive such assistance as shall encourage 
 their own minds to work out the rest." 
 
 " Yes," said Sir Francis, " nature is too much out of 
 fashion now in education she has her faults and defi- 
 ciencies, certainly, but I would be for guiding and cor- 
 recting, without utterly exterminating her." 
 
 " Above all," added Lady Olivia, " 1 am apprehensive 
 that the habit of quiet meditation and self-examination, 
 which is one of our chief duties, will scarcely ever be 
 acquired, and that, where there are so many studies to 
 call the thoughts abroad, they will seldom be profitably 
 employed at home." 
 
 " How very strangely you talk, Olivia !" exclaimed 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick. " I could fancy the celebrated lier- 
 vey going out to meditate among tombs, but nothing 
 on earth would puzzle me more completely than to be 
 set down for an hour's solitary reflection ; and as for 
 Eleanor, it is absolute nonsense to talk of it." 
 
 " I know that meditation is one of our most difficult 
 Christian duties," replied Lady Olivia, " but, at the same 
 time, it is one of the most important. We can read or
 
 120 MODERN" ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 hear a dozen of books more easily than we can meditate 
 properly on one ; hut yet our inward thoughts are the 
 only tests by which we can know the real state of our 
 minds. Whatever we turn to naturally when alone, is 
 the thing that engrosses most of our regard, and there- 
 fore we should often look inwards to ascertain if our 
 hearts are stored for eternity, and how far they are de- 
 voted to the service of God. Religious meditations have 
 been compared to the blossoms on a tree in spring, many 
 of them fall off, come to nothing, and end in vanity ; 
 but yet they are the first things in which spiritual-mind- 
 edness consists, and there can be no fruit, good or bad, 
 but what proceeds from our thoughts." 
 
 " My poor Matilda ! we shall have her soon in a state 
 of excruciating reflection, under the superintending care 
 of Miss Porson,'' said Sir Francis, laughing. " I should 
 like to see them like Mahometan Souffees, wrapt in sub- 
 lime meditation from noon till midnight.'' 
 
 "Dear Olivia," said Lady Howard, with an air of 
 superior wisdom, " like the plans of all mere amateurs 
 in education, yours have but one fault, that they are quite 
 impossible." 
 
 " Let us beware," said Lady Olivia, gently, " of one 
 very common and clangorous device which Satan has 
 frequent recourse to in the world. When there are any 
 Christian duties or doctrines to which no rational ob- 
 jection can be made, he leads us off into caricatured 
 views, and either makes them appear so intolerable a 
 restraint on ourselves, or in so extravagant a light by 
 the conduct of others, that we are tempted to abjure 
 them altogether. I pity as much as you do those vi- 
 sionaries who are delivered up to the power of imagina- 
 tion." 
 
 Lady Howard gave an expressive cough, and glanced at
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 121 
 
 Miss Neville, whose eyes had been for some time fixed 
 on the ceiling, in profound abstraction; but Lady Olivia 
 endeavoured not to notice this mischievous application 
 of her words. 
 
 " At the same time," continued she, " I think there 
 can be nothing truly great or good in any one who has 
 not a habit of steady reflection, which it must be the re- 
 sult of many persevering efforts to acquire. It need not 
 often interrupt the busy occupations of life, but it should 
 frequently accompany them, till at length a truly reflect- 
 ing mind becomes like the alchemist, who turns all he 
 touches into gold." 
 
 " Or like the lady in the Fairy tale, who dropped 
 pearls and diamonds at every word she spoke," added 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick ; " I have always envied her that 
 talent, and could we only impart it to Eleanor, she need 
 learn nothing else in this mercenary world." 
 
 " Excuse me, Sophia, if I have been too serious at pre- 
 sent," said Lady Olivia, glancing round on her auditors, 
 who were all in different attitudes of weariness, " but it 
 will be an important crisis in Eleanor's life when she re- 
 covers entirely from her late alarming illness, and resumes 
 the progress of education. She has to be formed for eter- 
 nity, her tastes and habits are still undecided, and it 
 remains with you to give them their future bias; all 
 around her must be transient and fleeting, but those be- 
 come every day more unalterable, and will be permanent 
 for ever. Oh ! pause one moment, and consider what 
 you and your precious child will think of this important 
 choice, when the short dream of our lives is ended, and 
 we are about to awaken in eternity ! Do every thing, 
 dear Sophia, in subservience to her immortal interests, 
 and you will never have cause to regret it. Many 
 pleasing accomplishments are like trinkets, suitable to
 
 122 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Eleanor's station in life, and perfectly proper for her to 
 have, if they are agreeable to you, and to be laid aside 
 in after life, if she tires of them ; but the chief object is, 
 to strengthen her understanding, by teaching her how 
 to act and feel in all the various circumstances of life, 
 as shall be most for her happiness and for your own 
 comfort."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 123 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 School friendships are not always found, 
 
 Though fair in promise, permanent and sound ; 
 Each dreams that each is just what he appears, 
 But learns his error in maturer years, 
 When disposition, like a sail unfurl'd, 
 Shows all its rents and patches to the world. 
 
 Cow PER. 
 
 WHEN Eleanor and Matilda were sufficiently recovered, 
 they recommenced the labours of education, superin- 
 tended by Miss Marabout and Miss Person, each of 
 whom acted according to such expectations as might 
 have been formed from the preceding conversation, and 
 before many months had elapsed, an obvious change was 
 perceptible in the character and conduct of the two 
 young ladies, though they continued to attend some of 
 the same classes, and in a few instances to pursue simi- 
 lar studies. Much was outwardly alike, but that which 
 gives its stamp and value to every thing, the motive that 
 guided them on all occasions, was different. 
 
 Eleanor Fitz-Patrick gradually had her masters so 
 multiplied around her, that if she could have had one 
 for each of the two and thirty separate faculties with 
 which phrenologists have gifted us, it appeared as if 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick would have made them work simul- 
 taneously to prime and load her daughter with accom- 
 plishments, that the final explosion might be greater. 
 She soon became the admiration and the boast of all 
 those innumerable teachers who vied with Miss Mara- 
 bout in the most enthusiastic praises of their pupil.
 
 124 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Eleanor was, from this time, the show- scholar of every 
 class, and it was as good as an advertisement in the 
 newspapers for any master to say she was his pupil. If 
 a stranger inquired how Mr Crotchet taught music, Miss 
 Fitz-Patrick was requested to play her grand sonata; or 
 when Monsieur Dumont had a public exhibition of his 
 French scholars, she generally received as rapturous 
 bursts of applause for recitation as ever Talma did on 
 the stage. Eleanor's drawings were framed and hung 
 up in the school-room, that every one might be witness 
 to her extraordinary genius, and Lady Howard sarcasti- 
 cally observed, that it was well worth while to pay a shil- 
 ling for the exhibition; but no one ever received a hint 
 either from Eleanor or Miss Marabout, that the outline 
 and shading had been corrected and finished by Mr 
 Crayon himself. Her embroidery was also displayed for 
 universal admiration, and excited the greatest applause, 
 being so exquisitely fine that it might have been exam- 
 ined through a microscope ; but no acknowledgment was 
 deemed necessary that the more difficult parts were done 
 by Miss Marabout herself. Before long, Eleanor Fitz- 
 Patrick had been invested with as many medals and 
 ribbons as any general officer in the service, and she ac- 
 quired a conceited self-satisfied look, which was obvious 
 to the most superficial observer. She laid down the law 
 about painting and music as if it were impossible for 
 any one to understand more on the subject than she did, 
 or to support a different opinion when hers was known. 
 Eleanor could not bear the slightest criticism on any 
 thing she had done, and even " faint praise" was intoler- 
 ably offensive to her. One day, having shewn a drawing 
 to Lady Fitz-Patrick, for which she obtained but slight 
 commendation, as her mother happened to be occupied 
 at the moment, Eleanor angrily threw it into the flames,
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 125 
 
 saying, " If you can pronounce no better judgment than 
 that it seems nicely done, an expression better suited to 
 a mutton chop, it can only be fit for the fire ; I never 
 wish to show a mediocre drawing in my portfolio !" 
 
 If any one spoke in an audible voice while Eleanor 
 performed on the harp in company, she tried as much as 
 possible to show the annoyance it occasioned, and some- 
 times stopped altogether, saying " that the noise made 
 her so nervous she could not proceed." " Eleanor !" 
 whispered Lady Fitz -Patrick one day, " how dreadfully 
 passionate you have become !" 
 
 " No wonder !" replied she, hastily, " I never played 
 so well in my life as this evening, and some of the most 
 beautiful passages were utterly lost, owing to the perpe- 
 tual motion of old Sir Colin Fletcher's tongue." 
 
 " But, my dear Miss Fitz-Patrick, you should try not 
 to show any ill temper, even when you feel it," added 
 Miss Marabout ; " it is a bad thing to get the reputation, 
 of being irritable, and I have known many girls whose 
 fortune in life was completely spoiled for no other reason 
 than that they could not command their temper in com- 
 pany." 
 
 " If a medal were to be given for good humour, I am 
 sure Eleanor would be indefatigable in trying for it," 
 said Lady Howard, laughing sarcastically; " but as there 
 is no particular object to be gained by self-control, she 
 thinks she may indulge her temper with perfect impunity." 
 In dress Eleanor outshone all contemporaries, and the 
 fashion of her costume was a continual object of notice 
 and imitation wherever she appeared, and in every school- 
 room. At home, however, the scene was very different, 
 for the hair en papillotes, and her shoes often slip-shod, 
 bore witness to the indifference she entertained for any- 
 thing but the ostentation of dress, because in all things
 
 126 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 it was inculcated on Eleanor Fitz-Patrick, that it signified 
 less what she really was than what she appeared to be 
 in the eyes of others ; and that her own self-respect was 
 of little importance compared with the respect and ad- 
 miration of strangers, before whom she showed herself 
 in a continual masquerade, adopting the opinions and 
 manners most likely to please them, instead of those 
 most natural to herself. 
 
 From this time Lady Fitz-Patrick's favourite subject 
 of conversation became a dissertation on the merits of 
 Miss Marabout, and, of course, by implication, on her 
 pupil. In every company that she entered it came in, 
 a propos to any thing or to nothing; and while she spoke 
 with all the eloquence of enthusiasm, the hands and eyes 
 of the surrounding ladies were turned up in admiration 
 and astonishment, to think of her good fortune in having 
 secured such a " treasure." 
 
 " I really cannot say enough in her praise," was the 
 usual conclusion, in Lady Fitz-Patrick's most sensible 
 tone. " In fact, I need never have an anxious thought 
 about Eleanor while Miss Marabout has charge of her, 
 their time is always so well employed. Her manner of 
 teaching stimulates my daughter's energy to such a degree, 
 that she will hardly stay long enough in bed to recruit 
 her frame. Before the last French examination Eleanor 
 slept every night with a dictionary under her pillow, that 
 she might commence her studies by peep of day ; and 
 she was detected with a candlestick concealed in her 
 closet once, that she might get up before five in the 
 morning to practise some difficult cadences of a new song 
 for Madame Andante's exhibition on Saturday." 
 
 During the harangue of her sister, Lady Howard sat 
 upon thorns, and looked the picture of vexation, as she 
 felt herself for once in her life totally eclipsed.
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 1 27 
 
 " Miss Marabout is certainly quite a pattern governess, 
 la femme comme il y en a peu !" said she in a tone of 
 some irritability ; " Eleanor will be quite an Admirable 
 Crichton, and I wish, you joy of having secured such a 
 prodigy as you describe. With respect to Miss Por- 
 son, she really is so excellent a creature, that there 
 does not appear to be a single point on which I could 
 hang a pretext for parting with her, but she does not 
 quite satisfy my wishes. There is nothing brilliant or 
 striking about her, nothing new in the ' method ' she 
 pursues, or in the style of her instructions. Yet the 
 smallest hint I give is so well received and so carefully 
 attended to, all Matilda's lessons are so regularly learn- 
 ed, and so fully understood, that I never know where to 
 criticise. My daughter herself is so distractedly fond of 
 Miss Porson, that I have scarcely the heart to cause a 
 separation, and yet I am very desirous of finding some 
 one who would spur her on a little faster." 
 
 The lovely countenance of Matilda Howard seemed 
 to brighten with a new expression of life and animation 
 from the moment that Miss Porson took charge of her 
 education ; and every day increased the pleasure she 
 felt in her own progress, which became easier to her 
 than she could possibly have anticipated ; for there was 
 a facility and clearness in Miss Person's explanations 
 and manner of teaching, which Matilda, in all her exten- 
 sive experience of governesses, had never before re- 
 marked. Education became no longer what is called at 
 Oxford " a cram ;" but Miss Porson considered that 
 much has to be drawn out, as well as to be put in, when 
 the mind is properly cultivated, and that the soil may 
 be enriched while the plants are taking root. If any 
 subject was to be studied that exercised the understand- 
 ing, Miss Porson gave no more assistance than was
 
 128 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 absolutely necessary, that it might be worked out by 
 her pupil, but she never allowed a lesson to be laid aside 
 till Matilda had fully mastered every difficulty. There 
 was a distinctness and precision in all that Miss Person 
 said, which scarcely left her pupil a single question to 
 ask; and when her instructions were over, she encour- 
 aged the amusements that suited Matilda's years, and 
 spared no trouble to promote the sprightliness and viva- 
 city of her holiday hours. 
 
 The only thing in which Matilda was at all remarkable 
 at the classes was the regularity of her attendance, and 
 the perfect correctness with which she executed her tasks. 
 No clandestine assistance was afforded by Miss Person, 
 who always recommended such music as it was quite 
 within the compass of her powers to perform, and who 
 would never allow any of her drawings to be improved 
 by Mr Crayon, 'as she had an objection to what Lady 
 Howard called " Eleanor's masterpieces." 
 
 Miss Person thought the first object in education 
 should be to inculcate a love of truth, without disguise 
 or embellishment. " Whenever you make any person 
 believe what you know is not the case, that is a false- 
 hood, whether it be done by an actual assertion, by 
 implication, or by evasion," said Miss Person ; " and on 
 that account I would not put a stitch to the embroidery, 
 nor add a line to the drawing that is to be shown as 
 your performance. I see the importance of accuracy 
 in every statement so strongly, as almost to make me 
 agree with Dr Johnson, that if a child relates any oc- 
 currence, and mentions that it took place in one window, 
 when it really happened in another, he ought to be set 
 right." 
 
 When any master found fault with Matilda, Miss 
 Person was so attentive to rectify the error, that it was
 
 OB THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 129 
 
 seldom they had to make the same remark a second 
 time. But the scene was very different when Eleanor 
 had to be corrected, for Miss Marabout always vehe- 
 mently defended her pupil, and repeated within her 
 hearing every panegyric that had been pronounced upon 
 her extraordinary acquirements, by the complaisant and 
 frequently mistaken visitors of Lady Fitz-Patrick. 
 
 In her dress, there was not an hour of the day at which 
 Matilda Howard could have been caught untidy ; yet 
 from the moment she left her dressing-room, not a 
 thought seemed ever to rise on the subject of her ap- 
 pearance, for she became so fully impressed with Miss 
 Porson's opinion, that simplicity and neatness alone 
 were requisite. 
 
 The modest diffidence of Matilda's manner gave an 
 interest to all she said ; and whatever might be the topic 
 of conversation in company, she generally listened with 
 an air of intelligent inquiry, and frequently obtained 
 fuller and more interesting information afterwards from 
 Miss Porson, than it was possible to do in the slight and 
 superficial notice of any subject which is usually taken 
 in society. She read many of the standard works in 
 French and English literature with her governess, who 
 pointed out the beauties for which they had become 
 celebrated, and the defects for which they had been 
 criticised. Miss Porson often sketched out all that was 
 known relating to the character and circumstances of 
 the different authors they studied together, in order to 
 explain what had probably led them to write and think 
 as they had done. She pointed out the peculiarities of 
 style and arrangement in every new book they read, and 
 she made a continual reference to the effects that each 
 writer had been supposed to have upon religion and 
 morals. " It has been well observed," she said, " that
 
 130 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 books may be merely a tree of knowledge, or they may 
 become to us a tree of life, if we pluck from them with 
 discretion, and study them with a continual reference to 
 the Divine will, and to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 
 Everything is useful to us or the reverse, in exact pro- 
 portion as it inspires love to God or otherwise ; and 
 those hooks are chiefly to be studied which teach us to 
 reflect on our present duties and our future hopes." 
 
 It was in a very different light that Miss Marabout 
 viewed the subject. " I hate what is called ' solid read- 
 ing,'" she said one day to Eleanor; "and good sort 
 of books are generally like good sort of people, very 
 dull ; but nothing passes time more delightfully than a 
 novel. If ever there is any subject on my mind that I 
 wish to forget for a few days, my infallible resource is, 
 to bury myself in the pages of a good romance." 
 
 Miss Marabout frequently rewarded the successful 
 efforts of her pupil by allowing her to choose a volume 
 at Chambers's Circulating Library, to which she con- 
 stantly subscribed; and Eleanor read it clandestinely, 
 with a proviso from her governess, that if Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick entered the school-room, she should be ready 
 immediately to substitute in its place either Chambaud's 
 Exercises, or her portfolio of drawings. Before long 
 Miss Marabout and Eleanor discovered that no sub- 
 ject suited them both so well for discussion during 
 their walks as a dissertation on the merits of the last 
 novel they had read the heroes and heroines of which 
 were discussed and commented upon with the same inte- 
 rest and animation as if they had really existed and been 
 their most familiar friends. All the dramatis persons 
 were examined in detail ; their actions were criticised, 
 their misfortunes lamented, and their virtues admired, 
 in the mo ; t energetic terms. Eleanor remembered their
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 131 
 
 names, and discriminated their characters with surpris- 
 ing accuracy, and could repeat the bon mots and repar- 
 tees of a whole dialogue with astonishing precision. The 
 very dresses in which her favourite heroines had ap- 
 peared on particular occasions were recalled and de- 
 scribed many months after she had closed the hook ; 
 and it was truly lamentable to see a memory capacious 
 enough to have been stored with all the wisdom of ages, 
 frittered away upon what had better never have been 
 known, and could not have been too speedily forgotten. 
 Miss Marabout's favourite subject for confidential inter- 
 course with Eleanor was to describe, in animated terms, 
 all the admiration she had met with herself, and all the 
 arts by which it could best be secured and preserved. 
 Many were the anecdotes Miss Marabout related of her 
 own cruelty in rejecting former lovers, who seemed to 
 multiply in number the oftener Eleanor listened, and the 
 more she appeared interested in their fate. From time 
 to time some new history was disclosed undersea! of the 
 strictest secrecy ; and one tale of sensibility in particular 
 which Miss Marabout related of herself, was so full of 
 tragic interest, that Eleanor thought it might have been 
 immortalized in three volumes at least, and only won- 
 dered her governess had survived the unhappy attach- 
 ment she then professed, and which she described with 
 glowing eloquence. But nevertheless Miss Marabout 
 invariably talked with such unmeasured horror of old 
 maids, that it was very evident she would not willingly 
 add to their number, and only desired a favourable op- 
 portunity to forget her first love, though she protested 
 it was quite impossible. 
 
 Miss Marabout and her pupil occasionally opened a 
 newspaper also, in much the same spirit of inquiry with 
 which they would have dipped into the Newgate Calen-
 
 132 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 dar. They had both a prodigious relish for the jocular 
 style of trying culprits which is now in vogue, and were 
 entertained with reading all the newest and most ap- 
 proved methods of swindling and robbery; but foreign 
 news or home politics they entirely abjured, and always 
 regretted the meeting of Parliament, when the debates 
 occupied so many columns which would have been better 
 filled with dreadful accidents and atrocious crimes. 
 
 Eleanor's visits to Lady Olivia became gradually from 
 this time almost discontinued ; and she at last appeared 
 to look back upon the pleasure of her former excursions 
 to Ashgrove as an amusement of childhood which she 
 had completely outgrown. Sometimes she went under 
 shelter of her mother's wing, and was glad to make a 
 hasty apologetic exit along with Lady Fitz- Patrick ; but 
 her visits on Saturday were entirely relinquished ; there 
 was always the excuse of a children's ball, where she 
 was obliged to appear ; or she had been promised leave 
 to attend the theatre as the reward of her last brilliant 
 display ; or she was going with some gay party of plea- 
 sure, who were to remain in the country from Saturday 
 till Monday, enjoying a succession of delightful festivi- 
 ties. It was far otherwise with Matilda. Lady Howard 
 disapproved of girls being much seen before their debut, 
 giving it as her decided opinion that young ladies 
 should blaze out at once, if they were to make any sen- 
 sation in society. Matilda was therefore carefully se- 
 cluded from public view ; and as her chief enjoyment 
 consisted in visiting Lady Olivia, and partaking in the 
 various pleasures of country life, the frequency of her 
 excursions to Ashgrove was redoubled, and no exertion 
 seemed too great, if she could reap for a reward the 
 privilege of being allowed to spend, if it were no more 
 than half an hour iu her garden, or in the society of her
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 133 
 
 aunt. Lady Olivia gradually accustomed herself to treat 
 Matilda as her chosen friend and companion, whom she 
 always welcomed with affectionate regard and unlimited 
 confidence. On many occasions she consulted Matilda's 
 taste, constantly referred to her opinions, and entrusted 
 her with the execution of any plans and improvements 
 at the cottage. But what the warm and affectionate 
 heart of her niece valued above all else, was the perfect 
 openness and candour with which Lady Olivia disclosed 
 her most private thoughts and feelings; while she seemed 
 to delight in revealing the treasures of her cultivated 
 understanding and sanctified affections to one who gra- 
 dually learned to appreciate their worth, and to emulate 
 what she so greatly loved. 
 
 Matilda felt elevated by the consciousness of Lady 
 Olivia's esteem, and valued it above every other earthly 
 blessing. On all occasions she endeavoured to act and 
 think as her aunt would have done in similar circum- 
 stances. They conversed frequently for hours together, 
 and Matilda's young heart was warmed with a glow of 
 happiness, when she one day said that her loneliest and 
 saddest moments were cheered and comforted when she 
 thought of her beloved Matilda, who supplied that place 
 in her heart which no other living being could have 
 done since the loss of her lamented Laura. 
 
 Matilda's conversation was no longer like that of a 
 child, merely made up of facts and incidents ; but she 
 had learned to draw inferences from all she read or ob- 
 served, and to form opinions with originality and judg- 
 ment, which gave interest and novelty to her remarks. 
 With Lady Olivia she could venture at all times to 
 think aloud, in the full assurance that her ideas would be 
 received with indulgence ; where they were founded
 
 134 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 aright, that they would be duly appreciated ; and that 
 in discussing them they would acquire a degree of clear- 
 ness and strength which she felt that, in her own 
 unassisted mind, she could not have given them. The 
 gay vivacity of her spirits never seemed so buoyant as 
 when she hastened to the cottage with a feeling of an- 
 ticipated joy, and thought of the cheerful and affectionate 
 welcome which awaited her there ; and her longest 
 absence from that cherished spot only showed more 
 clearly that it was the home of all her warmest affec- 
 tions, and of all her happiest hours. 
 
 " Matilda," said Eleanor Fitz-Patrick one morning 
 when she was passing a long Christmas holiday at Lady 
 Howard's, " how can you waste so much precious time 
 in reading that prosy little book of ' Advice to Young 
 Ladies ?' I could give you an abridgment of the whole 
 contents without so much as glancing at one of its pages. 
 Chapter I. On the Improvement of Time. Rise very 
 early in the morning, and never lose a moment all day 
 afterwards. Chapter II. On Conversation. Never 
 speak till you are spoken to j invariably talk sense, and 
 praise every human being who is ever mentioned, with- 
 out exception. Chapter III. On Dress. To be neat, 
 but not gaudy, elegant, but not expensive. Chapter 
 IV. On Morals. To aim at every impossible perfec- 
 tion, and to pretend that you believe all other persons 
 come nearer to it than yourself. I think, Matilda, that 
 whenever one wishes to see twaddle and sententiousness 
 in their utmost extent, a sure way would be to open the 
 first volume that falls in your hands, of ' Essays on the 
 Conduct of Ladies,' or, ' Letters from a Mother to her 
 Daughter,' or, ' Advice to the Young and Beautiful.' " 
 
 " The last would precisely suit you, Eleanor/' said
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 135 
 
 Matilda, good humouredly, throwing aside her book. 
 " Suppose you try to write a volume better worth read- 
 ing on this subject." 
 
 " No, my good cousin, example is better than pre- 
 cept," replied Eleanor; " and I am already perhaps held 
 up as a warning occasionally in some school-rooms that 
 you know of, Matilda." 
 
 " Eleanor ! believe me you might be present to hear 
 every word that is ever said of you by Miss Person or 
 me," interrupted Matilda earnestly. " You may read my 
 whole heart, and see nothing there that would displease 
 you." 
 
 "I do believe it!" answered Eleanor with momentary 
 feeling. " You are sincerity itself, and you deserve to 
 be trusted and confided in implicitly, as I really do. 
 But it does enchant me sometimes to set dear worthy 
 Miss Person's hair on end, with giving her my views of 
 life and manners, for I know she would make our exist- 
 ence a mere tread-mill, with nothing to enliven us but a 
 dull routine of duties never ended, but always beginning ; 
 a circle, in short, like a Devonshire lane." 
 
 " What a provoking mistake !" replied Matilda eager- 
 ly ; " we enjoy quite as much in our little way as you 
 do in yours. Remember papa's conundrnm last night, 
 when he asked us, ' Where is happiness always to be 
 found?' and the melancholy answer ' Only in a dic- 
 tionary !' But I really think as large a share of enjoy- 
 ment is to be met with under Miss Person's jurisdiction 
 as it is possible for this world to afford." 
 
 " Oh, of course ! you are bound to say so, and to 
 maintain it ; but what you call diverson would seem to 
 me the greatest bore imaginable. Only fancy the idea 
 of your going last Saturday and superintending a tea- 
 party at Lady Olivia's Sunday School ; spreading bread
 
 136 *fbDERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and butter for sixty-eight hungry children, and pressing 
 them to eat ! What an amusement !" 
 
 " Consider, Eleanor, that you and I both attended the 
 menagerie last week to see the lions fed, which was very 
 diverting, and a little in the same line, only on that oc- 
 casion there was no feeling of sympathy and kindness 
 such as I experienced at the joyous little festival on 
 Saturday, when it would have done your heart good to 
 see aunt Olivia showing such kindness to all her happy 
 little guests." 
 
 " Ah, Matilda ! I prophesy that you will some day be 
 heroine of a penny tract, with the frontispiece exhibiting 
 your figure as Lady Bountiful distributing blankets and 
 flannel ; but I shall expand into three volumes octavo, 
 surrounded by shoals of lovers, and all sorts of interest- 
 ing embarrassments ending in either death or matri- 
 mony, as novels must inevitably do." 
 
 " I wish you a pleasanter fate, because, in my small 
 experience of romances, I have never yet discovered any 
 heroine with whom I should have consented to change 
 places, nor a hero whom I would have married." 
 
 " That shows how little you know upon the subject," 
 replied Eleanor. " I could point out fifty pattern lovers 
 who would suit me exactly, and yet no one can imagine 
 that I shall be more easily pleased than you. All that 
 is essential in my intended you shall hear; immense 
 fortune, noble family, brilliant talents, unimpeachable 
 temper, elegant manners, handsome appearance, and de- 
 voted attachment." 
 
 " Amongst other requisites, you must add good prin- 
 ciples and sincere piety, or I shall not give my consent 
 to your accepting him ; and one might even abate some 
 other recommendations to secure these 'indispensables.'" 
 
 " That is all taken for granted," replied Eleanor in-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 137 
 
 differently; "but the idea is so VERY NEW, Matilda, that 
 you must have found it in that original little volume of 
 Advice to Young Ladies ; so pray continue to benefit by 
 your studies, and I wish you no worse fate than to meet 
 with some such specimen of insipid perfection as would 
 be recommended to you by the old gentleman, or the old 
 lady, who has penned that volume of wholesome dulness; 
 but take my word for it, people with no faults have no 
 virtues. I often lament that there is not a censor of the 
 press to prevent dull people from writing dull books, 
 especially when they are upon religion and morality, 
 which ought to elevate any intellect that is directed 
 to subjects so sublime. Shall I ever forget the dreary 
 hours we spent with my first governess at home, on 
 Sunday, staring into ' The Child's Companion,' or 
 ' The Mother's offering,' or The Father's Gift,' or these 
 two volumes bound in black, that you were continually 
 poring over, entitled ' Early Piety,' in which all the 
 children died so invariably about the age of nine or ten, 
 that I really at last imagined it impossible for any reli- 
 gious child to survive, and that it would be condemning 
 myself to death if I became truly pious ? There should 
 be more such books for children as the good, worthy 
 old Pilgrim's Progress, the Fairchild Family, Mary and 
 her Mother, Abbot's Young Christian, and others I could 
 name, which display intellect as well as piety, and life 
 as well as death ; and then children would all be much 
 sooner fond of reading than I was, and connect their 
 views more willingly with religion. Aunt Olivia says 
 much that is very true about the natural enmity of our 
 hearts to all that is connected with futurity ; but she ac- 
 knowledges that a little adaptation to juvenile tastes and 
 feelings might be quite consistent with her most enlight-
 
 138 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ened views of evangelical piety, and make it much more 
 attractive." 
 
 " You should set up a review, Eleanor, and give us 
 your criticisms in detail," said Matilda, smiling. " As 
 a lady conducts the Sporting Magazine now, pray follow 
 the example in a different line." 
 
 " Why not ? Ladies think no more of writing books 
 now than our grandmothers did of writing letters. I 
 should like to put half the modern volumes into a cheese- 
 press, and to see the whey run off, though in some cases 
 very little solid bulk would remain. I have dipped into 
 several of the Memoirs on aunt Olivia's table lately, and 
 it is amazing to see how the author holds his reader 
 by the button with long-winded" preliminaries. They 
 generally begin by tracing a careful pedigree of the in- 
 dividual in question, for four or five generations back, 
 enlivened by a panegyric on his great-grandfather, and 
 an account of some long-forgotten book of which the 
 old gentleman was supposed to have been the author. 
 Then follows the precise date of the mother's marriage, 
 with her descent and perfections duly set forth. After 
 that comes a list of the hero's nine or ten brothers and 
 sisters, with the year and month in which they were born 
 and died, and an account of what professions they fol- 
 lowed, and with what success. Usually, one of the sis- 
 ters who married has unfortunately dropped out of sight, 
 and the author makes an apology for his deficient infor- 
 mation, and forms some interesting conjectures what 
 became of her. By the time your patience is nearly 
 extinct, the good man himself is at last produced, pro- 
 bably the fifth or sixth son ; and we are treated to an 
 elaborate discussion which of two or three villages he 
 was born in, and what profession he originally designed
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 139 
 
 to follow before he entered the church. Then come 
 several very indifferent verses, written when he was un- 
 der ten. But I have been sworn at Highgate never to 
 read bad poetry when it can be got good ; so I generally 
 conclude with a glance at the frontispiece, to see the 
 respectable old gentleman putting as good a face on the 
 matter as he can ; and I really give him my warmest 
 sympathy on having his memory so tarnished by the 
 folly and indiscretion of surviving friends." 
 
 " I have lately discovered that old books on religion 
 are like old wine, always the best," replied Matilda, 
 " There seems to be more body in them ; for divinity 
 really so very flimsy is often published at present, that 
 with the assistance of a good Concordance to suggest 
 appropriate texts, any child might supply the string of 
 Goody Two- Shoe's reflections by which they are unit- 
 ed." 
 
 " The chief characteristic of modern writing and con- 
 versation is tediousness," said Eleanor, yawning; " and 
 after the age of fifty I mean always to speak with a stop- 
 watch in my hand, to remind me when I have exceeded 
 the limits of ordinary patience, and never to remember 
 any thing that occurred to me above ten years before." 
 
 Miss Marabout had been several months at Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick's before she felt disposed to accompany Eleanor 
 on a visit to Ashgrove; but one leisure day, the weather 
 being remarkably favourable for a long walk, and several 
 persons having recently mentioned Lady Olivia Neville 
 as a most superior person, with whom it was a great pri- 
 vilege to be acquainted, she became suddenly seized with 
 a longing desire to see her, and resolved for once to make 
 the effort of calling and showing herself to that lady, 
 whom she determined to fascinate completely. She 
 piqued herself particularly on her maniere de societe, as
 
 140 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 she called it, and had no doubt that, as Lady Olivia 
 was so discriminating a person, she would at once see 
 her infinite superiority to Miss Person, of whom Miss 
 Marahout persuaded herself she had the greatest con- 
 tempt, though that feeling had in it an unaccountable 
 tincture of jealousy. With mingled feelings of exulta- 
 tion and curiosity, this elegant and accomplished lady 
 equipped herself for the proposed excursion, complaining, 
 as she went along, of the extreme distance, and of the 
 filthy roads, for she rather entertained Quin's opinion, 
 that the country ought to be all paved. Miss Marabout 
 wondered often to Eleanor, as they proceeded, whether 
 Lady Olivia would really turn out to be all that report 
 had prepared her to expect. " Quite a Madonna, I sup- 
 pose," said she, " like the pictures we see of Lady Rachel 
 Russell, in her widow's cap ; or like one of the marble 
 figures we put on a tomb stone, her head reclining on 
 her hand, and a sigh breathing from her lips. I can per- 
 fectly fancy your aunt already, a voice scarcely audible, 
 and a figure so fragile, that this cold breeze would utter- 
 ly annihilate her, with a melancholy cadence in all she 
 says, like the touching tones of an Eolian harp." . . . 
 
 " Not at all !" interrupted Eleanor, laughing ; " my 
 aunt appears to ordinary visitors rather cheerful than 
 otherwise ; walks out in all weathers, and dresses pre- 
 cisely like other people." 
 
 " How very strange I" exclaimed Miss Marabout, in- 
 dignantly ; " after such excruciating sorrow, it takes 
 sadly from the interest of her story, if she can ever 
 banish it one moment from her heart." 
 
 " I have heard my aunt observe, that by sharing other 
 people's affliction she feels relieved from her own," said 
 Eleanor. " Lady Olivia thinks no one obtains a portion 
 of happiness in this world sufficient to satisfy his own
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 141 
 
 heart uules he can share in the joys of others, and 
 that no sorrows would ever overwhelm us if we could 
 also participate in the trials of our neighbour. She acts 
 upon this principle, and I should say from the result 
 that her judgment is right. None but the selfish can 
 ever be utterly miserable, was a maxim she very often 
 inculcated on me, for in ' seeking other's good we find 
 our own.' I talk like a parrot now, only by rote." 
 
 " Well ! chacun a son gout" replied Miss Marabout. 
 " In Lady Olivia's place I should have sat in a darkened 
 room, with my husband's miniature in my hand, a few 
 select friends admitted occasionally to weep with me, my 
 harp unstrung, and some volume of pensive interest as 
 the soothing companion of my lonely hours." 
 
 " That would look beautiful for a week," said Eleanor, 
 laughing; "but you must not survive much longer, or I 
 am sure no one could keep it up. However, I hope you 
 will some day be an inconsolable widow, and then I shall 
 hasten to see whether you act the part better than my 
 aunt. No eye can gaze on that wasted countenance 
 without seeing that there exists a corroding sorrow with- 
 in her breast, which lives there in perpetual remembrance, 
 yet she does not willingly obtrude it on the notice of 
 any one; and, as she more particularly screens her feel- 
 ings from the every-day sympathy of strangers, there 
 will be nothing in her manner at first which will at all 
 satisfy your expectations." 
 
 " All I say then is, that Lady Olivia must be de- 
 ficient in sensibility, which is undoubtedly the greatest 
 defect that any one can have," replied Miss Marabout, 
 sighing. " There are people who scarcely shed more 
 tears for their own greatest sorrow, than I have wept 
 over the Trials of Margaret Lyndsay, or the Woes of 
 Constance de Beverley."
 
 142 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Aunt Olivia remarked to me one day, that the more 
 people sympathise with fictitious grief the less they feel 
 that which is real," answered Eleanor; " and I have 
 actually seen her more melted by the affliction of some 
 old woman in a smoky hovel, full of dirt and wretched- 
 ness, than ever you were by our favourite refined pic- 
 tures of woe. She never hears of distress in the neigh- 
 bourhood without rising at once and hastening there, to 
 ascertain whether it be a case where any alleviation can 
 be afforded by sympathy or kindness." 
 
 " How fortunate it is that some people are born with 
 such resolution of character and stern self-control, that 
 they can conquer what is overpowering to the more 
 sensitive feelings of others," continued Miss Marabout, 
 sighing, with a look of evident self-complacency; " I 
 have always had too much refinement willingly to enter 
 on such scenes as you describe, and I wonder that Lady 
 Olivia does not rather commission her maid to visit the 
 cottages instead of going herself." 
 
 " My aunt never does good by proxy," replied Eleanor ; 
 " and I have heard Matilda remark, that she thinks Lady 
 Olivia's dignity and elevation of character never appear 
 more graceful and impressive than in the lowly dwelling 
 of a suffering fellow-creature, where she seems to iden- 
 tify herself with the unfortunate, and to remember 
 only that we have one common lot of affliction, and one 
 common lesson to be derived from it; that though in this 
 world there is tribulation, yet we have hope in Him who 
 came to share in all our sorrows, that he might finally 
 deliver us from them. I reverence Lady Olivia's whole 
 conduct and character, as every one must who has been 
 a single hour in her society; but I never can hope to 
 resemble her, and do not even attempt it, as Matilda does. 
 It is this consciousness of my deficiency that makes me
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 143 
 
 detest the very thought of entering Ashgrove, though 
 there is no danger of any reproach, except that of my own 
 heart, for Lady Olivia often helps out my excuse for 
 neglecting her, when I am rather at a loss to invent one 
 myself; but here we are, in a place where I used to be 
 happy, though my taste for it is now over; and there," 
 said Eleanor with a half-contemptuous laugh, " there is 
 my cousin in what was once our garden, working so 
 busily with her rake that she has not even noticed our 
 arrival. What a rural-looking figure she is !" 
 
 " I really wonder that MissPorson allows it," said Miss 
 Marabout, indignantly; " such a waste of time, when 
 gardeners in abundance could be got to put the whole 
 place in order for a shilling ; but I never felt so sensible 
 as now, Eleanor, of the infinite advantage it is to you 
 having been placed under my superintendence ; and time 
 will show the difference between a pupil of mine and a 
 piece of home-manufacture, such as Matilda will be 
 under the care of your aunt, and good, well-meaning 
 Miss Person." 
 
 Miss Marabout had time for a minute and approving 
 scrutiny of the china, books, and pictures in Lady Oli- 
 via's boudoir, and had even extended her investigation to 
 the notes and visiting cards which lay upon the table, 
 before the sound of an approaching footstep caused her 
 hastily to take a seat, and to adopt her most graceful 
 attitude on the sofa ; for Miss Marabout's ideas of grace 
 were very similar to those of a dancing-master, and she 
 thought no one could be thoroughly elegant who did not 
 study an attitude on all occasions in which she might 
 have sat for a picture. Elegance so simple as that of 
 Lady Olivia Neville the scrutinizing visitor had never 
 seen before, and for several minutes after their introduc- 
 tion, she insensibly experienced the effect of a mind and
 
 144 WODEUX ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 manner superior to her own. At length, however, Miss 
 Marabout's usual self sufficiency broke loose from re- 
 straint, and she resolved to put forth all her fascinations, 
 and to charm Lady Olivia completely by her conversa- 
 tional powers. 
 
 " Your ladyship has probably been much surprised 
 that I have not sooner done myself the honour of calling 
 here," she began in a deprecating tone. ' ' Indeed, I have 
 often blamed myself for it, and resolved at last to over- 
 come every impediment. Miss Eleanor's education takes 
 me up incessantly, and I am quite accahlee with friends 
 of my own to visit ; besides which, we have really been 
 overpowered with engagements for some time past, so 
 that altogether it has been quite an absolute impossibility 
 for me to snatch an hour for visiting here. I trust your 
 ladyship sees it in the light I wish, and that you will 
 not suppose any want of respect on my part has made 
 me so long a stranger here." 
 
 " I am not inclined, Miss Marabout, to make any sup- 
 position of the kind you apprehend," replied Lady Oli- 
 via, with gentle dignity; " no one has ever been deficient 
 in such respect and attention to me as are requisite, and 
 I am confident they will not be wanting on your part." 
 
 ' f It is very obliging of your ladyship to say so," con- 
 tinued Miss Marabout, rather at a loss what to answer. 
 " I am anxious for the good opinion of every one, and 
 am happy to feel assured of your ladyship's, for the 
 bright example you hold forth to society has ever been 
 the subject of admiration to all, and more especially to 
 
 " Excuse me, Miss Marabout," interrupted Lady Oli- 
 via, indifferently. " Did you find the walk very fatiguing 
 this morning." 
 
 " Not so overpowering as I expected, or we should
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 
 
 have sooner attempted it," replied Miss Marabout. " Tell 
 Lady Olivia, Miss Fitz-Patrick, how very much concern- 
 ed you have been lately that so many unavoidable cir- 
 cumstances have concurred to prevent your calling here 
 oftener ; our excuses are not merely bien trouvees, but my 
 pupil may declare with perfect truth that " 
 
 "No more apologies, if you please, Miss Marabout," 
 said Lady Olivia, smiling. " I hope Eleanor and I 
 will never be on terms so ceremonious with each other 
 as to begin an interchange of speeches and civilities ; 
 the next step would be to leave her visiting card for me 
 when I am out. No, I never call in question my niece's 
 affection, nor allow myself to doubt that something in- 
 superable has occurred when she does not give me the 
 pleasure of seeing her ; so never be distressed with any 
 useless anxiety on the subject." 
 
 Lady Olivia took her niece affectionately by the hand, 
 and Eleanor coloured with a feeling of conscious guilt, 
 when she perceived the unsuspecting confidence with 
 which her aunt relied on the continuance of her very in- 
 constant attachment. 
 
 " This is really a charming spot, Lady Olivia," conti- 
 nued Miss Marabout, glancing around the cottage with 
 an air of patronizing approbation. " I have quite a passion 
 for retirement, and could fancy mvself getting romantic 
 here in a very short time. Indeed, as I observed to Miss 
 Eleanor a few minutes ago, if ever I were to be buried 
 before I am dead, this is the very place I should prefer. 
 Still, your ladyship must find it rather out of the way 
 and very lonely. I shall make a point of bringing Miss 
 Fitz-Patrick oftener here, and shall be most happy to 
 come myself as frequently as possible ; but the fact is, my 
 pupil and I have seldom a moment we can call our own ; 
 from the time we rise in the morning till we go to bed 
 
 H
 
 146 MODEKN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 at night, Miss Eleanor is on a perfect rail-road, she gets 
 through so much. It is a point of conscience with me 
 to neglect nothing, and I hope your ladyship will agree 
 in thinking that more could not be expected from a 
 person in my situation." 
 
 " Nor in any other," said Lady Olivia, smiling. " To 
 neglect nothing is certainly a difficult attainment in the 
 right use of our time." 
 
 *' I must do Miss Eleanor the justice to allow that her 
 progress is perfectly surprising," continued Miss Mara- 
 bout rapidly. " She merits all I can say on her behalf, 
 and certainly gets so much admiration from every quar- 
 ter, that it will be the strongest and best motive to en- 
 courage her future exertions as well as my own." 
 
 Eleanor, though accustomed to applause, felt elated in 
 the highest degree at hearing this panegyric, and looked 
 at Lady Olivia to see her own feelings of pride and 
 pleasure reflected in the face of her aunt ; but she was 
 almost startled to observe the expression of sorrowful 
 commiseration which met her eager glance, and the grave 
 and anxious look with which Lady Olivia contemplated 
 her countenance. It was seldom now that any look but 
 of approbation was turned upon that lovely form it 
 was seldom, too, that any language but of praise was 
 addressed to her ear ; yet the heart of Eleanor Fitz- 
 Patrick told her for the moment, how undeserving she 
 was of it, when she saw a tear hastily brushed away 
 from the eye of that friend who loved her the most truly 
 of any upon earth, as Lady Olivia suddenly averted her 
 countenance to hide her emotion. With a transient pang 
 of regret, Eleanor now remembered, like a dream of 
 former days, the humble and teachable spirit with which 
 she had once attended to the mild, enlightened, and affec- 
 tionate instructions of her aunt, the pleasing influence of
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 147 
 
 whose tender care had been since exchanged by her 
 governess for an intoxicating draught of injudicious and 
 indiscriminating panegyric. 
 
 " Your ladyship would have been delighted to hear 
 all that Mr Crayon said of Miss Eleanor's last head in 
 chalks," continued Miss Marabout. " I meant to bring 
 the drawing here for inspection, but it might be so very 
 easily destroyed that we could not venture. The last 
 group of flowers that she embroidered seems as if it 
 might be picked up from the canvass ; and if we had but 
 a harp, you would be astonished at Miss Eleanor's execu- 
 tion. She practises three hours a-day, which your lady- 
 ship will notthink too much, onaccountof the importance 
 and the difficulty of accomplishing it in perfection." 
 
 " Miss Marabout! considering that our acquaintance 
 is so very recent, and that there are some important 
 points on which I already perceive we differ, let me re- 
 quest that you will not take my opinions for granted on 
 any subject until I have expressed them. They are not 
 always precisely what you anticipate," said Lady Olivia ; 
 " and the harp seems to me " 
 
 " I quite agree with your ladyship that there is a risk," 
 interrupted Miss Marabout eagerly. " It has been fre- 
 quently objected that so many young ladies become quite 
 deformed owing to an indiscreet zeal in practising that 
 instrument to excess ; but, as your ladyship knows al- 
 ready, I never lose sight of any thing. I have had 
 some very serious conversations with Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 on the subject, who has kindly agreed to bespeak a new 
 harp at Erard's on a plan of my own. Miss Eleanor 
 would have played you her last new overture on the 
 piano-forte, but I perceive this is a cabinet one. I al- 
 most wonder that your ladyship can exist now without 
 a grand piano-forte !"
 
 148 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " I dispense with many things that are much more 
 essential," said Lady Olivia, unable to repress a smile. 
 " Quand on n'a pas ce-que Von aime, il faul aimer ce 
 que fon a. You will find that a good rule on many oc- 
 casions, Miss Marabout, and not so difficult to practise 
 as one would be apt to expect." 
 
 " Very true," replied Miss Marabout. " I am glad 
 your ladyship is not offended at my taking the liberty of 
 remarking on your piano. I have the most inveterate 
 habit of speaking out my mind on all occasions ; but 
 openness and candour, your ladyship will allow, are gene- 
 rally best. Miss Fitz-Patrick, my dear, I see Lady 
 Olivia looking perfectly shocked at your elbows ; try to 
 sit more gracefully." 
 
 " I must again entreat, Miss Marabout, that my senti- 
 ments may never be anticipated," said Lady Olivia de- 
 cidedly. " With respect to Eleanor's mode of sitting, I 
 had not remarked it ; but at all times I am such an ad 
 mirer of simplicity, that whatever is most natural appears 
 to me best. If a wire were placed in every leaf of a tree, 
 it would not hang more gracefully than it does by nature, 
 and I think we often spoil what we are over anxious to 
 improve." 
 
 " Your ladyship is quite right," answered Miss Mara- 
 bout in her most complaisant tone. " Miss Fitz-Patrick 
 is naturally very graceful. It would have charmed you 
 last night to see her brilliant appearance at Mrs Fortes- 
 cue's ball, where my pupil really looked belle comme le 
 jour. The whole room was in rapture with her dancing, 
 and several of the company stood upon benches to watch 
 her, quite a gorge deployee with admiration. It was a 
 happy moment to Lady Fitz-Patrick, and fully as much 
 so to me, for I must do myself the justice to say that I 
 always identify myself completely with my charge during
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 149 
 
 the time I am with her. She afterwards spoke French 
 for more than half an hour to Count Caskowhiski, 
 and I scarcely think she made a single mistake in gram- 
 mar. Truly there is very little left for Miss Fitz-Pa- 
 trick to learn now, and she will soon deserve the epithet 
 of ' La plus savante des belles, et la plus belle des sa- 
 vantes.' " 
 
 " Eleanor, you ought to be covered with blushes," said 
 Lady Olivia. "So unqualified a panegyric might do 
 for a tomb-stone." 
 
 " Certainly none of my pupils ever promised to do me 
 more credit," continued Miss Marabout. " "When I left 
 Miss St. John, indeed, she was the most accomplished 
 young lady in London; but I regretted to hear that, after 
 her marriage to Lord Piccadilly she entirely gave up every 
 sort of occupation, except a little embroidery now and 
 then. It was a sad mortification to me, and must dis- 
 appoint her husband extremely, as he is distracted about 
 music ; but we might have expected it, as really no 
 young ladies every keep up accomplishments after they 
 marry." 
 
 " That is too much the case certainly, but not an in- 
 variable rule," replied Lady Olivia. " Did you ever 
 hear Dean Swift's advice to young ladies, that instead 
 of employing time in preparing traps for their husbands, 
 they should rather try to prepare cages ? for he seems to 
 insinuate that those who spend a lifetime on the embel- 
 lishments of education, will find, when they lay these 
 aside, that nothing else remains. I wish much to take 
 this opportunity of saying a few words with respect to 
 Eleanor's education, Miss Marabout. You are aware 
 that I have long been accustomed to consider her as a 
 child of my own, and perhaps you may kindly attend to
 
 150 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 suggestions from one who has all the affection, 
 though none of the authority of a parent." 
 
 Lady Olivia's eye rested on Eleanor for some time 
 with a look of tender but mournful interest. " You are 
 performing a very arduous task, Miss Marabout/' said 
 she, in a tone of kindness, " and I respect the zeal and 
 activity with which you have entered upon the duties of 
 instruction, according to your own views of what these 
 duties are." 
 
 Miss Marabout gave a self-satisfied smile, and drew 
 her chair closer to Lady Olivia's with a look of profound 
 attention. 
 
 "It would have made me happy to see any one placed 
 with Eleanor who thought as I do on education, and 
 who had as much perseverance and energy as you exert 
 in following out your own ideas on the subject," con- 
 tinued Lady Olivia, in a conciliating tone ; " but surely, 
 Miss Marabout, if Eleanor were setting out on a long 
 journey, you would think her scantily provided if she 
 had only a ball dress to wear ; and the manner in which 
 you are preparing her for entering into life seems quite 
 as deficient there appears to be nothing done to 
 strengthen her understanding to exercise her faculties, 
 and to improve her disposition. I was reading an ad- 
 mirable work lately on the mental powers, in which it 
 was proved that, of those who lose their intellect entirely 
 the far greater proportion are devoted to sculpture, paint- 
 ing, or music, because in these there is nothing to occupy 
 the mind learning languages is also very mechanical, 
 for the head is loaded with a quantity of indigestible 
 dictionaries and vocabularies, while the intellectual facul- 
 ties may be actually smothered." 
 
 " Nothing is so much improved by exercise as the
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 151 
 
 memory/' interrupted Miss Marabout, " and too much 
 pains cannot be bestowed upon that, which I consider 
 the chief object of education." 
 
 " It is important certainly, but yet it should be kept 
 in subordination to what is still more essential," replied 
 Lady Olivia. " A very great memory, unless it is 
 united to judgment, usually renders people tedious and 
 prolix in conversation, and at the best it has been well 
 compared to a cistern which merely preserves all that is 
 put into it ; but the reasoning and reflecting powers are 
 a spring that can never be exhausted, and by directing 
 these aright, they enrich and fertilize the mind with 
 inexhaustible stores of moral feeling and steady prin- 
 ciple. I should consider it a real obligation, Miss 
 Marabout, if you would consent to let Eleanor go 
 through a course of reading in English and French lite- 
 rature on the same plan which I lately sketched out for 
 Matilda and Miss Person, and with which they have 
 both expressed themselves much pleased." 
 
 " I have no doubt of that," replied Miss Marabout, 
 evasively, " and when Miss Fitz-Patrick's time is a little 
 less engrossed, we shall be most happy to avail ourselves 
 of your ladyship's acknowledged judgment and taste. 
 I perfectly agree in opinion that reading is a very great 
 resource, and I scarcely dare trust myself with a book, 
 for it is impossible to tear me away when I have once 
 got thoroughly interested. Miss Eleanor is precisely the 
 same too she would read from morning till night if I 
 allowed her." 
 
 " It would be a subject of interesting discussion with 
 my nieces, when we meet, if they pursued the same 
 studies," continued Lady Olivia, earnestly. " I generally 
 read what Matilda is engaged in, that we may converse 
 upon the subject afterwards, and it would redouble our
 
 152 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 enjoyment to have Eleanor with us. The two girls are 
 equally dear to me, and though their expression of coun- 
 tenance has become rather different of late, I still think 
 they resemble each other like sisters, and would wish to 
 see them brought up as much as possible the same." 
 
 " Your ladyship is quite right they are very like/' 
 said Miss Marabout, absently, " particularly Miss Elea- 
 nor." 
 
 "The first wish of my heart is with respect to their 
 religious principles, Miss Marabout," continued Lady 
 Olivia in a tone of emotion, which recalled her audi- 
 tor's wandering attention. " In the short span of our 
 existence here, trifles that immediately surround us rise 
 into such magnitude, that we forget the mental perspec- 
 tive which would lead to a comparison of their littleness 
 with the distant but far greater objects of futurity ; and 
 the pages of Scripture alone teach an accurate measure- 
 ment of present and coming events, in both of which we 
 are equally to have a part. My earnest request then is, 
 that you would ....." 
 
 " I enter into your ladyship's views entirely," inter- 
 rupted Miss Marabout, rather impatiently; " Cela va 
 sans dire, and you may depend upon me for neglecting 
 nothing. Miss Eleanor attends church with the greatest 
 regularity, and we have a beautifully bound volume, 
 into which she invariably writes down the sermon of the 
 day on Sunday evenings. Your ladyship would be quite 
 astonished and pleased to see how she appears to have 
 the whole subject, aiuc bouts des doigts. I think we 
 almost made out six pages of recollections one night, 
 and several friends to whom we always show them in 
 confidence are perfectly astonished. I shall bring the 
 manuscript for approval next time we call, and Miss 
 Eleanor must take an early opportunity of repeating her
 
 OB THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 153 
 
 chapters, for she knows several already. Whenever 
 she is condemned to do a task, I take the opportunity of 
 making my pupil learn some verses of the Bible by heart." 
 Lady Olivia coloured with vexation, and a pause of 
 some minutes ensued, during which Miss Marabout sat 
 back on her chair with a look of good-humoured satis- 
 faction and conscious merit, perfectly convinced that she 
 had impressed on her auditor the highest opinion of her 
 judgment and skill as an instructress in morals as well 
 as in accomplishments, and Lady Olivia remained for 
 several minutes in perplexed and silent meditation. 
 
 " Miss Marabout," said she at length, in a tone of 
 agitation and of deep solemnity, " where the eternal 
 interests of one so dear to me are at stake, I must not 
 hesitate to explain my opinions more fully. The Bible 
 was never intended to be a mere task, but its pages are 
 sent as glad tidings, which our chief delight should be 
 to read and to understand ; it is imparted for higher 
 purposes than to be made sermons of, though these are 
 precious, in so far as they enable us to understand it 
 better ; but nothing can be more injurious than an early 
 habit of reading the Scriptures without properly esti- 
 mating our own near connexion with them as our pass- 
 port into eternity ; and who can reflect upon all they 
 contain, without feeling that religion is not a mere 
 ordinary lesson to be learned in an ordinary way, but that 
 it should be the business, the pleasure, and the glory of 
 our whole existence to study and to understand them 
 aright." 
 
 " What your ladyship says is perfectly true," replied 
 Miss Marabout vaguely, as she hastily rose to take leave. 
 " I am afraid, Miss Eleanor, we have rather exceede-1 
 our time ; but your aunt's conversation makes one forget 
 every thing else. Good morning. Lady Olivia; we have
 
 154 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 spent a most delightful hour here; I hope to enjoy many 
 opportunities of discussing my pupil's studies, as I shall 
 always be happy to have the advice and opinion of so 
 competent a judge ; meantime, you may rest assured, I 
 shall neglect nothing." 
 
 " Before you go, Miss Marabout, let me request you 
 to accept this little volume," said Lady Olivia, present- 
 ing her with an elegantly bound copy of Mrs Hannah 
 More on Female Education ; " there is much in it de- 
 serving of attention." 
 
 " I am happy to receive such a mark of your ladyship's 
 esteem," replied Miss Marabout, looking exceedingly 
 pleased with the unexpected gift ; for nothing is more 
 universally popular than a small present. 
 
 " Eleanor," continued Lady Olivia, affectionately tak- 
 ing her niece by the hand, " I wish to converse with you 
 for a single moment alone. My dear girl," she added, 
 as soon as they had reached her dressing-room, " you 
 need not be told of the deep interest with which I watch 
 over every change in your character and circumstances, 
 for no mother ever loved her own child more than I love 
 you, and therefore you cannot but imagine the daily fer- 
 vent prayers with which I continuallv commend you to 
 God for his best and most permanent blessings. Miss 
 Marabout tells me much about the applause you have 
 met with from the world of late ; but, dear Eleanor, I 
 wish for once to remind you, that it is when we are of 
 the world, that the world will love its own, but its flat- 
 teries are dangerous in the extreme ; and when you con- 
 sider all the sacrifices of time, and thought, and principle, 
 which are exacted from its votaries, we can scarcely won- 
 der that the Bible so solemnly warns us of the woe that 
 awaits those of whom all men speak well." 
 
 " You have more need to beware of that woe than any
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 155 
 
 one," said Eleanor, smiling. " I am always proud of hear- 
 ing your name mentioned, aunt Olivia, it is so sure to 
 draw forth a panegyric." 
 
 " You may depend upon this, dear Eleanor, that the 
 surest foundation for happiness in the world is Christian 
 humility, which can suffer no mortification nor disap- 
 pointment, believing whatever we have is above our 
 merits, and that the approbation of God is alone perma- 
 nent or desirable. I trust that praise or blame from 
 those who merely judge superficially can never now cause 
 me much emotion ; but you have still that lesson to learn, 
 and it is long before we are taught to estimate justly the 
 world's opinion. I can scarcely suppose that you will not 
 be allured to seek admiration, and that you will not be 
 dazzled by what has already been a snare and a destruction 
 to so many. Even now, Eleanor, I see in you an air of self- 
 complacency which is new to me, and far different from 
 the humility and self-abasement of a Christian. You are 
 exchanging the praise of others for that peace of mind 
 which might be your own, and which would last when 
 all we now behold is passed into oblivion ; but this is 
 not the time, Eleanor ; I need not speak now. Let me 
 only say, that whatever alterations may happen in you, 
 none can ever take place in my affection. Come to me 
 at all times with the same confidence you have ever 
 shown me let us not be estranged by any circumstances, 
 for I know what the enticements of the world are, and I 
 can scarcely expect that you will yet rise superior to 
 them, but never imagine that I shall meet you in a cen- 
 sorious spirit. Come when you will, my dear girl, and 
 believe me there is no day nor hour in which I shall not 
 rejoice to receive you as my own child, and always have 
 you nearest to my heart, where Matilda and yourself fill 
 up a place that no one else can ever now supply."
 
 156 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Lady Olivia embraced her niece, and Eleanor was 
 moved by the unwonted emotion which she saw in the 
 usually calm and untroubled countenance of her aunt, 
 who was seldom betrayed into any display of sensibility 
 when it could possibly be kept under control, which 
 gave the more interest to every expression of feeling that 
 might be unwillingly drawn forth. 
 
 When they returned to the drawing-room, Lady Oli- 
 via and Eleanor were for some moments unobserved, 
 owing to the violent altercation which was taking place 
 between Miss Marabout and Miss Barbara Neville, who 
 had returned a few moments before from her walk. 
 
 " The March of Intellect !" she exclaimed, in a tone 
 of angry vehemence, " the march of folly and nonsense 
 rather! Do you think life was given us for no better pur- 
 poses than to be twirling about like tee-totums, and 
 singing like tea-kettles from morning till night? I don't 
 care to hear Eleanor speak a perfect Babel of languages, 
 if she is to understand no more of her mother-tongue 
 than you seem to do, with that piebald mixture of French 
 and English that you always talk. Indeed, if my niece 
 has nothing better to say than she has now, I think one 
 tongue may serve her purpose well enough." 
 
 " Lady Fitz-Patrick is perfectly satisfied, and I am 
 not bound to consult the wishes of any one else," replied 
 Miss Marabout in great irritation. " I believe, without 
 vanity, that she could never find another so competent 
 to bring up a young lady of fashion as myself, and her 
 ladyship knows it. Miss Eleanor will become an orna- 
 ment to her family and to society under my tuition ; 
 and whether I enjoy it or not, I shall deserve the gra- 
 titude of all her connexions." 
 
 Miss Marabout swept gracefully out of the room, with 
 a respectful courtesy to Lady Olivia, and an angry
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 157 
 
 glance at Miss Neville, whom she had before heard of 
 as a Methodist, but whom she resolved henceforward, at 
 all hazards, to avoid, as well as every one whom she 
 suspected of similar sentiments. 
 
 " Lady Olivia is a most interesting person," she said 
 to Eleanor, as they walked homewards. " That pale 
 alabaster countenance, and those exquisitely chiselled 
 features, are so classical, that I could gaze at her for ever. 
 All her movements are graceful; and then her voice is 
 music itself. I am a great connoisseur in voices, having 
 always been considered to have a remarkably melodious 
 one myself; and nothing can be a surer index of the 
 character. Miss Neville's is singularly discordant." 
 
 "Eleanor! Eleanor!" cried Matilda Howard from a 
 distance, whose tone of eager animation attracted instant 
 attention. " Dear Eleanor ! surely you are not going 
 without a single glance at our garden ! I have been 
 busy all morning weeding the flower pots, and little 
 thought that you were sitting in the house without once 
 asking to see me !" 
 
 Matilda held out her hand to Eleanor with an affec- 
 tionate smile when they met, and she entreated Miss 
 Marabout to return, if it were only for a single moment. 
 " I know it would make Eleanor so happy !" said she 
 anxiously. " Every thing is in order and beauty this 
 morning," continued she, turning to her cousin. " The 
 scarlet geranium has grown amazingly since you saw it 
 last, and the new calmia is very thriving. I am sorry 
 to mention that my grafted rose-tree met with an acci- 
 dent yesterday, and the fuschia is really dying after all 
 our care. But " 
 
 " My dear Matilda, any one would suppose you had 
 a large family of children, and were telling me their 
 whole history," exclaimed Eleanor, with a satirical laugh.
 
 158 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " It diverts me to see how keen you still are about our 
 ' little landed property/ as we used to call it ; and you 
 really seem to be as much a child as ever about it. As 
 for myself, I continue to be passionately fond of plants, 
 but would not take the trouble you do in rearing them 
 for the world. If it had occurred to me, however, I 
 really would have searched in the green-house to inves- 
 tigate whether there were any flowers fit to make a bou- 
 quet for Lady Montague's ball to-night." 
 
 " Then I have luckily anticipated your wishes," said 
 Matilda, uncovering a brilliant group of the most beau- 
 tiful camellias. " I gathered these this morning, thinking 
 there might be some opportunity of sending them to 
 town before evening ; but I little thought to have the 
 pleasure of presenting them to yourself, for we meet so 
 seldom now, Eleanor, and it makes a sad blank to me. 
 I daresay you lament as much as I do the 'gay old 
 times,' when we were so merry together; and now that 
 Miss Marabout has once found her way here, I hope 
 she will frequently come back. I should think no one 
 could ever go away from this dear place without wishing 
 to return often." 
 
 " Oh, certainly !" replied Eleanor, in a very indiffer- 
 ent tone. " I quite doat upon the little hermitage ! 
 But it will be ages before we are able to see it again, as 
 I am engaged for several weeks to come ; and really the 
 walk is a serious undertaking I I would not retrace the 
 two or three steps you wish me for a principality, being 
 already wearied to death." 
 
 " How old and frail you are become, Eleanor !" said 
 Matilda. " You used formerly to think the business of 
 the day only begun when we had reached Asbgrove. I 
 came here this morning long before breakfast, and have 
 been busy ever since."
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 159 
 
 " I blame Miss Person very much for allowing such 
 a thing !" exclaimed Miss Marabout. " It is vain to sup- 
 pose that a large bonnet will be any sufficient protection 
 from the sun, for before twenty, I prophesy, Miss How- 
 ard, that you will have the complexion of a gipsy, and 
 an appetite that would shame a grouse-shooter." 
 
 " How very alarming !" said Eleanor affectedly. " I 
 am sure you will cure Matilda of her love for gardening 
 by such a threat, at least mine could not have survived 
 it an hour. Well, many thanks for the camellias ! What 
 a liberal supply this is ! But you know, Matilda, I was 
 always like the Lord Mayor's fool, who liked every thing 
 that was good, and the more the better. Now, good 
 morning, for we must homeward plod our way, without 
 putting off any more time. Adieu, au revoir!" 
 
 " Farewell, dear Eleanor. It never occurred to me 
 that you were in haste, or I should not have caused this 
 delay; but I have a thousand things to say, so it is lucky 
 you put me in mind, or I might have detained you for 
 an hour." 
 
 " Or perhaps two," replied Eleanor laughing ; " but 
 it is worth while to remain for such a bouquet as this 
 a bucket of flowers, as our gardener calls it. Good 
 bye." 
 
 Matilda stood for some moments looking after Eleanor 
 with a vague feeling of disappointment. The tears un- 
 consciously gathered in her eyes, and she returned to 
 the garden, chilled in heart, and grieved in her inmost 
 spirit ; for there was a sense of loneliness amidst these 
 gay and blooming scenes which she had never experien- 
 ced before, and which was caused by the irresistible con- 
 sciousness of her cousin's indifference. 
 
 " I always thought that Eleanor's estrangement was 
 entirely owing to Miss Marabout," thought she, sorrow-
 
 160 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 fully ; " but there is an alteration in her own feelings 
 also, for which I cannot possibly account. Her manner 
 was cold and absent, compared with what it used to be, 
 and she seems to take no interest in any thing now, not 
 even in the recollection of our former happy days. "What 
 can it be that has wrought such a change in so short a 
 time ! Scarcely a year has elapsed since every thought 
 
 of our hearts was in common. But now I" 
 
 Matilda wiped away the falling tear, for she saw Lady 
 Olivia and Miss Porson approaching, and she would not 
 for the world have breathed a thought to the disparage- 
 ment of Eleanor's affection, which she yet hoped to see 
 revived.
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 161 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 They who know the most, 
 Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, 
 The tree of knowledge is not that of life. 
 
 COW PER. 
 
 ONE morning Lady Olivia was surprised at the un- 
 usually consequential manner in which Miss Neville 
 entered the dining-room to join her at luncheon, and 
 observed her swallow what she ate with such vehe- 
 mence, that evidently some emotion of no ordinary 
 kind was working within. Miss Neville felt obviously in 
 a state of great excitement ; and there could be no doubt 
 it was of an agreeable kind, from the triumphant expres- 
 sion which glittered in her eye, and pervaded her whole 
 manner. Still, whatever might be the subject of her me- 
 ditation, she seemed disposed to make an entire monopoly 
 of it, as she persevered for some time in a dignified 
 and unbroken silence. Lady Olivia never allowed curi- 
 osity to get the better of good- breeding; and as no pos- 
 sible conjecture that she could form seemed sufficient to 
 account for the heightened colour and excited appearance 
 of her companion, she contented herself with dropping 
 out occasionally a few leading observations on the fine- 
 ness of the day for walking on the advantage of the 
 wind having so unexpectedly changed to the west and 
 on the beauty of a rainbow which had appeared an hour 
 before. Miss Neville for some time preserved silence, 
 being one of those sublime characters who must not be
 
 162 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 suspected of interesting themselves in trifles, or of ever 
 entering into the rudiments of conversation. 
 
 ft I think this day has been a mere ague of hot and 
 cold fits," said she at last. " There has not been much 
 to admire in it, but you are always easily pleased." 
 
 " A good habit to cultivate," replied Lady Olivia. 
 " And I really believe, that in every thing the less fas- 
 tidious we are, the more it will tend to our own happiness 
 and advantage, for you know we have the highest au- 
 thority for saying, that ' contentment is great gain.' " 
 
 " Yes ! contentment with godliness. But what do you 
 say to contentment without it ? I must always speak 
 my mind plainly, and cannot omit this opportunity of 
 remarking, Olivia, that in respect to the preaching you 
 hear from the pulpit, I do think a little more fastidious- 
 ness would be very desirable on your part. I have felt 
 it my painful duty," continued Miss Neville, evidently 
 swelling with importance, though she assumed a tone of 
 dignified humility " I have felt it my painful duty to 
 call on Mr. Arnold this morning, and to state the grounds 
 on which I decline sitting under his ministry." 
 
 " Did you indeed I" exclaimed Lady Olivia, colouring 
 with surprise and regret. " I should scarcely have 
 imagined such a step could be necessary or even justi- 
 fiable." 
 
 " It was both the one and the other," continued Miss 
 Neville in a determined tone. " Mr. Arnold could not 
 be otherwise than surprised, when Sunday after Sunday 
 elapsed without my having appeared in church." 
 
 " But possibly he was not aware of your having come 
 to reside with me," replied Lady Olivia, " as we have 
 never met since your arrival." 
 
 " Mr. Arnold knows more about what occurs in his 
 parish than you give him credit for," replied Miss Neville,
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 163 
 
 drawing herself up. " Let me tell you, he is very well 
 informed of our motions, and not particularly pleased to 
 have either Mr. Harvey or myself going about so much 
 in the neighbourhood as we have done lately ; for I am 
 told it has thinned his congregation already." 
 
 " Barbara I" exclaimed Lady Olivia in an accent of 
 astonishment, " what can you mean ?" 
 
 " No matter at present," replied Miss Neville hastily. 
 " But on the subject of my visit, I must do your friend 
 Mr. Arnold the justice to say he conducted himself with 
 great propriety on the occasion. I spoke to him for 
 more than half an hour without stopping, and could 
 have gone on as much longer, but he honestly confessed 
 that I had got beyond his depth completely." 
 
 " I daresay you had," said Lady Olivia ironically; 
 " we are all beyond our depth, Barbara, when we attempt 
 to penetrate too far into the philosophy of Christianity ; 
 and in nothing do I see more plainly the wisdom of Him 
 who adapted the Scriptures to our use, than in their di- 
 vine simplicity. St. Paul desired only to know Christ 
 and Him crucified ; but it is such preaching as his that 
 is always most distasteful to the generality of hearers. 
 The time of the millennium, instantaneous assurance, 
 universal pardon, modern miracles, and all your favourite 
 topics of discussion, involve controversies so compli- 
 cated and useless, that if safety depended on compre- 
 hending them fully, our path would be more difficult 
 and precarious than if we had to cross Mahomet's bridge 
 of a single hair." 
 
 " Say what you please ! but I would not have let Mr. 
 Arnold off so easily, if he had not mentioned an indis- 
 pensable engagement to visit one of his congregation 
 who is dying," continued Miss Neville. " I ended by 
 hinting that his visit would be of little use without a
 
 164 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 change in his doctrine; but though I spoke out to him 
 so plainly, we parted on good terms." 
 
 " That proves his temper at least to be truly Chris- 
 tian," said Lady Olivia ; " and by their fruits ye shall 
 know them." 
 
 " Very true/' replied Miss Neville abruptly, while she 
 rose to leave the room. " I must now write an account 
 of this controversy for Miss Rachel Stodart and Mr. 
 Harvey, whom it will interest exceedingly. Mr. Arnold 
 said a few words at parting, about his desire to act and 
 teach according to the light that was given him, and 
 added some very common-place sentences to myself on 
 the necessity of being humble and teachable, much in 
 the style of what you would have said on similar oc- 
 casions, and then he hurried away before I could fix 
 the time for our next interview; but I am not done with 
 him yet !" 
 
 " Since you decline hearing my venerable friend in 
 the pulpit, how can he be expected to hear you else- 
 where ?" said Lady Olivia. " You ought at least to at- 
 tend him in church next Sunday, after his extraordinary 
 patience and forbearance to-day." 
 
 " I have told you once for all, what I hinted very 
 plainly to himself this morning," said Miss Neville, " that 
 if Mr. Arnold obstinately adheres to his old opinions, 
 after all I have said to him, he can expect no countenance 
 from me or mine." 
 
 " Including Mr. Harvey, I suppose," replied Lady 
 Olivia. " But, Barbara, in my opinion, it remains to be 
 proved where the obstinacy lies in this case. It is al- 
 ways the most positive person that accuses another of 
 being so, because the only way to live at peace with 
 those who are themsel\es obstinate is to yield every 
 opinion to them at once. You remind me at present of
 
 Oil THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 165 
 
 the Duchess de la Ferte, who said, ' Je. ne trouve que 
 moi qui aie toujours raison.' Mr Arnold could bring a 
 thousand names, venerable from their antiquity, their 
 learning, and their acknowledged piety, to sanction his 
 doctrines; but where is there a single precedent for 
 those on which you differ from him ?" 
 
 " I do not go upon precedents, like a lawyer," said 
 Miss Neville ; " but Miss Rachel Stodart and I are both 
 of opinion that these are the latter days, when we live 
 under the radiance of a clearer light than was ever 
 revealed before." 
 
 " There is no warrant for our expecting new revela- 
 tions or new apostles," said Lady Olivia ; " let us rather 
 gratefully and reverently devote ourselves to the con- 
 templation of what they have already taught; and when 
 we converse together, Barbara, it is my earnest request 
 that we may, if possible, avoid all vain speculation, and 
 keep to the essentials of Christian faith and conduct." 
 
 " Then we need never converse at all, for the very 
 subjects that you term visionary are those which can 
 alone be interesting to elevated minds," replied Miss 
 Neville, in a determined tone. " I would rather never 
 speak on religion again, than be confined to the mere 
 rudiments of the subject, as you propose. I had hoped 
 to enlarge your views, but now you close them up 
 entirely." 
 
 " Must I consider myself completely excommunicated, 
 Barbara ?" replied Lady Olivia, smiling. " Surely there 
 are many things in which we have one common interest, 
 connected with a future world, as well as with the ordi- 
 nary affairs of life, to form materials for our conversa- 
 tion.'' 
 
 " The less that these last occupy our thoughts and 
 discussions the better," replied Miss Neville austerely.
 
 166 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Indeed, we differ so entirely upon every subject, and 
 you see all my opinions with so jaundiced an eye, that 
 the only way to preserve peace between us will soon be 
 never to converse at all." 
 
 " But, my dear Barbara, I could not consider myself 
 at peace with any near connexion who was not on terms 
 of familiar and confidential intercourse with me," said 
 Lady Olivia kindly ; " it is a debt of nature that we owe 
 to each other, and there are few things I would not sacri- 
 fice to facilitate it, on any subject but your own peculiar 
 opinions. We might as well attempt to walk without 
 touching the ground, as to live in the world without 
 friendship or interest in it, and you will find no one more 
 sincerely anxious for your happiness, both now and 
 hereafter, than myself." 
 
 " Still our intercourse must inevitably be very general, 
 when it is confined Avithin the contracted limits you 
 propose," replied Miss Neville; " and my warmest inte- 
 rest is reserved for those with whom I can have a sym- 
 pathy of views and sentiments." 
 
 " Then you differ from the early Christians," said 
 Lady Olivia; " none of the apostles or their cotempo- 
 raries showed that exclusiveness in religious society 
 which we see in the present day. Some sects in modern 
 times seem almost as if they would wish for a city to 
 themselves, or to go out of the world entirely, which St 
 Paul notices as an absurdity to which he gives no sanc- 
 tion." 
 
 " "Well," answered Miss Neville, " you may be very 
 glad to take part with us yet." 
 
 " Barbara," replied Lady Olivia, " I believe there are 
 many amongst your friends who are sincere though mis- 
 taken, and with them I would much rather be classed 
 than with those who are living in presumptuous indiffer-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 1 67 
 
 ence to the immediate presence, and the impending 
 judgments of an all-powerful and an all -seeing God. 
 You may each be saved in spite of your false opinions, 
 though not in consequence of them; and you need 
 scarcely be assured that you have the benefit of my 
 prayers as sincerely and fervently as I hope to have 
 yours. We both believe each other in error, and I should 
 be sorry that you thought me censorious when I wish 
 only to be candid in pointing out where we differ. I 
 consider time to be worse than wasted in judging another 
 where I have so much for which to judge myself; and 
 the hour is not far distant when we shall stand before 
 the searching eye of God, and the mistakes or offences 
 of our neighbours will appear then as insignificant as 
 they ought to be now, for our own sins will stand in 
 fearful array against us, to the exclusion of every thought 
 connected with others yet, while our day of probation 
 lasts, I cannot but feel anxious for the safety of all I 
 love, exactly in proportion as I do love them ; and you, 
 Barbara, must be an object of peculiar interest to me, 
 as the near connection of those we both have loved, and 
 shall never look upon again. There are few on earth 
 now to sympathise in my past sorrows; but you, who had 
 a portion in them yourself, must still remember them 
 with mournful regret. It is often a load upon my 
 heart, in hours of solitary grief, to feel as if I alone were 
 the depositary of their memory, and that the names 
 which were once so dear and familiar to me are 
 never now heard on earth. My heart clings to every 
 human being who knew them ; and it appears that I 
 might still find part of my former happiness in talking 
 of the days that are past. I feel, Barbara, as if you were 
 the only living person who could share those precious 
 remembrance?, and by looking back with me on the past
 
 168 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and looking forward to the future, alleviate the mournful 
 sadness of the present hour." 
 
 Lady Olivia held out her hand affectionately to Miss 
 Neville, and her voice deepened into a tone of melody 
 and softness while' she looked at her companion for a 
 glance of sympathy or an expression of tenderness, but 
 sighing with deep regret, her eye was instantly averted. 
 Barbara's features were hard, and her manner was im- 
 penetrably cold, so that though she betrayed a transient 
 emotion when addressed in terms so touching, she in- 
 stantly subsided, and allowed Lady Olivia to take her 
 hand without any temporary relaxation of her usual re- 
 serve; it was a cold, stiff, formal hand, and it dropped at 
 her side when Lady Olivia relinquished it, almost as 
 listlessly and indifferently as when it was taken. 
 
 " I am a great enemy to the indulgence of useless 
 grief," said she, in a sensible, measured tone. " Nothing 
 could exceed my sorrow at the time when we were so 
 tryingly and unexpectedly afflicted, but I have been 
 wonderfully supported since ; and you were thought to 
 have endured it all with such fortitude nt the time, that 
 I wonder you have not got over it better. We betray a 
 want of submission to the will of Providence, by treasur- 
 ing up grief to such an excess; for you know all our sor- 
 row can never bring back those we have lost." 
 
 " If it could, my tears would have restored them long 
 ago," said Lady Olivia, in a tone of heart broken sorrow. 
 t{ But let it still remain between myself and my God, 
 for in Him I have ever found rny only consolation, and 
 there alone let me still continue to seek it, desiring 
 nothing for myself but that God's glory may be pro- 
 moted in me and by me, whatever his will may ordain. 
 And now, Barbara, when will you be disposed to go 
 with me, and return Lady Evans' visit ?"
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 169 
 
 " I do not mean to call on Lady Evans at any time," 
 replied Miss Neville, dryly ; " she can never be a friend 
 of mine, and I have no time to cultivate mere acquaint- 
 ances." 
 
 " Can you be serious !" said Lady Olivia, in an accent 
 of real surprise. " Consider, Barbara, Lady Evans was 
 the friend of your mother, and is now upwards of eighty. 
 She is a kind-hearted, well-meaning person, and made 
 an effort, in the midst of deep anxiety and sorrow, to 
 come and welcome you into her neighbourhood. Let 
 her be what you please as to difference of sentiments, 
 but even in this case the Bible should be our guide, for 
 it tells us to ' be courteous' as well as to ' be pitiful.' " 
 
 " Life is too short for all the ceremonies you would 
 burden it with," interrupted Miss Neville, in a tone of 
 superior wisdom. " If I were to call on all the * kind- 
 hearted well-meaning' old ladies in the world, my visit- 
 ing list would be most unmanageably extensive. No ; 
 my sympathy and attention must be reserved for those 
 on whom they are well bestowed ; and besides, I am 
 already engaged to spend the morning with dear Miss 
 Rachel Stodart when Mr Harvey has promised to call 
 and give us an account of his visitation to the con- 
 demned cell. He says that poor Butler is in a most 
 delightful frame of mind, and that nothing can be more 
 edifying than his whole conversation and deportment, 
 for the exhortations and instructions of our dear Chris- 
 tian friend have elevated him quite above his situation 
 almost into a state of rapture." 
 
 " Do you mean Butler who murdered his wife in so 
 atrocious a manner last month ?" inquired Lady Olivia. 
 " I trust he has indeed most deeply repented of his ag- 
 gravated guilt ; but surely, Barbara, the terrors of an 
 awakened conscience would be more suitable to his 
 
 I
 
 170 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 awful state than such joys as you describe. Is there no 
 danger in building up at once the hopes of a being who 
 has so much to fear ? It is but a few weeks since his 
 hands were imbrued in blood ; and though there are no 
 bounds to God's mercy in Christ, when a sinner comes 
 to him in a spirit of penitence, yet pardon should be 
 sought with humility by all, and especially by such as 
 have flagrantly broken through every law, human and 
 divine." 
 
 " I suspect you are still a mere legalist/' replied Miss 
 Neville. " In my estimation Butler's sins are now as if 
 he never had committed them. He is, and he feels 
 quite sure of his salvation, and that very certainty is a 
 sufficient evidence of the fact." 
 
 " I trust Butler is indeed a true penitent," replied 
 Lady Olivia ; " but there ' are two kinds of sorrow 
 for sin, godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world. 
 How do you know which of these is the feeling of 
 this unhappy criminal ? Does he hate sin, or does 
 he merely hate the punishment of sin ? You are aware 
 that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and 
 that repentance is so indispensable that there can be no 
 salvation without it. In the case of this unfortunate 
 criminal, I should fear, from what you say, that pe- 
 nitence had not been sufficiently inculcated, for the 
 Scriptures tell us to 'repent and be converted,' show- 
 ing the inseparable connection which exists between 
 them." 
 
 " Dear Mr Plarvey would soon set you right about 
 that," observed Miss Neville. " I wish you would ac- 
 company me this morning ; he said there were some 
 most interesting remarks of Butler's to be communicat- 
 ed on the occasion, and desired as many of our friends 
 to be present as possible."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. l7l 
 
 " What strong temptation there seems in all this to 
 vanity or hypocrisy on the part of poor Butler," said 
 Lady Olivia. " Do you see no danger, Barbara, in his 
 being made an object of so much observation and inter- 
 est? The clergy of Edinburgh visit him regularly, as 
 their duty directs ; the chaplain of the jail is a man of 
 sound and enlightened piety. Surely attention so inces- 
 sant from qualified instructors must be sufficient without 
 his being brought thus prominently into notice by the 
 officiousness of strangers ?" 
 
 " Better any strangers than those who are strangers to 
 sound doctrine," muttered Miss Neville. 
 
 " It has often been a matter of serious consideration to 
 me, Barbara," continued Lady Olivia, " how much the 
 natural love of distinction in man must be flattered by 
 the sudden celebrity to which even the worst criminal 
 stands forth, who is eminent for nothing but the greatness 
 of his crime. He has perhaps lived a life of obscurity 
 and want, till by some hideous act of atrocity he becomes 
 the temporary hero of the day. Every newspaper is 
 then thought insipid that has not a column devoted to 
 him; his most trifling actions become objects of intense 
 and universal interest ; we are told how he eats, and 
 drinks, and talks, and sleeps. He is visited by the most 
 eminent Christians; he is assured of the certainty of 
 future blessedness. When the day of execution arrives, 
 crowds assemble to witness his conduct and to admire 
 his heroism. The sympathy of thousands is excited 
 all gaze in breathless expectation to hear the least sound 
 of his voice, and he dies like a martyr rather than a cri- 
 minal. You know, Barbara, there is a degree of vanity 
 in our nature which the approach of death itself can 
 scarcely overpower ; and if ever there be a temptation 
 to hypocrisy, or an occasion when hypocrisy is danger-
 
 172 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ous, it is on such occasions as these, when a multitude 
 beholds the greatest of criminals almost canonized as a 
 saint; the least relic of him is carefully treasured the 
 very rope on which he was suspended becomes an object 
 of inestimable value ; and we saw, on a late occasion, 
 that when the offender became sufficiently notorious, 
 he was finally represented on the stage. Consider, 
 Barbara, how many hundreds are longing for celebrity, 
 how willingly men will sacrifice their lives for fame, 
 and that not a few would rather be thus known for 
 their crimes than not known at all." 
 
 " You are no competent judge of this subject without 
 hearing all that Mr Harvey declares," replied Miss Ne- 
 ville, hastily. " Miss Rachel Stodart thinks that upon 
 this point he is quite unanswerable ; but it is very strange 
 that on no subject in the world do we ever agree ; it 
 seems as if you had really voted a resolution that nothing 
 I think, say, or do, can possibly be right." 
 
 " The practical improvement of all I remarked, Bar- 
 bara, was merely intended to be, that seme of the sym- 
 pathy you lavish on this unfortunate criminal might be 
 bestowed on your good old friend Lady Evans, and that 
 I still wish to spare her the mortification of not having 
 her visit returned when you must pass by the door at 
 any rate," said Lady Olivia, placidly. " But, Barbara, do 
 not bring me in guilty of a factious opposition to your 
 opinions, as I assure you it is always an effort of princi- 
 ple over inclination to assert my own so decidedly as I 
 have done to-day." 
 
 Miss Neville hastily left the room without reply, and 
 there was an empressement in her manner of closing the 
 door which indicated a storm within. She passed Lady 
 Evans' gate without the most transient thought of enter- 
 ing, and triumphantly proceeded to confide in the sym-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT- 173 
 
 pathizing bosom of " dear" Miss Rachel Stodart how 
 much she had to put up with from Lady Olivia, and how 
 painful were the dependence and poverty which obliged 
 her to associate constantly with a mind so uncongenial 
 and so unenlightened. 
 
 " Argument is of no avail," said Miss Neville bitterly, 
 " for she seems to have made up a bundle of opinions for 
 herself, which are the standard on every occasion; they 
 are such as we have exploded ages ago, but she has a 
 plausible way of supporting them that makes it difficult 
 to reply, so I have given up the point, and shall say not 
 one word more except on the most ordinary topics." 
 
 Lady Olivia, the unconscious object of these animad- 
 versions, proceeded, after Miss Neville's departure, to 
 enjoy her own solitary walk towards the village, where 
 her errands of mercy and benevolence may be left in the 
 privacy to which she always consigned them, within her 
 own breast. There charity reigned in its most extended 
 sense, with a power which time seemed to increase, and 
 to which the lapse of years only added fresh energy, 
 since it cheered her with the near prospect of that sacred 
 rest to which she looked forward, as " the twilight of 
 her sorrows, and the dawn of future bliss" that period 
 when faith should be swallowed up insight, and hope in 
 enjoyment.
 
 174 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 One would imagine, by the common modes of female education, 
 that life consisted of one universal holiday, and that the only 
 contest was, who should best be enabled to excel in the sports 
 and games that were to be celebrated on it. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 ABOUT two years subsequent to the commencement of 
 our story, the time was at hand when Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 and Lady Howard were to estimate their success in edu- 
 cating their respective daughters, by that only test which 
 either of them considered at all important the applause 
 with which the world would hail their debut, and the 
 splendid settlement which each might finally secure in 
 life. 
 
 Lady Howard, as a measure preparatory to the ap- 
 proaching winter, shut up Matilda more carefully than 
 ever from public view, that she might at last raise the 
 curtain with more effect; but, on the contrary, Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick blazoned forth Eleanor at every party where 
 there was any excuse for producing " a mere school-girl, 
 who was not come out yet." She was taken to concerts, 
 that her taste in music might be improved; to small 
 parties, because they were small parties ; to balls, be- 
 cause Lady So-and-So made such a point of seeing her 
 there; to the theatre, because she ought to know by sight 
 all the most celebrated actors of her own day ; and to 
 exhibitions, that she might be exhibited herself. Elea- 
 nor's bust was sculptured in marble, and pronounced by
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 175 
 
 enraptured amateurs to be perfectly classical ; her mini- 
 ature was taken by Mrs Robertson, and thought to be 
 the best painting she had ever executed; and Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick became quite intoxicated with the enthusiasm 
 her daughter excited, especially because much of it re- 
 verted on her own head, owing to the complaisance with 
 which her visitors mingled their admiration of Eleanor 
 with herself. 
 
 " It seems the strangest thing to me having a grown- 
 up daughter/' said she, pulling out her long dark ringlets, 
 and laughing, to display her still beautiful teeth! 
 
 " If we had not seen her mother formerly," said old 
 Sir Colin Fletcher, bowing profoundly, " I must have 
 pronounced Miss Fiu-Patrick the greatest beauty that I 
 ever beheld." 
 
 This was exactly suited to the taste of her to whom it 
 was addressed, and the fame of Eleanor's brilliant appear- 
 ance became more an object of interest in L::dy Fitz- 
 Patrick's estimation than ever. " She is very like what 
 I was," she remarked, with a glance of admiration at her 
 own graceful figure in an opposite mirror. 
 
 " Or rather say, she is like what you are," replied Sir 
 Colin ; " I could scarcely have believed you were more 
 than her elder sister." 
 
 " Say, my younger sister at once, when yoxi are about 
 it," interrupted Eleanor in an angry aside; " It is best, 
 as Americans say, to go the whole hog, if you are sure of 
 its being palatable." 
 
 A prolific subject of irritation between Lady Fitz 
 Patrick and her daughter had lately sprung from the 
 former insisting that Eleanor should always be dressed 
 nearly the sanw as herself; and her spirits were often 
 elated for a whole day, after some near-sighted person 
 had accidentally mistaken her, through the medium of a
 
 176 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 black chantilly veil, for her young and lovely daughter. 
 Little contretemps of this kind were invariably repeated 
 to every visitor during the following day, with a few faint 
 disparagements of her claim to such a compliment; and 
 though there were many complaisant friends ready to pro- 
 test that it was a most natural error, which could cause no 
 surprise to any one, Eleanor was far from enjoying the 
 joke, and observed the whole scene with a look of grave, 
 contemptuous displeasure. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the accomplishments which Miss 
 Fitz-Patrick had so laboriously acquired, she became 
 the wretched prey to ennui and idleness, whenever any 
 accidental circumstance threw her, during a single hour, 
 on her own resources for occupation. Though Miss 
 Marabout continued nominally in the capacity of gover- 
 ness, she understood her own interest too well not to 
 have long since been transformed into a mere com- 
 panion and confidante; so that, except walking out with 
 her pupil every day, in the most frequented streets 
 and gardens, she scarcely took any charge of her what- 
 ever. Unless Eleanor had some party in immediate 
 prospect, at which she was expected to perform, she never 
 touched her piano-forte or harp as a means of private 
 entertainment. Sir Richard, who was passionately fond 
 of music, seldom heard the most distant sound of her 
 instrument, which she always closed hastily at his ap- 
 proach, because his favourite composers were Handel 
 and Correlli, whom she had long since condemned to 
 oblivion as antediluvian?, whose compositions she pro- 
 nounced it a penance to play. Her portfolio was al- 
 ready filled with a sufficient collection of drawings for 
 exhibition to all visitors, and in fact Eleanor knew that 
 without the assistance of a master she could not have 
 finished any more. Her select library of French, Italian*
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 177 
 
 and German authors, had been conspicuously arranged 
 round the table, whence they were never discomposed ; 
 and a large piece of unfinished embroidery was fre- 
 quently displayed as the result of her labour, though it 
 never seemed to make any progress ; her silks were all 
 entangled her pattern was lost but nothing could be 
 more beautifully begun. 
 
 The fable of the hare and the tortoise were nearly illus- 
 trated in the relative progress of Eleanor and Matilda's 
 education, for the latter had almost equalled her brilliant 
 cousin in some lighter accomplishments, in which she 
 really delighted as a relaxation from more serious occu- 
 pation. To Eleanor nothing was a recreation, because 
 her whole time was spent in seeking for it, and therefore 
 her mind never knew the luxury of resting from labour ; 
 but Matilda's day, on the contrary, was frequently varied 
 from quiet study and intense application to the free 
 enjoyment of her naturally buoyant spirits, so that what 
 was the business of Eleanor's life formed only the amuse- 
 ment of hers ; every natural enjoyment and every na- 
 tural feeling retained their youthful freshness in the 
 character of Matilda, but with Eleanor all her original 
 disposition was extinguished, and the candour and sen- 
 sibility of youth were exchanged for a studied affectation 
 of both. 
 
 Matilda Howard had grown up a Christian in the mos; 
 beautiful sense of that character active in duty, con- 
 tented in spirit, seeking with unwearied assiduity to 
 promote the cause of godliness in all, and testifying to 
 even the most censorious observers, by the whole tenor 
 of her conduct and conversation, that her thoughts were 
 habitually under the direction of that Spirit to whom 
 she looked on every occasion for guidance and comfort. 
 There was no distinction in Matilda's mind between the
 
 178 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 faith and the practice of the gospel, for they seemed to 
 her as inseparably united as the light and the warmth 
 of a fire, which cannot exist at all without producing 
 both. Her almost daily walk was now extended to 
 reach Lady Olivia's residence ; and as Matilda and Miss 
 Person cheerfully traced their steps along the quiet and 
 secluded road which led to Ashgrove, they beguiled the 
 distance with so many interesting subjects of discussion, 
 that they were scarcely conscious of fatigue, and the 
 cordial animated reception they invariably met with at 
 last would have more than rewarded them for a pil- 
 grimage of twice the distance. There was not a plant 
 in Lady Olivia's garden which had not a place in Ma- 
 tilda's affection ; there was not a family in the neigh- 
 bouring village in whom she was not warmly interested ; 
 and to her willing ear Lady Olivia imparted all her 
 projected improvements, all her plans of beneficence, 
 and even all her sorrows. By the sadness of the coun- 
 tenance the heart is made better, and the tears which 
 Matilda occasionally shed over the afflictions of one she 
 loved so well, gave a deeper tone to her sensibility, and 
 added a new grace to the expression of her interesting 
 countenance. 
 
 That resemblance which had always subsisted between 
 the two cousins, still remained in their features, which 
 could not have appeared in more beautiful symmetry 
 and proportion had they been chiselled by Chantrey or 
 Canova ; but there reigned a dignified repose in the ex- 
 pression of Matilda's eyes which was wanting in those 
 of Eleanor, who seemed too incessantly occupied about 
 the sensation she expected to excite, not to exhibit a 
 look of consciousness whenever any one happened to 
 glance at her, and a fidgetty restlessness of manner if 
 ever she remained for a moment overlooked ; in short,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 179 
 
 Eleanor always so evidently canvassed for admiration 
 and applause, that each individual felt he had something 
 to give or withhold at his own caprice, which was essen- 
 tial to her vanity, and therefore she became in a manner 
 dependent on every body's humour. Matilda, on the 
 contrary, had her attention habitually directed to a plain 
 path of duty, and pursued it steadily, without ever glanc- 
 ing around to watch whether the applause of others would 
 follow what she considered it right to do. Her spirits 
 had thus a natural lightness which was wanting in Elea- 
 nor's, who felt so anxious to be admired for liveliness 
 and vivacity of expression and manner, that her anima- 
 tion was often forced and affected in company, which 
 could not but be obvious to all who had any tact in observ- 
 ing the disposition and motives of those whom they met 
 in society. The characteristic of Eleanor's conversation, 
 when in her liveliest spirits, was wit and of Matilda's, 
 humour ; Eleanor's Avit became often as brilliant and as 
 startling as an explosion of fireworks, and equally short- 
 lived; but Matilda's vivacity enlivened like sunshine, 
 without astonishing or dazzling those with whom she 
 conversed, and it was never exhausted. Eleanor de- 
 lighted at parties to collect a little coterie of her own in 
 a remote corner of the room, and to fancy herself an 
 object of envy to all who were excluded, when they 
 gained a distant glimpse of the mirth and diversion 
 which prevailed around her; but the few times that 
 Matilda had been in company she generally found some 
 one individual amongst Eleanor's despised " detrimen- 
 tals," whose conversation was far more interesting and 
 more truly entertaining than the " all laugh and no 
 joke" of the circle beside her cousin. 
 
 It was about this time that Lady Fitz-Patrick one
 
 180 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 morning summoned Eleanor into her dressing-room, 
 with the look of one who has something of great im- 
 portance to communicate. 
 
 " My dear girl," she said, " I have this moment heard 
 a most interesting and extraordinary piece of news which 
 very nearly concerns you at least, by the way, I must 
 not say that, for I am forbid to tell but, in short, it 
 may very probably be a circumstance of the utmost con- 
 sequence." 
 
 " Indeed ! ' exclaimed Eleanor, eagerly, whilst all the 
 innumerable wishes and unreasonable hopes she had ever 
 indulged darted at once into her thoughts, and seemed 
 on the point of being accomplished. " Are we going to 
 London at last ? have you fixed to give the fancy ball 
 that I asked for ? or do you intend" - - 
 
 " Stop, stop, Eleanor, not so fast," cried Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick, aughing; " pray, moderate your anticipations 
 or you may be as sadly disappointed with all I am 
 allowed to tell, as the old woman in the fairy tale, who 
 expected to have every desire of her heart gratified, and 
 only got a yard of black pudding after all." 
 
 " What is it then ?" said Eleanor impatiently ; " you 
 know I can bear anything rather than suspense." 
 
 " Patience, my dear girl ! We have had letters this 
 morning from my uncle Sir Philip, mentioning that he 
 and Lady Barnard are to return home from Italy by the 
 next packet," said Lady Fitz-Patrick. " lie has lived 
 abroad for his health, and for the indulgence of his en- 
 thusiasm about paintings and music, ever since you were 
 born, and I never expected to get a glimpse of him 
 again, as they were both so old, and this foggy climate 
 destroys him ; but since the melancholy event of their 
 only son being killed in a duel at Paris, Sir Philip has
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 181 
 
 taken a sudden longing to see me. I was always his 
 favourite niece, and other family circumstances, which 
 cannot be explained, induce them both to venture here." 
 
 " And this is all the mighty event !" exclaimed Elea- 
 nor in a tone of angry disappointment; " merely that a 
 respectable old gentleman and his wife are bringing 
 home their bones to be buried in the family vault. I 
 cannot trace how it very much concerns me, unless they 
 are generous enough to bring us some splendid presents 
 from abroad. You know, mamma, I am sadly in want 
 of ornaments." 
 
 " Your mind may be set at rest without delay on that 
 score, as they will certainly bring nothing; and you 
 cannot feel very deserving of gifts or trinkets if you ex- 
 perience so little pleasure at the prospect of seeing my 
 nearest relations, Eleanor," replied Lady Fitz-Patrick, 
 with a frown of transient displeasure on her usually good- 
 humoured countenance. " But, my dear girl, I must ex- 
 plain that it really is my anxious wish you should do every 
 thing imaginable to fascinate Sir Philip. He has heard 
 volumes about you in my letters, which have been filled 
 with such favourable accounts of your appearance and 
 accomplishments, that he already calls you ' la petite 
 Corinnc,' and I am most anxious you should justify the 
 appellation. It is of more consequence than you can 
 possibly imagine, and particularly important to eclipse 
 Matilda Howard in his estimation." 
 
 " It would be no great stretch of partiality to take it 
 for granted that I shall certainly succeed if that be all 
 you desire," replied Eleanor conceitedly. " I wish we 
 were more equal competitors, that our rivalship might 
 have some interest : Matilda and I are scarcely society 
 for each other now ; we are so totally different, that we 
 have not two ideas in common. I almost fancy that aunt
 
 182 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Olivia must intend her to take orders, she is teaching 
 her to be so very good, and all that sort of thing." 
 
 " "Well, my dear, luckily it will terrify Sir Philip; and 
 he is rather prejudiced against her already, having al- 
 ways disliked my sister herself for her pedantry and blue- 
 stockingitiveness," said Lady Fitz-Patrick. "My uncle 
 is quite a beau of the old school, and was the greatest 
 connoisseur of beauty in his day he will know at the 
 first glance if your features are the breadth of a hair out 
 of perfect proportion ; and he will listen, entranced with 
 ecstacy, to your music from noon till midnight." 
 
 " But what sort of taste can a man be supposed to 
 have who is eighty at least? sans teeth, sans eyes," ex- 
 claimed Eleanor contemptuously. " I really wish there 
 were some more interesting object to gain, and I should 
 exert myself to oblige you with greater energy and 
 pleasure." 
 
 " Perhaps, Eleanor, if you knew my real motive," re- 
 plied Lady Fitz-Patrick mysteriously, (< it might not ap- 
 pear so very trifling an object to please Sir Philip." 
 
 " I guess, mamma, he means to make me his heiress," 
 cried Eleanor eagerly. " Now I am sure by your face 
 that I really have accidentally been my own fortune- 
 teller." 
 
 " Nonsense, Eleanor," said Lady Fitz-Patrick eva- 
 sively; "your aunts and I are nearer relations than 
 you, if my uncle has any thing to leave." 
 
 " If he has!" replied Eleanor laughing. " I thought 
 you had agreed with Sir Philip long ago, that I was to 
 have married his son had he lived, and you know I 
 could not have abated a farthing of L.10,000 a-year, so 
 he must be rich ; and looking upon me as in a manner 
 widow of that favourite son, I am in fact his nearest 
 connexion, and ought to be provided for accordingly."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 
 
 183 
 
 " You are not very far wrong, to confess the truth, 
 Eleanor," said Lady Fitz-Patrick smiling. " Sir Richard 
 and I had agreed that it would be prudent not to mention 
 these expectations, in case of their turning your head, 
 and ending in disappointment; but I never could keep 
 a secret in my life, and here it is come out in spite of 
 myself. Sir Philip's agent, who brought me letters this 
 morning, took the opportunity of dropping a hint, that 
 on the death of Frederick Barnard a will was immedi- 
 ately executed in my favour, and as your brother is well 
 provided for already, the estates are all left in remainder 
 to you; but Sir Philip has since entertained some idea 
 of dividing his fortune, making Matilda a co-heiress 
 with you; and it is in order to see you both that he is 
 now en chemin for England." 
 
 " Oh, mamma ! how could you conceal this news a 
 single instant, for every moment I was in ignorance was 
 a moment of ecstacy lost," exclaimed Eleanor, all radiant 
 with joy. " What splendid jewels I shall get what 
 equipages what horses what crowds of admirers" 
 
 " Not admirers worth having, if they seek only what 
 Sir Philip can give you," said Lady Fitz-Patrick gravely. 
 " Young ladies are not very enviable, my dear girl, when 
 any motive beyond their own attractions causes them to 
 receive attention in public ; and an heiress is generally 
 much to be pitied, she occupies such a false position in 
 society." 
 
 " I shall suffer with pleasure tons les embarras dcs 
 richesses" replied Eleanor laughing. " The brightest 
 jewel is always improved by being set in gold. But let 
 me fly to tell Miss Marabout the glorious news." 
 
 Nearly at the same time Lady Howard imparted the 
 intelligence of Sir Philip and Lady Barnard's return to
 
 184 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 her daughter Matilda, but without attaching to that event 
 anything like the same importance or pleasure that had 
 been expressed by her sister. 
 
 " How glad you must be !" said Matilda, with ani- 
 mation. " I cherish quite an old-fashioned love of rela- 
 tions, having never known any yet whom I could not be 
 attached to ; and already I feel my heart warming to- 
 wards poor Sir Philip, who has suffered so severe an 
 affliction. His son's death must have been a dreadful 
 blow ; and what pleasure we shall feel in consoling one 
 who needs sympathy so much." 
 
 " Why, really, to say the honest truth, it will be rather 
 a bore, with all my numerous engagements," replied 
 Lady Howard peevishly. " Sir Philip expects prodigious 
 attention, and Lady Barnard is by this time deaf beyond 
 assistance from all the trumpets that were ever invented, 
 besides being so infirm she cannot stir without support. 
 I quite dread the thoughts of it. Sir Philip is so exi- 
 geant with his love of music and painting, that altogether 
 the pair will be a perfect oppression. But a propos of 
 arts and sciences, Matilda, I am extremely desirous that 
 Sir Philip should be as much pleased with your accom- 
 plishments and appearance as Eleanor's; and I make it 
 my particular request that you will do more than is pos- 
 sible to equal or excel your cousin." 
 
 " Why should there be any rivalship, mamma?" asked 
 Matilda with surprise. " We shall both, of course, ex- 
 ert our utmost to please Sir Philip, and I shall be quite 
 happy to assist poor Lady Barnard, who seems by your 
 account, to stand in so much need of comfort." 
 
 " I do not care about Lady Barnard at all!" said Lady 
 Howard impatiently; " but there are reasons of conse- 
 quence why Sir Francis and I are both anxious about 
 the impression you make on Sir Philip."
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 185 
 
 "That is quite a sufficient inducement for every effort," 
 replied Matilda ; " but consider, mamma, bo\v impossible 
 it is for me to have a chance of eclipsing Eleanor, espe- 
 cially in the estimation of such a person as you describe 
 Sir Philip to be." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right," answered Lady Howard 
 bitterly ; " but if I had conceived the most distant idea 
 of such news as we have heard to-day, no power on 
 earth should have induced me, not all the persuasions of 
 Lady Olivia, nor your own entreaties, to have retained 
 Miss Person." 
 
 <f Oh! do not say so, my dear mother!" exclaimed 
 Matilda, with unusual earnestness ; " you will make me 
 too eager for success. There could not be a stronger 
 motive than the desire to please you ; but I shall feel 
 additional anxiety now on account of Miss Person's 
 credit; for if you do not find me in all respects what 
 might be expected, the fault is far from being hers. 
 The unwearied pains she takes with me would really 
 astonish you ; and I consider it one of the happiest cir- 
 cumstances in my whole life to have been placed under 
 her charge." 
 
 " Quite an oration !" said Lady Howard, " and very 
 much in the school of ' aunt Olivia ;' but you might re- 
 semble worse people, Matilda ; so I shall let it pass for 
 the present. But pray, my dear, never make me a ' set 
 speech' again. Nothing can be a greater mortification 
 than to observe how Eleanor outshines you in accomplish- 
 ments, for these are, in fact, the only criterion by which 
 a girl's education is ever appreciated. You will find 
 in all societies, Matilda, that strangers feel privileged, 
 in half an hour's acquaintance, to put you through a 
 perfect catechism upon your acquirements. ' Are you 
 musical, Miss Howard? Do youplay on the piano-forte ?
 
 186 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and also on the harp ? Can you sing ? Have you a 
 guitar?' Then after the question of music is fairly 
 settled, you will be cross-examined on painting and lan- 
 guages ; but no such probe can be applied to the under- 
 standing or the temper, and Eleanor will pass better 
 through the world without either of them than you will 
 with both, on account of her superior eclat in externals, 
 especially with such people as my uncle."
 
 Ort THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 187 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Little things are great to little men. 
 
 GOLDSMITH. 
 Ognuno ha i suoi gusti. 
 
 SIR PHILIP and Lady Barnard were received with a 
 perfect storm of joy by Ladies Fitz-Patrick and Howard, 
 who vied with each other in warm expressions of their 
 felicity on the occasion of meeting with friends whom 
 they professed to have long and almost hopelessly desired 
 to embrace. Even Miss Neville seemed resolved on this 
 occasion not to be outdone, and relaxing as much as 
 possible from the cold rigidity of her natural manner, 
 she hastened to Barry's Hotel along with Lady Olivia, 
 and presented an "address of congratulation" on the 
 safe return of her friends to a " Christian land." 
 
 A long course of family dinner-parties now took 
 place, according to established custom on a re-union of 
 relations, who then seem to try their powers of wearying 
 each other, by congregating the same circle, to discuss 
 the same subjects in continual succession for a given 
 number of days, Avith unrelaxing assiduity. Sir Philip 
 Barnard had resources of conversation which were not 
 easily exhausted. The pictures, statues, bijouterie, and 
 antiques which he had purchased during a twenty years' 
 residence abroad, were all to be described aud commented 
 upon, so that Eleanor complained it was duller than 
 reading a volume of Eustace's Classical Tour all dinner 
 time, to hear such raptures about his Carlo Marattis,
 
 188 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Salvator Rosas, and Corregios ; his vases by Benvenuto 
 Cellini ; his terra-cottas, and his tables of verd-antique 
 and mosaic. 
 
 " I hate people who are always acting having been 
 abroad," said she, yawning. " I can't open my mouth 
 to them without having Mount Blanc thrust in my teeth, 
 or the Falls of the Rhine poured down my throat. It 
 is really odious : and whenever I am appointed to regu- 
 late society, no one shall be allowed to mention any place 
 out of this country, nor any anecdote of what occurred 
 longer ago than last week." 
 
 Lady Howard talked with her uncle for ever about 
 the Vatican and the Louvre, while Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 contrived occasionally to divert his thoughts into a .dis- 
 cussion of dress and fashion, for she gladly discovered 
 that Sir Philip spoke as eloquently on the merits of a 
 new sleeve as of an old picture ; he could comment 
 one moment on the grouping of a Vandyck, and make 
 an easy transition the next instant to the gracefulness of 
 a favourite opera dancer ; and whether Cardinal Mon- 
 tralto's pictures or Princess Rimini's diamonds were 
 under consideration, he was equally graphic in describ- 
 ing them all. There remained abundant evidence, on 
 canvass and in marble, that Sir Philip Barnard had once 
 been handsome, and art still substituted what nature 
 would have denied to more advanced years, for his whole 
 appearance was, as Eleanor remarked, "a falsehood," 
 which the most lynx-eyed observer could scarcely detect 
 in the shade, though he was observed always carefully 
 to avoid the full glare of day-light. His manners were 
 extremely elegant, and he did all in his power to dis- 
 guise from himself as well as from others, that the lapse 
 of more than half a century had left any infirmities be- 
 hind.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 189 
 
 " I declare, Sir Philip, you are younger than ever !" 
 was Lady Fitz- Patrick's premeditated exclamation when 
 he arrived ; and it was pronounced in so natural and im- 
 promptu a tone, that no one could have supposed her re- 
 mark not to be suggested at the moment. Upon hearing 
 it, however, Eleanor gave a satirical glance towards Miss 
 Marabout, and walked a few steps behind Sir Philip with 
 a ludicrous imitation of his tottering walk and very anti- 
 quated bow, till an alarming look and a cautionary frown 
 from Lady Fitz- Patrick caused her hastily to desist, and 
 to affect an air of grave decorum. 
 
 There could not well have been a greater contrast than 
 between the gay, flippant, lively manner of Sir Philip, 
 who appeared in a continual flutter of enjoyment, and the 
 silent broken-hearted wretchedness that was depicted in 
 the whole expression of Lady Barnard's countenance, who 
 seemed to have withered beneath the corroding influence 
 of deep, unmitigated sorrow, and to shrink from the pos- 
 sibility of any thing like cheerfulness and joy. It was 
 strange that two persons who had equal cause to mourn 
 for the same sorrow should feel so differently, that it 
 never appeared present to the recollection of the one, nor 
 absent from the thoughts of the other; but Sir Philip had 
 all his life been in the practice of driving away disagree- 
 able ideas, boasting frequently that he had attained per- 
 fection in the art of forgetting. Disagreeable acquaint- 
 ances, unpleasing events, and serious anticipations of the 
 future, were all forcibly ejected from his mind ; and like 
 the Malade Imaginaire, who was ordered never to be 
 contradicted, he gave it peremptorily out that he was 
 never to be annoyed with any thing. He seemed to look 
 upon the grief of Lady Barnard as an injury to himself, 
 because it served as a perpetual memento of what it was 
 his determined purpose to burv in oblivion ; and not hav-
 
 190 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ing sympathy enough to imagine feelings which he had 
 never experienced, Sir Philip fancied that the affliction 
 of his wife for the loss of their only child might have been 
 as easily conquered as his own. He had travelled a way 
 every domestic affection ; and his happiness having always 
 been independent of feeling, and resting solely in amuse- 
 ment, he conceived little more idea of being attached to 
 any person or place than a carriage -wheel might be sup- 
 posed to have, so that nothing but the most transitory 
 emotion had any chance of sympathy from him. " Non 
 isvegliamo il can die dorme," w r as the motto which Sir 
 Philip invariably quoted. 
 
 Lady Barnard evidently felt accustomed to be reckoned 
 a bore, and never seemed to expect more attention than 
 she received, which was very little. After being sup- 
 ported into the drawing-room by her maid, and placed 
 so near the fire that a woodcock must have been over- 
 done for dinner in less than a minute, she was left to 
 the full enjoyment of her solitary meditations Sir Philip 
 being so happy to badiner with his agreeable nieces, and 
 to be the idol of their little coterie, that he seemed un- 
 conscious of any thing else. 
 
 A look of restless Aveariness was perceptible in the 
 countenance of Lady Barnard, which it became painful 
 to observe ; no appearance of reflection lighted up her eye, 
 which wandered vacantly about the room, or rested on the 
 faces of those around, seeking some object of interest, but 
 evidently finding none that could for a moment occupy 
 her thoughts ; and the gay laugh which occasionally 
 echoed through the room made her feel only more lonely. 
 Her deep mourning dress, in contrast with the gay cos- 
 tume of her husband, spoke at once to the affectionate 
 heart of Matilda Howard ; and the first evening that she 
 met Sir Philip and Lady Barnard at Sir Richard Fitz-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 191 
 
 Patrick's, she stole silently away from the lively party 
 round her uncle, and placed herself beside the solitary 
 sufferer, trying, with unwearied assiduity, to modulate her 
 voice so as to suit the inaccessible ears of her aged re- 
 lative. Many vain attempts were made, but by dint of 
 frequent repetitions, and very marked articulation, she 
 at length succeeded in becoming audible ; but as they 
 had few subjects in common, Matilda soon found an 
 equal difficulty in supporting a conversation on her own 
 resources, for Lady Barnard afforded but very languid 
 attention, and scarcely exerted herself to make any reply. 
 Matilda, however, ingeniously caught up the topics that 
 were most prominently under discussion amongst the 
 joyous party near, and repeated extracts of their lively 
 badinage with patient perseverance, hoping to divert the 
 thoughts and to engage the attention of one who seemed 
 so greatly in need of kindness and sympathy. 
 
 " Sir Philip is amusing my aunt with a description of 
 Captain M'Tartan's adventures at Florence, how he was 
 devoted to the fine arts, killing time in the morning at the 
 gallery, and murdering his music afterwards at home." 
 
 " Murdering his music master! I never heard of it be- 
 fore !" said Lady Barnard, rousing her attention; " What 
 could induce him to do that? but he was always a strange 
 being !" 
 
 " I say that Sir Philip mentions his having murdered 
 his music," replied Matilda, as plainly as she could arti- 
 culate. 
 
 ""Well, my dear! I hear you quite distinctly he mur- 
 dered his music-master ; but what was the provocation ? 
 I wonder it did not make more noise abroad, for I never 
 heard of it before ; but nobody ever tells me anything 
 now," said Lady Barnard, sitting back in her chair with 
 a look of peevish abstraction.
 
 192 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 "Eleanor !" said Lady Fitz-Patrick, in a tone of great 
 animation, "do you remember Captain M'Tartan's 
 first appearance many years ago at our house in the 
 country ? He had been studying fashions in London for 
 a short time, and observed that gentlemen always came 
 in with a hat and stick before dinner, so he determined 
 to be quite correct, and as long as he staid with us in 
 Argyleshire, Sir Philip, he regularly marched in before 
 dinner with his hat and stick ! My daughter was a perfect 
 child at the time ; but shall I ever forget the fright she 
 gave me, entering behind Captain M'Tartan with a hat 
 and stick also, and making the most ludicrous imitation 
 of his angular bows ! You were a sad girl then, but you 
 have learned better now." 
 
 " I am not sure of that, if a good opportunity offers," 
 replied Eleanor, stealing a mischievous glance at Sir 
 Philip. " There are some people that I could take off 
 yet with great satisfaction." 
 
 " Sir Philip says that Captain M'Tartan offered to 
 take pot-luck with you one day at Paris, and called it 
 ' la fortune du pot,' " cried Matilda to Lady Barnard ; 
 " and that when he was arguing with a French general 
 about the comparative merits of the two nations at AVater- 
 loo, he closed the discussion with a knowing wink, 
 saying, ' Monsieur ! le PROOF du poudain est dans h 
 mangeant' " 
 
 " Matilda ! you are not a good echo, for that story has 
 lost half its point since Sir Philip told it in his droll 
 humourous way," said Lady Howard. " Hardly any 
 person should venture to raconter, for the best anecdote 
 on earth becomes as flat, when it is repeated, as a glass 
 of champaigne the second day." 
 
 " But you are not supposed to overhear what we 
 say," replied Matilda, good-humouredly.
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 193 
 
 " Then your conversation is like an aside on the stage, 
 which is generally louder than any other part of the dia- 
 logue," said Eleanor laughing. " I am sure every note 
 of the gamut has been tried to-night !" 
 
 " You really have a twenty-horse power in conversa- 
 tion !" added Lady Fitz-Patrick satirically. " I shall 
 get you appointed interpreter to the Deaf and Dumb 
 Institution 1" 
 
 The seat at dinner next to Lady Barnard, which was 
 eagerly avoided by every one else, became invariably 
 the place reserved for Matilda, who felt perfectly satis- 
 fied and happy to secure it ; and though no one took 
 the trouble to consider why or wherefore this was the 
 case, it seemed to become soon a matter of course 
 that Matilda's arm must be ready if Lady Barnard chose 
 to walk, and that her voice was to be in requisition when 
 she wished to hear. The first time that Matilda took 
 her place at dinner next to Lady Barnard was a great 
 test of her nerves and good humour, as she had seldom 
 before appeared at her mother's table, and she felt as 
 shy as if all eyes were upon her ; but still she resolved 
 to conquer her diffidence, and exert herself to beguile 
 the melancholy of one whom she pitied so much. 
 
 " This soup is very hot I" said she, turning to Lady 
 Barnard. 
 
 " Eh ? what did you say ?" 
 
 " This soup is very hot !" repeated Matilda, colour- 
 ing. 
 
 " Pray, speak more distinctly I" cried Lady Barnard 
 angrily ; " you forget that I am a little deaf?" 
 
 " I merely remarked that the soup is hot I" continued 
 Matilda with smiling patience, trying to make her un- 
 lucky sentence more audible, but in vain, and the colour
 
 194 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 dyed her cheeks to crimson when she was asked to re- 
 peat it once more, 
 
 " Bennet! bring my trumpet from the drawing-room," 
 said Lady Barnard in an irritable voice to her footman. 
 " I must hear what you said !" 
 
 " The soup will be cool enough now," said Eleanor, 
 laughing at her cousin's increasing embarrassment. 
 " Could you not vary that original observation a little ? 
 Tell her that the Emperor of Morocco is dead, or any 
 thing else that will cause a sensation." 
 
 When the trumpet came, and Lady Barnard at last 
 ascertained what Matilda had remarked, she looked up 
 with an expression of indignant surprise. " Was that all ! 
 I really expected something worth hearing," said she ; 
 " but people lose less than they imagine by being deaf." 
 
 Whatever services any one constantly renders to 
 another soon come to be looked upon as a right ; and 
 Lady Barnard, before long, appeared fretful and peevish 
 at the most trifling omission on Matilda's part, and 
 sometimes even complained of fancied neglects, though 
 Eleanor's total indifference never caused any irritation 
 or surprise. " Your cousin has not at all the way with 
 me, and seems thoughtless about paying those little at- 
 tentions that are necessary ; but I really expected more 
 from you, Matilda, than to be left alone at Barry's all 
 yesterday morning, when you knew that Sir Philip had 
 gone to the steeple chase." 
 
 If no better inducement had influenced Matilda than 
 a desire to secure gratitude or approbation from others, 
 she must soon have relinquished the vain attempt in 
 disgust; but Christian principle supplies a motive for 
 doing good when all others fail, and she pursued her 
 self-appointed task of compassionate kindness with un-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 195 
 
 diminishing perseverance during many tedious months, 
 amidst the peevishness of Lady Barnard's unhappy tem- 
 per, and the ridicule of her satirical cousin. 
 
 " Matilda," said Eleanor one day in a tone of languid 
 affectation, " will you be so obliging, when Lady Bar- 
 nard comes down stairs, as to mention that there is a 
 dog of the Blenheim breed to be had from my friend 
 Lady Susan Danvers, if she still wishes for one to en- 
 gage her affections ?" 
 
 " Indeed, Eleanor, you must tell her all this yourself," 
 replied Matilda, laughing good-humouredly, and taking 
 up her work, " Your tongue has not yet fallen into 
 such a lethargy that I must fetch and carry messages 
 between you and Lady Barnard in the way you seem to 
 propose." 
 
 " Pray, do !" pursued Eleanor, assuming a tone of 
 affected earnestness ; " my voice would be broken for 
 ever if I attempted to hold a conversation with her; 
 indeed it would cost me less effort to sing a whole 
 opera, than to shout through that odious trumpet all day 
 as you do. I would not undertake such a task for the 
 reward of half-a-crown a minute." 
 
 " You might be still better repaid by a sense of use- 
 fulness," answered Matilda ; " and, Eleanor, we have as 
 yet had very few opportunities of experiencing it." 
 
 " Aunt Olivia to the very life ! But, Matilda, I do 
 hate all those Joseph Surface kind of sentiments and 
 extra-superfine feelings, which are perfectly absurd when 
 you and I are alone, and quite among friends ; so let me 
 speak out my whole mind without disguise or embellish- 
 ment, and tell you that nothing on earth can ever make 
 the very sight of ei.her Sir Philip or Lady Barnard 
 tolerable to me. I never did see such a couple of old 
 horrors," continued Eleanor with increasing energy ;
 
 J96 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " they must be mummies from Egypt who were revived 
 by steam, and it makes one ill to look at their haggard 
 old faces. Lady Barnard was actually going to kiss me 
 when they arrived ! but I pretended not to be aware of 
 it, and thrust my bonnet in her face. I cannot conceive 
 what will become of me if they remain longer ! Don't 
 you suspect that wrinkles are infectious ? for my flesh 
 seems to creep whenever the old pair come in, and I 
 gladly fly to the glass to see something human again." 
 
 " Or something that you think rather more than 
 human," said Matilda slyly. " But seriously, Eleanor, 
 Lady Barnard appears to me a very picturesque old 
 woman, exactly the sort of figure that Rembrandt would 
 have delighted to paint ; her profusion of grey hair, her 
 high cap, and her very white handkerchief, are all so 
 neat. She was once, you know, a great beauty, and I 
 can trace some remains of it in the delicate outline of 
 her nose." 
 
 " Pshaw !" said Eleanor, " you will allow that I under- 
 stand these subjects rather better than you, Matilda ! 
 Lady Barnard may possibly have once been young, but 
 handsome she certainly never was." 
 
 " Surely you have forgotten her very beautiful minia- 
 ture that Lady Olivia showed us," persisted Matilda ; 
 " there she is represented with the face of a perfect 
 Hebe her long dark hair flowing down on her shoulders 
 in massy ringlets ; her smiling lips disclosing the most 
 splendid teeth ; her brilliant eyes quite riants with ani- 
 mation; and her skin as delicate as the finest porcelain 
 china; but time and sorrow have committed fearful 
 ravages on all that was once so lovely." 
 
 " Now for a few moral reflections, Matilda ! The sub- 
 ject is so very new and inviting that it would be quite 
 a treat. Do revive some of our old lessons out of the
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 197 
 
 copy-books, with notes and annotations, taking as an 
 instance, ' Beauty quickly fades!' For my own part, I 
 do not wish to survive one single day after age and 
 ugliness overtake me ; for it really seems no bad plan of 
 the Hindoos, who put people to death whenever they be- 
 come no longer useful or ornamental poor Lady Bar- 
 nard would have been off long ago?" 
 
 " And yet, Eleanor, there is some wise purpose of 
 Providence for which she is spared," said Matilda ; " and 
 if either of us live to be as helpless as Lady Barnard, 
 we may still have the consolation of believing that our 
 remaining on earth is not utterly in vain. I remember 
 hearing of an ignorant old woman who was so wearied 
 of life, that she said, ' Surely death has forgotten me !' 
 but we know that every day our existence is continued 
 by special permission for some merciful purpose, and 
 that when we cannot be active in doing the will of God, 
 we may still show a useful example by suffering it pa- 
 tiently." 
 
 " Like poor Lady Barnard, who grumbles all day," 
 said Eleanor, heedlessly. " But Sir Philip is certainly 
 not so tired of life as the old woman you mention, for I 
 am told that he ransacked every village church-yard in 
 his way down to ascertain how many people had lived to 
 be ninety, though I really wonder that he is not already 
 ashamed to be seen alive so long. Sir Philip seems to 
 have known every body's grandfather; and how provoked 
 he appeared when I pointed out that he was always two 
 generations before the present day when he inquired for 
 any old acquaintance. It is unpardonably stingy of him 
 to bring us nothing from abroad ! Whenever I hear 
 of a rich old uncle, I always connect with his name the 
 idea of India shawls, gold bracelets, and diamond ear- 
 rings, especially now that he has no family. A propos
 
 198 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Matilda, how diverted I was yesterday when you listened 
 so intently to Lady Barnard's praises of her unfortunate 
 son, as if he had been some future lover of your own. 
 I actually fancied you were in tears about him at one 
 time." 
 
 " Perhaps you might have been so likewise, Eleanor, 
 had you heard all that I did from the poor afflicted 
 mother," said Matilda ; " nothing could be more deeply 
 touching than her description of his last hours. You 
 often say that there is no sensation so pleasing as being 
 moved by a tragedy ; but this is a more touching story 
 than any that could be represented on the stage, and 
 it would soothe Lady Barnard's feelings if you would 
 ask her to repeat the melancholy narrative again. It 
 will only cost you the trouble of listening: so do try." 
 
 " How can you propose such a thing, Matilda!" ex- 
 claimed Eleanor yawning. " I was always quicker than 
 you, and never could endure prosing. You might have 
 known me better!" 
 
 " I shall know you better another time," said Matilda, 
 reproachfully. " Dear Eleanor! can you wonder if I am 
 slow to believe that you do not compassionate sorrows 
 so accumulated as poor Lady Barnard's, cut off as she 
 is from the possibility of holding much intercourse with 
 others, and having no subject for her solitary thoughts 
 to dwell upon with interest except the grave of her only 
 child ? You might do much to cheer her spirits few 
 people are so gifted for the task as you are ; and, Eleanor, 
 there are no amusements that could deserve to be com- 
 pared with the hope of being serviceable to her. By accus- 
 toming Lady Barnard to your voice, it becomes scarcely 
 an effort to make her hear ; and she has allowed me to 
 select some books that we may read together pray, as- 
 sist me, for the pleasure is greater than the exertion."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 199 
 
 "To such a hard-working good creature as you, I 
 daresay it may," replied Eleanor, taking up a novel; 
 " but II dolce far niente is my motto ; for I am really 
 getting indolent now, and, as the man said who was 
 handsome, ' I can't help it.' One thing, however, I must 
 hint to you, Matilda, that next time you attempt to treat 
 Lady Barnard with music, it would be prudent to shut 
 all the doors and windows for the credit of the house, 
 because those trumpery Scotch airs that she doats on, 
 thundered with the loud pedals, would be enough to set 
 all the bears in the street a-dancing. She asked me 
 once to perform them, but I took care to be nearly in- 
 audible, and just enough out of time and tune to make 
 her never desire such another serenade ; for I would 
 rather break stones on the road than hammer the chords 
 of a defenceless piano-forte so atrociously. You should 
 make a vow, as I did long ago, not to play any music, 
 on whatever pretext, that has once been ground on a 
 hand-organ." 
 
 " I am glad to give pleasure on any terms. Consider, 
 Eleanor, the trouble and time it has cost me to acquire 
 some knowledge of music, and that as I am not competent 
 to gratify such epicures in the science as you can, it is 
 something to be thankful for if I can entertain any one." 
 
 " Matilda, I am afraid you are going to become one 
 of those people who set up for being ' too good for this 
 world,"' said Eleanor, satirically. " I know two or three 
 already who are upon that plan, and it is perfectly in- 
 tolerable. They pique themselves upon doing every 
 thing that no one else would do, and make a great os- 
 tentation of having amiable weaknesses. If a stranger 
 does something atrociously wrong, they profess to believe 
 that he had certainly some good motive in spite of ap-
 
 200 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 pearances; they make a point of praising their enemies 
 more than their friends; and if any one is universally 
 odious, they take him under their peculiar patronage, 
 and tyrannize over the conversation by allowing no one 
 to speak of him according to truth, or to tell a story of 
 him, without saying that they would like to hear both 
 sides of it, which is a thing that for my own part I never 
 wish to do, as I always find that the first edition has the 
 most point. And these people delight to be imposed 
 upon by beggars or impostors, and to tell the story 
 against themselves -with a sort of ' too-good-for-this 
 world' expression on their countenances, and a con- 
 cluding remark that they would rather be taken in a 
 thousand times than become suspicious. I am gifted 
 with a talisman that reveals to me in whatever cor- 
 ner affectation may lurk, and it certainly does get into 
 very odd and unsuspected hiding-holes occasionally, 
 Matilda." 
 
 " If you ever detect any symptoms of it in me, in 
 thought, word, or deed, drive it out instantly," replied 
 her cousin good humouredly. " I shall search my own 
 mind with double diligence, for nothing can be worse 
 than the smallest departure from the candour and sim- 
 plicity of right feeling." 
 
 " Matilda, you are good-natured, and that is worse 
 than anything," said Eleanor, laughing. " I never was 
 so angry at any one in my life as at old Lady Susan 
 Danvers, when I once heard her call me ' a good-natured 
 girl;' and I am sure she will never venture to do so 
 again. Good-natured people are never supposed to have 
 anything else in the world to recommend them; and 
 though I have seen several who really had some very 
 respectable virtues besides, yet the instant they are
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 201 
 
 branded with the name of ' good-natured,' every one in 
 society feels privileged to talk of them, and to apply that 
 epithet with a tone of contemptuous patronage, and to 
 take all sorts of impertinent liberties with their carriages, 
 their horses, and their time, without feeling the same 
 obligation that they would express towards any one else 
 who was not supposed to have a similar convenient 
 facility of temper." 
 
 "This is quite a new code of morals, and requires 
 consideration before I become one of your pupils." 
 
 " It would save you a world of trouble to do so at 
 once/' said Eleanor. " Did ever any one waste so much 
 time as you do to maintain the character of being oblig- 
 ing ? If any old lady has a son going to India, you 
 wear out a pair of eyes with copying his miniature for 
 her if any new manuscript song is in circulation, upon 
 which every young lady who has it writes ' not to be 
 copied' in the largest and most forbidding characters, 
 you promise a scroll of it to every friend who asks you 
 I would rather communicate one in confidence to any 
 dozen of other girls than to you ; and if you get a new 
 dress from London, or a bonnet that is admired, it is 
 generally half- worn out with people taking off the pattern 
 before you have ever had it on. I often think how much 
 the better you would be of the discipline which a young 
 ensign goes through the first day he joins a mess -table. 
 When he rises to help himself to anything, there is 
 a general conspiracy that he shall never be allowed to 
 sit down again during the rest of dinner. One officer 
 begs him to reach one thing, another entreats him to 
 help something else, and a third' is ready with some sub- 
 sequent request, till dinner is cleared away, and the un- 
 lucky debutant is generally cured for ever of any inor-
 
 202 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 dinate desire to oblige. As for the time squandered on 
 Lady Barnard, I cannot imagine how you answer that 
 to yourself; but, Sir Philip, to do you justice, engrosses 
 but little notice." 
 
 " Because he really does not require it. As long as 
 mamma and my aunt talk to him, he is independent of 
 every one else in the world." 
 
 " They talk to him !" repeated Eleanor, laughing, 
 " What a mistake ! No one can speak to Sir Philip, 
 but all may listen who choose. He is one of those arbi- 
 trary talkers so common now among those who are 
 reckoned, or who reckon themselves, entertaining, who 
 never attend to what is said by any one else, and have 
 no more idea of altering the current of their conversation, 
 on account of a story or remark from another quarter, 
 than a pedestrian would have of changing his course if 
 he wished to cross the road, and felt unwillingly obliged 
 to wait till some lumbering waggon had passed. He 
 recalls the point of his own story with partial fondness, 
 when every one is laughing perhaps at the humour of 
 some one else ; and he resumes the thread of what he 
 said before, as if the interruptions of other people were 
 only made that he might have time to take breath. 
 There is more selfishness shewn in conversation than in 
 many much more important things in life ; and you may 
 depend upon this, if Sir Philip ever dies of laughing, it 
 will be at a joke of his own." 
 
 " But, Eleanor, you know mamma got him to hear 
 out her favourite story yesterday about Captain M'Tartan 
 so nearly throwing down the Venus de Medici at Florence 
 last year." 
 
 "True, but he kept up a sort of obligate accompaniment 
 all the way through, of contradictions, and corrections.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 203 
 
 and doubts, and little Italian sentences, merely to dim 
 your mother's brilliancy, and to prevent her from out- 
 shining himself. There is a want of fairness in all this. 
 Conversation is a common property, and every one feels 
 perfectly competent to contribute his own share. In a 
 charitable subscription, we are as careful to collect the 
 poor people's halfpence as the rich people's sovereigns, 
 and in this case, each individual is still more willing to 
 subscribe his mite. Aunt Barbara is also a most refrac- 
 tory listener. I went to her room three times last day we 
 were at Ashgrove, to tell something it was of consequence 
 for her to know, and I came away fairly defeated by her 
 volubility. It was like opening the door in a blast of 
 wind when I entered, she had such a hurricane of words." 
 " What were they all about !" 
 
 " Can you seriously wish to know what Barbara ever 
 says?" asked Eleanor incredulously. "She was in a 
 state of vehement indignation at Sir Francis for having 
 narrated some ludicrous stories of long ago, relating to 
 ' Frank Harvey,' as he will persist in calling him ; and 
 she spoke in most moving terms about the whole affair 
 as a persecution of herself and of him, though I pro- 
 tested that my uncle had certainly no recollection at the 
 moment of her having any peculiar interest in the sub- 
 ject. This of course she would be most unwilling to 
 believe, as she is constantly on the qui vive for affronts ; 
 and I made the matter worse, having accidentally picked 
 up a pamphlet of Miss Rachel Stodart's, and thrown it 
 rather contemptuously down again ; but she would not 
 have missed that either on any account, because it will 
 tell so well at the next meeting, and be dignified with 
 the name of ' a persecution' also. I wish people would 
 only call things by their right names ; and as for your 
 father's good-humoured jests being ever taken up as a
 
 204 
 
 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 serious affair, it really is like raising a storm in a tea- 
 cup." 
 
 " So I think," replied Matilda, smiling ; " and it was 
 a thousand pities aunt Barbara made such an uproar as 
 she did upon the subject, hinting about enemies, and 
 slanderers, and forgiveness, till papa became seriously 
 irritated. If aunt Olivia had not so judiciously set sail 
 on a new tack, and carried papa along with her, a regu- 
 lar bombardment would have ensued on both sides, end- 
 ing, in all probability, with an irreparable breach." 
 
 " And Barbara hoisting her colours higher than ever, 
 supposing herself undoubtedly in the right," added Elea- 
 nor, leaving the room. " The only thing that vexed me 
 was to see Lady Olivia really agitated and distressed. 
 She changed colour once or twice during the altercation, 
 and considering her evidently declining health, every 
 thing that wears it out is deeply to be deplored by us. 
 The sword is already too much for the scabbard, and will 
 soon destroy it altogether. 'Oh, why has worth so 
 short a date!'" sighed Eleanor with transient emotion as 
 she closed the door. 
 
 "Ah, why indeed !" thought Matilda, while a tear 
 gathered in her eye ; " but as the poet goes on to say 
 The monarch may forget the crown 
 That on his head an hour has been ; 
 The mother may forget the child 
 That smiles so sweetly on her knee ; 
 But I'll remember thee, my friend, 
 And all that thou hast done for me."* 
 Sir Philip Barnard had given great offence to Eleanor 
 at an early stage of their acquaintance, by criticising her 
 skill in Italian. " She is fluent enough," he said, turn- 
 ing to Lady Fitz-Patrick, "but her pronunciation is 
 
 Burns.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 205 
 
 dreadfully provincial Matilda Howard's is the same. 
 It is a thousand pities their time has been so wasted, for 
 I would rather never speak the language at all than use 
 such a perverted accent." 
 
 Matilda expressed no surprise, though she felt some 
 mortification at her uncle's unqualified censure, but Elea- 
 nor's indignation was beyond control, and the greatest 
 affront of all was to be levelled with Matilda, to whom 
 she reckoned herself incomparably superior. 
 
 " I am quite astonished at what you say !" replied she, 
 endeavouring to force a laugh. "Many people have de- 
 clared they could scarcely believe I had not spent my 
 life on the continent." 
 
 " These complaisant friends of yours probably never 
 were abroad themselves," replied Sir Philip, dryly. 
 " Imagine, Eleanor, any two girls from Somersetshire 
 or Cumberland, attempting to speak English in London, 
 and you may then conceive the sort of appearance you 
 and Matilda would make at Florence you must both 
 spend a winter abroad, or never let me hear the sound of 
 your voice again in any language but English; though 
 really, to give every one their due, Matilda seems toler- 
 ably well acquainted with the Continent, and knows 
 what are the lions at any town I mention. She has an 
 idea likewise of the most celebrated pictures, which I 
 hope she will live to see, for nothing improves the taste 
 so much as visiting and studying in galleries abroad." 
 
 " It is in vain to talk of improving people's taste who 
 have naturally none," said Eleanor, pertly. " Matilda's 
 taste is like Dr Johnson's estate in Yorkshire, which he 
 always quoted when people talked of having lost what 
 they never possessed, I have to set her right almost 
 every day at the painting academy, and often choose what
 
 206 MODERX ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 pieces she ought to copy, because her own selection is 
 so indifferent." 
 
 " Indeed !" exclaimed Sir Philip, satirically, " Secon- 
 do voi !" 
 
 " Yes," continued Eleanor, " Matilda seldom disputes 
 the point with me and Mr Crayon frequently appeals 
 to my judgment and taste in his own sketches." 
 
 " There is infinite good taste in your saying all this, 
 Eleanor," interrupted Lady Howard, laughing ; " and 
 if we were each to be sold at our own estimate of our- 
 selves, I believe Matilda would go as much below her 
 own real value as you would go above yours ; but it will 
 all pass in the world, where people generally are appre- 
 ciated according to what they assume." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick had talked so much of her daugh- 
 ter's drawings, that the well-hackneyed album and port- 
 folio were one evening produced at the request of Sir 
 Philip, who drew in his chair and put on his spectacles, 
 exhibiting the air of anticipated pleasure with which he 
 might have been supposed to prepare for privately in- 
 specting some celebrated work of art. 
 
 The first few drawings he cast aside, evidently con- 
 sidering them such as it was impossible for him to look 
 at. "Ah! copied from Claude; tolerably good," ex- 
 claimed he at length in a patronizing tone, " but that 
 cloud is like a feather bed. Ruins ! you have taken this 
 from the Pironesi ; the touch is too minute, very la- 
 boured indeed. Your hand is cramped with drawing so 
 frequently on a small scale. Why do you work in an 
 alburn? Faremo un buco nell' acqua. Show me some 
 of your large bold sketches they are the sort of things 
 for a beginner. You should never be allowed to finish 
 a drawing till you have learned a more correct outline
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 207 
 
 this man must be seven feet high at least, and that steeple 
 is leaning like the tower of Pisa." 
 
 " I wish Sir Philip was suspended from the top of it," 
 whispered Eleanor angrily to Matilda. 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick with alarm observed a gathering 
 storm on her daughter's brow, and hastily exclaimed 
 in a deprecating voice, " You forget, Sir Philip, that 
 these are not an artist's performances which you are in- 
 specting." 
 
 " I am not likely to forget that in the present in- 
 stance," muttered Sir Philip, still turning them hastily 
 over with a transient glance of disapprobation ; at length 
 he started up, and pushing the whole collection con- 
 temptuously aside, exclaimed, " Assai parnpini e poc- 
 uva ! But are we to live for ever without music ? I 
 have not endured such a fast for ages before. Let me 
 make an overture to you, Eleanor, for some airs in the 
 last new opera. If your notes could be coined into 
 gold, I would rather live, like Orpheus and Eurydice, on 
 the harmony of sounds, and my expectations have been 
 raised above measure by the fame of your performance." 
 
 " Indeed you can hardly be disappointed," whispered 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick in an under tone, which Eleanor af- 
 fected not to hear. "Count Valdareighenstein, who 
 dined here very frequently last winter, fell into perfect 
 raptures, and protested he could come with pleasure 
 every day to hear her." 
 
 " The Count liked a good dinner no less than good 
 music," said Miss Neville dryly ; " and I suspect Elea- 
 nor's playing was not the worse of being accompanied 
 by claret and champagne." 
 
 " Baron Trottoir also," continued Lady Fitz-Patrick, 
 without noticing this unwelcome remark " Baron Trot-
 
 208 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 toir assured her he had one evening sent his apology to 
 another party, knowing that Eleanor never performed 
 except at home, and that therefore the music in this 
 house must always he better than anywhere else ; he 
 remarked likewise, that he would give up his stall at the 
 opera in London, if he could only hear her every night 
 in private." 
 
 "Well done, Baron Trottoir!" said Miss Neville, 
 sharply, " he knows also which side to butter his bread 
 upon but make what fuss about it you please, I have 
 been told that a very constant application to music un- 
 dermines the understanding." 
 
 " Are you musical, aunt Barbara ?" asked Eleanor, 
 tuning her harp ; " I never suspected it till this moment." 
 
 " Recollect," added Sir Philip, " I am quite ilfanatico 
 per la musica myself, and cannot allow your sweeping 
 clause, Barbara but I certainly have known persons 
 abroad who played admirably, and were yet very little 
 removed from idiots. Come now, Eleanor, as Shak- 
 speare says, ' If music be the food of love, play on.' " 
 
 With an expression of the utmost self-complacency 
 and giving a careless glance round the room, Eleanor 
 drew the harp towards her and ran over a brilliant pre- 
 lude. " I suppose you are a great performer on some 
 instrument yourself?" asked Eleanor maliciously, for she 
 knew it to be a subject of mortification to Sir Philip 
 that he was not so. 
 
 ' No ! I had too good an ear to endure the torture of 
 learning," replied he. " I tried once to scrape an ac- 
 quaintance with the violin, but was ready to hang myself 
 on the fiddlestick often when a discordant note came 
 out ; but you are quite one of the light-fingered gentry," 
 continued Sir Philip, putting on his spectacles, and seat-
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 209 
 
 ing himself close beside her with an air of delighted ex- 
 pectation axcollare! "Pray, give me some of my fa- 
 vourite airs in the opera of II Colibri" 
 
 " I never heard of that opera before," replied Eleanor 
 superciliously. " I play chiefly the music of Beethoven 
 and Weber." 
 
 " You might as well talk of Handel and dementi !" 
 exclaimed Sir Philip impatiently. " These composers 
 are quite out of date on the Continent now ; have you 
 got nothing of Cardellini's or Solerti's, or " 
 
 " No," said Eleanor in a tone of pique; " it was un- 
 lucky you did not bring me some of their music from 
 Rome, as they appear to be such favourites, and then I 
 should have been happy to practise it. The last new 
 piece I learned was the grand concerto in A by Macche- 
 roni." 
 
 " Well, pray let me have it," said Sir Philip in a tone 
 of resignation ; " last time I heard that piece it was exe- 
 cuted by Signora Genovesi, the first harpist in Europe, 
 at a concert given by Prince Neufchatel to the Crown- 
 Prince of Bavaria." 
 
 Nothing daunted by Sir Philip's reminiscences, Elea- 
 nor commenced the piece with an air of nonchalance 
 which showed the most perfect confidence in her own 
 powers. Sir Philip knit his brows, folded his arms, and 
 composed himself into an attitude of profound attention, 
 while Lady Fitz- Patrick and Matilda both watched his 
 countenance with exultation, as they anticipated the 
 pleasure and astonishment in which he would soon be 
 entranced. "Piano! Adagio non corre/e," exclaimed Sir 
 Philip, suddenly raising himself with a start. " Adagio!" 
 continued he, audibly beating time on the table with 
 his spectacle case, " non andate in tcjnpo." 
 
 " You will put me quite out !" cried Eleanor peevishly,
 
 210 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and Matilda trembled for what her cousin might say 
 next, seeing her visibly irritated; but fortunately Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick contrived to give her a cautionary glance, 
 which had its due effect for the time, and she proceeded 
 a few bars farther without interruption, till at last with 
 a contortion of horror, and something very much resem- 
 bling an Italian oath, Sir Philip eagerly exclaimed 
 
 "Ah, Piano! Pianissimo! Mifate allegare i denti! 
 Observe, Eleanor, it is marked espressivo! Genovesi 
 could scarcely be heard here ; she seemed twenty miles 
 off, and yet every note was so distinctly articulated you 
 might have counted them." 
 
 " I do not pretend to perform like Signora Genovesi," 
 said Eleanor in a tone of pique; " but when Miss Mara- 
 bout plays this concerto, you would allow that few can 
 excel her; and she always executed this passage quite 
 forte, it adds so much to the effect. Every person of 
 taste who has heard me agreed in the same opinion." 
 
 Sir Philip uttered a loud " Pshaw !" of contempt, and 
 shrugged his shoulders with a grimace that might have 
 done for a Frenchman. " Tuono!" said he satirically ; 
 but Eleanor thundered on, and the piece became more 
 intricate; while she continued to tear the strings and 
 to run up the half notes with marvellous rapidity, but 
 very little attention to time, till at length,having exhausted 
 all the difficulties and " new effects" in the science of 
 music, she safely arrived at her final crash. 
 
 A dead pause ensued, which seemed more obvious 
 from its having been preceded by such a clamour, and 
 the silence was never likely to be broken ; Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick waited anxiously for Sir Philip's opinion, and 
 looked full of expectation, but, if there Avas a subject on 
 earth in which he felt incapable of showing complaisance, 
 it was music he thought it too sacred and important a
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 211 
 
 business for the common courtesies of life, and there- 
 fore, muttering to himself some sentences of Italian, 
 which were quite inaudible, he hastily took Eleanor's 
 book from the desk of the piano-forte, and having slowly 
 replaced his spectacles, he began carefully turning over 
 the pages. 
 
 " I hope you are pleased on the whole. Sir Philip, with 
 my daughter's performance," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, in 
 an unwonted tone of diffidence, after she had vainly 
 waited for the burst of applause that she had expected ; 
 " Eleanor has spared no pains to excel." 
 
 " Why! a she has certainly a brilliant touch; 
 
 but there is a fatal want of accuracy about her playing 
 che danno!" replied Sir Philip in a tone of sorrowful 
 reflection. " I was glancing over this concerto at the 
 moment you spoke, because I am pretty certain that 
 the fourth bar of the third page was incorrect as to 
 time ; but I scarcely read music well enough to count 
 it, so do me the favour, Eleanor, to try over this passage 
 once more I am sure it is half a note deficient in the 
 way you play it." 
 
 " Excuse me!" said Eleanor, whose beautiful counte- 
 nance was glowing with suppressed indignation, " I am 
 like Paganini in one respect, never to be encored. Per- 
 haps," added she sullenly, rising from her seat, " it is all 
 wrong from beginning to end." 
 
 " If you had but learned abroad, Eleanor," added Sir 
 Philip in a conciliatory tone, " you really have very 
 good capabilities; and might have been a splendid player. 
 One year of Bucher's tuition would do something for 
 you still. It is only in Germany or Italy that musicians 
 ever learn a good style. Any thing may do for English 
 ears, though, after remaining long on the continent, we 
 become sadly fastidious ; and I often think that music
 
 212 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 has caused me more torment than pleasure ; it drives me 
 so distracted to hear an indifferent performer." 
 
 " How unfortunate that I have laid such an infliction 
 on your nerves!" replied Eleanor, angrily pushing aside 
 her harp; " but rest assured that nothing shall ever in- 
 duce me to do so again." 
 
 " About this passage where I wished to set you right," 
 continued Sir Philip, unconscious of Eleanor's growing 
 indignation, " I have looked it over, and find, as might 
 be expected, that I was in the right." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick saw a storm gathering on the brow 
 of Eleanor, and fearful that it might burst forth to the 
 occasioning of worse discord than any that Sir Philip 
 had yet encountered, she hastily turned with an implor- 
 ing look to Matilda. " My dear girl, you have played 
 nothing yet; is there any music here that you could 
 favour us with?" 
 
 "Mine is all much too difficult for Matilda!" interrupted 
 Eleanor conceitedly. " She is still merely working in 
 the tread-mill of scales and sonatas." 
 
 " And if Sir Philip finds any thing to criticise in your 
 music, I may well despair," added her cousin, smiling, 
 when she saw him look eagerly round. " Indeed, Sir, 
 I am unfit to turn over the pages for Eleanor, and you 
 would not be able to remain in the room above three 
 minutes." 
 
 " Well, you can but try," replied Sir Philip ; " I ad- 
 mire a little modest diffidence, and shall endeavour to 
 make due allowances. Here is a pretty simple air by 
 Rossini ; suppose you give it us." 
 
 Eleanor generally required as much pressing before 
 she would perform as if she were to have a benefit 
 concert the following day, which she did not choose to 
 anticipate ; but Matilda never waited for a prelude of
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 213 
 
 entreaties \vhen any one wished for music, and without 
 indulging in the customary disparaging protestations of 
 incapacity, and being out of practice, &c., she instantly 
 sat down, though greatly intimidated by the look of 
 criticising attention with which Sir Philip prepared to 
 listen. 
 
 Eleanor hummed a tune, and strolled contemptuously 
 towards the window, while Lady Fitz-Patrick stirred the 
 fire, arranged her books, moved about the chairs, and 
 did every thing in her power to show that she expected 
 nothing ; yet still Sir Philip listened on ; he beat time, 
 and Matilda uttered no remonstrance ; he hummed a 
 rather discordant accompaniment, and she did not look 
 annoyed ; he corrected a difficult passage, and she re- 
 peated it over again till he was satisfied ; and when the 
 whole piece was concluded, she turned round with 
 heightened colour, and her usual frank, good-humoured 
 smile, saying 
 
 " I really did not feel all the beauties of this air before, 
 but now it will give me new pleasure in practising ; and 
 perhaps when you do me the favour to hear it again, 
 Sir Philip, I may be able to show that this lesson has not 
 been entirely thrown away." 
 
 " You would never make good scholars, Sir Philip, for 
 it is a bad plan to be so very discouraging,'' observed 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick, glancing anxiously at Eleanor, who 
 had sullenly seated herself in a distant window. " You 
 make no allowance for anything short of perfection !" 
 
 " Why !" replied Sir Philip, " I scarcely look for that 
 in this country you might as well expect to hear a 
 sparrow sing like a canary-bird. To do Matilda justice, 
 she promises well, from not attempting too much. Pos- 
 sibly she might, with very great perseverance, become a 
 tolerable player; but Eleanor has been wretchedly taught
 
 214 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 she actually has no more music in her than a veloci- 
 pede, do fa drizzare i cappclli." 
 
 " I think much of the modern music is utterly devoid 
 of interest," said Lady Howard ; " there is nothing that 
 touches the feelings, or that can be remembered and dwelt 
 upon afterwards with pleasure. As some learned scho- 
 lar once said, it often sounds to my ears like ' nonsense 
 verses/ being all in perfect time and tune, without any 
 meaning or any soul in it ; you carry away nothing when 
 the tumult is over except a vague sensation of surprise, 
 such as I felt lately when the Indian jugglers exhibited 
 their quickness and dexterity in throwing and catching 
 their balls." 
 
 " Perhaps, Sir Philip, if you heard Eleanor sing a duet 
 
 with Matilda," said Lady Fitz- 
 
 Patrick anxiously. 
 
 " No, no !" interrupted he, putting his fingers to his 
 ears, " I have suffered enough for to-day. That would 
 be esserfra Scilla e Cariddi." 
 
 Matilda laughed ; but Eleanor angrily quitted the 
 room, and did not return during the rest of the evening. 
 
 " How I do detest that old quiz !" she said the next 
 time they were alone ; "he becomes more odious every 
 day. Now say not a word, if you please, Matilda, about 
 moderation and forgiveness ; I am determined to let Sir 
 Philip see my abhorrence coute qui coute, and to show 
 him up the very first opportunity, being quite of opinion 
 with worthy old Dr Johnson, ' I like a good hater.' " 
 
 " What mark is so fair as the heart of a foe !"
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 215 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " Since few can save or serve, but all may please, 
 O ! let th' ungenerous spirit learn from hence 
 A small unkindness is a great offence ; 
 
 Large bounties to bestow we wish in vain, 
 
 But all may shun the guilt of giving pain." 
 
 " So our old friend Lady Amelia Douglas is in town !" 
 exclaimed Sir Philip Barnard one morning, when paying 
 a visit to Lady Howard. " She has set her heart upon my 
 taking Matilda and Eleanor to the gay dejeilne she gives 
 next week on the occasion of her son Sir Alfred attain- 
 ing his majority. He is, I am happy to hear, a very 
 promising young man." 
 
 " Of course," replied Lady Howard. " Did you ever 
 know an eldest son, come of age, who did not promise 
 to be the ornament of his generation ? or a younger son 
 enter any profession, who was not the most 'rising young 
 man' in it ?" 
 
 " But Sir Alfred was head boy at Eton, took a double 
 first class at Oxford, and really is a distinguished scho- 
 lar." 
 
 " Then he must be a DUNGEON of learning, for I never 
 knew any young man in society so reserved," replied 
 Lady Howard. " Some people have hinted indeed that he 
 is a little of a saint, but I would on no accouut be rash in 
 crediting such a rumour, as the world is so ill natured.
 
 216 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 His mother has certainly been rather uneasy about it 
 occasionally, however." 
 
 " Indeed !" cried Sir Philip. " How grieved I should 
 be if our good friend Lady Amelia had any thing so truly 
 distressing in her family; but we must hope the best, and 
 at all events it cannot last after the young man mixes in 
 the world. E' una contafdvola" 
 
 " He has a friend with him at college to whom the 
 mischief has been greatly attributed," continued Lady 
 Howard, " and I have no doubt Mr Leicester was the 
 original cause." 
 
 ' Very probably," replied Sir Philip, rising to take 
 leave with an oracular shake of his head ; " great care 
 should be taken with whom young people are allowed to 
 associate. Dimmi cki pratichie ti diro die sei." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said Lady Howard bitterly ; " there is 
 nothing in the world I dislike more than people being 
 better than their neighbours, and becoming outrageously 
 good." 
 
 " That feeling is but too common towards us," cried 
 Miss Neville, looking off from her book, and immediately 
 assuming her favourite St Cecilia expression, with her 
 eyes turned up, to indicate that she considered herself 
 persecuted. 
 
 " You were the very last person on earth that I was 
 thinking of," replied Lady Howard, dryly. "How often 
 I forget, Barbara, that you are by way of being at all 
 different from common. But, Sir Philip, about this de- 
 jeune at Lady Amelia's, I hope you will not insist upon 
 the removal of my embargo on Matilda, for it really is 
 out of the question. I never shall allow her to be hacked 
 about like Eleanor, who is already a perfect veteran 
 in parties and flirtations, She visited my daughter this 
 morning in a blaze of delight about the approaching
 
 OR TI1E MARCH OF INTELLECT. 217 
 
 gayeties, but I put a decided negative upon Matilda's 
 hopes. I am resolved she shall not he let out of her 
 shell till she is perfectly fledged, or it will be impossible 
 to get her in again. Girls should never be seen or heard 
 of till they are quite grown up, and then the more eclat 
 they have in society the better." 
 
 " Might not a slight rehearsal be desirable before she 
 finally appears on the boards ?" asked Sir Francis, slyly. 
 " It would have softened a heart of stone this morning 
 to see poor Matilda listening to Eleanor's rapturous de- 
 scription of joys in which she was never to share, and, far 
 from the contrast exciting Eleanor's pity, she rose into 
 greater sublimity of description the longer she spoke 
 Lady Amelia's beautiful villa the military band tents 
 refreshments company ; nothing was forgotten, and 
 the whole would have been an invaluable paragraph in 
 the Morning Post. Pray, relent, dear Maria, and let me 
 announce the good news to your poor prisoner up stairs 
 she is probably at this moment seated on her straight- 
 backed chair, with her maps on one side, her dictionary 
 on the other, and her book in the middle, poring over the 
 pages of some tremendous encyclopedia, but her whole 
 heart and thoughts bent on the approaching festivities." 
 
 " How very absurd you are," said Lady Howard, 
 peevishly ; " but my mind is quite determined upon this 
 point, and here comes Olivia in very good time to con- 
 firm the sentence. I told Matilda, in case she felt anx- 
 ious about this affair, that I was quite certain her aunt 
 would highly disapprove of her going, and that settled 
 it completely." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! that is so like you, Maria," exclaim- 
 ed Sir Francis, laughingly turning to Lady Olivia. 
 " "Whenever there is any intolerable penance to be inflict- 
 ed on Matilda, that her mamma would avoid bearing the
 
 218 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 entire odium of herself, she invariably quotes a supposed 
 opinion of ' Aunt Olivia,' and the poor girl never remon- 
 strates any farther. Your name is an infallible quietus, 
 and I really believe if Matilda were assured that you 
 disapprove of eating she would starve to death." 
 
 " Then pray be sparing in the use of my influence, 
 for I should be sorry to exercise it too extensively." said 
 Lady Olivia, smiling. " On this occasion Maria would 
 not certainly have obtained my vote and interest against 
 Matilda's enjoying her little excursion: I am no advo- 
 cate for being exceedingly rigid with young people. It 
 was well observed by an excellent bishop, that the way 
 to make the minds of children go awry is to lace them 
 too tight: it seems dangerous to lay any painful and 
 unnecessary restraint on youthful recreations till a taste 
 for better pleasures can be substituted." 
 
 " How true !" interrupted Sir Francis. " I shudder 
 yet at remembering the time when ' Aunt Betty' tried 
 to make a ' good boy' of me, and our Sundays were 
 such penances, that I used continually to be asking the 
 maids in confidence when it would be Monday." 
 
 ' ' What a sad mistake so many good, well-meaning 
 people fall into of starting needless scruples about trifles, 
 for it really injures true religion, and withdraws our at- 
 tention from what is essential," said Lady Olivia. " I 
 remember hearing that your aunt never would even stir 
 the fire, nor walk out, except to church, on a Sunday ; 
 and the impression of these peculiarities upon your mind 
 seems not to be salutary, but rather to have raised a pre- 
 judice against much that is of real importance." 
 
 " She was an excellent good woman, though I could 
 not endure her myself," continued Sir Francis. " Shall 
 I ever get over my remembrance of all the listless ennui 
 and creditable idleness in which our Sundays were passed
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 219 
 
 at Barnston Lodge my dogs all chained my compa- 
 nions forbid the house my only walk in a measured 
 pace to church and back again scarcely a book allowed 
 me to read my dinner cold and almost every subject I 
 spoke upon discouraged, as inconsistent with the sanctity 
 of the day in every direction the most rigid privations 
 awaited me; and one only indulgence I enjoyed, peculiar 
 to Sunday the privilege of invariably stealing off to bed 
 an hour earlier than usual. If some employments or 
 pleasures peculiar to that day had been substituted, I 
 might have thought differently ; or had discretion been 
 allowed me to act for myself upon the principles that 
 were taught, I should have felt real satisfaction in im- 
 posing on myself many restraints that were exacted from 
 me by another, but it was only in obedience I was exer- 
 cised, and not on my convictions of duty." 
 
 " It is unfortunate," said Lady Olivia, " that few pa- 
 rents see the difference between dragging their children 
 along the right path of duty, and teaching them to walk 
 in it of their own free choice. We can only direct them 
 at the very outset, and by rendering it uninviting or 
 repulsive, ;md carrying them on, reckless of inclination 
 or taste, they become ready to leap over the hedge when 
 opportunity offers, and to escape altogether from con- 
 trol." 
 
 " Ah ! you remind me of old Colonel Armstrong's 
 address when I joined our regiment," said Sir Francis, 
 laughing. " ' I am told you have been very rigidly 
 brought up,' he said, ' and therefore you will of course 
 become for some years the wildest young fellow under 
 my command, for I invariably find that clergymen's sons, 
 and those who are never allowed to be boys, or to act 
 on their own responsibility, are the most unmanageable 
 scapegraces on the face of the earth in after life, and
 
 220 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 have all their -wild oats still to sow.' It proved as he 
 said ; for if I had not fallen out of Scylla into Charybdis, 
 by putting myself under Maria's yoke, instead of good 
 Aunt Betty's, I should have been running as wild a career 
 yet as Mazeppa on his untameable horse ; my monitor's 
 eye having been withdrawn, and her continual prohibi- 
 tions no longer sounding in my ears, I had been unused 
 to look any farther, and to seek in my own mind for 
 restraints and for convictions of personal duty. Aunt 
 Betty acted like Sancho's physician at Barrataria, and 
 every time she stretched out her rod to withdraw 
 some indulgence, my appetite was whetted by the un- 
 expected and apparently unaccountable privation. If 
 Matilda is a worthy descendant of mine, she must be at 
 this moment tearing her hair with vexation, and ready 
 to burn her books, and to break her harp -strings to 
 tatters." 
 
 . " Not quite so violent, I hope," replied Lady Olivia ; 
 " but I really do* believe, that to our young and lively 
 friend, there could scarcely be a severer trial than the 
 disappointment of to-day; and after the pressing invita- 
 tion she has received, and the fanciful description that 
 Eleanor has given of the splendours to come, our best 
 chance of its being entirely disenchanted is to let Matilda 
 go. I am convinced, Maria, that she has natural sensi- 
 bility and religious principle sufficient to prevent her 
 happiness being placed in mere amusement, and on this 
 occasion you might safely let her partake of it along with 
 Eleanor, knowing for certain that the Barmecide's feast, 
 when it comes, can never equal the expectation of his 
 hungry guests ; and I fully agree with Sir Francis, that 
 the consolation young people have, in resigning what 
 they are taught to consider injurious, differs most widely 
 from the irritation which it must cause them, to find it
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 221 
 
 snatched away by the apparent caprice of another. As 
 I have already been supposed a party on this occasion, 
 let me take advantage of the privilege implied, to use 
 my vote and interest on the side of indulgence. I fully 
 believe that with a girl like Matilda, experience will soon 
 teach her indifference to such pleasures, and the most 
 perfect willingness to relinquish them." 
 
 " But why should she ever learn any such lesson?" 
 exclaimed Sir Francis. " I never wish Matilda to be- 
 come like a nun without a veil, denying herself to all 
 the joys of routs, balls, conversaziones, and tea-parties, 
 no, I never could consent to any such Barbara-ism, 
 and let me hope, Olivia, you neither wish nor expect it 
 of her." 
 
 " On the subject of mixing in society, and refraining 
 from it, we find no arbitrary rule laid down in Scripture," 
 replied Lady Olivia. " We read that John the Baptist 
 lived in a desert, and that our divine Saviour associated 
 with all men, while the world found fault with the actions 
 of both. The same spirit of animadversion still watches 
 and criticises the conduct of all Christians in the present 
 day ; but when we look to the plain rule of duty, it tells 
 us not to set our affections on the earth, and therefore 
 whatever seems likely to ensnare us into an immoderate 
 love of pleasure and amusement, is dangerous, and may 
 become sinful." 
 
 " Some persons may venture on what is hazardous to 
 others, who are more easily engrossed by trifles," observed 
 Lady Howard, " and it is impossible to judge of people 
 by their outward conduct. I know many who keep aloof 
 from society merely because they are indolent, and who 
 think it meritorious to lay up a stock of apoplexy for 
 future use, by sleeping away that time on a sofa which 
 others are spending in active enjoyment ; and, on the
 
 222 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 other hand, I have often been astonished to discover deep 
 sentiments of devotion in those from whose manner of 
 life you could not easily have anticipated it." 
 
 " I believe that some are Christians in the eye of God 
 who are not yet known to be so in the eyes of men ; but 
 a very useful test of our attachment to religion is, to ex- 
 amine in what our conduct and habits differ now, from 
 what they would naturally have been if no revelation 
 had existed at all," said Lady Olivia; " and unless every 
 desire and every motive be purified, we can scarcely hope 
 that our hearts are under the influence of that Spirit 
 which is not of this world. If Matilda's principles be 
 right, her actions will be right also, like a watch with 
 good workmanship, which invisibly directs the handles 
 without our requiring continually to rectify them. Ma- 
 tilda soon attains an age when she must inevitably judge 
 and act entirely for herself, therefore it is the more de- 
 sirable that she should begin now to emerge from that 
 retirement in which she has lived so long, when it can 
 be done, as in this case, without infringing on her more 
 important engagements, or causing her to keep any 
 unnatural hours." 
 
 " I am glad you are not one of those, Olivia, who de- 
 sire that the moment people become better than their 
 neighbours they should retire out of sight," said Sir 
 Francis. " There is as much exclusiveness in the world 
 of religion as in the world of fashion, and I sometimes 
 doubt whether it proceeds from as different motives as 
 we ordinary people are expected to believe, for you know 
 nothing can be more lamentably common than the ' pride 
 that apes humility,' and I have often formerly seen 
 a great deal of it in the select group assembled at Bar- 
 bara's. They confess their sins humbly before God, 
 I have no doubt, but forget that, after rising from their
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 223 
 
 knees, humility has also to be practised and exhibited in 
 their intercourse with men." 
 
 "There are very dangerous extremes, both in going 
 out too much in the world, and in remaining too rigidly 
 aloof from it," continued Lady Olivia, who always evaded 
 any discussion of Miss Neville's friends. " I feel con- 
 vinced that no one individual can lay down precise rules 
 for another." 
 
 " No," said Lady Howard, " not more in social habits 
 than in diet, for many people may eat with impunity 
 what would kill me without their being injured, and all 
 that I can say to those who ask a prescription is, that 
 many things are known to be pernicious of which they 
 must not partake, but that every one should learn by 
 experience what is injurious to himself, and refrain from 
 it, if he wishes to keep his body in health ; and it is the 
 same with mental enjoyments \ve must study our own 
 case, and adhere to whatever seems the best remedy 
 against lethargic indolence on the one hand, or ill-di- 
 rected activity on the other." 
 
 " And let us not trust too implicitly to our own judg- 
 ment, seeing that no patient is ever thought fit to pre- 
 scribe for himself, but examine diligently wJiat is said by 
 the Great Physician of souls," added Lady Olivia. " On 
 all essential points the Scriptures lay down so direct a 
 line of duty that it cannot be exceeded without an im- 
 mediate consciousness of having transgressed its obvious 
 limits ; but on other points we are like prisoners on our 
 parole of honour, and must judge for ourselves whether 
 we overstep the bounds of our freedom or not ; and this 
 should be an additional motive to circumspection. With 
 regard to mere amusement, I feel confident that no one 
 whose affections have been placed on the world to come 
 can long feel an engrossing pleasure in the glittering
 
 224 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 scenes which entice and mislead those who know no 
 better." 
 
 " I rise to agree with the last speaker," said Sir 
 Francis, starting from his chair, " and as it appears 
 that the question of Matilda's going to Lady Amelia's 
 dejeune has been carried nem. con., I move that the house 
 do adjourn, being impatient to announce this good news 
 to her myself. I am delighted with all you said on the 
 subject, Olivia, for though I never yet saw the individual 
 who could make me change my opinion on any occasion, 
 yet I would rather hear it confirmed by you than by any 
 one else in the world. My idea of a clever, sensible 
 person is, that he shall have exactly my own ideas and 
 views upon every subject, but that he shall be able to 
 express and to maintain them better than I can, which 
 has been precisely exemplified in your remarks to-day." 
 
 " Your criterion is nearly universal in the world," re- 
 plied Lady Olivia ; " and I hope we shall continue to 
 agree very frequently, and to admire each other's good 
 sense more and more every day." 
 
 "I cannot answer for that," returned Sir Francis. 
 " This is the first time that your mind has acted like a 
 mirror to reflect mine, and such a wonder is not likely 
 to occur again. But I am really obliged to you for as- 
 sisting to bring round Maria. She knows that in gene- 
 ral I might as well whistle a jig to a mile-stone as try 
 to make her yield to my wishes or opinions on any point 
 relating to our children." 
 
 The brilliant look of surprise and pleasure with which 
 Matilda received her father's unexpected news fully 
 equalled his expectation, and he was delighted for some 
 moments to watch her changing colour and sparkling 
 eyes, while she eagerly inquired a thousand particulars 
 of what her aunt had said, and how Lady Howard's con-
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 225 
 
 sent had at length been obtained to her attending the 
 fete, and who was to chaperon her on the occasion. 
 
 " So you are really glad to go !" asked Sir Francis, 
 looking affectionately at her animated and beautiful 
 countenance : " I thought you would rather have pre- 
 ferred the literary retirement of your school-room ! Well, 
 I am pleased to find that there is a little girlish nonsense 
 remaining yet, in spite of mamma and her whole troop of 
 mademoiselles. Recollect, however, as Dr Johnson said, 
 or at least ought to have said, all preconceived pleasures 
 end in disappointment." 
 
 Much of Matilda's joy upon this occasion might have 
 been justly attributed to the gratification of seeing Sir 
 Francis take such an interest in her enjoyments, for it 
 had frequently been a subject of deep mortification, since 
 she had been old enough to observe, the slight and tran- 
 sitory notice he ever bestowed on her, and the careless 
 indifference with which he received all her attentions. 
 Matilda had long been accustomed to see so many suc- 
 cessful rivals for his notice and his affections, among the 
 inmates of the stable and of the kennel, that Eleanor had 
 one day jocularly said, " she only wished to see Matilda 
 treated like a dog ;" but since our heroine was now so 
 nearly emerging into life, and could no longer be con- 
 sidered a mere plaything, she felt herself in imminent 
 danger of escaping his remembrance altogether; and the 
 tears often started into her eyes when she thought that 
 a whole day had passed without his having paid her more 
 attention than merely a good-humoured nod over the 
 margin of his newspaper, or eliciting a jest occasionally 
 at the expense of Miss Parson, as he delighted to call 
 her governess, or seemed pleased for a moment, at 
 the ready laugh with which she greeted all his sallies 
 of humour, and the ingenious tact with which she some-
 
 '2'Zb MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 times led the way to one of his favourite bon-mots or 
 stories. Lady Howard had allowed Sir Francis to exert 
 so little influence in the management of his daughter 
 during childhood, that he seldom appeared to feel more 
 interest in her than in any other well-dressed, quietly- 
 disposed young lady who might happen to be hovering 
 about the drawing-room. If he wished to present her 
 with a dress, it was never exactly what Lady Howard 
 would allow her to wear ; if he bought her a book ; some 
 insurmountable obstacle was raised to Matilda's being 
 permitted to read it ; and if there was any trifling in- 
 dulgence which she had obtained his permission to 
 enjoy, he generally saw her in tears of disappointment 
 afterwards, upon discovering that her papa's leave was 
 far from being considered as warranting any expectation 
 of success. Lady Howard had no particular intention 
 to alienate the mind of Sir Francis from his daughter, 
 but being devoid of sympathy, she could not enter into 
 his feelings, and perceive the vexation she caused him, 
 nor the inevitable consequence which ensued, of estran- 
 ging his regard from Matilda, when he learned to con- 
 sider her a person over whom he could exercise no con- 
 trol, and to whom he had not the power of showing any 
 patronage or kindness. 
 
 The admiration which Eleanor Fitz-Patrick excited 
 amongst all his friends at the club, had piqued Sir Francis 
 Howard into an ambitious desire of seeing Matilda share 
 the commendations to which he felt conscious that she 
 was equally entitled ; and it was with new feelings of 
 pride and pleasure that he observed her intelligent coun- 
 tenance sparkling in all the brilliancy of youth, health, 
 and high expectation. " My dear girl ! you look like a 
 violet under a hedge, so fresh and so lovely ! I am re- 
 solved to order a dress at Madame Devi's similar to
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 227 
 
 that of your cousin, for the fete, that you may eclipse 
 every competitor at once, and that Eleanor may hide 
 her diminished head for ever," cried he, in a tone of 
 good-humoured raillery. " I shall go to the party my- 
 self, and introduce you as a daughter, whom I am not 
 ashamed to show. ' This is my eldest daughter, Sir, her 
 mother's only care,' " said he, humming a song as he left 
 the room. 
 
 But Sir Francis did not long persevere in his pro- 
 ject of escorting Matilda to the villa of Lady Amelia 
 Douglas, for Lady Howard produced a fit of angry cha- 
 grin at the very outset, by putting an outrageous negative 
 upon his whole scheme of presenting his daughter with 
 an elegant new dress for the occasion ; and protested, 
 that as she had most unwillingly consented to this pre- 
 mature appearance in public, she was at least resolved 
 that her daughter should be as nearly as possible incog- 
 nita, and excite no observation that could be avoided. 
 In a dress, therefore, so extremely unadorned that it ap- 
 peared almost like an affectation of simplicity, Matilda 
 Howard made her first entre into the gay world with 
 Sir Philip and Lady Barnard, who were also accom- 
 panied by her splendidly-attired cousin. Eleanor's ela- 
 borate toilette had certainly contributed to embellish the 
 transcendant brilliancy of her appearance, though it also 
 gave her the look of being several years older than Ma- 
 tilda ; and this effect was produced still more by an air 
 of perfect confidence and self-possession, when she pre- 
 sented herself in the saloon at Douglas Priory, contrasted 
 with the retiring timidity of her cousin, who felt com- 
 pletely abashed on entering a scene of so much novelty, 
 and plunging at once into a crowd of strangers, not a 
 single individual of whom she had ever known before. 
 
 It has been truly remarked, that the feelings of a gene-
 
 228 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
 
 ral, commanding a victorious army, of an orator ruling 
 in a senate, or of a young lady shining in a ball room, 
 are equally proud and elated for the moment. Certainly 
 in the case of Eleanor Fitz-Patrick, no conqueror ever 
 took possession of a city with more confidence of victory, 
 than she felt in entering the scene of her anticipated con- 
 quests at Douglas Priory. 
 
 Matilda wished, with juvenile eagerness, to see every 
 thing the splendid exotics, the gallery of paintings, the 
 beautiful china, and the brilliant dresses of the assembled 
 guests ; but Eleanor only cared to be seen. Wherever 
 they wandered, Matilda was amused and delighted, but 
 Eleanor invariably thought they might be placed to more 
 advantage elsewhere, and insisted on moving on. Ma- 
 tilda gazed around with untiring admiration and wonder 
 at all she saw ; but Eleanor thought only of the wonder 
 and admiration she excited herself. Every eye seemed, 
 in her estimation, to pay homage due to her surpassing 
 loveliness, and every step that passed appeared to linger 
 while she remained in view, as if it were impossible to 
 lose sight of such charms for a moment without regret. 
 Eleanor scarcely attempted to conceal her gratified vani- 
 ty ; and the exultation which she felt in perceiving what 
 a sensation her appearance had excited, was considerably 
 enhanced by the presence of Matilda, towards whom she 
 had frequently experienced a feeling of jealous rivalship, 
 which all the unaffected diffidence and simplicity of her 
 cousin had never been able entirely to disarm; and 
 she now perceived, with irritation and impatience, that 
 Matilda felt so completely preoccupied with examin- 
 ing Lady Amelia's beautiful aviary, that she was in- 
 sensible to the notice bestowed upon Eleanor. To 
 imagine that any share of the admiration so lavishly 
 whispered around could be intended for Matilda, never
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 229 
 
 crossed Eleanor's thoughts for an instant ; but what- 
 ever might be said, she was ready in her own mind 
 to cry, " that was levelled at me ;" and she at length 
 determined to make her cousin a partner in her medita- 
 tions. 
 
 " How these people do stare !" she exclaimed, taking 
 Matilda by the arm, and glancing conceitedly round; 
 " they have certainly found something better worth 
 looking at than the African partridges and Java spar- 
 rows which you appear to be so captivated with." 
 
 " So I perceive," replied Matilda, turning in the direc- 
 tion to which Eleanor called her notice. " If you feel 
 annoyed we can move to the green-house. It is curious 
 that no one ever feels abashed at being observed through 
 a pair of spectacles, but when it is an eye-glass, or rather 
 a whole battery of them, the case is certainly very dif- 
 ferent." 
 
 " My dear friend, you have nothing to complain of," 
 said Eleanor, laughing, in a jocular tone ; " only stay 
 with me, and I shall answer for nobody looking your 
 way. I must bear my fate with resignation, and, like 
 the eels that were skinned, I shall probably get used to 
 it at last." 
 
 " Let me lend you my chantilly veil," replied Matilda 
 archly, " and by wearing it doubled during pleasure, you 
 may be certain that the Venus de Medici herself might 
 pass through the crowd unnoticed do try." 
 
 " Thank you how very considerate !" said Eleanor. 
 " Matilda, you might certainly venture to shew your face 
 if mine were under such an eclipse ; but I fear you must 
 wait till then." 
 
 " I shall consult my friends about that," answered 
 Matilda in a lively tone ; " perhaps there may be room 
 enough in the world for both < thee and me.' But seri-
 
 230 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ously, Eleanor, you have taken out a special licence for 
 your tongue of late to say the most conceited things I 
 ever heard. I begin to apprehend you may at last be 
 like poor old Lord Danvers, who fancied he was so 
 transcendently handsome that he must keep out of sight, 
 and actually shut himself up in the house, with a cover- 
 ed walk in his garden to exercise in, that he might not 
 turn everybody's head." 
 
 " No, no !" said Eleanor laughing. " I really do 
 sometimes feel ugly, Matilda after getting up early 
 in the morning for a journey or after sitting up all 
 night at a ball or riding out in a cold frosty day 
 without my veil ; I have been quite out of countenance 
 when I saw myself, and it was the most strange uncom- 
 fortable sensation in the world. How I do pity ugly 
 people I But here we are in the green-house, and now 
 for your inaugural lecture on botany. What is the Latin 
 designation of nine syllables at least, for this little plant 
 next the door ?" 
 
 " It is nothing more rare than tobacco, which is un- 
 lucky for me, as I lose the opportunity of being grand 
 and pedantic with a long name," replied Matilda. " This 
 is the largest plant of the kind I ever observed." 
 
 " Lady Amelia Douglas always grows her own cigars," 
 said a gentleman, turning with an expression of humour- 
 ous gravity to Eleanor. 
 
 " Mr Grant!!" she exclaimed, giving a sudden start 
 of surprise and pleasure. " You always appear when 
 one least expects, and I had understood for certain that 
 you were now smoking cigars at Grand Cairo." 
 
 " So I was, and have this instant returned ; indeed 
 my appearance here is quite as much an agreeable sur- 
 prise to Lady Amelia as to you, but I heard by the 
 merest accident of her fete, and determined at once to
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 231 
 
 afford my respected relative all the support and patronage 
 she merits. What a splendid conservatory this is, con- 
 taining all that is most to be admired in the world I" 
 continued Mr Grant, with a sly glance at Eleanor. 
 " One might live a hundred years, like an aloe, and 
 see nothing so beautiful again." 
 
 " Yes," replied Eleanor, " there are some remarkably 
 fine Coxcombs flourishing near me." 
 
 ' ' I suppose they have nothing better to do ; and really 
 the atmosphere is so excessively heated here, that I shall 
 very soon begin to grow myself," answered Mr Grant ; 
 " we have nothing half so oppressive in Egypt." 
 
 " Ah ! do tell me all about Egypt," exclaimed Eleanor 
 eagerly. 
 
 " A most comprehensive question indeed," said Mr 
 Grant, assuming a look of grave reflection. " Shall I 
 begin with the language, antiquities, dress, habits, and 
 manners of the people, or with a dissertation on their 
 religion and government ?" 
 
 " Spare me all these till I see you in the press and 
 speedily to be published ; for, of course, the importunity 
 of friends will soon produce the usual effect, and bring 
 out your ' Personal Narrative,' or your ' Rough Notes,' 
 in three volumes octavo. I shall read them then," an- 
 swered Eleanor ; " but I really have a great curiosity at 
 present to hear something extraordinary. How it would 
 enliven society if now and then every person were called 
 on to come forward and describe the most wonderful 
 thing he has ever seen the most incredible fact that he 
 is willing to stake his veracity upon : I do so greatly 
 enjoy a little touch of the marvellous, which reminds 
 me that I am dying to hear about the magicians in 
 Egypt, of whom such wonders are related by modern 
 tourists. Is it actually true that they can produce in an
 
 232 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 instant the representation of any person you choose to 
 name, and exhibit what they are about at the moment?" 
 
 " If that had been the case,, I should certainly have 
 had the pleasure of seeing you at Grand Cairo often," 
 replied Mr Grant; " that would have been quite a suffi- 
 cient inducement to make me study the black art, which 
 is really practised there as a profession, and taught as a 
 science." 
 
 " How very useful !" exclaimed Eleanor. " I wish 
 you had learned enough to produce before me at this 
 moment Sir Alfred Douglas, the hero of the day, for I 
 am watching to gain the most distant glimpse of his 
 shoe-tie, but he really seems to have adopted invisibility 
 this morning." 
 
 " Do you know him by sight ;" asked Mr Grant, " or 
 do you expect to recognise him by inspiration ?" 
 
 " I have it upon the most unquestionable authority, 
 from his mother, that he is, without partiality, the 
 handsomest man of the age ; so of course we could not 
 fail to distinguish him at once," replied Eleanor. " Lady 
 Amelia seemed to say, that even his very shadow has 
 something superhuman about it I" 
 
 " There he is then, I protest ! within a yard or two," 
 said Mr Grant. 
 
 " Where, where !" exclaimed Eleanor eagerly. 
 
 " Don't you see that Adonis in a green coat standing 
 near the Cape heath ?" said Mr Grant ; " he precisely 
 realizes my idea of a e mamma's prodigy.' " 
 
 " What ! that tall overgrown youth with his hair like 
 a door mat ! Pshaw ! Mr Grant, you always like to 
 tease me ; I was in hopes you would have learned better 
 manners abroad ; Sir Alfred Douglas is the very model 
 of perfection, or I shall never believe common report 
 again."
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 233 
 
 Matilda being completely hors du combat in conver- 
 sation, as Eleanor never introduced her to any one, felt 
 more at leisure than her cousin to notice all that was 
 passing; and for some time she had observed two gen- 
 tlemen in deep conversation on a neighbouring bench, 
 one of whom was seated with his back to her; but at 
 the mention of Sir Alfred Douglas, he suddenly turned 
 round with his brows knit into a look of scornful atten- 
 tion, while he listened to the lively nonsense of Eleanor's 
 remarks. There was something so very dignified and 
 impressive in his features and expression, that he at once 
 attracted the whole observation of Matilda Howard, 
 who had a peculiar talent for discriminating character, 
 and was always delighted when any uncommon trait of 
 manner or appearance promised to exercise her penetra- 
 tion, and to call for a more than usual exertion of her 
 powers. Sir Alfred Douglas, for so she at once guessed 
 him to be, looked considerably older than she had anti- 
 cipated. The manly contour of his figure, and the air 
 of deep reflection that might be traced in his handsome 
 countenance, would have led her to conclude that he 
 must have long mingled in society, which he seemed so 
 calculated to adorn. His clear black eyes were oversha- 
 dowed by thick clusters of raven hair, and his high 
 majestic forehead wore an expression of deep thought, 
 which suited well with the grave and almost haughty 
 aspect of his countenance. His whole manner and ap- 
 pearance were noble and commanding, free from the 
 petty littleness and vanity of affectation, but apparently 
 conscious that he wanted no adventitious lustre to add 
 to the native dignity and grace of his appearance. It 
 was evident that his conversation was of engrossing in- 
 terest to the gentleman seated beside him, whose plain 
 and diminutive figure might have made Matilda ready
 
 234 MODERX ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 to fancy that he had been purposely chosen as a foil to 
 the striking and majestic form which ri vetted her atten- 
 tion, and which would have served as the model of an 
 Apollo. 
 
 Meanwhile a number of gentlemen had grouped them- 
 selves round their party, and Eleanor seeming utterly 
 to forget Matilda's presence, no longer paid her cousin 
 the most transient attention, but continued to support a 
 lively dialogue with the surrounding beaux, which soon 
 took an exceedingly satirical turn. Not a curl or flounce 
 in the room escaped her lash; and when Matilda re- 
 membered how very unobservant Eleanor had appeared 
 amidst the beautiful scenes of nature which they bad 
 been so recently viewing, she could not but contrast it 
 with the acuteness of her perceptions now, when the 
 minutest trifles were remarked with a microscopic glance ; 
 and our heroine wondered that the one should excite so 
 much more interest than the other. 
 
 " The lady in black velvet has certainly been dressed 
 by an undertaker. Her bonnet has so many plumes, 
 it will soon take flight altogether," said Eleanor, 
 glancing towards a respectable-looking chaperon who 
 stood near. "Poor little Charlotte Clifford, with her 
 scarlet dress and enormous white feathers, reminds me 
 so vividly of a shuttlecock, that it is fortunate for her 
 we are not armed with battledores. How Miss Mon- 
 tague is loaded with millinery to-day ! her bonnet is like 
 the epergne for a dinner-table, it supports such a pyra- 
 mid of flowers a perfect garden of roses ! Do, some- 
 body pluck me a bouquet out of it, which would never 
 be missed." 
 
 " Your tongue might almost be sharp enough to cut 
 it," whispered Matilda, gently. " Dear Eleanor, they 
 will certainly overhear you, so pray be cautious. '
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 235 
 
 " If it would but teach them better taste another time, 
 I have no objection. People who cannot dress them- 
 selves, ought to be voted incompetent to manage their 
 own affairs, and put into the hands of a jury of millin- 
 ers," replied Eleanor, turning hastily again to her circle 
 of admirers. " Pray, observe that Arcadian-looking 
 couple with countenances so prodigiously sentimental, 
 and the girl with a black and gold dress, like a chimney- 
 sweeper's on May- day. Her companion has evidently 
 gone mad in white satin, she is such a grotesque-looking 
 figure, and her long white veil, flowing all on one side, is 
 like a cascade. I wish Lady Amelia had stationed me 
 at the door, with full powers to turn back such of her 
 guests as were unfit to be seen, and I should soon have 
 thinned her party down to a more moderate size, by re- 
 jecting all candidates for admission who were too fine, 
 or too shabby, or too tall, or too short, or too fat, or 
 who had red hair, or red hands, or red eyes, or any thing 
 in their appearance that it bores one to see. I was born 
 with an antipathy to ugly people, and should really like 
 to blackball them out of society." 
 
 " What would you appoint as the regulation standard 
 of beauty?" asked Captain Foley of the Lancers, "be- 
 cause if nothing be admissible that comes short of your 
 own perfection, the party would be very limited indeed." 
 
 " I shall certainly keep a place for you, to reward 
 such discrimination," replied Eleanor ; " but there are 
 really some oddities here, on whom it would be worth 
 while to settle an annuity, as long as they will keep out 
 of sight. Poor old Sir Philip, for instance the late Sir 
 Philip, as I always call him, for he must have been dead, 
 and buried, and dug up again. Do you see him now, 
 tripping past with an agonizingly tight shoe drawn over 
 his gouty foot, as active as a parched pea, and making
 
 236 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 such delightfully antiquated bows to Charlotte Clifford, 
 whom he is by way of admiring! But let me show how 
 he reads his newspaper at breakfast, eating all the time, 
 and trying to do without spectacles." 
 
 " Lady Barnard is opposite," whispered Matilda, has- 
 tily. 
 
 "Yes! but so deaf she cannot hear a word. How 
 I hate all your caution and circumspection, Matilda. 
 Do you not know that the fairy who presided at my 
 birth forgot to gift me with any of these shabby little 
 virtues ?" 
 
 " Still, I am almost sorry to acknowledge your mimi- 
 cry is so excellent that no one could mistake whom you 
 meant to represent. Be prudent, Eleanor, for once, 
 though it is beneath you in general. I see Lady Bar- 
 nard pointing us out at this moment to Sir Philip. Pray 
 turn the subject to any thing else. Look what a beau- 
 tiful cactus is growing near us !" 
 
 " The most valuable plants seem always the ugliest, 
 and it is really no better than a collection of cucumbers 
 awkwardly stuck together with pins. I never saw any 
 thing less to be admired. But a propos of awkwardness, 
 who can that strange-looking, little man be, standing 
 near us? what long helpless arms, and still more help- 
 less hands! his dancing master should be put in the 
 pillory, if he ever had one ; and as for his hair, I wish 
 we had it to stuff our dining-room sofa." 
 
 " I think he is speaking to Sir Alfred Douglas," in- 
 terrupted Matilda, anxious to divert the current of her 
 cousin's animadversions; " at least the gentleman looks 
 as papa described him to us, ' dismal and gentleman- 
 like/" 
 
 H So he is," exclaimed Eleanor, eagerly, " the most 
 aristocratic looking person, without exception, that I
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 237 
 
 ever saw ! he appears quite like a hero of romance, and 
 really the pair together remind one of Beauty and the 
 Beast ? How very conceited it is to select such a friend, 
 that every body may make the remark, which of course 
 they must. I wish you were a better foil for me., Ma- 
 tilda." 
 
 "Thank you ! that is quite a concession," replied her 
 cousin smiling ; " you are getting too complimentary, 
 Eleanor." 
 
 " Every one who comes near you must be a foil inevit- 
 ably," whispered Captain Foley of the Lancers, in an 
 under tone, not meant for Matilda's ear ; " but with re- 
 spect to Sir Alfred, I really do not think he is so very a 
 
 " Superior !" added Eleanor, with sly emphasis; "but 
 I was comparing him to no one except his red -haired 
 friend, who must be, I think, one of the red Indians 
 newly caught, and not much accustomed to clothes, he 
 wears them so awkwardly perhaps he is ' The last of 
 the Mohicans.' Can any body tell me who that is, and 
 he shall be handsomely rewarded ?" 
 
 Matilda tried eagerly to stop the current of Eleanor's 
 remarks, by pointing out that the victim of her criticisms 
 was actually within hearing, and colouring with embar- 
 rassment, but she felt so intoxicated by the animated 
 laughter of all the gentlemen, and more particularly by 
 the grave and observant attention of the handsome 
 stranger, that these remonstrances only added zest to all 
 she said. Meantime, the object of her ridicule, in making 
 an effort to escape beyond reach of observation, started 
 up, but on attempting hastily to glide past the tittering 
 group, he struck his arm against a splendid scarlet heath, 
 which was instantly precipitated to the ground, and its 
 brilliant blossoms scattered in every direction. Matilda
 
 238 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 instinctively started forward with a vain attempt to save 
 it, and eagerly assisted the unfortunate author of this 
 unforeseen calamity to raise the prostrate plant, and to 
 gather the broken fragments of the flower-pot. At this 
 moment Lady Amelia Douglas advanced with smiling 
 cordiality to where Lady Barnard remained in silent 
 weariness, gazing at a scene which it was impossible for 
 her to enjoy, and longing to retire when the whole gay 
 pageant should be ended, and when she might again have 
 Matilda's consoling attentions, which even now she was 
 half angry to find remitted. 
 
 " Where are my two young beauties?" exclaimed Lady 
 Amelia. " I long to introduce Sir Alfred to them both. 
 But what is the matter here ? you have met with a catas- 
 trophe, Miss Howard." 
 
 " It was certainly very unfortunate, but the stem is 
 not injured, I believe," replied Matilda, anxiously exa- 
 mining the plant. " I am sorry to say that there are 
 some sad fractures and contusions among the branches, 
 which will make amputation necessary you see upon 
 this side." 
 
 " Allow me to perform the operation, then," said Sir 
 Alfred Douglas, approaching with a peculiar degree of 
 grace and animation. " Perhaps Miss Howard will do 
 my friend Leicester the honour to wear this trophy of 
 his achievement." 
 
 As Sir Alfred Douglas presented Matilda with a bril- 
 liant cluster of scarlet blossoms, a smile glittered for the 
 moment in his dark eye, and gleamed like sunshine over 
 his handsome countenance, but he instantly relapsed into 
 the grave and almost stern expression which his features 
 usually wore. A lovely blush glowed upon the young 
 and beautiful face of our heroine, as she looked up with 
 sudden surprise at this unexpected action of Sir Alfred's,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 239 
 
 and as she accepted the offered flower with modest grace, 
 the long silken fringes which shadowed her brilliant eyes 
 could not entirely conceal the gratification which she 
 felt, though a sensation of embarrassment at the moment 
 deprived her of utterance, and left all she felt to be 
 read in her countenance. 
 
 " Do let me have a cutting from that exquisite heath 
 also !" exclaimed Eleanor, starting forward. " I doat 
 upon flowers, so pray give me this beautiful branch to 
 enliven my bouquet." 
 
 Sir Alfred Douglas did not appear conscious that these 
 words were addressed to himself, but silently transferring 
 his pruning-knife to Mr Grant, who eagerly seized it, he 
 strolled off in another direction, without casting a glance 
 towards Eleanor's supplicating attitude, whose whole ex- 
 pression instantly changed to^a look of anger and mor- 
 tification, when her eye followed his retreating figure till 
 he disappeared into a distant grove of trees. 
 
 " Might I be permitted to present Miss Fitz-Patrick 
 with this little sprig ?" said Mr Leicester, in the softest 
 tones of a peculiarly pleasing voice. " I think that in a 
 certain fairy tale with which we seem all familiar, it would 
 have been my privilege to present the beautiful heroine 
 with a flower, and to have been immediately afterwards 
 transformed into a perfect Adonis." 
 
 Eleanor was covered with confusion to find that she 
 had been overheard, and felt for the first time in her life 
 at a loss for an answer. 
 
 " That transformation," she stammered out at last, 
 " was, I have no doubt, the mere effect of an agreeable 
 manner, as one would never think of criticising those 
 they like." 
 
 " You are not perhaps aware, that in the Mediter- 
 ranean fleet a medal is awarded every year to the ugliest
 
 240 MODEBX ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 person there, Miss Fitz-Patrick, and the competition for 
 that prize is as keen as for any other distinction," con- 
 tinued Mr Leicester, in a tone of good-humoured rail- 
 lery, "I had very nearly become a candidate myself, 
 when Sir Alfred and I were last in that direction, and 
 perhaps if you will warrant complete success I may ven- 
 ture it yet." 
 
 " No ! no !" replied Eleanor, trying to laugh off the 
 awkwardness of her situation. " I rather begin to sus- 
 pect you are like Wilkes, who boasted that a hand- 
 some man never had above ten minutes the start of 
 him in any person's estimation ; so let this beautiful 
 sprig of heath serve as an olive branch between us, 
 and pray forget all that you ought not to have heard to- 
 day." 
 
 The sound of a gong having summoned all the party 
 to a dejeune in the tents, Mr Leicester offered his arm to 
 Matilda, who found herself seated, some minutes after- 
 wards, between him and Sir Alfred Douglas. The con- 
 versation which ensued was animated and interesting to 
 such a degree, that time flew rapidly past, unnoticed by 
 any one of the trio, till at length Eleanor hastily sum- 
 moned Matilda to follow, as Lady Barnard's carriage was 
 waiting, and their chaperon herself was in agonies of 
 weariness, impatient to get home. 
 
 " What a tiresome day we have had !" exclaimed 
 Eleanor, throwing herself peevishly back in the carriage. 
 " I always hate morning parties, they are so very long 
 and tedious!" 
 
 " Do you think so !" exclaimed her astonished auditor. 
 " I never enjoyed any thing so much in my life ! the 
 music, the plants, and the people, were all delightful." 
 
 " That is because you know nothing better," replied 
 Eleanor sharply. " I observed you talking prodigiously
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 241 
 
 to Mr Leicester, and that sublime-looking personage Sir 
 Alfred Douglas, who seems the most proud, arrogant, 
 self-sufficient, and disagreeable of human beings. He 
 looks as if his very shadow durst not follow him. I really 
 pitied you for being placed near such a statue, though I 
 guess your conversation was like the handle of a jug, 
 all on one side." 
 
 " I found no cause to regret my seat. Both Sir Al- 
 fred and his friend seem to be very agreeable; and 
 though I took little part in the conversation myself, I 
 have seldom heard one better supported." 
 
 " Matilda, all your geese are swans/' interrupted 
 Eleanor, angrily; "you praise everybody and every- 
 thing, which is the most tiresome fault a person can 
 have. I dare say you admire Sir Alfred's frown, and 
 Mr Leicester's red hair." 
 
 " You know Queen Mary wore a red wig, and no one 
 was more admired in her day," said Matilda, in a jocular 
 tone. 
 
 " It does not signify what Queen Mary did, for peo- 
 ple were no judges of beauty so long ago," replied Elea- 
 nor, conceitedly. " I have never seen a picture of her 
 yet that I could wish to resemble. How astonished Cap- 
 tain Foley was, to hear that I had never sat to Colvin 
 Smith yet ! but I really must speak to mamma about it 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " Well ! I would rather have people surprised that 
 my picture was not taken, than wondering why it was, 
 which might probably be the case, if I did sit." 
 
 " Very possibly !" replied Eleanor, laughing. " You 
 know, Matilda, that young ladies are divided into only 
 two classes in the whole world those who are admired, 
 and those who are not admired ; so let us each find out 
 for ourselves which we belong to."
 
 24)2 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Are we the best judges?" asked Matilda ; " or shall 
 we summon a jury of our equals?" 
 
 " That could not be found, unless the Muses and the 
 Graces were all revived."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 24-3 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The broad unfeeling mirth that folly wears, 
 Less pleases far than virtue's very tears. 
 
 " BARBAKA," said Sir Francis one day, with assumed 
 gravity, when he and Lady Howard were calling at Ash- 
 grove " Barbara, I do not think our friend Miss Rachel 
 Stodart has published any thing new lately. I fear she 
 is growing lazy at her pen." 
 
 " That would be a subject of sincere lamentation to 
 many," replied Miss Neville, bridling; " and it would be 
 well for some people if they studied her works more than 
 they do." 
 
 " I am waiting for the complete edition, with her por- 
 trait as a frontispiece, which is sure to come out as soon 
 as she wipes her pen for good. But, Barbara, I have 
 been thinking whether Miss Rachel Stodart could pos- 
 sibly be prevailed on to show herself, for one night 
 only, and by particular desire, at Maria's conversazione 
 next Tuesday. We are sadly in want of a new lion. 
 Lady Jennings' two novels are beginning to be forgotten, 
 and nobody will read Mrs Dawson's poetry any longer ; 
 but I could answer for your friend having a run for the 
 evening, with all the help towards celebrity that we 
 could give her!" 
 
 " Miss Rachel Stodart only goes into society where 
 she is sure of being appreciated," answered Miss Neville, 
 angrily.
 
 244 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Well, could any thing shew a higher estimate of 
 her merits than my proposal?" continued Sir Francis, 
 with a look of perfect naivete. " Sir Colin Fletcher, I 
 could depend upon for shewing about Miss Rachel the 
 whole evening. By the way, Maria, his admiration of 
 notoriety increases every hour. I have long told you, 
 that the ' History of Sir Colin Fletcher's Arm' would be 
 a most diverting narrative, and I really mean to write 
 and publish it myself. Whatever lady in company is 
 most conspicuous for anything, is sure to engross his 
 whole attention. Yesterday I found him escorting the 
 good Lady Ashton round all our charitable institutions; 
 before dinner he made a sudden rush to hand Madame 
 Cantadini, the opera singer, down stairs ; during the even- 
 ing I saw him in profound discourse with Lady Jennings ; 
 and my last glimpse of our friend was, handing Mrs 
 Sturton to her carriage, whom not a single lady in the 
 room would speak to. The poor arm goes through great 
 vicissitudes; but whenever I see any person leaning on 
 it, I know she must be worth looking at, as being the 
 best or the worst character in company ; and in one of 
 these capacities, Barbara, we could palm off your friend 
 upon him for an hour or two, if she will only honour 
 Maria on Tuesday night, and give us her countenance." 
 
 "As Miss Rachel Stodart's books have never been 
 admitted into my house, it is scarcely necessary to re- 
 mark that I am by no means desirous to see herself," 
 interrupted Lady Howard, angrily. " You are aware, 
 Sir Francis, that I consider it my privilege to invite my 
 own company." 
 
 " And Miss Rachel Stodart has always enjoyed the 
 power to choose hers also," added Miss Barbara, colour- 
 ing with irritation. 
 
 Sir Francis shrunk into the farthest corner of his arm-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 245 
 
 chair, and put up his two hands as a screen, with the 
 half-frightened look of a mischievous school-boy, who 
 expects a shower of snow-balls, in return for a volley 
 from himself; and he stole a woful glance at Lady Olivia 
 for sympathy, who intended to inflict a reproachful look, 
 but it broke off into an irresistible smile, when she saw 
 the irritated aspect of her two sisters-in-law, who eyed 
 each other with mutual indignation. 
 
 " Does Miss Stodart read much?" continued Sir Fran- 
 cis, with reviving audacity, " or does she trust entirely 
 to the fertility of her own mind ?" 
 
 Miss Neville was too angry to reply immediately, and 
 Lady Olivia hastily anticipated the storm that seemed 
 ready to explode, by changing the subject of discus- 
 sion. 
 
 " Pray, Sir Francis," said she hurriedly, " did you call 
 at Rankin's, as I requested, to inquire about the patent 
 lamps for my dining-room ?" 
 
 " Have you not enough of new lights in the house 
 already?" answered Sir Francis, dryly; " I am sure some 
 of them are very easily set fire to, and burn fiercely 
 enough for the time ! So you think, Barbara, there is no 
 chance of Miss Stodart shining as a star in our constel- 
 lation next Tuesday ?" 
 
 " Sir Francis ! it is full time for us to be going," cried 
 Lady Howard angrily, rising. " You really seem to have 
 a slight touch of delirium this morning." 
 
 " I drove Maria here in my curricle, but you see she 
 means to take the reins in going back," said Sir Francis, 
 shaking hands with Lady Olivia, as he left the room. 
 " We shall have a stormy drive homewards ! Good bye, 
 Barbara ; the next time you see Frank Harvey, give him 
 my best regards ; he was one of the pleasantest fellows 
 on earth ; and if he wants ' a mount ' any day, he has
 
 246 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 only to ask me, which is more than I would say to most 
 men. It is too bad of you to make such a monopoly 
 of my old friend as you do ; but he was always quite a 
 lady's man, and I only hope you mean to take him alto- 
 gether. I can scarcely fancy Frank, with that grave 
 face he has assumed lately, calling himself ' the happiest 
 of men.'" 
 
 Lady Amelia Douglas became so charmed with the 
 brilliant eclat of her first party, that she announced an 
 intention to continue them in succession during summer; 
 and as they were to take place every Saturday afternoon, 
 Matilda obtained permission to accompany Eleanor on 
 several occasions, till at length the two young and beau- 
 tiful cousins were objects of universal admiration, and of 
 continual comparison. 
 
 Eleanor never appeared at the Priory for an hour 
 without being instantly beset by crowds of eager candi- 
 dates for her notice, and she generally contrived to find 
 amusement and attention for them all. Her spirits were 
 indeed almost overpoweringly animated; but she was 
 listened to with delighted interest, and with evident ad- 
 miration by all Avho looked upon a countenance so light- 
 ed up with youth and conscious beauty. No one could 
 rival Eleanor in the humourous tone with which she de- 
 scribed every event of the day ; she repeated with almost 
 dramatic effect any amusing scenes she witnessed ; with 
 ready tact she detected all the weak points in every cha- 
 racter, and could draw forth an unconscious display of 
 their peculiarities with irresistible humour ; and what- 
 ever might be the news or gossip in circulation at the 
 time, she threw in so many droll observations upon it, 
 and related what she heard with so many apparently 
 accidental touches of humour, and with a naivete so well- 
 assumed, that even the serious and grave Mr Leicester
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. '24:7 
 
 often laughed where he could not perfectly approve. Life 
 itself seemed in her estimation a merry farce, where she 
 might laugh off every vexation ; and as for weeping, she 
 often said that people called this earth a vale of tears, but, 
 for her own part, she could say like Voltaire, " apres 
 tout c'est un tnonde passable." She had been very agree- 
 ably surprised in the pleasures of existence, and thought 
 it was people's own fault who could not enjoy them- 
 selves in it. " One must get old to be sure," added she, 
 " but I shall learn to knit and play at whist before then, 
 and if the case be very desperate, I may perhaps take 
 snuff, and go a dowagering airing daily within sight of 
 the Portobello turnpike." 
 
 Those who felt wearied by the glare of a character like 
 that of Eleanor, which seemed " by no shadow made 
 tender," gladly found a quiet refuge with Matilda How- 
 ard, whose modest diffidence of manner could not entirely 
 conceal the mild lustre of a cultivated mind, and whose 
 cheerfulness appeared, like sunshine, to emanate from 
 inexhaustible though invisible resources. The sensibility 
 of her expression at once bespoke confidence from all who 
 approached her, and the delicacy of tact which might be 
 observed in all she said, evinced a continual deference 
 to the feelings of every one with whom she associated. 
 Few people thought Matilda so brilliantly lively or talent- 
 ed on first acquaintance as they afterwards discovered 
 her to be, and the longer she was known the more her 
 superior qualities were discerned and appreciated. But 
 Eleanor's mind was like a shop in Cranbourn Alley, with 
 all that she possessed ostentatiously displayed in the 
 window, and it often required her utmost address to 
 conceal the scantiness of her stores. If the family cir- 
 cles of both had been a criterion by which they were 
 to be appreciated, no doubt would have remained in
 
 248 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 the mind of a single individual that Matilda had far 
 more companionable and entertaining qualities; her 
 whole powers of conversation were put forth at home, 
 and on many occasions the bright sallies of Eleanor's 
 vivacity were borrowed from lively perceptions and gay 
 remarks with which Miss Howard had enlivened Lady 
 Barnard, or amused her father the evening before. Ma- 
 tilda's quick discrimination of character and motives had 
 been denied to her more volatile cousin, and she was often 
 startled at the hardihood with which Eleanor adopted as 
 her own observations,, and promulgated for the amusement 
 of others, little traits and incidents which she had merely 
 pointed out in the confidence of their private intercourse. 
 No instance of what was amiable in others escaped the 
 ready eye of Matilda, who had the same pleasure in 
 contemplating a well-regulated character as connoisseurs 
 in painting have in viewing the beauties of a finely- touch- 
 ed picture; but, on the contrary, Eleanor only cared to 
 watch for defects, and listened with a look of wearied 
 incredulity when Matilda traced to self-denial or gene- 
 rosity some of those trifling actions which are all that the 
 ordinary intercourse of society permits us to observe, by 
 which may be appreciated the worth or goodness of 
 those with whom we associate. In defending an absent 
 friend in disproving an ill-natured story in attending 
 to a neglected acquaintance in turning off a laugh from 
 the blunders of another even in relinquishing a seat, or 
 in returning a salutation, Matilda had been taught to be- 
 lieve she might discover the germ of a disposition which, 
 if circumstances required it, could carry that moral courage 
 to the highest efforts ; and which, on such trifling occa- 
 sions, as well as in the greatest emergency, appears abso- 
 lutely essential to exemplify the Christian character. 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick considered herself the most fortunate
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 249 
 
 of mothers. She complained on some occasions that 
 Eleanor was dreadfully wilful about dressing according 
 to her own very peculiar taste, and accepting or refusing 
 parties at the instigation of every unaccountable whim ; 
 and once or twice, in a fit of transient irritation, she 
 wished her daughter was more like " that good excellent 
 creature Matilda Howard;" but it was with no permanent 
 consciousness of any want in Eleanor, as few circum- 
 stances had yet occurred to try her heart and under- 
 standing, or to betray that the golden fruit which shone 
 in colouring so attractive concealed nothing better than 
 ashes. It is said that women have a fibre more in 
 their hearts than men, and a cell less in their brains ; 
 but the heart of Eleanor Fitz-Patrick was not so consti- 
 tuted, for though she professed great sensibility, and was 
 always in a state of either ecstacy or torture, her feelings 
 could only vibrate to one touch, and that was the un- 
 changeable selfishness which prevailed alike in her head 
 and heart, occupying and engrossing them both with 
 unlimited sway. Lady Howard one day remarked, that 
 if Eleanor had been like the epicure who first discovered 
 the best cut in a shoulder of mutton, she would have 
 concealed it, like him, till her death-bed ; and that if 
 she could cause the sun to shine only on herself, she would 
 gladly consign every one else to darkness, that they 
 might be solely occupied in contemplating her superior 
 good fortune. 
 
 When Eleanor Fitz-Patrick wished particularly to fas- 
 cinate any one of her numerous admirers, she frequently 
 got up an imaginary quarrel with him, which she sup- 
 ported with persevering animation and pretended vindic- 
 tiveness for a whole evening, and sometimes even re- 
 newed it with fresh vigour on several successive occa- 
 sions, which was an easy way, in her experience, to sup-
 
 250 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ply any want of wit, wisdom, facts, or opinions, such as 
 are usually supposed to be necessary ingredients in an 
 entertaining conversation. 
 
 " Mr Grant," said she one evening at Lady Mon- 
 tague's quadrille party, " I never mean to speak to you 
 again !" 
 
 " Indeed !" exclaimed he, putting on a suitable start of 
 alarm. " Pray retract your sentence or I shall die." 
 
 " No ! never while I live," replied Eleanor, ominously 
 shaking her head, " or at least not for a week." 
 
 " Ah ! a week is a lifetime indeed to be under your 
 displeasure, and I shall pine away to a shadow before 
 then," said Mr Grant, trying to look melancholy. " Sure- 
 ly, Miss Fitz-Patrick, no culprit in this country can be 
 condemned to what is worse than death without being 
 told his crime, and I demand in justice to hear your ac- 
 cusation." 
 
 ' Why, it is almost incredible ' but you actually rode 
 past our carriage yesterday without bowing to me, or 
 even glancing in our direction." 
 " But did I see you ?" 
 
 " That is nothing to the purpose ; a gentleman should 
 have all his eyes about him continually, and observe the 
 very shadow of one's shoe-tie ; you will find that I never 
 allow it to be ' cut and come again' with my friends." 
 
 " Is there no hope of pardon ? perhaps I could prove 
 an alibi. At what hour did the offence take place ?"' 
 
 " Precisely ten minntes past three, when we were stop- 
 ping at Blackwood's." 
 
 " Then by the merest good fortune I happen to recol- 
 lect, that exactly at the moment you mention I was eating 
 a basin of soup at Barry's." 
 
 " Remember, Mr Grant, this is a court-martial, and 
 you are upon your oath."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 251 
 
 " True, but I am certain the clock struck three as I 
 entered the hotel, and it invariably takes me twenty mi- 
 nutes to finish my soup, finding fault, scolding the waiter, 
 and all other stoppages included." 
 
 " How frightful it is to see the want of veracity in 
 this world, Mr Grant ! I might have been doubtful as 
 to your identity, since I only saw the crown of your hat, 
 but I am never mistaken in a horse, and I am positive 
 it was your bay hunter Scatterbrain. I remember you 
 looked in passing as much as to say, ' this is too cold a 
 morning for my horse and me to be standing and talking 
 nonsense at a carriage window, so I shall turn another 
 way and see nobody." 
 
 " There must be prodigious expression in the back of 
 my hat, which seems to have been, by your confession, 
 all that could be visible ; or was it my horse which ap- 
 peared to be thinking what never could have entered 
 my own head ?" 
 
 " You need not deny it, for I have an instinctive know- 
 ledge of people's thoughts, and the only possible excuse 
 for you is, that we were in a new britschka, with the 
 head up and my veil down ; but still it was very atro- 
 cious, and not to be forgiven." 
 
 " Then I suppose you will positively refuse to dance 
 the next quadrille with me ?" said Mr Grant, offering his 
 arm with the air of one who felt tolerably sure of being 
 accepted. " "Will you do me the honour ?" 
 
 " Not for the world !" replied Eleanor, rising to ac- 
 company him ; " at the same time you know I said no- 
 thing about never dancing with you again." 
 
 " Very true ; but we are to go through the quadrille 
 in solemn silence of course ; yet I am not certain that 
 either of us could do so, if our lives depended on it." 
 
 f ' Speak for yourself, Mr Grant ; but as for me,
 
 252 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 you will find that I have ' un grand talent pour le si- 
 lence.' " 
 
 " It is the only talent on earth that I do not give you 
 credit for, and which I hope never to see you exercise ; 
 but there is one infallible receipt for making you talk 
 whenever I please." 
 
 " Impossible ! you might as well ask the sun to stand 
 still, as attempt to get a syllable from me, when it is my 
 whim for the moment to be silent. I am not like an 
 echo, always ready with an answer, Mr Grant." 
 
 " MissFitz-Patrick, what a remarkably ill-constructed, 
 awkward-looking animal your little grey Arabian is his 
 paces have so much of the riding-school air, he looks, 
 in fact, like one of the horses you see in toy-shops. What ! 
 no reply ? if you do not take fire at this, I may really 
 begin to despair. How unlucky that you did not secure 
 the graceful brown poney Miss Howard rides." 
 
 " Now, Mr Grant, how can you speak such absolute 
 nonsense ! the two horses are no more to be compared 
 
 than than their riders." 
 
 " You should have left that for me to say ; but I ad- 
 mire a little modest diffidence beyond measure, so you 
 were right to prompt me, in case the idea might possibly 
 not have occurred in time. Comparisons are always so 
 odious, that I could not have ventured to draw one at 
 all between you and your beautiful cousin." 
 
 " No ! nor between me and anybody else," said Elea- 
 nor, with a conceited laugh. " I would not resemble a 
 single living being that I ever beheld in my life for the 
 world." 
 
 " How very odd," replied Mr Grant, slyly, " knowing 
 how much you are considered to resemble Miss Barbara 
 Neville. I always fancied that you piqued yourself par- 
 ticularly on the likeness ; at least so she always says,"
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 258 
 
 " Mr Grant, if I recollect right, we are not on speak- 
 ing terms already, or that observation would have been 
 your coup de grace. Aunt Barbara is the very opposite 
 of me in every respect, and that is my own best pane- 
 gyric ; we are antipodes in appearance, dress, manners, 
 tastes, and opinions." 
 
 " Then I happen to know she particularly detests me, 
 so what is the natural inference that I may be permitted 
 to draw, Miss Fitz-Patrick?" 
 
 " To say the truth, that is the one only thing in which 
 she and I fully agree," replied Eleanor, maliciously. 
 " You know there are exceptions to every rule, Mr 
 Grant ; and I recollect spending the only pleasant hour 
 we ever enjoyed together, during our joint lives, in 
 abusing you, for the most conceited, ridiculous, odd, 
 eccentric, care-for-nobody " 
 
 " Stop there ! I plead guilty to the first four counts of 
 the indictment if you please but the last ! ! ! only say it 
 was Miss Neville's accusation that I may pardon her, 
 but from Miss Fitz-Patrick it would be intolerable. If 
 she chooses to say that I care for nobody else, it may be 
 allowed to pass, but to care for nobody in her society 
 
 ie Now, Mr Grant, let us begin to be silent," said 
 Eleanor, colouring and taking her place in the quadrille. 
 
 " How I do mourn to hear the music of that beautiful 
 opera distorted into a quadrille ! I shall really dance to 
 it with tears in my eyes." 
 
 " Can any music be too perfect for such dancing as 
 it is intended to accompany ?'' 
 
 11 Mr Grant ! what has come over you to-night ! am 
 I dancing with the ghost of Sir Charles Grandison ?" 
 
 " Happy man ! after seven volumes of misery and sus- 
 pense, he succeeded at last," said Mr Grant, laughing ;
 
 254 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " but I could not survive beyond a third volume, so pray 
 remember, Miss Fitz-Patrick, that as the poet says, 
 ' Nature's mightiest effort is, to wait.' " 
 
 " Yes ; and there is our vis a vis waiting for you at 
 this moment," interrupted Eleanor, hastily. " How 
 lucky that it is my good cousin Matilda, for any one else 
 in the world would set about a report that poor Mr 
 Grant's education had been so dreadfully neglected, he ac- 
 tually did not know the first (and only) set of quadrilles." 
 
 " Or rather let her say, that he forgot himself, and 
 every thing else, in the society of Miss Fitz-Patrick." 
 
 Life had hitherto been a scene of cloudless joy to 
 Eleanor ; but who can exist many years on earth with- 
 out experiencing that 
 
 " The spider's most attenuated thread 
 Is cord, is cable, to man's slender tie 
 Of earthly bliss it breaks at every freeze ?" 
 
 A blow was impending over her head, so distressing 
 and so unforeseen, that every remains of natural sensi- 
 bility which had not been smothered by a vain and 
 heartless education would have been called into affecting 
 exercise, and might yet have produced a salutary in- 
 fluence over her mind, had she not already become an 
 adept in postponing reflection, and in avoiding every 
 painful emotion till a more convenient season, for she 
 always maintained that when sorrow could be put to 
 sleep it was madness to awaken it. During one of 
 the gay parties aljresco at Douglas Priory, which were 
 arranged more to suit an Italian climate than the ca- 
 pricious elements of the north, an unexpected torrent 
 of rain fell with such sudden and impetuous violence, 
 that before any one could reach the nearest shelter the 
 whole party were completely drenched, and, amongst
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 255 
 
 numerous colds caught on the occasion, Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick was seized with a violent and dangerous inflam- 
 mation of the lungs. Powerful remedies were imme- 
 diately resorted to, but her disease long defied the skill of 
 several eminent physicians, and it was only after many 
 weeks of severe suffering that her most alarming symp- 
 toms in some degree abated. Lady Fitz Patrick had all 
 her life wished to be considered by her friends as one 
 whose health was in a state of interesting delicacy she 
 never could exactly name any complaint which affected 
 her constitution, because the truth was that she scarcely 
 knew what it was to be really ill, and no one imagined 
 that in her clear black eyes, and light elastic form, there 
 could lurk any cause for solicitude ; yet whenever Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick was at all out of humour, she left off a 
 portion of her rouge, and complained of severe head- 
 ache ; when a fit of indolence overtook her, she break- 
 fasted in bed ; and if she wished to gain any point with 
 Sir Richard, she usually adopted a pathetic tone of voice, 
 and observed that, in her precarious state of health, no 
 one could tell how soon it might be out of his power to 
 grant her what she wished ; indeed, when any little 
 vexation occurred to Lady Fitz-Patrick, she had a con- 
 stant habit of exclaiming that she wished herself in 
 another world, and would willingly die to be freed from 
 all the troubles of life, but she attached no particular 
 meaning or importance to the expression, except in as 
 much as it seemed to give additional strength and pathos 
 to the sentence ; for death had been generally present to 
 her thoughts merely as a painful termination of life of 
 all its occupations and enjoyments. If Sir Richard's 
 dinner failed to please him, or if the hairdresser did 
 not arrange her curls well, she fretted herself into a fever 
 about her trials; and when Lady Olivia occasionally
 
 256 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 suggested to her that few had so happy a lot, she 
 seldom acknowledged the fact, but undervalued the 
 annoyances of every one else, and exaggerated those 
 she encountered herself, till she had completely justified 
 herself in feeling the most miserable of human beings, 
 whenever she was pleased to consider herself so. 
 
 There cannot be a more correct estimate of people's 
 relative happiness than to ascertain what is looked upon 
 as their principal misery, so many of us believe that our 
 own particular vexation in life fully entitles us to consi- 
 der existence a burden, and death a certain relief from 
 some unutterable woe ; for next to the pleasure of being 
 envied, there is nothing more agreeable to nature than 
 to be pitied, or, in short, to be an object of notice 
 in any way. One lady is ready to die because her hus- 
 band is not promoted ; another, because she cannot rise 
 to the circle of society she aims at ; and a third, on ac- 
 count of her son refusing to marry the person she had 
 chosen, or her daughter not being so brilliantly esta- 
 blished as she expected ; and if such a person be reminded 
 of poor, suffering, bed-ridden fellow-creatures, who have 
 been enduring poverty and privation for years, with pious 
 submission and patience, she will say, assuming a look 
 of sensibility, that mental sufferings are much more diffi- 
 cult to bear than those of the body, and that probably 
 these unfortunate people having no powers of reflection, 
 feel nothing but the actual pain they endure, to which 
 the wonderful influence of habit has perhaps long since 
 inured them. Such had been often Lady Fitz-Patrick's 
 mode of reasoning ; but when long and trying sickness 
 came, with its dark train of suffering and depression, she 
 found by bitter experience what it was to be in the iron 
 grasp of a power which prostrated at once the energies 
 both of her mind and body. Impatiently did she long
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 257 
 
 to regain that unbroken health which she had once been 
 so ready to disown, and far from feeling desirous now 
 to counterfeit languor or weakness, she was the first to 
 flatter herself with having entirely recovered, and to 
 propose that her medical attendants should be dismissed 
 altogether, after which a considerable interval elapsed 
 before she renewed any complaint of ill health, so that, 
 to an unobservant eye, like Sir Richard's, she appeared 
 unusually well, and, to his great surprise and satisfaction, 
 she began from this time forward to profess the most 
 robust health, and to be rather piqued and irritated if 
 any inquiry more particular than a passing " How do 
 you do " was made into her progress towards convales- 
 cence. " I think none but the royal family are en- 
 titled to issue continual bulletins of their health," said 
 she one day in a tone of impatience. " Do forget that 
 I have been ill, for it is a tiresome subject, and always 
 makes me nervous. I nearly embraced Charlotte Clif- 
 ford to-day in a transport of gratitude, because she was 
 the first person for a month who forgot to put on a grave 
 face, and to ask me if I had entirely recovered." 
 
 Sir Richard Fitz-Patrick was in the middle of a late 
 breakfast one morning in Moray Place, when, to his 
 great astonishment, Lady Olivia Neville entered the 
 room, and silently drew in her chair beside him, with a 
 tremulousness of look and manner which were quite at 
 variance with the calmness and self-possession of her 
 usual appearance. Some minutes elapsed before she 
 could command her voice sufficiently to articulate, and 
 Sir Richard gazed in speechless surprise at her varying 
 colour and quivering lips, till at length she was enabled, 
 in a low and almost inaudible voice, to explain, that on 
 her arrival in town, a few minutes before, she had been 
 unexpectedly met by Lady Pita-Patrick's maid, who
 
 258 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 wished it to be known that some of her mistress's very 
 alarming symptoms had lately returned, and that if im- 
 mediate remedies were not instantly adopted, a confirmed 
 consumption might be the consequence. 
 
 " Impossible ! !" exclaimed Sir Richard. " Sophia told 
 me herself, this morning, that she had never felt so well 
 in her life as of late, and I am sure you will allow that 
 she is not the person to make light of a real illness, when 
 she so long rejoiced in the credit of an imaginary one." 
 
 " You do not perceive that while her indispositions 
 were trifling she wished to excite sympathy, but now that 
 Sophia is probably alarmed in earnest, she would gladly 
 convince herself and every one else that there is no cause 
 for apprehension," said Lady Olivia, anxiously. " But 
 believe me, dear Sir Richard, her case does require the 
 most immediate care, and I only trust we have not be- 
 come conscious of it too late." 
 
 " You are not usually such an alarmist, Olivia," re- 
 plied Sir Richard, incredulously, while his knife and fork 
 played an audible accompaniment to his words. " I 
 would not believe an abigail upon her oath, if the sub- 
 ject were of more importance than the colour of a ribbon. 
 Sophia's constitution is really admirable," continued he, 
 carefully cutting an additional slice of ham, " but she 
 was certainly disappointed at my not consenting to build 
 a new close carriage this season, as well as the britschka, 
 and I have observed her coughing occasionally since 
 then ; it will be very inconvenient, but I must certainly 
 indulge her whim rather than be bored in this way. 
 You know there is nothing in the world she likes better 
 than flirting with an illness." 
 
 " I am unwilling to shock or distress you, Sir Richard, 
 especially when so totally unprepared." said Lady Olivia, 
 in a tone of profound emotion ; " but Collins assures me
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 259 
 
 that her mistress had been spitting blood for some time 
 past." 
 
 Sir Richard's knife and fork dropped from his hand ; 
 he looked at Lady Olivia in silent amazement, and the 
 colour mounted to his forehead with agitation and sur- 
 prise. A moment afterwards he rang the bell violently, 
 and paced with rapid steps up and down the room. 
 
 " Send to Dr Mansfield instantly, and say I wish to 
 see him without delay," said he to the butler, who en- 
 tered in state with a relay of muffins; " and desire Mrs 
 Collins to come here." 
 
 The butler stared, bowed and withdrew, but not with- 
 out casting a lingering look behind, in order to catch, if 
 possible, the cause of his master's unwonted neglect of 
 breakfast and evident agitation, but not a sound reached 
 his ready ear, for Sir Richard maintained a gloomy un- 
 broken silence, and Lady Olivia respected his feelings 
 too much to think of interrupting it. 
 
 Several of Lady Fitz-Patrick's family had formerly 
 died of consumption, but confident hopes were entertain- 
 ed that she had long survived the age when it attacks 
 the constitution, though no period of life can be consider- 
 ed secure when that insidious disease is inherent in the 
 blood. The complaint which is called consumption in 
 youth merely changes its name to " decline" in more 
 advanced years, and it soon became painfully evident to 
 every one that her life was in imminent danger. She 
 alone closed her eyes to the real truth, and could scarcely 
 be prevailed on to allow that her health required any 
 unusual attendance, or that a physician of more than ordi- 
 nary skill should be consulted. When Dr Mansfield was 
 at last called in, he found reason to complain, as he had 
 often done before, that his patients undoubtedly mistook 
 him for an undertaker, as he was never summoned till
 
 260 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 all hope was at an end. In the case of Lady Fitz-Pa 
 trick he appeared far from being sanguine, though still 
 he did not desire her friends utterly to despair, provided 
 she could herself be prevailed upon to pay necessary 
 attention to his prescriptions, for he discovered at once 
 that the difficulty would lie there, as she seemed deter- 
 mined to shut her own eyes against every conviction of 
 danger, and she evidently thought that, as long as it could 
 be concealed from others, she might persuade herself it 
 had no actual existence. 
 
 " All I ask of you is, to make me well before Lady 
 Montague's concert, next month, Doctor, for I must hear 
 Eleanor perform her trio there, and nothing shall prevent 
 me from going," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, anxiously. 
 
 " I fear you must relinquish all evening dissipation for 
 this season, and confine yourself entirely to the house," 
 replied Dr Mansfield, gravely. " Your ladyship's case 
 requires very serious attention, and to avoid all society 
 and excitement." 
 
 " Impossible, Doctor ! I cannot live without them !" 
 exclaimed Lady Fitz-Patrick, indignantly. " Do you 
 think I could hybernate like an insect all winter in my 
 own drawing-room, and be buried alive here before I am 
 dead ? it is the most barbarous idea that ever was propos- 
 ed ; and you surely remember that none but the greatest 
 criminals are condemned to solitary confinement. I shall 
 be like one of the prisoners in Plato's cavern, with my 
 back to all the world, only watching the distant shadow 
 of what is passing, and wearied to death." 
 
 " Your own family and a few intimate friends are, of 
 course, excepted from my injunction," continued Dr 
 Mansfield. " With a domestic circle such as yours I 
 should imagine that nothing could be wanting to make 
 home agreeable."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 261 
 
 " Why really, Doctor, one would suppose you thought 
 me as delicate as Brummell, who caught cold from hav- 
 ing a damp stranger shown into his room. Sir Richard 
 must be all day at the club, for I never could consent to 
 detain him with his feet upon the fender, and a thermo- 
 meter in his hand, counting the degrees of heat; and 
 though Lady Olivia is more than kind, and tries to suit 
 herself to me as much as possible, still I am ashamed to 
 confess, there is no subject in the world upon which we 
 feel an equal interest; and since I am conscious of this, 
 though she does her best to conceal it, of course that 
 rather spoils conversation between us. Her goodness, 
 therefore, in coming to stay with me at present is not 
 quite such an advantage as you might imagine, for I am 
 still without any one in the house who is exactly fitted 
 to be my constant companion, and I must positively be 
 allowed to leave my door ajar for some of the world to 
 steal in at occasionally, and beguile the weariness of 
 staying at home." 
 
 " But," persisted the worthy and excellent Dr Mans- 
 field, " I hear in every house the most enthusiastic de- 
 scription of your accomplished and beautiful daughter, 
 whom I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing, and 
 from all that is said I think we may safely trust to her 
 numerous resources and lively spirits for bringing as 
 much cheerfulness into society as would be consistent 
 with the quietness and repose which are essential to 
 your recovery." 
 
 During Dr Mansfield's daily repeated visits from this 
 time, he invariably found Lady Fitz-Patrick attended 
 by a young lady of surpassing loveliness, and of such 
 gentle, attractive, and interesting manners, that he ceased 
 to wonder at so much being said of Miss Fitz -Patrick's 
 fascinations, and he took an early opportunity one day,
 
 262 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 during her temporary absence from the room, to express 
 in the warmest terms how fully she had realized his 
 utmost expectations. 
 
 " That young lady is my niece," replied Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick languidly. " Have you never seen Eleanor ? 
 She is very much engaged at present with the Miss Mon- 
 tagues, who are rehearsing for their concert, and as my 
 daughter is to be one of the principal performers, she has 
 very little time to spare for me. In fact, I only saw her 
 yesterday for a single moment, and she has not looked in 
 this morning yet. Matilda Howard is, as you say, an 
 excellent girl, and comes here constantly; indeed I fancy 
 she has no other engagement, and it makes a variety for 
 her to sit an hour with me sometimes." 
 
 There was nothing in the world to which Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick more resolutely shut her eyes than the superi- 
 ority of Matilda's disposition to Eleanor's, for she had 
 long since prophesied that Lady Howard, with her me- 
 thods and systems, would transform our heroine into a 
 mere piece of mechanism, or a clipped hedge-row, with- 
 out one trace of nature remaining ; and neither she nor 
 Lady Howard herself would have been willing to imagine 
 that a judicious cultivation of the heart and understand- 
 ing by Miss Porson, or the enlightened and instructive 
 conversation of Lady Olivia, had been the sole means, 
 under Providence, of forming a character, the Christian 
 consistency and feminine gentleness of which shone out 
 on every occasion with the softest and most attractive 
 lustre. No one could do otherwise than love Matilda, 
 though few could appreciate the depth of feeling and 
 of principle upon which the superstructure of all her 
 outward conduct was built. In her modest character, 
 the root was hidden of which the blossom and the 
 fruit were so lovely, and many acknowledged their fra-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 263 
 
 grance who knew not their origin, and would have been 
 unwilling to recognise them as having been planted and 
 watered by the unseen influence of that Spirit, without 
 whom little else but the most noxious and poisonous weeds 
 can be expected to flourish in the human heart, and with 
 the blessed influences of which it shall " bring forth its 
 fruit in its season, his leaf shall not wither, and whatso- 
 ever he doth shall prosper." No one ever had a heart 
 more filled with humility and kind affectionate feelings 
 than Miss Howard ; and on every occasion where com- 
 plaisance could be shown without any sacrifice to duty, 
 she was willing to relinquish her favourite wishes, without 
 so much as letting it be known that she had done so. 
 
 " Eleanor, my love," said Lady Fitz-Patrick, eagerly 
 calling her daughter back one day as she was leaving the 
 room, " this French novel has put me quite into a fever- 
 ish state of interest. As it wants but a few pages to the 
 end, and my sight is so affected by fever, using it 
 longer is out of the question pray read aloud the re- 
 mainder." 
 
 " Excuse me, mamma ! it is really impossible ! I have 
 never practised my part on the harp for that duet which 
 Lady Howard wishes me to play with Matilda to-mor- 
 row, and I dare not delay doing it any longer." 
 
 " My dear, I must not suffer you to touch the harp at 
 present ; if it were a piano-forte I should not care, but 
 there is no escape from the sound of a harp, and every 
 chord will go through my brain like a knife." 
 
 " Really, mamma, with both drawing-room doors shut 
 you could not be much disturbed," said Eleanor sullenly, 
 " and unless I can appear to advantage at the concert I 
 shall not go at all." 
 
 " Then take your own way, child, only you ought to 
 be charged, as travellers are at a Spanish inn, ' for noise
 
 264 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 made in the house so much.' I wish you would have 
 relieved my mind first about the catastrophe of this 
 book." 
 
 " I wonder that no steam-engine has ever been in- 
 vented yet for reading aloud to invalids," said Eleanor 
 impatiently. " I finished the story last night, and could 
 not bear to hear it again so soon. It is the most dismal 
 tragedy imaginable. Louis kills himself in a fit of jea- 
 lousy, and Laurette disappears mysteriously." 
 
 " Stop ! what are you about, spoiling the whole inte- 
 rest at once," exclaimed Lady Fitz Patrick impatiently. 
 " You know, Eleanor, I cannot bear to anticipate, so let 
 me rather try what my failing eyes can do, now that they 
 have rested a few moments. But here comes that excel- 
 lent creature, Matilda, who is always a kind and useful 
 friend in every emergency. Pray read to me for half 
 an hour, my dear girl, and it will be really doing an act 
 of charity." 
 
 " With the greatest pleasure !" said Matilda brighten- 
 ing into an animated smile, and hastily throwing aside 
 her bonnet. " I brought the Memoirs of Oberlin with 
 me this morning, which you seemed to think might be 
 interesting, from the sketch I gave of their contents 
 yesterday, and perhaps you would like to hear some 
 parts of this volume to-day." 
 
 "Indeed, Matilda, I have very little attention at 
 command just now," said Lady Fitz-Patrick languidly. 
 " My mind is so low and nervous, that I ought to pre- 
 scribe something amusing, and if the truth must be told, 
 this French book has so engrossed me that nothing else 
 can be thought of till it be finished. If you will let me 
 hear the end, I shall then allow you to read me asleep 
 with the other." 
 
 Matilda hesitated for an instant, and a momentary
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 265 
 
 doubt arose in her 7111 nd what it would be right to say 
 or do, but Lady Fitz-Patrick placed the novel in her 
 hand with a gesture of impatience, and seeing that the 
 conclusion was only a few chapters distant, she concealed 
 her disappointment and prepared to begin. 
 
 " We shall certainly tell aunt Olivia upon you for an 
 arrant novel reader after all!" exclaimed Eleanor, laugh- 
 ingly escaping from the room. " I always thought you 
 were so at heart." 
 
 " Now proceed, Matilda," said Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 with increasing impatience. " I left off at that sentence 
 in the 403d page, where Edwin says to Laurette, ' he 
 would sacrifice his life with pleasure at that moment, if it 
 would save her the shedding of a single tear.' Go on!" 
 
 Matilda continued reading, with unwearied assiduity, 
 the apparently unaccountable sorrows of Edwin and 
 Laurette, till death mercifully put a period to their 
 woes, and brought her task at the same time to a con- 
 clusion, after which Lady Fitz-Patrick consented to un- 
 dergo one or two pages of Oberlin's Memoirs, remarking 
 in a not very encouraging tone, that " any thing was 
 better than being left to her own thoughts." 
 
 Matilda's clear harmonious voice, and the simple un- 
 affected interest with which she now began to read, irre- 
 sistibly attracted her aunt's attention, who became insen- 
 sibly affected and touched by the beautiful portrait of 
 Christian heroism which was so touchingly developed 
 in the volume before her, and she listened with a degree 
 of increasing animation, which gratified and encouraged 
 her niece, beyond the most sanguine hopes that she 
 could have entertained of success, while time flew by on 
 its swiftest pinions unnoticed by either of the party, till 
 at length the door was hastily thrown open by Eleanor 
 in full equipment for riding.
 
 266 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Matilda !" exclaimed she eagerly, " here are our 
 ponies at the door ! Fly, and get ready to mount." 
 
 " Pray do not interrupt her, Eleanor, \ve are so com- 
 fortable now," said Lady Fitz-Patrick earnestly. " I 
 have not felt so well entertained for ages, and really wish 
 you would leave us to ourselves." 
 
 " I scarcely think of riding to-day," added Matilda, 
 in a tone of indifference. 
 
 " What a strange whim !" exclaimed Eleanor, " you 
 could talk of nothing but our excursion this morning, 
 and I know Lady Amelia expects us both to luncheon. 
 Ah ! there is Mr Leicester waiting on horseback to escort 
 me, and actually Sir Alfred Douglas with him I ! that is 
 beyond my utmost hopes; would you believe it, Matilda! 
 and what a splendid horse he is riding ! It is the black 
 hunter Skyrocket, that we admired so much once, and 
 I told Sir Alfred that you had been proposing to work 
 him in worsteds, as a match for the Turkish Janissary. 
 Good bye! Shall I say that you were too much interest- 
 ed in a novel to join the party?" 
 
 " No," replied Matilda colouring, " there will not be 
 any occasion to mention me at all, as I may perhaps 
 never be missed." 
 
 " Now, Eleanor, set off; for to say the truth, you and 
 your admirers are the greatest bore in the world at 
 present, so pray do not keep them waiting any longer," 
 said Lady Fitz-Patrick. " Matilda and I shall enjoy 
 ourselves exceedingly when you are gone, though the 
 time was formerly when I should have thought myself 
 very ill off to remain behind on so glorious a day as 
 this, and with such a party to join. Well, Matilda, you 
 certainly have an odd taste for so young a girl, but your 
 book amuses me better than could be expected, and I 
 know there is nothing you delight in so much as reading."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 267 
 
 Greatly as Matilda was supposed to enjoy her occu- 
 pation, she could scarcely suppress a sigh of regret as her 
 pony was led off to the stable, and giving an anxious look 
 from the window, she saw Eleanor gracefully mounting 
 hers, and giving some lively narrative to the gentlemen 
 in waiting, at the conclusion of which Mr Leicester gazed 
 up and bowed reproachfully to Matilda, but Sir Alfred 
 seemed so occupied in checking his fiery courser, that he 
 merely threw a momentary glance towards the place 
 where she stood, and whether he observed her or not, 
 was a problem which her thoughts were engaged in solv- 
 ing, while her voice was mechanically exerted for the 
 entertainment of Lady Fitz-Pa trick during the follow- 
 ing half hour ; but she was in some degree recompensed 
 for the sacrifice of her morning's amusement by the 
 warmth with which the invalid thanked her at last for 
 relieving the oppressive ennui of her sick room, and by 
 the earnestness with which she entreated her to return 
 often, and always to bring a book, as she thought the 
 one Matilda had selected was by no means dull, and 
 would do good both to the head and the heart. 
 
 The panic which Dr Mansfield occasioned to Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick about the state of her health, rendered her 
 extremely prudent for some time, and she deserved all 
 the praise she claimed, on account of the strict seclu- 
 sion in which she lived, and which was rendered far 
 more tolerable than could have been anticipated, by the 
 assiduous and considerate attentions of Lady Olivia 
 Neville and Matilda, who conformed themselves as much 
 as possible to her taste, at the same time that they gra- 
 dually led her on to feel some interest in that one subject 
 which ever lay nearest to their hearts, and which was 
 connected with all that occupied or interested them. Still, 
 as Lady Fitz-Patrick's cough abated, her courage rose ;
 
 268 MODERX ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 and when the day of Lady Montague's concert arrived, 
 she allowed herself to be persuaded by Eleanor, that as 
 the weather was mild, and the house only a few doors 
 off, it would be beyond human prudence not to go there, 
 while it was absolutely necessary she should once 
 more enjoy society, and add to the eclat of her daughter's 
 appearance by the splendour of her own. That so im- 
 prudent a step should ever be contemplated, had never 
 crossed Sir Richard's imagination, till Lady Fitz-Patrick 
 unexpectedly entered the dining-room all radiant with 
 diamonds and smiles, in the most exuberant spirits at 
 the prospect of her speedy release. 
 
 " Well, Sir Richard, I thought I should surprise you," 
 said she, seeing that he allowed his soup to cool for seve- 
 ral minutes, while he fixed a bewildered stare on her 
 splendid ornaments, as if he could scarcely believe the 
 evidence of his senses. " The fact is," she added in a 
 tone of girlish vivacity, " I can stand this no longer; and 
 as I can die but once, you may marry again, and see that 
 my successor is as much addicted to flannel and sofas as 
 you please." 
 
 " I may as well send a hearse to bring you home after 
 midnight," replied Sir Richard, swallowing his dinner 
 with a degree of heedless rapidity, quite contrary to his 
 ordinary rules of gastronomy. if If Dr Mansfield had 
 prescribed a strait waistcoat he would have done wisely." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick was rather pleased than otherwise 
 to observe her husband so unusually excited, as it seemed 
 a proof of his regard greater than she had anticipated on 
 such an occasion, and she proceeded to the concert in 
 the highest glee, receiving compliments on all sides, 
 which were worded in the terms that are of established 
 custom for ladies who are somewhat on the wane. " I 
 never saw you look younger or better in my life." It
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 269 
 
 was an evening of ecstacy to the emancipated prisoner, 
 who claimed and received the congratulations of all her 
 numerous friends, among whom she was universally 
 popular. 
 
 But pleasures are like poppies spread : 
 We snatch the flow'r, the bloom is fled ; 
 Or like the snow falls in the river, 
 A moment white, then melts for ever. 
 
 Or like the borealis race, 
 That flit ere you can point their place ; 
 Or like the rainbow's lovely form, 
 Evanishing amidst the storm. 
 
 BUENS.
 
 270 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Yet does one short preparing hour, 
 One precious hour remain ; 
 Rouse thee, my soul, with all thy pow'r, 
 Nor let it pass in vain. 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 BITTERLY did Lady Fitz-Patrick mourn, through many 
 a long and suffering hour, the indiscretion which had led 
 her to Lady Montague's concert, for the prognostics of 
 Dr Mansfield were too surely realized, and a violent re- 
 lapse of inflammation on the following day put a seal to 
 her destiny, and consigned her to a bed of sickness, 
 which there seemed to be no hope of her ever leaving 
 alive. Time passed rapidly on, but each returning day 
 seemed to render that doom more inevitable, for her re- 
 spiration became painfully oppressed, her cough sound- 
 ed hollow, and for a length of time she suffered under 
 extreme feverishness, which was accompanied by exces- 
 sive weakness and occasional delirium. 
 
 The first object that greeted the eyes of Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick, on a temporary suspension of acute agony, was 
 the benign countenance of Lady Olivia Neville, bending 
 over her with a look of affectionate solicitude ; and as 
 the exhausted sufferer pressed her hand in token of re- 
 cognition, Lady Olivia silently kissed her cheek, and 
 quietly resumed her place near the bed. Miss Barbara 
 immediately started forward to claim her sister's atten-
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 271 
 
 tion also, exhibiting an ostentation of grief and anxiety 
 which was plainly intended to impress on Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick the state of imminent danger to which she had 
 reduced herself. " I always feared, Sophia, that it would 
 come to this," said she, in a sententious voice. " What 
 could tempt you to venture out at such a risk? If it had 
 been Eleanor, one need not have wondered, but you 
 must have known better, and I could have told at once 
 what would be the consequence myself." 
 
 " Barbara," whispered Lady Howard in a sarcastic 
 tone, 
 
 ' You would rather she should die, 
 Than your predictions prove a lie.' 
 
 Pray time these reflections a little better." 
 
 " We are bound at all seasons to proclaim the truth 
 boldly, whether it be acceptable or not," replied Miss 
 Neville angrily ; " and it is well for Sophia to have some 
 one near like me who will speak out what is unwelcome, 
 as this is no time to be silent. She will soon see all that 
 this world can do for her." 
 
 " Be gentle as well as apt to teach," whispered Lady 
 Howard reproachfully. 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick turned impatiently away, and Lady 
 Olivia looked at Miss Neville with an expression of 
 gentle remonstrance, saying, " We shall see, Barbara, on 
 this occasion, what God can do for those who trust in 
 Him. Your prayers and mine have not been neglected, 
 I am confident, while Sophia has been too ill to recom- 
 mend herself to His care ; and now we must all unite 
 in one common endeavour to see our own real state as 
 sinners, and by fixing our affections more devoutly than 
 ever on His service and on Himself, to prepare our hearts 
 for what His wisdom may ordain." 
 
 " I wish you could hear dear Mr Harvey on that sub-
 
 272 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 ject," interrupted Miss Neville ; "and I cannot but hope 
 we may prevail on Sophia to see him some day SOON." 
 Miss Barbara here laid a marked and melancholy em- 
 phasis on the word SOON, and looked expressively at 
 Lady Olivia, who appeared as if she were perfectly un- 
 conscious of her meaning. 
 
 " Pray, Barbara, how long have you attended Mr 
 Harvey?" asked Lady Howard in a sneering tone. 
 " Last year you thought the only tolerable preacher in 
 the world was, ' dear ' Dr Grange, and he had been re- 
 cently promoted to your favour vice Mr M'Tavish, who 
 was then equally ' dear ' for the time. You appear to 
 be of a new sect every season, and will probably become 
 at last an Any- thing- arian, which is the worst and last 
 stage of all." 
 
 " If you only heard Mr Harvey," said Miss Neville. 
 " I am confident you would be quite carried off your 
 feet by his eloquence." 
 
 " Thank you, I prefer remaining on them," replied 
 Lady Howard satirically; " I like all my feelings to 
 stand on good solid ground. But, Barbara, I am going 
 to make a very safe promise, which will never be claimed 
 as soon as you can produce a well authenticated cer- 
 tificate of having attended the same preacher for an en- 
 tire year, without wandering, I shall actually accompany 
 you to hear him myself." 
 
 " A year is a long period to anticipate, when some of 
 us may not perhaps live a month," said Miss Neville, 
 glancing towards Lady Fitz- Patrick. " It is well for 
 you all to be prepared ; and dear Mr Harvey sweetly 
 remarks, that every night in his life he rejoices to find 
 himself a day nearer the time when all his troubles, vexa- 
 tions, and SOITOWS shall be ended." 
 
 " That sounds to me extremely like peevishly quarrel-
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 273 
 
 ling with the gifts and bounties of a merciful Providence," 
 said^Lady Howard indignantly. " What right has Mr 
 Harvey to set up for afflictions and distresses, when he 
 is in fact one of the most fortunate of men from whom 
 I would rather expect to hear a hymn of thanksgiving 
 than the language of complaint ? As we are told that 
 God loves a cheerful giver, He will surely be best pleased 
 also with a cbeerful receiver of what he is pleased to 
 bestow ; and though St Paul, amidst the most unprece- 
 dented dangers and sorrows, and after a miraculous vision 
 of our Saviour, was longing to depart, yet life is always 
 held up to us in Scripture as a gift we should be thank- 
 ful for. Length of days is a promise attached to one of 
 the commandments : and even the good King Hezekiah 
 prayed to have his prolonged. I know it has become a 
 sort of fashion with some of your set to talk of life as an 
 intolerable burden ; but I should not suppose that those 
 persons are best prepared for the blessings of heaven 
 who are most discontented now. What do you say on 
 the subject, Olivia ?" 
 
 " I think that, provided men are resigned to the will 
 of God, they may have a preference either Avay ; but as 
 death is a penalty for sin, it is a part of that penalty that 
 we should fear it. To those who trust in a crucified 
 Saviour, and to the mercy of Almighty God, he has 
 promised dying strength for a dying hour," said Lady 
 Olivia. " There are many things every day to wean a 
 Christian from the natural love of life ; for who would 
 not long to be relieved from the power of sin and temp- 
 tation ? But yet there is much communion with God 
 to beenjoyed here, and great delight in viewing his 
 works of creation and providence. We must beware 
 of presumptuous impatience ; for we see that even our 
 blessed Saviour himself recalled his beloved Lazarus to
 
 274 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 earth, and thought it a benefit conferred to prolong his 
 existence here, though none can doubt that the friend of 
 Christ was prepared for glory. Let us therefore humbly 
 endeavour to follow the excellent advice of Milton, 'Nor 
 love thy life, nor hate it, but what thou-livest, live well: 
 how long or short permit to heaven,, and patiently attend 
 thy dissolution.' " 
 
 Lady Olivia Neville took an early opportunity of im- 
 parting to Lady Fitz- Patrick, with tender and consider- 
 ate affection, the apprehensions that were entertained 
 by her medical attendants of a fatal termination to her 
 malady ; and during the long and agitated silence which 
 ensued on the part of her dying friend, she offered up 
 inwardly the most fervent aspirations to God for that 
 strength and consolation from above which she saw that 
 no human power would be adequate to bring at such a 
 moment. For several days afterwards Lady Fitz-Pa- 
 trick continued to be wrapt up in solitary reflection, and 
 shrunk from every attempt which was made to draw 
 her into any expression of feeling ; but she earnestly 
 entreated Lady Olivia to remain with her, and never 
 seemed at rest except when she was within sight, or 
 when her place was supplied by the gentle and affec- 
 tionate Matilda Howard. One evening, at length, Ladv 
 Olivia overheard the voice of Lady Fitz-Patrick re- 
 peatedly murmuring to herself, in a low and solemn 
 voice, " Oh God ! have mercy on my soul !" till at 
 length, moved beyond all power of forbearance, she 
 pressed the hand of her suffering friend in her own, and 
 gazed into her countenance with a look of such tender 
 affection, that it irresistibly asked for confidence. 
 
 "Olivia," whispered Lady Fitz-Patrick, in a tone of 
 deep despondency, " I have but one subject of pleasure 
 to think of at this moment, and it is, that you will here-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 275 
 
 after reap in a better world the reward of all your kind- 
 ness to me here. I can now appreciate in some degree, 
 the anxiety and sorrow which my past life must have 
 occasioned to a heart such as yours ; for who that loves 
 another and values an immortal soul, would not tremble 
 to anticipate such a dying hour as mine ?" 
 
 " Dearest Sophia, why should you say so !" replied 
 Lady Olivia, bending over her pillow. " It may yet be 
 an hour of comfort, of peace, and even of joy. Oh ! do 
 not hastily cast from you the offers of pardon, even in 
 the eleventh hour, that the gospel brings to all without 
 exception." 
 
 " Not to those who have rejected it during their whole 
 lives, and would embrace it only when they have no 
 other resource," said Lady Fitz-Patrick. " No ; the 
 labourers in the vineyard had been waiting all day> 
 and availed themselves of the first opportunity that 
 was offered them, but I have daily rejected many. The 
 thief on the cross had never heard of Gospel mercy till 
 the hour when he accepted it ; but what excuse is there 
 for me ? I dare not think of it ! To look back on my 
 past life fills me with remorse, and to look forward 
 Oh ! I can see eternity in all its boundless extent before 
 me, and it is an eternity without hope 1" 
 
 " Do not say so do not think so for a single moment, 
 Sophia I it is a device of Satan in health he led you to 
 presume, and in sickness he would teach you to despair ; 
 but think of the mercy held out in the gospel to every 
 sinner, and remember that it is the first token of bein<; 
 fit to receive it when we are conscious of our helpless 
 necessity. Ask and ye shall receive ; seek and ye shall 
 find. Call upon the Lord while he is near, and turn 
 unto Him \vho will have compassion, and to our God, 
 who will abundantly pardon."
 
 276 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Olivia, if I had sooner felt your kindness as deeply 
 as now, it would have been well for me," said Lady 
 Fitz- Patrick mournfully; "but for my few remaining 
 days, I would avoid the agonies of unavailing repent- 
 ance. If my sins seem so great and aggravated in 
 my own eyes, what must they be in the sight of Him 
 before whom the very heavens are unclean, and who 
 charges His angels with folly ?" 
 
 " True, Sophia most true ! and yet we, who feel 
 ourselves heavy-laden, are told where to find rest, and 
 those who go to that certain refuge shall never be cast 
 out," replied Lady Olivia. " Do not view your own 
 situation in the worst light, but remember the many 
 promises which are held out to those who mourn for 
 their guilt. It has been beautifully remarked, that our 
 sins, which, like shadows, look small at the noon of life, 
 like shadows also lengthen at its close ; but dark as they 
 may all appear, we should be comforted by reflecting, 
 ' when trouble is near, God is not far off;' and that He 
 who sent His Son to die for us when we were enemies, 
 will surely not refuse pardon to those who seek for it 
 with truth and sincerity in his own appointed way." 
 
 " You recall to my mind those beautiful words which 
 I have so often sung in church, with a careless, absent 
 mind: 
 
 ' As long as life its term extends, 
 Hope's blest dominion never ends ; 
 For while the lamp holds on to burn, 
 The greatest sinner may return.' 
 
 Oh ! why cannot I apply these words to myself, and cling 
 to the mercy that they promise ! Tell me, Olivia, that I 
 may venture to do so ! Say, if you can, though I have 
 only begun to trim my lamp when the cry is heard, and 
 the bridegroom is coming, that still you do not think
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. '277 
 
 the door is for ever closed against me. Speak some com- 
 fort, if it be possible, for I know you would not deceive 
 me, and my own thoughts are all dark, and confused, 
 and desponding." 
 
 " Dear Sophia, compose yourself; such agitation may 
 bring on a relapse, and I have much to say that will 
 soothe and console you," said Lady Olivia affection- 
 ately. " The whole gospel is addressed to those who 
 see their need of pardon, as you do now ; and can it be 
 possible to think of the tears that our Saviour wept over 
 the lost sinners of Jerusalem, without feeling confidence 
 in His compassion, and in His willingness to forgive ? 
 It is not that we have to wait for God's mercy, but He 
 is waiting to be gracious to us ; and His language con- 
 tinually is, ' Turn ye ! turn ye ! why will ye die ?' 
 Pray to Him then, Sophia ; let the whole language of 
 your heart be prayer, and rest assured of a gracious 
 answer; for our very thoughts are heard in heaven, 
 and not a sigh of penitence can escape from your breast 
 without gaining the sympathy of that holy and merciful 
 Saviour, who yet retains 
 
 ' A fellow feeling of our pains : 
 And still remembers in the skies, 
 His tears, his agonies, and cries.' " 
 
 " Speak on, Olivia ! why do you become silent ? I 
 could listen for ever, or at least during the few hours that 
 remain to me on earth," added Lady Fitz-Patrick, with 
 a sudden alteration of voice. " Let me hear all you can 
 say, for my moments are numbered, and they are pre- 
 cious while you are here." 
 
 " But we must be prudent in using your strength at 
 present, and ought to pause, Sophia, though my heart is 
 so full that I would willingly proceed to many more 
 sources of encouragement which are still within our
 
 278 MODERN* ACCOMPLISHMENT?, 
 
 reach. You have been the subject of my anxious so- 
 licitude for so many years, that I have often been tempt- 
 ed to think, like the mother of St. Augustine, that it 
 was impossible for the subject of so many prayers to be 
 finally impenitent. I have lived to see all my hopes 
 on the point of being accomplished ; and now, though 
 I must speak to you no more for a time, I shall join 
 my supplications to yours in asking that a work of grace 
 may be perfected in your heart before we are finally 
 separated." 
 
 The countenance of Lady Olivia Xeville assumed an 
 expression of serene and heavenly devotion, while she 
 silently engaged in fervent prayer; and Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick's eyes were fixed upon her with a look of grate- 
 ful affection, until at length they heavily closed with the 
 languor of disease, and she fell into a feverish slumber. 
 from which she did not awake during the evening. 
 
 From this time there was much that appeared hopeful 
 to Lady Olivia in the temper and conversation of her 
 interesting patient, who felt herself to be hovering be- 
 tween a present and future world, and who endeavoured 
 to place her trust in Him who rules over both. 
 
 " Olivia," said she one day, in a tone of nervous agita- 
 tion, "I awoke this morning perfectly free from pain, 
 and unconscious of my peculiar circumstances, when 
 suddenly the remembrance rushed into my thoughts 
 that I was on my death-bed. It was a dreadful moment. 
 Oh ! why is that fear of death so implanted in our hearts'? 
 why are we not spared, like the animals, all conscious- 
 ness of its approach '" 
 
 " Many have thought it holds out a tacit promise of 
 immortality, that whereas the beasts which perish remain 
 unconscious of their inevitable doom, men are taught by 
 their fears to anticipate the change and to prepare for
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. -"!' 
 
 it. But a Christian can often, though not always, rise 
 superior to nature, and view the nearest approach of 
 death with calm and tranquil faith." 
 
 " I am convinced that you could, Olivia, and that at 
 this moment you would take my place without one pang 
 of regret, but you have employed a lifetime to prepare 
 
 for this one hour, and I " added Lady Fitz-Patrick, 
 
 closing her eyes with a look of speechless anguish, " Oh ! 
 think, as Young says, ' of a slow, sudden death' like 
 mine 'how dreadful the deliberate surprise,' unpre- 
 pared, unfit as I am." 
 
 " But what does Young go on to say ?" replied Lady 
 Olivia, with solemn earnestness. " ' Be wise to-day, 'tis 
 madness to defer.' You must not lose the time that 
 remains, my dear Sophia, in lamenting that which is 
 already gone your sorrow now is not without remedy, 
 but hereafter, when time shall be no more, then our re- 
 pentance will indeed be hopeless. Now is the accepted 
 time, and now is the day of salvation, but we have no 
 promise for another day, and may not be allowed an- 
 other hour for preparation." 
 
 " If an implicit trust in Christ be sufficient, I feel it 
 with my whole heart for what other dependence could 
 I look to ?" said Lady Fitz-Patrick. " But if I am ac- 
 cepted, it is indeed unmerited mercy, for in myself I 
 have no claim." 
 
 " But, dear Sophia, can you suppose that at the day 
 of judgment any human soul will have to say, I trusted 
 in Christ and am rejected ? Oh no ! We may conceive 
 how great was the work of redemption, when we re- 
 member the world was created in six days, but during 
 four thousand years the salvation of man was prophesied, 
 before that hour when Christ declared on the cross that 
 it was finished ; and can we then trust in that work too 
 implicitly ?"
 
 280 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 It is to gentle natures such as that of Lady Olivia 
 Neville that the task is a trying one of representing the 
 judgments as well as the promises of God; but she was 
 not one of those who could save her own feelings at the 
 hazard of another person's welfare, or be satisfied with 
 seeing her friends building upon any foundation of which 
 they had not cautiously ascertained the security. Dur- 
 ing many long and interesting conversations, she pointed 
 out to Lady Fitz-Patrick, with unwearied fidelity, the 
 means of our salvation. She showed in strong colours 
 the undeviating holiness and self-denial which are essen- 
 tial in a disciple of the cross, and she took peculiar pains 
 to convince Lady Fitz-Patrick, that no mere tempo- 
 rary excitements can deserve the name of religion, for 
 it is only to be recognised in that work of the Holy 
 Spirit which produces a calm and steady principle, in- 
 fluencing the whole character and conduct. 
 
 " Our Saviour, standing as Mediator between God 
 and man, holds out on the one side pardon, but on the 
 other side there must be obedience, for he is our king 
 as well as our prophet and priest, and no mere tem- 
 porary excitements can suffice," observed Lady Olivia. 
 " You may perceive amongst the friends who surround 
 us, that we prize most the affection which is fixed and 
 unalterable; but those who show us great vicissitudes of 
 fervent affection at one time, and of comparative cold- 
 ness at another, are generally, when put to the test, very 
 little to be depended on." 
 
 " True," replied Lady Fitz-Patrick ; " and how differ- 
 ent is your description of real religion from the idea that 
 my poor sister Barbara would wish to give me of it ! 
 I can bear with her now, Olivia, for I pity her, as I pity 
 every one who is not like you, and I believe she means 
 well by me at present ; but she is never satisfied unless
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 281 
 
 I am in a state of vehement emotion, and complains of 
 my coldness when I feel incapable of rousing myself to 
 the most fervent expressions of repentance and devotion. 
 There is something so tempestuous in Barbara's religion, 
 that I greatly fear she will some day be shipwrecked al- 
 
 " It is surely a very mistaken view of what we should 
 aim at," said Lady Olivia. " The promise of Christ to 
 his disciples is ' Peace :' l Peace I leave with you, my 
 peace I give unto you ;' and who that knows the sere- 
 nity of a heart at peace with God, would exchange such 
 a blessing for all the raptures of a heated imagination ! 
 It is easy for people to excite in themselves that sort of 
 temporary intoxication, but it is not in the strength of 
 man to persevere, without assistance, in a consistent path 
 of holiness and self-denial." 
 
 " You will be gratified, my best and kindest friend, 
 to know," said Lady Fitz- Patrick, " that I have felt more 
 truly tranquil for the last few days than I ever remember 
 to have been throughout my whole life. The sufferings 
 of the body are nothing compared to those of the mind, and 
 that is the exchange I seem to have made now, for I have 
 found what was always wanting to me before, an object 
 sufficiently important to engross my whole thoughts and 
 affections mine have all been hitherto wasted on what 
 has perished in the using. How strange it is to reflect, 
 that I cannot so much as remember now many things 
 which once occupied me far more than the salvation of 
 my immortal soul, and that till now I have been only 
 acting happiness, not enjoying it." 
 
 " It has often occurred to me," answered Lady Olivia, 
 " that as past pleasures vanish so completely from our 
 recollection, so also do our past transgressions ; and I 
 frequently make it the subject of my prayers, that God
 
 282 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 will mercifully pardon all my forgotten sins, which are 
 probably far more numerous than those that I have ob- 
 served and repented of. For all of these there must be 
 an atonement, either in the propitiation of our Saviour 
 now, or else in our own everlasting condemnation on that 
 awful day, when not one of our offences will escape the 
 remembrance of Him whose eye is in every place." 
 
 " Is it not truly astonishing, then, that there should 
 yet be mercy for me ? but I feel it to be the case," con- 
 tinued Lady Fitz-Patrick, in a tone of heartfelt emotion. 
 " I may yet be permitted to trace back a whole lifetime 
 of vanity, and to see every year of its offences blotted 
 out, and my follies all to be ' remembered no more.' I 
 believe few are in circumstances to make them feel more 
 deeply than I do at this moment the unspeakable mercy 
 of the Gospel. In your society, Olivia, I have often 
 had a transient wish to become such a one as yourself ; 
 yet the prayer of my heart was like that of St Augustine, 
 ' Let me be converted, but not yet.' I delayed from day 
 to day, from week to week, and from year to year ; but 
 now every hour that strikes brings me visibly nearer to 
 the presence of God. Were his ways like the ways of 
 man, I should be shut out for ever from peace, and hope - 
 lessly and most deservedly rejected." 
 
 " But it was well observed by an ancient author," said 
 Lady Olivia, in an encouraging tone, " that it might tire 
 the hand of an angel to note down the pardons that God 
 bestows on one penitent sinner ; and if we can but cast 
 a dying look of faith to the cross of the Redeemer, we 
 shall still be like the children of Israel, who saw the 
 brazen serpent and were healed." 
 
 At this moment Sir Richard Fitz-Patrick entered, and 
 his unexpected appearance changed the current of the 
 conversation, though it was not without a sigh of regret
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 283 
 
 that Lady Fitz-Patrick relinquished a discussion of that 
 which seemed the only topic in which she now had any 
 personal interest. 
 
 Nothing was so much the subject of Sir Richard's 
 care as to prevent Lady Olivia from ever being left a 
 moment alone with the invalid ; for he felt a sort of 
 general misgiving, that though she on no occasion in- 
 truded the subject of religion on his own notice, she 
 might be putting such things into Lady Fitz-Patrick's 
 head ; and he was resolved that, as far as he could accom- 
 plish it, she should leave the world without any previ- 
 ous apprehension ; and respecting what might befall her 
 hereafter, it never rested a moment in his thoughts. 
 " What a happy release it will be !" was Sir Richard's 
 usual phrase, which he applied habitually to every 
 acquaintance indiscriminately, whenever their death 
 seemed inevitable ; and though he had used the expres- 
 sion all his life, he never took the trouble of attaching 
 any particular meaning to it ; but in the case of Lady 
 Fitz-Patrick, he seemed resolutely determined to per- 
 suade himself and her that she was in a fair way of re- 
 covery. 
 
 " Ah, Sophia ! you are continuing better, I hope," 
 said he, avoiding to look at her emaciated countenance. 
 " We want nothing but a little warm weather to set you 
 quite up again, and the new chariot will be home in time 
 for your first airing." 
 
 A thought glanced across the mind of Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick, that it would be in a scene which Sir Richard 
 appeared little to anticipate that his carriage would next 
 be required ; but unwilling to give him unnecessary pain, 
 she merely smiled, and thanked him for his considerate 
 attention to what she had once been so anxious for. But 
 she resolved to take an early opportunity of imparting
 
 284 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 to him her serious conviction that she had but a short 
 time to live upon earth, and to express all her wishes 
 respecting her children, and her deep solicitude upon his 
 own account. There was an expression of unwonted 
 sensibility in the eye of Lady Fitz-Patrick when she 
 looked at him, and something touching in the tone of 
 her voice, which became obvious to the most superficial 
 observer ; and Sir Richard, who dreaded above all an- 
 noyances anything approaching to a scene, prudently re- 
 solved to sound an early retreat. 
 
 " I am glad to have found you so well, Sophia," he 
 said, trying not to hear her incessant cough. " My 
 friend, Sir Colin Fletcher, has sent me a haunch of veni- 
 son this morning, and I must drop in at the club, to 
 pick up a few friends, who would like to partake of it 
 next week. Perhaps you may be sufficiently recovered 
 before then to join our little party ; and in the mean- 
 time here come Eleanor and Matilda to supply my place 
 beside you." 
 
 " Poor Fitz-Patrick !" said the invalid, as he hastened 
 from the room ; " he always cultivated the art of seeing 
 and believing only what he pleased ; and as long as I 
 breathe he will expect me to recover." 
 
 " But I almost think, mamma, that you might be well, 
 if you would only think yourself so ; for I have very 
 often had coughs that seemed quite as bad," remarked 
 Eleanor. " And indeed I never thought you would have 
 submitted to be quacked in this way," added she, making 
 a transient grimace of disgust to Matilda, as she glanced 
 towards the dressing table, which was loaded with phials 
 of medicine, while the room sraelled powerfully of fumi- 
 gations ; but her cousin busied herself in arranging some 
 flowers which she had brought in her hand, without ap- 
 pearing to observe what was said.
 
 OR THE MAKCH OF INTELLECT. 285 
 
 "How rarely you come to see me now, Eleanor!" 
 observed Lady Fitz-Patrick in a tone of heart-stricken 
 grief. " It is when I see you, my child, that I feel all 
 the bitterness of death. I could have wished to live a 
 few more years for your sake, to undo my own work ; 
 for now, alas ! I feel how truly I have ruined your heart, 
 and that, if you are less affectionate than might have 
 been expected, the fault is mine. Yes, Eleanor, I reap 
 as I have sown. This world only has been continually 
 set before you ; and can I wonder that it has engrossed 
 your affections, even to the exclusion of myself? How 
 often did I say that your appearance and accomplish- 
 ments were all on earth that I felt solicitous about; and 
 my utmost wishes have been granted, only to shew me 
 their unjustifiable folly. I have been answered like the 
 Indian who prayed for water, and found the whole 
 Ganges turned into his garden. You have exceeded all 
 I ever expected or desired. The shell is indeed lovely, 
 Eleanor ; but, alas, for the heart that can look upon a 
 dying mother, and yet leave her to the care of another, 
 as young, but more affectionate than yourself!" 
 
 " I am very sorry, mamma, to have been prevented 
 all this morning from coming to see you," stammered 
 Eleanor, in great confusion ; " but I breakfasted with 
 Lady Amelia Douglas, who detained me to luncheon, 
 and yesterday you know how much I was engaged" 
 
 " Yes, Eleanor! yes!" replied Lady Fitz-Patrick, tak- 
 ing her by the hand, and looking in her face with an 
 expressiSn of the tenderest pity; " I never told you that 
 it was a duty or a pleasure to sacrifice your wishes for 
 another, and why should I expect you to have learned it? 
 I have been hasty, my child ; but the time is fast ap- 
 proaching when all your mother's faults will be forgiven.
 
 286 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 I trust, however, they will not be forgotten, Eleanor, as 
 they may yet be a timely warning to yourself." 
 
 It was one evening during the following week that 
 Eleanor was about to withdraw from her mother's room, 
 at the usual hour of retiring, when Matilda followed to 
 the door, and anxiously entreated her to return. " We 
 think my aunt much worse to-night," said she ; " and 
 as Dr Mansfield seemed rather apprehensive himself, 
 you would of course wish to stay, in case she has any 
 very serious relapse." 
 
 " How very extraordinary that you should be so alarm- 
 ed !" replied Eleanor, pausing. " Mamma appears to me 
 particularly well this evening ; for her eyes and colour 
 are perfectly brilliant, and her voice sounds clearer than 
 it has done for several days : I think you must be mis- 
 taken ; and I was up so late last night at the concert, 
 that you would need to hold my eyelids open if I were 
 to remain much longer ; but I will send Louise to in- 
 quire in half an hour how you think my mother is." 
 
 Matilda stole silently back into her aunt's room, and 
 took up a book to beguile the time, while she waited with 
 Lady Olivia, in painful apprehension, for the time when 
 Dr Mansfield had thought it probable that Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick might have one of those alarming attacks of 
 breathlessness to which she had recently become liable. 
 No words can describe the night of fearful agony which 
 ensued, during which Matilda kneeled for hours on the 
 bed, to support the almost unconscious sufferer, who knew 
 not the hand that was ever ready to administer to her 
 wants, though still the soothing voice of Lady Olivia Ne- 
 ville seemed to give her comfort when she whispered 
 words of consolation, or when she offered up a short but 
 emphatic prayer, for help in this hour of extremity.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 287 
 
 When Eleanor entered Lady Fitz- Patrick's room on 
 the following morning, she found her mother supported 
 almost erect upon pillows, and clasping the hand of Lady 
 Olivia, with a look of intense suffering, while her loud 
 and convulsive breathing seemed as if the next mo- 
 ment must terminate her existence. Eleanor stood as 
 if she had been transfixed to the spot with terror, when 
 she glanced at her mother's countenance, on which 
 the grey cold hue of death was already gathered, and, 
 uttering a sudden cry of astonishment and grief, she 
 rushed forward, throwing herself on the bed, and burst 
 into an agony of tears. Unconscious of all around, she 
 wrung her hands, and sobbed aloud with vehement and 
 frantic grief, while her whole frame seemed to be con- 
 vulsed with agitation, and the words she would have 
 spoken were inarticulate, and died on her lips. It was 
 the first time she had felt the irresistible conviction that 
 her mother was lost to her for ever, and it burst upon her 
 with all the accumulated anguish of a sudden surprise. 
 The thought had never before been allowed to dwell 
 on her mind for a moment, and now she felt the blow 
 with all the bitterness of hopeless and unexpected grief. 
 It was the first sorrow she had ever known the deepest 
 that nature could have called her to endure ; and in a 
 paroxysm of amazement and terror, she buried her face 
 on the pillow beside Lady Fitz-Patrick, and fell into a 
 violent fit of hysterics, which she could not attempt to 
 conquer or control. 
 
 "Take her away! take her away!" gasped the ex- 
 piring mother. " O take her away, or I shall die it 
 kills me to see her thus. Give her comfort if you can, 
 Olivia, but take her from me now." 
 
 Eleanor was hastily removed by the attendants, and 
 borne almost fainting from the room, followed by Ma-
 
 288 MODERN* ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 tilda, who tried, with all the gentleness of her nature, to 
 soothe and compose her agitated and afflicted cousin. 
 
 " Dearest Eleanor, your mother will live for some time 
 yet ; there is no instant danger," said she, clasping her 
 weeping friend in her arms, and bursting into tears. 
 ' This has been a frightful shock ! we ought to have pre- 
 pared you better, but I was coming to your room as soon 
 as possible to break it to you. Be comforted, dear Elea- 
 nor, for she will not always suffer as you see her now; 
 she will be easier soon." 
 
 " Do not speak of comfort to me, Matilda ! I shall see 
 that face that look of mortal agony, to the very borders 
 of the grave," cried Eleanor, covering her face with her 
 hands, and shuddering at the recollection. " I hear her 
 breathing even here I dreadful! dreadful! death itself 
 would be preferable to what I feel at this moment!" 
 
 " Oh no, Eleanor ! there is consolation, if you will 
 but receive it. Think that your mother is safe that 
 she will be happy that time has been given her to pre- 
 pare ; and that your loss, great as it is, Avill be a gain to 
 her. Those only can be said to weep who weep with- 
 out hope ; but you, dear Eleanor, will at last feel how 
 much cause there is to rejoice as well as to mourn : 
 ' Weeping may endure for a night,' as the Scriptures 
 say, ' but joy cometh in the morning.' " 
 
 " Matilda, you may well be comforted, for you have 
 acted the part of a daughter, but I can only feel like one. 
 Oh no! you can never experience the wretchedness of 
 unavailing self-reproach she is dying, and I can never 
 never shew her kindness and affection again. It is an 
 awful thing to live in such a world as this!" exclaimed 
 Eleanor, suddenly clasping her hands with an expression 
 of helpless anguish. " Hitherto I have known life only 
 in a mask, but these are its realities."
 
 OR THE MAKCH OF INTEr.LECT. 289 
 
 " "We have seen good at the hand of the Lord these 
 many years, dear Eleanor, and shall we not receive evil 
 also, without forgetting his former mercies ? It comes 
 to us now in the saddest form, and so unexpectedly; but 
 yet we should remember that it is those whom God loves 
 the best that he chastises, for he sees that we need it. 
 You know it was the language only of human pride, * I 
 shall see no sorrow ;' but Christians are told that their 
 sufferings, which last but for a moment, are ordered to 
 prepare them for an eternity of joy; and I cannot but 
 think, Eleanor, that this sharp affliction has been sent 
 on a mission of mercy to you and me, teaching us both 
 an early lesson of measuring time against eternity, and 
 choosing between them. Oh, think! if those sufferings 
 which appear to us now so dreadful are indeed sent as 
 testimonies of love, what would it be to sustain God's 
 eternal and unmitigated vengeance? All we can know 
 of misery on earth is but the faint shadow of that from 
 which the Son of God has redeemed our souls, if we will 
 but hear his message of mercy ; and the more deeply you 
 feel distress and self-reproach at this moment, the more 
 eagerly should we try to avoid it hereafter, by seeking 
 support and direction from above at a time like the 
 present, when we need it so much, and when I am sure 
 it would be given you, with unsparing abundance, by 
 the merciful hand of Him who has told us to 'call upon 
 Him in the day of trouble, and he will deliver us, and 
 we shall find rest unto our soul.' " 
 
 The sweet and gentle tones of Matilda's voice fell 
 upon the ear of Eleanor with a soothing influence, and 
 though but little of what she said was noticed or com- 
 prehended by her painfully pre-occupied mind, yet the 
 endearing and affectionate manner of her cousin seemed 
 as refreshing to her heart as the dew of heaven upon the 
 
 o
 
 SO MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 
 
 parched and desolate wilderness. The tempest in Elea- 
 nor's mind hecame stilled, the throbbings of her bosom 
 had ceased, and her eye was assuming an expression of 
 interest and attention, when Miss Neville suddenly en- 
 tered the room, looking more than usually excited and 
 consequential. 
 
 " So, Eleanor," she exclaimed, " with all these fine 
 feelings, you have nearly put an end to your mother 
 altogether ! It is sad, indeed, to see a mind so undis- 
 ciplined ; hut I always told poor Sophia what it would 
 come to if she did not take my advice more in your 
 education. I have only to say at present, that the Doc- 
 tor declares you must on no account return to the room 
 again, as the least excitement would be instantly fatal, 
 and it is only wonderful that your last visit did not prove 
 so at once. I hope at least that you have the heart to 
 feel this as you ought." 
 
 Matilda looked imploringly at Miss Neville to stop 
 the current of her reproaches, but Eleanor clasped her 
 arms round the neck of her cousin, saying, in accents 
 of mournful despondency, "Do not stop her, Matilda! 
 Aunt Barbara's upbraidings are more tolerable to me 
 than those of my own heart. I deserve all she can say, 
 and more if it Avere possible.'' 
 
 Miss Neville looked for a moment at her niece with 
 surprise, and struck by the change in her aspect, and 
 the anguish of her voice, she hesitated what to do, and 
 then silently left the room, while Eleanor relapsed into 
 a state of the wildest agitation, and wept in the arms of 
 Matilda through many an hour of dark and hopeless 
 sorrow, unable to extinguish from her memory the ago- 
 nizing picture of her mother's altered countenance and 
 expiring struggles. 
 
 " Dear Eleanor ! let us try to look beyond this hour
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 291 
 
 of suffering, and to recollect what an exchange it will 
 be from the scene of agony you witnessed to an eternity 
 of glory and happiness," said Matilda, embracing her ; 
 " we may well mourn for ourselves, but all will soon be 
 over that she has to endure. How consoling it is at this 
 moment to remember, that 
 
 ' The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
 Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.' " 
 
 For some days Lady Fitz-Patrick was reduced to such 
 extreme debility that her mind wandered in a continual 
 state of delirium, so that she recognised no one ; and 
 Eleanor, at the earnest instigation of Lady Olivia, again 
 ventured into the room and sat by the bedside of her 
 mother in silent wretchedness and depression, which it 
 required the whole fortitude of her nature to endure. 
 
 Often did Lady Fitz-Patrick's wandering thoughts re- 
 cur to the scenes of former days, when she talked of gay 
 parties and entertainments, which she fancied it was 
 time for her to rise and rejoin. She spoke of her 
 daughter at one time with the vanity of former days, 
 and the next moment she mourned over her unkindness 
 and neglect. Scenes of amusement so painfully brought 
 to Eleanor's thoughts were now remembered with loath- 
 ing, and she wondered to think how entirely they had 
 once engrossed and satisfied all her wishes. 
 
 ''There are awful moments in our existence, Matil- 
 da, to remind us of what we are," said she one even- 
 ing, placing her trembling hand in that of her cousin. 
 " I have lived the last few years of my life with scarcely 
 a thought to remind me of the great and holy God, who 
 can shake the very heavens over our heads, and the 
 earth beneath our feet ; but can I ever forget the solemn 
 lesson of this sad hour ?"
 
 292 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 At length one evening Lady Fitz-Patrick was sud- 
 denly restored to perfect consciousness all suffering 
 seemed to be suspended she breathed with apparent 
 ease, and her cough had entirely ceased, so that, with 
 the sanguine disposition of youth, Eleanor's spirits rose, 
 and, snatching at the first gleam of hope, she kissed her 
 mother's cheek, whispering her prayers and her expec- 
 tations that such a change for the better must certainly 
 be followed by a rapid recovery. 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick looked at Eleanor with mournful 
 earnestness, and shook her head. " No, my child," said 
 she, solemnly, " THIS is DEATH ! Tell me, Dr Mansfield," 
 added she, turning towards the place where he sat, 
 " how long is it probable that I may survive, for the 
 period of my sufferings must be near ?" 
 
 " Can you bear to be told the real truth ?" asked the 
 Doctor, doubtfully. " I am most unwilling to cause 
 any agitation at present, as you are scarcely able to 
 bear it : and I trust and believe you have little more to 
 suffer." 
 
 " I wish to know your whole opinion without dis- 
 guise," replied Lady Fitz-Patrick, in a calm, collected 
 tone of voice. 
 
 " Then, madam, I must inform you, that from the 
 symptoms which have recently appeared, it is extremely 
 improbable you can live to see another day." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick covered her face with her hands, 
 and a solemn pause ensued. The most death-like 
 stillness reigned throughout the room, which was only 
 broken by deep sobs from Eleanor, who threw herself 
 into the arms of Lady Olivia, sure of finding there all 
 the sympathy and support which she so greatly needed. 
 The awful silence was first broken by Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick herself, who fixed her eyes on the pale and
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 293 
 
 sorrowful countenances around, and finally rested them 
 with melancholy tenderness on Sir Richard and Eleanor. 
 " Let me look for the last time upon those I love, and 
 bless them with my latest breath," she said. " Before 
 that setting sun appears again, I shall see you no more ! 
 the veil will be withdrawn which hides eternity from my 
 sight, and I shall have appeared in the presence of my 
 Maker ! Oh ! how often have I seen it rise and set with- 
 out a thought how soon it must light me to the tomb ! 
 Olivia, the best friend I have ever known, think what a 
 dark eternity would now have stretched out before me, 
 if you had not led me to the knowledge of a Saviour. 
 Amidst all your past sorrows, this is surely something to 
 have lived for. I believe it is as great a trial to you to 
 have your life prolonged, as it is to others when theirs 
 is shortened, but you have a heart to feel rewarded now, 
 for your prayers have been answered." 
 
 Large tears started into the eyes of Lady Olivia Ne - 
 ville, and coursed each other down her cheeks ; she 
 made a powerful struggle for some moments to subdue 
 her feelings, but at length, overcome with emotion, she 
 sunk back upon her chair, and wept aloud. 
 
 " The time was once, Olivia, when your tears would 
 have moved me deeply," continued Lady Fitz-Patrick, 
 in a calm voice ; " but now the apathy of death is steal- 
 ing over my senses, and I must hasten to a close. I 
 leave my daughter to your care, and may she soon owe 
 as much to you as I do, for my sole remaining wish is, 
 that she shall live and die such a one as yourself. Oh ! 
 why did I not sooner know wherein her happiness would 
 consist ! for it is the nearest approach that sinners can 
 make to a state of retribution, when they see the mis- 
 chief of their advice and example to those they love, 
 and when they see it as I do too late."
 
 294 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Not so !" interrupted Lady Olivia in a soothing 
 tone ; " there is yet time. Commit your child to the 
 care of a merciful God, and be at peace. The prayer 
 that you make for her now will be heard and answered 
 hereafter ; and be assured, Sophia, that I shall fulfil 
 your sacred trust to the best of my ability. In so far as 
 Eleanor will allow me, I shall supply a mother's care 
 and affection to her." 
 
 " And more ! oh ! far more !" exclaimed Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick. " I have already explained my wishes to Sir 
 Richard, but he is now so buried in grief that I see he 
 cannot listen to me ; he knows however that my whole 
 peace of mind rests on the hope of your repairing all my 
 errors towards Eleanor. My beloved child," continued 
 she, gathering up her remaining energy to address her 
 daughter, " never never forget this scene, and remem- 
 ber that the only words of wisdom your mother ever 
 addressed to you, were from her dying bed. It seems 
 to me but yesterday that I was such a one as yourself, 
 full of bright hopes and sanguine expectations. Oh, 
 Eleanor ! will you be taught by my experience, or must 
 you reach such a state as this before you learn that the 
 world is transient as a summer cloud, and that all which 
 is substantial or important is comprehended in that one 
 word eternity ! The whole created universe could not 
 hold me back for a single moment from the summons 
 that awaits me in a few hours my eyes Avill be closed 
 for ever. Let me hear you say, Eleanor, before I die, 
 that we shall meet again ; and let our prayers be united 
 for the last time, that it may be so." 
 
 Lady Fitz-Patrick sunk back exhausted, but her lips 
 moved in fervent supplication, and she fixed her eyes on 
 Sir Richard and Eleanor with a look of mournful interest. 
 Gradually her strength seemed to sink, her pulse became
 
 OU THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 295 
 
 imperceptible, her breath was inaudible, and it appeared 
 as if life were totally extinct, when she suddenly opened 
 her eyes for an instant, and placing Eleanor's hand in 
 that of Lady Olivia, she pointed towards heaven with a 
 momentary gleam of satisfaction, and expired without a 
 struggle in the arms of Sir Richard. 
 
 When Eleanor stood next day beside the corpse of 
 her mother, and gazed with intolerable anguish on that 
 countenance which had so often beamed upon her with 
 indulgent kindness and partial affection, every moment 
 of her past existence seemed to rush in busy remembrance 
 to her thoughts, filled with the most touching proofs of 
 tender affection, and a thousand instances of her own 
 petulance and ingratitude stung her to the heart with 
 bitter remorse. She then felt that all past omissions 
 were now irreparable, and the trifling irritations which 
 had seemed at the moment to justify her, were for ever 
 expunged from her memory. All seemed desolate and 
 forlorn within her breast, from which she felt as if peace 
 and joy were finally banished. " Oh ! that my mother 
 could but return to me for one hour !" thought she in the 
 bitterness of her heart. " Oh ! that I could but once 
 tell her that my heart is breaking with sorrow and re- 
 morse !" 
 
 Lady Olivia Neville and Matilda watched over Elea- 
 nor with unwearied kindness. In a thousand ways they 
 saved her feelings and anticipated her wishes, apparently 
 forgetting their own sorrow in sympathy for hers, and 
 the consciousness of such kindness was a soothing balm 
 to her agitated spirit, especially as their considerate at- 
 tention resembled that of Job's friends when he was first 
 afflicted : " They spoke not a word, for they saw that 
 her grief was great." 
 
 Lady Howard had but little time to consider her
 
 296 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 niece's feelings, because she was so busy about her 
 mournings, and all the distracting bustle which usually 
 succeeds a death in any family, devolved upon her will- 
 ing hands. She answered letters of condolence on the 
 broadest black- edged paper, and in the most beautifully- 
 turned periods, gave directions about the interment, and 
 laid down the law upon crapes and bombazeeus to such a 
 succession of milliners, that casual observers might have 
 supposed it was for a wedding rather than a funeral that 
 Lady Howard was preparing, and that the depth of her 
 own grief and Eleanor's would be estimated precisely 
 according to the depth of their hems. Matilda felt 
 astonished to find how much it was absolutely necessary 
 to say and think upon the subject, as she had never before 
 experienced any family distress, and imagined that the 
 world itself would seem to stand still on such an 
 occasion; but, on the contrary, she was incessantly 
 called off from the affecting recollection of her departed 
 relative, or from the interesting task of consoling Eleanor, 
 by imperative calls, to shew her respect for Lady Fitz- 
 Patrick's memory, in deciding whether her frills should 
 be of crepe lisse or tulle, and whether her bonnet looked 
 best transparent or opaque. 
 
 " Maria/' said Sir Francis one day, peeping over Lady 
 Howard's shoulder, when she sat in the agonies of com- 
 position, writing an elegant effusion of sensibility to her 
 friend Lady Montague " when I die, pray omit that 
 favourite sentence in all your letters about having ' quit- 
 ted these sublunary scenes.' I have a particular dislike 
 to all such hackneyed phrases being used about me, in 
 the same degree that I cherish an antipathy to the im- 
 mense bows of black crape which every Scotchman who 
 can call himself your cousin will feel privileged to mount 
 upon the back of his hat, and to parade through the
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 297 
 
 streets after my decease. Here is a Mr Macindoe dead 
 in to-day's newspaper, ' much and justly regretted/ 
 which I daresay he is, and you will see all the Macin- 
 does, if there are any such people, flaunting about next 
 week in enormous bows, and probably writing, like 
 you, about his having * quitted these sublunary scenes.' 
 Poor Sophia would have been the first to laugh at your 
 splendid epitaph, but one genuine tear is, in my humble 
 opinion, worth a whole quire of such sensibility. I have 
 always disliked the ' Oh !' and ' Alas !' style of compo- 
 sition."
 
 298 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Alas ! all must for death prepare ! 
 What has he left, and who's his heir ? 
 
 ELEANOR FITZ- PATRICK felt oppressed with the sense of 
 a dreary insufficiency within herself to regain any gleam 
 of former peace. The chain which had bound her to the 
 earth seemed suddenly broken, and the world was no 
 longer, in her eyes, only a scene of joy, where she was 
 to act a few splendid triumphs, and to live through an 
 unclouded summer of youth and happiness. She had 
 hitherto been wandering in the mazes of a romance, as 
 unlike sober sad reality as a mirage in the desert ; but 
 now its illusions seemed all to be dispelled, and as one 
 of Lady Fitz-Patrick's last actions had been to part 
 with Miss Marabout who was immediately engaged as 
 " finishing governess" at Lady Montague's, Eleanor lost 
 at once all the resources in which she formerly found 
 relief from reflection, and nothing remained but a depress- 
 ing void within, which was succeeded by listless despond- 
 ency, so dark and cheerless, that she gladly turned to the 
 conversation of her aunt as a relief from her own desolate 
 feelings, though the interest she took in what was said 
 seemed so faint and uncertain, that it would have dis- 
 couraged any heart less sanguine and less patient than 
 Lady Olivia Neville's, who nevertheless continued per- 
 severingly to adapt herself to the varying spirits of her 
 beloved charge, aud to direct her thoughts as much as
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. '290 
 
 possible to every topic that could be expected to cheer 
 and console her, in the remembrance so continually pre- 
 sent of that departed mother whose loss she seemed every 
 day more acutely to deplore. 
 
 " Let us follow her in thought to that world where 
 she is now rejoicing, Eleanor, and where we shall pro- 
 bably so soon rejoin her," said Lady Olivia one day, in 
 reply to an observation of her niece's. " We think but 
 vaguely of any distant country which has merely been 
 described to us, but when one of our own family has 
 gone there, what a new interest is attached to it ; and 
 now is our time to reflect upon that place of spirits to 
 which your mother has been called. I have never yet 
 lost any dear friend, without the consolation of thinking 
 them so truly prepared for heaven, that there we shall 
 meet again; and I would part with every one I love 
 upon earth, to feel the same blessed assurance on their 
 account ; for I cannot but tell you how often, when I lay 
 myself down to rest at night, it is with the most joyful 
 anticipation of that hour when the glories of heaven 
 shall first be revealed to my emancipated soul. We are 
 too apt to imagine, Eleanor, that the rest which is pro- 
 mised to us in future, is < that of a stone at the bottom 
 of a well;' but the Scriptures on the contrary teach us 
 to anticipate it as a state of active enjoyment, in which 
 all the purest pleasures of our nature will be continued 
 without the possibility of sin or sorrow ever invading 
 our happiness again. Who that has felt the wretched- 
 ness of conscious guilt would not acknowledge that there 
 is no suffering equal to it, and that to be delivered 
 from sin is really to be freed from the chief misery of 
 existence ? 
 
 " The more we become fitted for heaven, Eleanor, the 
 more grievous appears our smallest offence against God,
 
 800 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 for the feelings of a Christian in this respect are com- 
 pared to the sensitiveness that people acquire about the 
 cleanliness of their dress. A fine lady will feel more 
 pain at the smallest speck on her gown, than a sloven 
 will do who is an object of disgust to the most casual 
 observer; and a Christian is often in the depths of afflic- 
 tion for some defect or omission which another who was 
 less conscientious would scarcely notice, but which in 
 his case, makes him long the more eagerly for that time 
 when he shall join the spirits of the just made perfect. 
 Now is the crisis of your life, Eleanor, whether to be- 
 gin early that course of pure and holy devotion which 
 no one on his death-bed has ever been known to re- 
 gret having pursued, or whether you will relapse into 
 the same course of idle self-indulgence and thoughtless 
 extravagance, against which your mother's last words 
 were designed to warn you. My heart sinks with anxiety 
 when I reflect that you have still the choice to make. 
 Hitherto affliction has not led your heart to God you 
 are overwhelmed with grief, but not yet seeking the 
 remedy your whole soul appears enervated, but you 
 might find strength by seeking it aright your life 
 passes on without object, but there might be a motive 
 sufficient to invigorate your exertions your time is un- 
 occupied, but it is time given for an important purpose 
 your affections, which are now blighted by the loss of 
 your dearest earthly friend, might be fixed on one who 
 would never leave you nor forsake you. I pray for you, 
 Eleanor. Oh ! do not forget that the sorrow of the 
 world worketh death." 
 
 Lady Olivia's words were listened to with respect- 
 ful attention by her niece, but they seldom appeared 
 to excite more interest than if they were spoken in some 
 foreign language that she did not understand; still
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 301 
 
 she was so totally unaccustomed to examine into her 
 own motives and feelings, that Eleanor fully believed 
 she had become all that Lady Olivia could possibly 
 wish. The pomps and vanities of a present world 
 seemed to have lost their attraction, therefore she fan- 
 cied that it was religion which had raised her above 
 their influence, and she beguiled her solitary hours by 
 forming fanciful schemes of benevolence, which pro- 
 ceeded, she thought, from the charity of a renewed 
 heart. If Eleanor Fitz-Patrick's situation had continued 
 unchanged, it is probable that the gradual influence of 
 Lady Olivia's affectionate counsel, and the example of 
 Matilda's active habits, might have made a permanent 
 impression on her mind, and led her to see and acknow- 
 ledge, that, of all the miseries in existence, a life without 
 duties and without occupations is the greatest. But a 
 sudden and unexpected change about this time took place 
 in Eleanor's circumstances, which altered the whole cur- 
 rent of her thoughts, and of her future prospects. 
 
 Sir Philip Barnard had frequently declared that he 
 could not exist in the foggy climate of Britain ; but still 
 nothing was farther from his thoughts than actual death, 
 when he was seized by sudden apoplexy one day after 
 dinner, and expired without a groan, to the grief and 
 
 consternation of his solicitor, who had been 
 
 engaged for some time in drawing up a will, in which 
 the bulk of his fortune was bequeathed to Matilda How- 
 ard, with a few insignificant legacies to friends, but in 
 which the name of Eleanor Fitz-Patrick seemed unac- 
 countably omitted. As this last settlement, however, 
 contained the trifling deficiency of being neither signed 
 nor witnessed, recourse was naturally had to Sir Philip's 
 previous will, which he forgot to cancel, and in which 
 Eleanor Fitz-Patrick was named, after her deceased
 
 302 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 mother, as the heiress to his estates of Barnard Castle 
 in Inverness-shire, and Enderby Hall in Cumberland, 
 both of which she inherited unconditionally on her 
 coming of age, though, in the meantime, she was placed 
 as a ward in Chancery, and under the personal guardian- 
 ship of Sir Richard Fitz-Patrick, or, failing him, of her 
 nearest male relative. 
 
 To describe the unbounded raptures of Eleanor at the 
 news of her immense succession, would baffle all power 
 of language ; and she seemed at once transported into 
 Fairyland, where the wildest dreams of imagination 
 were to be at once and perpetually realized. Visions 
 floated before her brain of presentations at Court, ex- 
 cursions abroad, and living like a feudal queen in the 
 Highlands. Her mind was like a kaleidoscope, which 
 varied its glittering prospects with magical celerity, and 
 a shining galaxy of diamond ornaments and sparkling 
 jewels crowned the whole, accompanied by the distant 
 expectation of seeing countless coronets laid at her feet. 
 Eleanor's state of excitement became so great, that she 
 could scarcely sit still during the day, or close her eyes 
 during the night, but wandered about in a continual fer- 
 ment of ecstacy. 
 
 " You are worn out with too much pleasure, Eleanor, 
 like the prisoners who were smothered with perfumes," 
 said Lady Olivia one evening, seeing the young heiress 
 look rather exhausted. " I have waited in the anxious 
 hope, that when your first surprise was over, my dear 
 girl, some more important thoughts would occur on the 
 danger and real duties of your ne\v situation. But I 
 am disappointed in you still, Eleanor," added her aunt, 
 mournfully ; " no touch of seriousness appears yet aris- 
 ing, to remind you that money is only a means, and that 
 unless we pursue some great and important purpose with
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. o03 
 
 it, better far never to hare incurred the deep responsi- 
 bility of possessing that which must be so powerful an 
 engine for good or for evil. I hear no plans for the ad- 
 vantage of others, no generous nor liberal things devised ; 
 but all you anticipate savours only of personal aggran- 
 dizement. Had I been the friend to announce your 
 good fortune, as the world calls it, I could scarcely have 
 wished you joy. In my own experience, the most un- 
 happy people have always been the richest, because they 
 were satiated with such pleasures as wealth could buy, 
 and had not the heart to seek those that were better ; 
 surrounded with sycophants instead of friends, without 
 any motive to active enterprise or intense study, pam- 
 pered with luxuries to the injury of their health, courted 
 for their riches instead of their virtues, exposed to the 
 envious animadversions of the world, and attended on 
 their very death-beds for interested expectations rather 
 than domestic affection. Dear Eleanor, if you could but 
 view it for a moment, as you must do when the lapse of 
 years shall make a separation inevitable from all that 
 now seems so precious, you would fervently seek to 
 ' make unto yourself friends of the mammon of un- 
 righteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you 
 into everlasting habitations.' " 
 
 Eleanor listened in solemn silence, and assumed a 
 suitable look of gravity for the occasion ; but it was 
 evident that she paid no more real attention to Lady 
 Olivia's words than to the rain that was rattling on the 
 window panes. 
 
 " It has long been a favourite opinion of mine, that 
 real happiness prevails most among the middle classes," 
 continued Lady Olivia; " they have none of the hard- 
 ships of poverty, and the very privations they endure in 
 common, and the mutual sacrifices that they are called
 
 304 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 to make, endear families to each other, and rivet that 
 domestic affection, which is the first and greatest ingre- 
 dient of this world's happiness. An enormous income 
 naturally isolates us from others, because, even if we feel 
 generously disposed, our friends are no longer on terms of 
 equality but of obligation. To be selfishly rich, is the most 
 miserable existence that any one could condemn himself 
 to, exchanging the glitter of external circumstances for 
 the warmth of the heart's best affections. I could only 
 be in danger of envying wealth, if I saw that it was 
 enjoyed, in the sole way by which it could bring a bless- 
 ing to its possessor, as a steward for the good of others ; 
 and that it might be said of me as of the ancient patriarch, 
 ' When the eye saw me it blessed me, and when the ear 
 heard me it bore witness to me.' Eleanor, I shall not 
 probably live to see the use you make of wealth, for 
 soon the place that has known me shall know me no 
 more ; but it is my solemn testimony to you in these 
 circumstances, that from the exercise of liberality and 
 kindness is to be derived the only real enjoyment of 
 wealth." 
 
 On this and on many other occasions Lady Olivia 
 saw, without surprise, but with deep regret, that all she 
 could say was listened to as a wearisome task, and cast 
 aside the next moment as deserving of nothing but ob- 
 livion ; she therefore suspended what more she would 
 have desired to remark, till the first intoxication of sur- 
 prise should be over, but that expected period never 
 seemed likely to arrive. Scarcely six months elapsed 
 from the time of Lady Fitz-Patrick's death, before Elea- 
 nor was restored by the joy of this succession to more 
 than her usual brilliant spirits, and talked with perpetual 
 animation of the splendid prospect before her. " They 
 say every pleasure has a drawback, but I have not met
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 305 
 
 with one," she exclaimed, laughing, to her cousin, in the 
 exuberance of her joy. " When people talked formerly 
 of there being nothing perfect in this world, that was 
 before I appeared in it." 
 
 Eleanor became once again only 
 " That light unmeaning thing, 
 
 That smiles with all, and weeps with none." 
 She might be heard all over the house humming her 
 favourite opera tunes, evidently so elated that she seemed 
 scarcely to think the earth was good enough for her to 
 tread upon, and she immediately relapsed into her old 
 unsettled habit of spending the day. She seldom finished 
 any piece of music on the harp without starting off to 
 tune her guitar, or to strike a few cords on the piano ; 
 she generally began half-a-dozen letters, which were 
 afterwards left in the blotting-book, to be concluded 
 when her inclination for writing returned ; and though 
 she occasionally threaded her needle, and sat down to 
 worsted work, she had scarcely time to decide what 
 shade came next in the pattern, before she flew to copy 
 some Italian sonnet from a book into an album, or to 
 read over her visiting list, in order to see who had last 
 called to inquire for her ; and she longed impatiently to 
 bring back Miss Marabout on a visit in the house, that 
 she might have some one to sympathise in the exuberance 
 of her joy. 
 
 " Don't you envy me, Matilda ?" she said one day, 
 turning to her cousin, who was busily occupied in 
 finishing a laborious copy of Lady Olivia's portrait in 
 miniature, on which she had long been intensely engaged, 
 while Eleanor, as usual, fluttered about the drawing-room. 
 " It really was a lucky accident for me, that Sir Philip 
 had not signed that strange will he made afterwards, if 
 he ever seriously intended it "
 
 306 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " I daresay it was fortunate for me also," replied Ma- 
 tilda, in a tone of perfect sincerity. " I should of course 
 be happy to try the experiment how a large fortune 
 would suit me ; but so very little could be added to my 
 enjoyments, that it quite reconciles me to the present 
 state of affairs. I remember hearing it remarked, that 
 many people were seeking happiness, like an absent man 
 looking for his hat, when it is already on his head ; and 
 it would be very much like my case, were I to fret 
 myself now on account of the disappointment; there- 
 fore, dear Eleanor, you need not feel anything on 
 my account as a drawback to your pleasure on this 
 occasion." 
 
 Nothing was farther from Eleanor's thoughts than to 
 suppose that it could detract in any degree from her joy 
 to have supplanted Matilda, as that circumstance, on the 
 contrary, rather added a zest to her own good fortune ; 
 and it soon became the object of her continual and 
 ceaseless desire to stir up in the gentle, unambitious 
 mind of her amiable cousin, a feeling of rivalship and 
 of envy, which it was impossible ever to implant in a 
 soil so carefully cultivated, and so filled with every blos- 
 som of good and elevated feeling. , Eleanor became pro- 
 digal of her money in personal expense, but no generous 
 impulse ever led her to such acts of liberality or bene- 
 volence as might have made Matilda feel the desire to 
 go and do likewise. She covered herself with trinkets 
 she filled her room with novels, old china, and bijou- 
 terie she multiplied albums, piping bullfinches, and 
 musical boxes and eagerly longed for the day when 
 she might cast aside her mourning dress, and blaze out 
 in all the brilliance of unrivalled splendour and fashion. 
 Eleanor was on all occasions ready to spend, but never 
 to give ; and the only unalloyed pleasure which wealth
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. ,S07 
 
 can bring to a generous mind, was one of which she was 
 totally incapable, as she felt no gratification in confer- 
 ring happiness, and would have experienced no more 
 satisfaction in giving away a sum of money than in cast- 
 ing it into the fire. 
 
 " Matilda," said Lady Howard one evening, " I think 
 Eleanor will one day be smothered beneath a mountain 
 of gold bracelets, like the woman we read of in Roman 
 history, she has bought so many. Does your cousin 
 never seem to think of presenting one to you ? I re- 
 member how eloquently she used to talk of the generous 
 things that poor Sir Philip ought to do towards you 
 both ; but she seems to have forgotten all her bountiful 
 opinions now that they should come into action." 
 
 " Eleanor knows you are so liberal to me that I require 
 nothing, and therefore it never occurs to her," replied 
 Matilda. 
 
 " Well," said Lady Howard, "I shall not theorize about 
 what rich people should do till I am tried with a large 
 accession of fortune myself, and then we shall see whe- 
 ther it has the usual effect of shutting up my heart instead 
 of opening it. But you really deserve something, Matil- 
 da, for bearing our disappointment so much better than 
 I did. Let us yet hope it will be compensated, in a small 
 degree, by Lady Barnard when she dies, since your un- 
 wearied patience with her, and your daily visits there, 
 deserve the utmost gratitude." 
 
 " I am sorry you expect anything from that quarter, 
 as it will lead to certain vexation," replied Matilda smil- 
 ing. " You can have no conception how completely Lady 
 Barnard looks on my attentions as a matter of course, 
 and how much more offended she is by any imaginary 
 omission than she is pleased with my utmost exertions. 
 I merelv go from a sense of duty and from a feeling of
 
 308 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 compassion, as I would visit,any other person so helpless 
 and lonely, but without the most transient idea of ulti- 
 mate advantage." 
 
 It turned out soon afterwards precisely as Matilda 
 Howard had foreseen. Lady Barnard sunk gradually 
 into the grave, under an accumulation of infirmities, 
 during which her sole support and consolation were de- 
 rived from the unceasing assiduities of our heroine, who 
 became so essential to her comfort that she could not 
 bear to let Matilda go for an hour out of the room ; and 
 she expired in her arms, leaving the whole of her fortune 
 to a distant cousin, whom she had never seen, merely 
 because he was HER COUSIN, and to Matilda nothing, 
 except the pleasing consciousness of having persevered, 
 through every discouragement, in an act of disinterested 
 usefulness. 
 
 Miss Fitz-Patrick became, from the period of her 
 unexpected succession, so consequential in manner, and 
 so desultory in conversation, that it was often the ut- 
 most effort of principle in Matilda to bear with her 
 patiently. 
 
 " I wonder what o'clock it is !" exclaimed Eleanor one 
 day, in the midst of an audible yawn, after having lounged 
 away most of the morning in Lady Howard's drawing- 
 room. " Busy, as usual, Matilda ; what a drudge you 
 are ! always working at something, as if your daily bread 
 depended on finishing it before night. Do let me see you 
 five minutes in idleness, if it were only for the sake of a 
 little sympathy in my weariness." 
 
 " By all means," replied Matilda, hastily arranging her 
 work-box and closing it. " I was watching for an oppor- 
 tunity to tell you a most amusing incident that diverted 
 me this morning." 
 
 " O delightful ! do relate it !'' s;iid Eleanor, sitting
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 309 
 
 down in her favourite place 1 , which commanded a view 
 of the window, and of a large mirror, where her own 
 figure was reflected at full length. " I like nothing so 
 well as a perfectly new story, before the gloss is off, and 
 when it is still damp from the press." 
 
 " But will you for once bestow undivided attention 
 upon me? It is nothing without some previous details," 
 replied Matilda; " and I shall be so mortified if you lose 
 the point." 
 
 " Lose it !" cried Miss Fitz-Patrick, examining her 
 rings, " how could I? You know my attention never 
 wanders for an instant when any one is speaking to me." 
 " Are you sure of that ?" replied Matilda, with a sly 
 glance of reproach. " I think of late, Eleanor, you have- 
 occasionally seemed absent without leave." 
 
 " Have I ?" said the heiress in a supercilious tone. 
 " "Why, really one has so many things to think of. But 
 now for your story, which I am dying to hear. Do be- 
 gin with saying, ' Once upon a time,' which was always 
 my favourite commencement when we were children, 
 because it plunged immediately into the incident." 
 
 " Well, then ! Once upon a time, which means yes- 
 terday morning, I went to see old Lady Evans " 
 
 '' By the way, that reminds me," interrupted Eleanor, 
 " that I wanted to ask how many sons Lady Evans has? ' 
 " Her children are all dead, but she has two grand- 
 sons at Eton." 
 
 " What a disappointment ! I always fancied you had 
 an admirer in that house, because you go there so con- 
 stantly. In the very last novel I read, the heroine was 
 continually paying charitable visits to an old lady ; and 
 then it came out that there was a handsome son in the 
 Life Guards, who had returned home upon leave, and of 
 course they married at last."
 
 310 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Certainly it was quite unavoidable; but no such 
 dashing denouement awaits me, unless I delay till one 
 of the Eton boys has finished his grammatical studies. 
 We must be disinterested sometimes, you know, Eleanor; 
 and I really like poor Lady Evans extremely." 
 
 " But now for your story," continued Eleanor, yawn- 
 ing. " I quite delight in hearing you tell one." 
 
 " As I was saying, then, I went yesterday to see old 
 Lady Evans." 
 
 " How far is it to her cottage ?" 
 
 " One mile and a half." 
 
 " Did Miss Porson go also ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Was it not dreadfully wet and foggy?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I spent the entire day within an inch of the fender, 
 shivering and grumbling all the time ; but now go on." 
 
 " I went, then, to Lady Evans" 
 
 "Is she rich?" 
 
 " Not very." 
 
 " How much has she ?" 
 
 " Perhaps a thousand a-year ; but I never heard ex- 
 actly-" 
 
 " Has she a carriage?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And does she keep horses?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Well, now, Matilda, I am so anxious to hear your 
 story." 
 
 " I have only got as far as my expedition to Lady 
 Evans" 
 
 ' A propos, how old is she ?" 
 
 " Kighty-two." 
 
 " Was she ever a beauty ?"
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 311 
 
 " No ; I rather believe not." 
 
 " Whom did her daughter marry ?" 
 
 " Sir Thomas Forrester." 
 
 " What did Lady Forrester die of?" 
 
 " Inflammation." 
 
 " Had she any children ?" 
 
 " Only two." 
 
 " But, Matilda," continued Eleanor, glancing into 
 the mirror, when shall we get on with this story of 
 yours ?" 
 
 " As soon as I get leave," answered her cousin gayly. 
 " You criticised my excessive patience with poor Lady 
 Barnard's deafness, but really Eleanor, your fit of curio- 
 sity this morning is ten times more insupportable." 
 
 44 Then I will not interrupt you again if I can help it ; 
 so do go on." 
 
 " When I was at Lady Evans' cottage " 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha ! there is that old cat, Lady Susan 
 Danvers, walking along the street with such beauty airs, 
 it would make any one die. The wind is blowing her 
 bonnet off, and her parasol is turned inside out ha ! 
 ha ! she has asked a carpenter who was passing acci- 
 dentally to help her across the street ! and she looks 
 like a vessel in a breeze, with every sail set ! But what 
 were we talking of? Oh, go on with your story, Matilda ; 
 why are you stopping ?" 
 
 " I waited till you were done laughing and could listen. 
 Lady Evans said to me in her good-humoured way " 
 
 " Oh, Matilda, do come here !" cried Eleanor. " What 
 a sight ! there is old Sir Colin Fletcher, in a new equi- 
 page that might be the Car of Venus, it is so light and 
 airy : I wish he would give me a drive in it. And only 
 look at those piebald horses of his !" 
 
 " Had you a wish ready when they came in sight;"
 
 312 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 asked Matilda ! " for you know, Eleanor, whatever we 
 are wishing for at the moment of a piebald horse ap- 
 pearing it is sure to happen, according to the old High- 
 land superstition." 
 
 " Then I must have been wishing myself a duchess, 
 for that is what I always desire above every thing ; a 
 coronet at the corner of my pocket-handkerchiefs, and 
 to be called ' your Grace ' at every word, would be my 
 idea of perfect happiness. But now, for the last time 
 of asking, pray finish your story." 
 
 " No, Eleanor," said Matilda laughing: " I really must 
 not undertake my task again; it is impossible to hold 
 your attention for a minute now. Yesterday I tried in 
 vain to interest you, and began three different sentences 
 in the most attractive manner ; first, I said, ' what an 
 extraordinary event had happened/ which you did not 
 hear me relate; next I told you ' that it was the drollest 
 incident in the world,' but you felt no curiosity ; and at 
 last, intending to be quite irresistible, I commenced with 
 saying, ' that I had never laughed so much in my life as 
 at the story I was going to tell.' Xow, on not one of 
 these occasions did you hear me out; and poor Lady 
 Evans' sayings and doings must be laid on the shelf also, 
 till you are in a listening mood, if that ever occur again. ' 
 
 " How very cross of you Matilda, when I am so in- 
 terested," said Eleanor languidly. " I wonder what very 
 pretty foreign-looking children these are passing with 
 their long dusty curls fluttering in the wind, and such 
 affected airs. I like to see conceited children, it gives 
 them such a look of distinction." 
 
 As wealth is the only gift in which one man can pre- 
 cisely estimate his superiority to another, because it can 
 be brought to demonstration at once, and must of course 
 be conceded without dispute, rich people are apt tu
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 313 
 
 flatter themselves that in all other respects their pre- 
 eminence shall be as readily acknowledged, though the 
 measure of their attainments cannot be so accurately as- 
 certained, and Eleanor Fitz-Patrick found no difficultyin 
 persuading herself that she excelled Matilda in every gift 
 of nature as much as she did in those of fortune, and that 
 the disparity would be as glaring in the eyes of all the 
 world as it appeared to be in her own ; yet she felt a 
 secret and unacknowledged jealousy of her cousin, which 
 all her self-love could not entirely disarm, and a degree 
 of pique to see herself so totally unenvied, which led her 
 to try on many occasions if she could not inflict petty 
 mortifications on Matilda's vanity. Those strokes fell, 
 however, as harmlessly on Miss Howard as the javelins 
 in the fairy tale, which were turned into roses when 
 they touched what was lovely or pure. 
 
 " Ah !" exclaimed Eleanor one day, in a tone of 
 excessive animation, " I really believe that Sir Alfred 
 Douglas is leaving his card for me ! I wish the servant 
 had shown him up stairs. He certainly has the most 
 dignified appearance imaginable, and rides the hand- 
 somest horses in the kingdom. Now, that would be a 
 conquest worth making. I am quite wearied of Major 
 Foley and all the common tribe of men,;who are sure 
 to be pleased with whatever I think, say, or do; as for 
 my former favourite, Mr Grant, he has become so odd 
 and whimsical, I scarcely know what to think of him 
 now : but there is something so grand and inaccessible 
 about Sir Alfred, that I can never attend to any one else 
 when he is in the room. How strange it is that a per- 
 son who has so much conversation for gentlemen can 
 scarcely produce a syllable to a lady ! Positively, dur- 
 ing all my parties at the Priory, he never said a word to 
 me, except to inquire for you, Matilda. Do not flatter
 
 '514- MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 yourself, however," added Eleanor, seeing the brilliant 
 colour which suddenly overspread her cousin's counte- 
 nance, and which our heroine vainly endeavoured to 
 conceal " Sir Alfred evidently did not care in the least 
 whether you were dead or alive, and merely wished to 
 find a pretext for speaking to me ; but he is not at all a 
 lady's man, and I like him the better for it. People say 
 that Lady Amelia has contrived to inspire into him the 
 most unbounded horror of flirting misses and manoeuv- 
 ring mammas, with the amiable intention of continuing 
 her own regency at the Priory as long as possible ; 
 ' mais les difficultes font naitre les miracles ;' and I am 
 resolved that my next victim shall be no less a personage 
 than Sir Alfred Douglas himself, who is really like a 
 royal eagle compared with the chattering magpies that 
 have been surrounding me lately. I like his odd, whim- 
 sical misanthropy ; and then that stern, forbidding look, 
 with which he stands aloof from every body at a party, 
 is extremely interesting. "Was it not with you, by the 
 bye, Matilda, that I saw him talking one evening at the 
 Priory for nearly an hour ? I recollect being astonished 
 at the moment, and always forgot to ask what he could 
 possibly be speaking about, for you both looked so 
 grave and prosing." 
 
 Matilda's worsteds had become excessively entangled, 
 and she was so intently occupied in counting the stitches 
 of her pattern, that it was some minutes before she could 
 look up to answer her cousin's unexpected inquiry, and 
 as Eleanor seldom waited for an answer to her numer- 
 ous questions, and cared little for what any one else 
 had to say, she rambled on to some completely different 
 subject before Matilda could speak, and therefore the 
 topic of discussion which had engaged the attention of 
 Sir Alfred Douglas and our heroine on a previous oc-
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 315 
 
 casion must for ever remain a mystery, though it is not 
 supposed to have been quite so dull and tedious as 
 Eleanor imagined, because on several occasions after- 
 wards it was again renewed, and seemed to be supported 
 on both sides with rather less " suspended animation" 
 than was usually to be observed in the tone and manner 
 of Sir Alfred, who seemed to be attracted by the retir- 
 ing gentleness of Matilda's manner, and amused by the 
 naivete and frankness of her observations ; for there 
 was a transparency of character, and a dignified sim- 
 plicity, which made her, young as she was, an object 
 of respect as well as of interest to all those with whom 
 she felt sufficiently acquainted to converse. 
 
 It was rare indeed to meet with one so lovely, who 
 was unconscious of her own charms, and indifferent to 
 their effect graceful without affectation, and pleasing 
 without an attempt at display always eager to oblige 
 perfectly self-possessed, and with the most entire com- 
 mand of her attention to whatever should engage it at 
 the moment ; her accomplishments always ready for the 
 service of others, her opinions open as the light of day, 
 and her feelings alone shaded from the eye of common 
 observation, but always ready to act on every kind and 
 generous emotion, and known in all their intensity to 
 the few whom she could confidently trust ; her conversa- 
 tion abounding in good sense and information, but 
 Sowing easily on without the smallest effort, untainted 
 by pedantry, and unsullied by satire; a heart expanding 
 to every benevolent feeling, and a countenance beaming 
 with intelligence. Such was Matilda Howard ; but 
 whether the reserved and fastidious Sir Alfred Douglas 
 had perceived, or could appreciate all or any of these 
 graces in her character and appearance, no one had time 
 to conjecture, as Lady Amelia was about this time seized
 
 316 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 with a sudden inclination to visit the Continent, and 
 made an earnest request that her son would be her escort 
 on the occasion. If Sir Alfred excelled in any thing, 
 it was in devoted attention to his mother, and he at 
 once acceded to this apparently unaccountable whim, 
 by preparing to accompany her abroad. His last visit 
 before leaving town, was to Lady Howard, who received 
 him with the greatest emprcssement of attention, and 
 overpowered him with Continental recollections as soon 
 as she understood he was going abroad. She told him 
 where the dinners had been bad ten years before, when 
 she had travelled through Germany and Switzerland 
 herself she revived all her raptures about the scenery 
 on the Rhine shuddered at the remembrance of the 
 roads went into ecstacies about the gallery of Dresden 
 described a concert at Vienna, and talked of her intimacy 
 with as many ex-kings and ambassadors as might have 
 done for a congress ; but still Sir Alfred looked absent 
 and egare. Lady Howard was surprised, as she seldom 
 took so much trouble to be agreeable with so little 
 success, and she resolved therefore to try a new ground. 
 Sir Alfred's "favourite aversion" had always been 
 for female politicians ; but totally unconscious of this, 
 Lady Howard plunged at once to her utmost depth in 
 politics. She prophesied that great changes must 
 take place in the country before his return, remarked 
 that the volcano would burst very soon, and bury 
 the whole constitution of the country beneath a heap 
 of ruins wondered who was the author of the HB. 
 caricatures described some of the most entertaining 
 of them, and expressed her serious apprehensions for the 
 House of Peers, and her decided opinion that in case of 
 a revolution, the safest and best refuge would be found 
 in Canada. Sir Alfred Douglas seemed inaccessible to
 
 OR THE MARCH OP INTELLECT. 317 
 
 alarm, and remained calm and inattentive during the 
 whole stream of Lady Howard's declamation ; but still 
 he sat on, and she began to wonder much at the duration 
 of his visit, and rather to grudge the trouble of trying 
 to amuse a visitor who seemed totally un-amuseable. 
 Yet he looked so distinguished and so intelligent, that 
 she felt assured there must be some Promethean torch 
 that could awaken him into life if she only knew where 
 to light it, and she was not one to be intimidated by 
 difficulties. 
 
 " I see you are glancing towards my daughter's port- 
 folio," s:iid she, following the accidental direction of Sir 
 Alfred's eyes. " She has been busy all this morning 
 copying a likeness of poor young Arundell for his mother, 
 which is tolerably successful, but this sketch of the 
 Priory that she had promised Lady Amelia is a total 
 failure she does not mean to send such a mere daub." 
 " Let me take it," said Sir Alfred, hastily rolling up 
 the drawing, " it will be a precious recollection to me 
 
 of of what will never be absent from my 
 
 thoughts." 
 
 " By all means," replied Lady Howard, rather asto- 
 nished at such unexpected eagerness. " My daughter is 
 spending the day with old Lady Evans, or she would 
 gladly have added a few touches to increase the effect. " 
 " It could not possibly be improved," replied Sir Al- 
 fred, abruptly taking leave and hastening out of the room 
 with a degree of agitation in his manner which more 
 than ever astonished Lady Howard. 
 
 " I really think," she said to Matilda in the evening, 
 " it is full time that Lady Amelia should take her son to 
 the Continent, for he is becoming very eccentric. This 
 morning he sat above an hour in my drawing-room, 
 neither speaking nor listening. He seems to care no
 
 318 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 more about the state of the nation than my lap-dog, and 
 actually smiled when I told him how soon the Protestant 
 ascendancy would be at an end his eye was fixed on 
 the door during the whole visit, as if he had been medi- 
 tating an escape, or expecting an apparition, and he took 
 leave of me so suddenly at last that I had scarcely time 
 to charge him with my kind regards to Lady Amelia. 
 I suspect he has something upon his mind, and that a 
 little change of scene will be the surest remedy, unless 
 his case be incurable. Perhaps, like the statue of Pyg- 
 malion, he is at last to be awakened by the torch of love." 
 " Perhaps he may," cried Sir Francis, looking up from 
 his newspaper 
 
 ' He that fights and runs away 
 May li ve to fight another day f 
 What say you to that, Matilda ?" 
 
 Amongst the many important changes which were 
 consequent on Miss Fitz-Patrick's unexpected alteration 
 of circumstances, there was one for which she had been 
 so totally unprepared, that it became the subject of con- 
 tinual astonishment, and led to endless conjectures on 
 her own part, which were confided to no one except her 
 trusty and sympathizing cousin. From the time when 
 Eleanor's brilliant inheritance was first announced to 
 the world, her lively and agreeable admirer, Mr Grant, 
 entirely relinquished his visits. When they met in so- 
 ciety, he no longer paid her those attentions which had 
 formerly been the source of so much pleasure and amuse- 
 ment he avoided handing her to dinner never took 
 wine with her at table discontinued asking her to dance, 
 and averted his eye instantly when he had made her a 
 distant bow. If Eleanor exerted herself by any efforts 
 to address him, he replied with a degree of absence and 
 re&traint quite unusual, and the moment another gentle-
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 319 
 
 man came up to address her, he instantly withdrew. 
 The young heiress was at first surprised, then distressed, 
 and finally irritated at so unaccountable a change, but 
 still it was a subject of mortification and astonishment 
 that never escaped her thoughts. Surrounded as she 
 frequently was by almost every other gentleman in the 
 room, there appeared yet to be a blank, for she missed 
 his lively humour, and the joyous laugh with which he 
 had been accustomed to echo all her sallies of vivacity. 
 
 " What can be the matter with Mr Grant ?" whispered 
 she to Matilda one evening at Lady Montague's, when 
 he was standing aloof, while a whole troop of officers 
 were officiously searching for her shawl, and calling 
 her carriage. " This is the strangest whim ! I must 
 find out what it all means. Mr Grant, you once had the 
 most remarkable genius for putting on a cloak gracefully, 
 but I suppose the art is entirely lost, or you would offer 
 to assist me now." 
 
 " Miss Fitz- Patrick," replied he, vainly attempting to 
 force a laugh, "I need a cloak for my own feelings, and 
 I can wear one no longer. Farewell ! a long farewell ! 
 circumstances have changed, but feelings never can. 
 I am about to travel, to go any where that I may forget. 
 I trust you will enjoy all the happiness you merit, and 
 then it will be perfect." 
 
 Having said these words in a hurried voice of deep 
 emotion, he threw on his hat and instantly disappeared. 
 
 " Matilda," said Eleanor, taking her cousin's arm with 
 a bewildered look of agitation, and hastening rapidly 
 into the carriage " tell me, Matilda, what you think of 
 this? Speak to me say something. I am so com- 
 pletely taken by surprise. Poor Mr Grant ! he really 
 looked like a person who intended to shoot himself." 
 
 " Oh no, Eleanor ! I have no idea, to be sure, how
 
 320 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 people look who are going to shoot themselves, but Mr 
 Grant is only going abroad, you may depend upon it. I 
 can solve the whole enigma of his conduct, and I truly 
 respect him for it. He was evidently long since attached 
 to you, when there seemed no disparity of situation, but 
 now he is conscious that with all your brilliant gifts, 
 added to a splendid fortune, he ought not to presume 
 upon any previous claim he might have urged to your 
 preference, and therefore he has resolved on absenting 
 himself as his best hope of forgetting you." 
 
 " He might at least have consulted my own opinion 
 whether my happiness would be most promoted by his 
 forgetting or remembering me ; but after all, ' whatever 
 is, is right,' " added Eleanor, in a tone of some pique. 
 " Mr Grant, a year since, would scarcely have equalled 
 the expectations of my friends, and still less now ; but, 
 Matilda, if he had every requisite, there are certainly 
 not many to compare with him for fascination of manner 
 and appearance." 
 
 " If you think so, Eleanor, wait till he returns un- 
 changed, as I am confident he will do, in a few years 
 hence. "When you have more experience of the world 
 and its ways, he will probably feel justified in renewing 
 the intimacy ; and I can imagine no greater pleasure, 
 after such a succession of fortune as yours, than to reward 
 the disinterested attachment of one who has every thing 
 to recommend him except the wealth which you possess 
 in such abundance, and who has now shown so painful 
 and difficult an instance of integrity and right feeling 
 towards yourself." 
 
 " Why then) does he go ?" exclaimed Eleanor indig- 
 nantly. " I never gave him the slightest discouragement, 
 nor made any alteration in my conduct, for I always? did 
 prefer his attentions to those of any other person."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 321 
 
 "That is the very reason of his conduct, Eleanor; for 
 I am convinced he thinks you not yet old enough to 
 make a final decision, and he is exactly the sort of person 
 who would feel it dishonourable to surprise you into any 
 premature engagement." 
 
 " Matilda, what retaining fee has Mr Grant given you 
 for being his advocate ?" said her cousin, smiling; "I am 
 sure you deserve a liberal one." 
 
 " I am anxious that you should see the business in its 
 proper light, as all your future happiness may be involved 
 in it, Eleanor, as well as your best chance of being disin- 
 terestedly loved. Till lately you scarcely noticed any one 
 at parties as you did Mr Grant, and at that time he had 
 no scruple in gaining your affections, as his own had evi- 
 dently been bestowed in advance ; but now he sees you 
 surrounded by many admirers (or I should rather say 
 suitors, I fear), some of them having superior claims" 
 
 " Pshaw, Matilda! how can you speak such nonsense 
 about any of the trash who attend on me now being com- 
 parable to poor Mr Grant poor in a double sense, and 
 yet, thanks to his own care, I have made a narrow escape 
 of being positively romantic, and throwing myself away 
 upon a mere love-match ; for, to say the truth, if he had 
 only made a regular plain declaration, as any body else 
 would have done, I am not at all certain what would 
 have been the consequence. How I laughed some 
 months ago when he sung, with so much comic humour, 
 that favourite song of his, ' The bashful lover !' 
 
 ' Ye swains ! did you ere such a simpleton know ! 
 
 I 'm in love, and yet have not the heart to say so !' 
 He little thought how soon the words would apply to 
 himself, for he was not at that time precisely the per- 
 son from whom one would have expected such dif-
 
 322 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMEXTSy 
 
 fidence. As for all you say of my other innumerable 
 would-be lovers, there is not one whose motives I can- 
 not see as plainly as if these were engraved on their fore- 
 heads " 
 
 " In letters of gold," added Matilda slyly. 
 
 " Yes. And let me tell you it is by no means plea- 
 sant. Formerly all the attention I ever received was 
 homage due to my own individual merit ; but now the 
 whole race of disinterested victims have deserted like Mr 
 Grant, and I have only in my train such men as Lord 
 Alderby, who does not know whether I am tall or short, 
 or fat, or thin, but who has a title and no estate, so that 
 mine would suit him exactly. Sir Charles Campbell is 
 another who cannot afford to marry gratis, because, like 
 all Scotch proprietors, he has built so expensive a 
 house that he can never afford to inhabit it. Colonel 
 Pendarvis, who is living in poverty till his old aunt dies, 
 and would like to keep better hunters in the meantime. 
 I am told he books up a regular register of young ladies, 
 with their fortunes and expectations elderly misses who 
 are actually in possession, and young girls whose fathers 
 are still in the way. Lord de Mainbury, whose estate 
 marches with mine in the Highlands, is also a link in the 
 tail, not to mention a whole squadron of handsome Irish 
 officers, and a perfect troop of younger brothers, who 
 have been reckoned good-looking and agreeable at home, 
 and are recommended by their mammas and aunts ' to 
 try the heiress,' or rather, perhaps, 'to start for the Fitz- 
 Patrick plate of 1000 guineas for all ages and pedigrees.' 
 Formerly I used to have in my suite half a hundred plea- 
 sant younger brothers, with any one of whom I could 
 laugh off half an hour every evening, without thinking 
 more on the subject; for we separated with the mutual 
 consciousness that neither party could afford to fall in
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. .12-5 
 
 love : but now every one of these youths has found out 
 that he was all along desperately smitten with me, and 
 I cannot be civil to one of them without having a pro- 
 posal on the spot. It is really torturing; and at parties, 
 instead of a careless ' how d'ye do ?' as formerly, I see 
 nothing but angry and despairing glances." 
 
 " I am sure, if Mr Grant heard you, he would allow 
 that there is no deficiency in knowledge of the world," 
 replied Matilda, laughing ; " but it is a great advantage 
 to be so completely on your guard." 
 
 " Yes," said Eleanor bitterly. " I am more than a 
 match for them all, Matilda, and that you shall see here- 
 after ; meantime my delight is to teaze and punish every 
 mercenary who enlists himself under my banner. Last 
 night I made the corpulent, gouty Lord Alderby go down 
 a country dance of a mile long, and he nearly went off 
 in an apoplexy when he reached the end. I asked 
 him about fifty questions in a breath, and he panted, and 
 gasped, and tried to smile and reply, but it was impos- 
 sible. To-day I have requested Sir Charles Campbell to 
 copy out the music of a whole opera, and to let me have 
 it before Friday ; so he must sit up two or three nights, 
 I should hope, to accomplish his task; and Lord de Main- 
 bury has rashly undertaken to procure me some white 
 roses for the fancy ball, though I am confident there are 
 none to be found at this season in any conservatory 
 throughout the country. If it had been midsummer I 
 should have longed for a snow-ball. Gold is the axis on 
 which our world turns now, Matilda ; and I scarcely 
 know yet whether to laugh or cry on account of the 
 predicament it places me in. It was like gilding a dia- 
 mond to give me money, which has actually obscured 
 my real attractions." 
 
 " Best to take the cheerful side of every thing,'' re-
 
 324 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 plied Matilda in a lively tone. " You have really re- 
 vived the ancient times, Eleanor, when a beautiful prin- 
 cess could send her lovers to the utmost extremity of the 
 world, merely to gratify her whims. You have not yet 
 demanded the beard of the Great Mogul, or the Emperor 
 of China's front tooth ; but I daresay they might be had 
 for the asking. I had no idea it would have been so 
 well worth while in these days to have lovers, as the 
 abolition of tilts and tournaments left no way, I had 
 feared, for your admirers to signalize themselves ; but if 
 you always carry a talisman about to tell who is the 
 most sincerely attached to you, I still think it will be 
 the one whose preference was spontaneous, and totally 
 untainted by the consciousness of your wealth." 
 
 " It was a vulgar, mercenary idea of Mr Grant's to 
 suppose that riches could make any difference, if we had 
 truly liked each other," continued Eleanor, with some 
 agitation. " Those who mutually bestow their affections 
 have exchanged what is worth all the wealth of all the 
 world." 
 
 " Very romantic on your part, Eleanor; but Sir 
 Richard would not perhaps have viewed it so disinter- 
 estedly, and the world certainly might have said, that at 
 eighteen we are too young to judge for ourselves." 
 
 "True," replied Eleanor sighing. "It is best not to 
 be pledged so soon, and I have always been rather am- 
 bitious for myself, as you know. Mrs Gjant ! ! ! that 
 would never have done ! I was long since resolved on no 
 account to marry a man who had only one syllable to 
 his name it sounds so insignificant ; and I must be in 
 the peerage." 
 
 " Yes ; I remember saying last year that you would 
 one day deserve the epitaph of some old courtier in for- 
 mer times
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. rfZ'-> 
 
 ' Here lies one who ne'er preferred 
 A Viscount to a Marquis yet.' " 
 
 " But, Matilda, at the same time I really wish there 
 was a general war, hecause it is such a bore the whole 
 Continent being open for our discontented beaux to 
 escape to whenever the slightest whim disgusts them. 
 Now Sir Alfred Douglas is emigrating also ; and I sup- 
 pose, like Mr Grant, he is afraid of asking me too soon." 
 
 " Have you any reason to imagine that he is attach- 
 ed to you ?" asked Matilda, looking intently out of the 
 window, 
 
 " All the reason in the world," replied Eleanor with 
 animation. " An intimate friend of Lady A melia's told 
 me in strict confidence, that his mother had mentioned 
 to her, under seal of profound secrecy, that she took 
 him abroad because he had become ardently devoted to 
 ' a young lady with whom he lately became acquainted,' 
 and she does not wish him to marry yet." Selfish old 
 cat! Now, Matilda, who else could it be except 
 myself; for my informer seemed to hint that it had 
 some kind of peculiar interest for me, when she disclosed 
 all that was prudent at present ? You know it can be 
 neither of the Miss Montagues, because I heard him say 
 to you that their conversation was double- distilled non- 
 sense. We are certain that it is not Lady Caroline 
 Benson, as you will recollect his remarking, in that dry, 
 diverting, sarcastic tone of his, that he never could look 
 at her without tears in his eyes, since the time that he 
 had lost his favourite walking stick with a head on it. 
 Besides these, it is neither of the Miss Seagraves, be- 
 cause he abhors the whole five ; so who else could it 
 possibly be, Matilda, unless you flatter yourself on the 
 subject ? and I acquit you completely there." 
 
 At the idea of having any rivalship with her cousin,
 
 326 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Eleanor gave a laugh of derision, which was faintly 
 echoed by Matilda ; but a crimson blush mantled in her 
 cheek, and rose to her temples, with such suddenness 
 and brilliancy, that it could scarcely have escaped Elea- 
 nor's notice, if our heroine had not been gazing intently 
 in a different direction, apparently absorbed in admira- 
 tion of a pair of hackney coach horses, which were driv- 
 ing opposite to the window. 
 
 Whether the cousins ever afterwards discovered the 
 real object of Sir Alfred's preference, can only be known 
 at some future period, as he and Mr Grant have both 
 remained abroad for some time, and separately gone 
 through the usual routine of travellers a volcano at 
 Mount Vesuvius a fete at Torlonis a robbery on the 
 Alps an overturn near Baden a bath at Emms a 
 descent into Herculaneum and a voyage in a gondola 
 at Venice. But as it would be unfair to anticipate too 
 large a proportion of the very interesting and original 
 narratives, which will, of course, on their return, in- 
 stantly appear in Albemarle Street, we shall only fur- 
 ther mention, that they have both already purchased a 
 larger collection of indifferent pictures than either of 
 them has walls for, and sent home several statues, 
 which may hereafter be very serviceable in the family 
 as wig blocks.
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. -I- I 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 Strange to conceive how the same objects strike 
 On different minds 
 
 " AUNT Olivia," said Eleanor one day, assuming an 
 amiable look, " you were saying a great deal to me last 
 month about doing some generous and useful actions, now 
 that ray means are so enlarged ; and as every thing you 
 suggest is deserving of implicit attention, I have the 
 pleasure to announce that several plans of the kind have 
 occurred to me, of which I know you will approve." 
 
 " How glad I am to hear it I" said Lady Olivia, rais- 
 ing herself up with some effort from the sofa on which 
 she had reclined, and looking with hopeful interest to- 
 wards Eleanor. " It always gives me pleasure to be told 
 of kind intentions ; and if you will communicate them 
 to Matilda and me, we shall be happy to hear an account 
 of your projects." 
 
 " In the first place, then, I intend to build the most 
 picturesque little school-house in the world, near Barnard 
 Castle. It is to be a rough log-hut with wide casements, 
 the plan of which I shall get from some architect, and 
 thatched on the roof, covered with creepers, and stand- 
 ing in a beautiful situation close to the lake." 
 
 " My dear Eleanor." the very des.ription is enough to 
 give one rheumatism," said Lady Olivia, smiling. " Such 
 a place might be endurable for six weeks of summer, 
 but you have no idea of a Highland climate ; and
 
 328 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 during autumn and winter it would be necessary to have 
 an hospital for all the coughs and colds that would be 
 caught. You might easily have something quite as 
 pretty, and more substantial." 
 
 " It is truly discouraging to be met with objections at 
 my very outset," replied the young heiress, peevishly ; 
 " but the whole affair is arranged in my own mind, so 
 that I would rather abandon the scheme entirely than 
 alter it. The girls shall be dressed in a sort of uniform 
 frocks of the Barnard tartan, with white tippets, and 
 transparent white muslin bonnets. If any of them are 
 tolerable looking the effect will be beautiful." 
 
 " For a few weeks, Eleanor," added Lady Olivia ; 
 " but my dear girl, you have too much good sense not 
 to be conscious that the whole plan is more like a scene 
 on the stage than a scheme that is to be acted in real 
 life, and in the wilds of Inverness-shire. Pray revise it, 
 with corrections, taking into consideration nine months 
 of cold weather, and a large proportion of short days 
 and of Scotch mist." 
 
 " It is nonsense to attempt pleasing anybody," cried 
 Eleanor impatiently. "I thought, aunt Olivia, you 
 would have been the last person on earth to prevent my 
 establishing a school, when your own has been so suc- 
 cessful ; but another of my plans is beyond criticism 
 certainly, though it requires your consent. You know, 
 my dear aunt, how long I have been raving about the 
 beauty of the cow-herd's daughter here. It distresses 
 me every day to see that lovely girl, Nanny Muckleraith, 
 what a name for a beauty ! weeding amongst flowers, 
 not one of which is so fresh or so blooming as herself; 
 and, poor thing ! she is wretchedly dressed too. I have 
 the same pleasure in looking at a fine face as at a fine 
 picture ; and my object is, with your permission, to have
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 329 
 
 this young Hebe taught dress-making, and to promote 
 her into the situation of my own maid." 
 
 " Dear Eleanor, this is a very kind impulse of feeling 
 on your part," replied the gentle Lady Olivia, colouring 
 with embarrassment, and hesitating how to express herself 
 in the most conciliatory terms: " I wish it were possible 
 to comply with your wishes, but so many painful lessons 
 were long since given me against being romantic in my 
 charities, that I can see nothing but the danger of evil 
 and of much future regret in your proposed plan. Nanny 
 is certainly very beautiful, and, what is still more un- 
 common in that rank of life, extremely graceful, so that 
 formerly I was often much tempted to notice her at 
 school more than would have been prudent. I have since 
 considered whether any thing could be done to improve 
 her circumstances, and would have spared no effort to do 
 any real good ; but nothing seemed so advantageous as 
 Millar's present way of supplying her with ample em- 
 ployment, along Avith the elder sister, and leaving them 
 under protection of their father's roof. In my house she 
 might have been carefully superintended, but any ar- 
 rangement in this world which depends upon the con- 
 tinuation of life to me must now be of a very temporary 
 nature. In your service she would evidently attract 
 more notice than is desirable ; for I never saw the per- 
 son yet who passed her in the garden without noticing 
 that delicate profile and brilliant colour. On the whole, 
 as you desire to do an act of kindness, let me entreat 
 that instead of Nanny you will patronize her sister 
 Martha, who is also an excellent girl, and who has not 
 the disadvantage, as I may really call it in their situa- 
 tion, of being so remarkably handsome." 
 
 " Excuse me there, aunt Olivia !" exclaimed Eleanor. 
 " You spoil my whole romance in a moment, which I
 
 830 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 really cannot consent to. Martha is merely an every- 
 day, hard-working, good sort of girl, in whom I could 
 take no interest whatever ; but Nanny would look like 
 a fairy gliding about my dressing-room. I stop her every 
 time we meet on the road, merely to see her bright smile 
 and brilliant eyes, and she would be a constant object of 
 interest to me. Have you no compunction, my dear 
 aunt, to think that such a complexion is broiling in your 
 garden every day under the blazing sun, or else smoked 
 like a Westphalia ham in that little cottage of theirs ? 
 Only think if some lady could transfer such an appear- 
 ance to herself, what a price would be given at any 
 auction in Bond Street for that porcelain skin; why, 
 Nanny might set up her carriage on the price that would 
 be gladly offered by some London lady of quality for her 
 brilliant colour." 
 
 " In spite of the broiling sun !" added Lady Olivia ; 
 " but I have often told you, that open air, on any terms, 
 is better for your colour than a hot drawing-room." 
 
 " Perhaps," continued Eleanor, with growing anima- 
 tion, " she might make some great conquest at last a 
 butler, or a shopkeeper, or even a lord ! for more unlikely 
 things have occurred ; and it is really mournful to watch 
 her weeding turnips or planting potatoes. Yesterday the 
 weather was very cold, and she came actually dressed 
 in an old great-coat of her father's, and such a bonnet ! 
 but still she seemed pretty ; and at that moment I de- 
 termined to search out some old gowns to give her, that 
 she may look decent, poor thing ! Don't be alarmed, for 
 they are neither gauze nor tulle," added Eleanor, catch- 
 ing a glance of anxiety from Lady Olivia ; " my present 
 consists merely of three sober, sensible old silk dresses, 
 of such dingy colours that I wonder how they ever got 
 into my wardrobe at all."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 331 
 
 " My dear girl, I am truly grieved to interfere with 
 your very kind and warm-hearted wishes," said Lady 
 Olivia; " but let me hope, when all is considered, you 
 may agree with me in thinking it best to leave Nanny 
 in the station originally assigned by Providence, for it 
 was only after mature reflection that I came to the same 
 conclusion. Her parents are of the very lowest descrip- 
 tion, poor and ignorant, but very honest and indus- 
 trious. Their family is numerous ; and by having the 
 two eldest girls educated suitably to their circumstances, 
 I have given them the means of being useful at home, 
 besides that they both earn enough for their own com- 
 fortable subsistence. If we bring Nanny conspicuously 
 forward in the capacity of your maid, she would be sur- 
 rounded by a thousand snares to vanity and lighthead- 
 edness, without being under any efficient guardianship. 
 Even if she did at last form as great a connection as your 
 most romantic wishes could suggest, it would raise her 
 beyond the level of all those to whom she is now attached, 
 without probably adding to her happiness. My object 
 is, gradually to increase the comforts of her whole family, 
 as they are remarkably deserving people ; and if you 
 wish to show the girls a kindness, it would be real cha- 
 rity to give both Martha and Nanny good warm duffle- 
 cloaks for the winter, as I know they are in such want 
 of comfortable clothing that Mrs Millar is at this mo- 
 ment sending them a supply of blankets and of worsted 
 stockings." 
 
 " What a burlesque upon my plan !" exclaimed Eleanor, 
 shrugging her shoulders, and unable to help laughing ; 
 " I do hate the dull realities of life ! When I intended 
 Nanny a coronet, you limit me to a grey duffle-cloak !" 
 
 " Which will make her more really contented than 
 the other, you may depend upon it," replied Lady Olivia.
 
 332 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " I am a great enemy to raising people from their ori- 
 ginal station, because whatever number you exalt above 
 their natural rank, the same number of others must be 
 proportionably depressed to fill up a vacuum in the 
 lower grade of society, which causes a much more ex- 
 tensive degree of suffering than of pleasure. Nanny and 
 her mother spin a great deal for me, because I like to 
 keep up the good old fashion of spinning-wheels; and it 
 makes Millar more than happy to fill her presses with 
 their manufacture." 
 
 < And it really is delightful," said Matilda, " to pass 
 through Ashgrove village in a summer evening, when 
 all the porches you have raised for them are glowing 
 with roses, and to watch the poor women basking in the 
 sun at every cottage door, and listening to the music of 
 their own spinning-wheels. I am amused to see that no 
 rank in life is exempt from a spark of vanity ; and last 
 week Mrs Muckleraith invited me to step in and inspect 
 her yarn, for she boasted it was unrivalled in the village : 
 and that ' her ladyship' always ordered what she spun 
 to be manufactured for the dining-room." 
 
 " Very true !" replied Lady Olivia; " and I pay her 
 rather more than any other person for doing it so well. 
 Mrs Muckleraith's yarn might all be passed through the 
 eye of a needle, it is so smooth, and I like to see her 
 honest satisfaction when she brings it home." 
 
 On the Saturday after this conversation, Lady Olivia 
 took the young heiress by the hand with an affectionate 
 smile, saying, " You have made two very happy girls 
 to-day, Eleanor ! I saw Martha and Nanny equipped 
 with new cloaks, and literally in ecstacies of joy at their 
 unexpected acquisition, which they said the good young 
 lady had given in so kind a manner that their pleasure 
 was never to be forgotten."
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. '..' 
 
 '' They must have been raving !" exclaimed Eleanor 
 in amazement ; " I gave them nothing! the whole affair 
 went completely into oblivion, after you prostrated my 
 castles in the air so cruelly. I like to have no medium, 
 and would either have done every thing or nothing for 
 Nanny. What could the girl mean ?" 
 
 Lady Olivia stole a glance towards Matilda, who was 
 watering some geraniums near the window, and disco- 
 vered at once from her heightened colour that she knew 
 more about the cloaks than her cousin ; but with affec- 
 tionate regard for our heroine's modesty on the subject, 
 she made no remark that indicated suspicion. 
 
 " I have not abandoned my plan of promoting the 
 young beauty yet, however ; I shall make another at- 
 tempt to gain your consent," continued the heiress. 
 " What you said, aunt Olivia, during our former conver- 
 sation, of people being raised from their natural rank, 
 reminds me of my present admirer, Lord de Mainbury, 
 whose late wife was an actress ; but they allege she had 
 performed the part of queen so often on the stage, that 
 she used rather to overdo her dignity as a peeress, and 
 sometimes call to the astonished footman at dinner, 
 ' Bring me a vase of beer !' I should never be able to 
 supply the place of so magnificent a person, and do not 
 therefore mean to undertake it. 1 ' 
 
 "We may trust you on the score of assuming suffi- 
 cient consequence for any situation, Eleanor," replied 
 Lady Olivia, in a rallying tone. " But do I hear you 
 really falling into the very error you were complaining 
 of lately in other young ladies, that they are always 
 professing an intention to refuse proposals which have 
 never been made, and boasting of the number of gen- 
 tlemen whose attentions they have been obliged to dis- 
 courage." 
 
 " Yes ! Charlotte Clifford told me of fifteen rejected
 
 334 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 addresses on her own list during last winter; but as for 
 Lord de Mainbury, there is very little to boast of in his 
 preference, as we all take rank in his estimation rather 
 according to our purses than our pedigrees. Indeed his 
 own lineage is not very exalted, for Mr Grant, who is 
 so capital a genealogist that he can trace everybody's 
 origin to a pedlar or a coal-porter, assures me that Lord 
 de Mainbury 's grandfather made his fortune by collect- 
 ing rusty nails in the streets of London." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Lady Olivia. " I heard once of a 
 poor man who lived near Salisbury-plain with no other 
 means of subsistence than by gathering the wool that 
 was accidentally torn off the sheep's backs ; and guess, 
 my dear girls, how much he died worth ?" 
 
 " I can't conceive!'' replied Eleanor eagerly; "was 
 itL.10,000?" 
 
 " Or perhaps, L.500 ?" asked Matilda. 
 
 " He died not worth a farthing, and was buried by 
 the parish !" replied Lady Olivia, good-humoured ly 
 smiling to see them both so taken in. 
 
 As the time passed on, it appeared to the anxious and 
 affectionate heart of Matilda Howard that there was a 
 very obvious and rapid decline in the health of her be- 
 loved aunt, who frequently consulted Dr Mansfield, and 
 seemed to contemplate the probability of closing her 
 earthly career at an early period. She aA r oided harass- 
 ing the feelings of her family, however, by very fre- 
 quently speaking on the subject, which nevertheless came 
 out in accidental allusions sometimes, being so completely 
 impressed upon her own mind that she scarcely remem- 
 bered it might be strange and unexpected to the friends 
 around her. Often with tears did our heroine watch 
 that fragile and drooping form, which seemed like a lily 
 in the field to fade so imperceptibly before her eyes, she 
 could scarcely say at what hour the sad alteration coin-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 335 
 
 nitnced, or in what degree it advanced. Still the same 
 affectionate smile which she was wont to see, invariably 
 greeted her entrance, but much of its animation had fled, 
 and was succeeded by the languor of extreme weakness. 
 Though Lady Olivia pursued her former occupations, 
 she evidently did so with a great deal of effort and diffi- 
 culty which was quite unusual, and Matilda's young 
 heart swelled with emotion when she thought that in all 
 probability the time was not far distant when she should 
 have to deplore the loss of one who was connected in 
 her affections with every remembrance of former happi- 
 ness, and with every hope of future joy. 
 
 Nearly a year had elapsed from the period of Lady 
 Fitz- Pa trick's death, and Eleanor had begun to complain 
 that there was nothing to mark the lapse of time except 
 a very frequent recurrence of Sundays. " The days fly 
 rapidly past, and yet they are tedious," said Eleanor, 
 yawning. " I should like to have an unlimited com- 
 mand of sleep, that one might slumber away all the su- 
 perfluous hours that hang heavy on hand." 
 
 " You would like, as somebody said, to lengthen your 
 life and shorten your days," replied Matilda ; " but how 
 gladly I would take off your hands any spare minutes, 
 having often wished there could be an act of Parliament 
 to make every day forty-eight hours long instead of 
 twenty-four, there is so seldom time to do half what 
 would be desirable." 
 
 " And I always go to bed early to have an hour less 
 of weariness on hand, but it will be very different when 
 we emerge into society again," said Eleanor ; " in the 
 meantime, pray give me your receipt for never tiring." 
 
 " The best of all plans is to allow yourself no rest 
 except what consists in a change of employment," replied 
 Matilda. " My aunt always advises us to interest our-
 
 336 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 selves in as many innocent objects of pursuit as possible. 
 She has no objection to people being eager about col- 
 lecting autographs, or seals, or pebbles, or butterflies, 
 whatever they can acquire a taste for, and, in short, to 
 do any thing rather than nothing, provided there be no 
 sin in it, for she says a stagnation is more to be avoided 
 than any other disease of the mind. It is always better 
 ' to wear out than to rust out.' " 
 
 " Very true," answered Eleanor, yawning, " if one had 
 anything to do that was worth while ; but you know 
 very well, Matilda, that it is, as your father declares, 
 the merest humbug in the world for ladies to talk of 
 being usefully employed." 
 
 " We may at least try," said Matilda smiling. " The 
 way to shoot high is to aim at the moon, and let us not 
 be discouraged from attempting anything by the impos- 
 sibility of doing much." 
 
 " I suppose you would hold up as an example to me 
 Cowper's Mrs Unwin, who found the day too short for 
 knitting and darning stockings ; but whatever I do, it 
 always makes me feel that it would signify nothing to 
 myself or to any one on earth, if it were never done at 
 all." 
 
 " How would you like to have been in the prison at 
 Ghent, where the culprits had to pump water out of their 
 dungeons all day, or it rose up and drowned them ?" 
 
 " Why, they had at least a motive to work for, which 
 I have not." 
 
 Another of the family besides Eleanor seemed about 
 this time to stand in need of excitement, and to be 
 pining in restless inactivity, and in unwilling retire- 
 ment at Ashgrove, which had once been only a scene 
 of peaceful contentment and active usefulness. Miss 
 Barbara Neville had during some weeks made an
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 337 
 
 entire revolution in her habits of life, before it became 
 obvious to Lady Olivia Neville that she laboured un- 
 der considerable depression and uneasiness. She was 
 denied to her whole coterie of visitors; even 'dear* Miss 
 Rachel Stodart failed to gain admission when she called. 
 Her sighs for the first time in her life were not meant to 
 be audible; she scarcely wrote any letters for a fortnight, 
 and when she did make the effort of speaking, which was 
 very seldom, she seemed absent, and was considerably less 
 sententious and decided than formerly. Lady Olivia felt 
 completely puzzled, and rather alarmed to think what 
 could have caused so sudden a metamorphosis. Though 
 fast declining herself into a state of extreme weakness 
 and debility, she became warmly interested in watching 
 its progress, and in trying to lead Miss Neville gradually 
 to an explanation of her present feelings. Ever the first 
 to ' hope all things,' Lady Olivia flattered herself that 
 the realities of religion had at last appeared to her guest 
 in all their magnitude and power, so that the littleness 
 of sectarian spirit, and all her love of excitement and 
 display, would at once disappear like exhalations of earth 
 before the morning sun. Lady Olivia allowed herself to 
 anticipate the time, though she had little hope of living 
 to see it entirely realized, when sober truths and simple 
 doctrines would be exchanged for the visions of a heated 
 imagination when schemes of benevolence would be 
 brought to the test of rational possibility when books 
 of practical piety and evangelical truth would be pre- 
 ferred to those abounding in speculations of wild enthu- 
 siasm and daring presumption when Mrs Hannah 
 More would be held in superior estimation to ' dear' 
 Miss Rachel Stodart, and Archbishop Leighton quoted 
 with more reverence than Mr Harvey, and when she 
 might hope to converse without any danger of her taste 
 
 q
 
 338 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 being outraged by Miss Neville's continual use of tech- 
 nical expressions, and her judgment being obliged to 
 oppose on all occasions, the views and sentiments which 
 her heart could not approve. 
 
 Lady Olivia now became every day more anxious to 
 gain Miss Neville's confidence, and whenever her bodily 
 powers admitted of exertion, she tried many arts of con- 
 ciliation and kindness to encourage her into an explana- 
 tion, but in vain, for though she appeared several times 
 on the point of speaking openly, she invariably checked 
 herself with an appearance of embarrassment, and turned 
 the conversation entirely off" from the point to which 
 Lady Olivia had ingeniously brought it. The case 
 seemed hopeless; and as the countenance of Miss Neville 
 continued to be clouded with an increasing expression of 
 anxiety and chagrin, Lady Olivia at length resolved that 
 false delicacy ought not to prevent her from ascertain- 
 ing whether she could be useful to so near ft connexion 
 by any means in her power, feeling desirous that no 
 effort should be wanting which friendship or kindness 
 could suggest on the occasion, whatever it might be, to 
 relieve the mind and to restore the spirits of her visitor. 
 One day, therefore, when she was confined to bed by 
 indisposition, and Miss Neville came to bid her good- 
 morning, she took her by the hand with a look of affec- 
 tionate interest, and asked whether any thing of a dis- 
 tressing nature had occurred lately, and entreated her 
 immediate confidence, saying it was impossible to fore- 
 see how long she might be spared to offer her sympathy 
 or assistance, and she could not any longer remain silent 
 on observing that the depression which had for some 
 time been obvious in the manner of Miss Neville con- 
 tinued so long uncliminished. 
 
 " Nothing has happened that need distress ME," re-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 339 
 
 plied Miss Barbara, in a tone of pique and irritation, 
 which seemed quite inexplicable to Lady Olivia ; but 
 as her conduct and feelings were frequently rather an 
 enigma to her friends, this was less remarkable on the 
 present occasion. 
 
 " I do not wish to intrude on your confidence, Bar- 
 bara, and shall never inquire into the subject farther 
 than is agreeable to yourself," continued Lady Olivia, 
 in the languid tone of extreme exhaustion ; " but I 
 merely wish to take this opportunity of hinting, that if it 
 be possible to afford relief or consolation in any way, 
 you need not hesitate to claim my good offices, and my 
 utmost exertions for the short time that I now expect to 
 survive." 
 
 " You are quite mistaken. I have only met with a 
 little surprise, but it is not of the slightest consequence 
 to any one," replied Miss [Neville in a voice of great 
 reserve ; and Lady Olivia, with ready tact, instantly 
 started a different subject of conversation, and sup- 
 ported it with all the animation she could command, 
 endeavouring to suit what she said as much as possible 
 to the taste and sentiments of her companion, and to 
 avoid any debateable ground which might have led to a 
 difference of opinions. Lady Olivia Neville seldom 
 argued with any one when it could be avoided, for she 
 had generally found that it merely turned to a keen con- 
 test of talent, and in religion especially she knew that 
 if the light were brought in, the darkness must neces- 
 sarily be expelled ; but to argue for victory was invaria- 
 bly mischievous, because, even though it were easy to 
 confute, the real object should be to convince. " The 
 beam pour in, and time and skill will couch the blind," 
 was the plan on which Lady Olivia always acted. She 
 had therefore tried, for some time past, to attract Miss
 
 340 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 Neville's attention towards the great doctrines of the 
 gospel thus by instilling truth to expunge error ; and 
 one day Miss Neville listened with some appearance of 
 interest, apparently glad to escape from her own thoughts 
 by any expedient that might occur, and was beginning 
 to relax from her usual air of conscious superiority, when 
 their conversation was brought to an untimely end by 
 the drawing-room door being thrown open, and Sir 
 Francis and Lady Howard were announced. Miss 
 Neville started up with a look of most obvious vexation, 
 and gave a hasty glance at the opposite door, with evi- 
 dent intentions to escape, but she had scarcely time to 
 make a hurried step in the direction of her meditated 
 flight, before her retreat was cut off by Sir Francis, who 
 laughingly intercepted her, declaring loudly that it was 
 not fair to exercise her self-denial upon him. 
 
 " Positively, Barbara, you must remain !" cried Lady 
 Howard, in a tone of the greatest animation. " I wish 
 to hear every thing about Mr Harvey's marriage. What 
 a strange business it is ! you have been very close and 
 uncommunicative not to let me into the secret, and I 
 assure you it is quite a disappointment, for I had really 
 begun to look upon him as a future brother-in-law of 
 my own. Now, draw in your chair in a sociable way, 
 and tell us all about it." 
 
 " I know nothing on the subject, and never concern 
 myself with other people's affairs so much as you do," 
 replied Miss Neville peevishly. 
 
 " Then, let me announce what I hear," replied Lady 
 Howard, laughing. " You will be perfectly charmed at 
 our friend's good fortune. The bride is a very rich 
 widow, with an enormous jointure ; but she is extremely 
 plain, and, I am sorry to tell you, a strict Roman Catho- 
 lic. I am told that she changed her church about nine
 
 OU THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. o41 
 
 times, and was always, like the men of Athens, seeking 
 for some new thing, till she became so bewildered at 
 last, that her mind hovered between total infidelity and 
 Popish superstition; but some cardinal at Rome per- 
 suaded her that his was the true original church, and 
 she felt glad to be spared any longer forming her own 
 opinions, and altering them again. 
 
 ' Now Madam, if it be a lie, 
 
 You have the tale as cheap as I."' 
 
 " Miss Rachel Stodart and I have had very great 
 doubts lately of Mr Harvey being quite sound in his 
 views,'' said Miss Neville, gravely. 
 
 " I doubted his soundness always, Barbara, and yours 
 too," said Sir Francis, dryly ; " but the whole of your 
 coterie are to blame for making such an idol of him. 
 The pope himself has never been considered more infal- 
 lible than Mr Harvey was by you and your clique a 
 few months ago. I never shall forget dropping in ac- 
 cidentally one evening to see Tom Stodart, and finding a 
 circle of about twenty ladies sitting round my old friend 
 Frank Harvey, who was dealing out sentences to them 
 like an oracle. The attention of the whole party was so 
 breathless that you might have heard a pin drop, and 
 not one of his audience became conscious of my presence 
 till I had nearly escaped. In most learned professions, 
 a long apprenticeship is necessary before we begin to 
 practise a grocer cannot sell currants without having 
 previously graduated, and not one of you ladies would 
 employ a milliner who had not gone through some long 
 probation, but any person may become a Drawing-room 
 Expositor upon the shortest notice." 
 
 '' It reminds me of what Dr Johnson once jocularly 
 said, that every man might be a minister who could 
 gather a congregation," said Lady Howard.
 
 342 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " I can answer for it, that a year ago, Frank Harvey 
 had never studied any notes but those of his own bank, 
 nor thought more deeply about any book than his book 
 of unclaimed dividends," continued Sir Francis ; " so 
 you may imagine how I was astonished to perceive his 
 sudden metamorphosis, and that I am less amazed than 
 you are at his relapse into an undue admiration of money 
 in whatever form it may court his acceptance." 
 
 " I hope this will be a lesson to you for life, Barbara," 
 observed Lady Howard, in a most irritating tone of dig- 
 nified remonstrance, " and that from henceforth you will 
 avoid all Theological Adventurers, and return into the 
 beaten track not wandering at random, as you have 
 hitherto done, after any stray preacher who may happen 
 to please your taste." 
 
 " I am happy to say you will be disappointed then," 
 replied Miss Neville dryly. " Your hopes on my ac- 
 count are entirely mistaken, as I have deckled for some 
 time past to join Mr M'Alpine's congregation." 
 
 " What !" exclaimed Lady Howard, in a voice that 
 seemed almost incredulous with astonishment, " the 
 manufacturer from Glasgow ?" 
 
 "It is of no avail remarking on the subject, as my 
 mind is made up finally," interrupted Miss Neville stern- 
 ly. " You never heard a preacher so original in the 
 world, probably, as Mr M< Alpine. His wife is a sweet, 
 superior woman ; and upon some very difficult texts she 
 has made an important discovery." 
 
 " Discovery, indeed !" replied Lady Howard satiri- 
 cally. " I hate discoveries in religion, Barbara ! I al- 
 ways thought your next step would have been into the 
 new Roman Catholic Convent, but that will be a grand 
 piece of excitement for you on some future occasion. 
 Nothing is so delightful to our nature as making a sen-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 343 
 
 sation, and since it cannot be done often in the usual 
 course of things, people who indulge their taste for 
 excitement must step aside from common custom oc- 
 casionally." 
 
 " Custom is the law of fools," said Miss Neville dryly. 
 
 " We heard some time ago, that your friend Mrs 
 M'Alpine was going to establish a school in Greece," said 
 Sir Francis, " but probably she had not many qualifica- 
 tions for an undertaking so responsible, and at any rate 
 I suppose she has abandoned the plan by this time." 
 
 " Not at all," answered Miss Neville, with a singular 
 mixture of triumph and embarrassment in her expression 
 of countenance. " The truth must be told sooner or 
 later ; so it is as well to mention now, that I have some 
 thoughts of accompanying the mission myself." 
 
 A considerable pause ensued, and a silence fell over 
 the party that might almost be felt. Glances of con- 
 sternation and wonder were exchanged by Miss Neville's 
 astonished auditors, but not one word could be spoken 
 for some minutes. Lady Howard was the first to re- 
 cover herself. 
 
 " Barbara ! I have often heard that every human 
 being is out of his right mind about something, and I 
 begin to believe it," said she gravely. " We may as 
 well follow Byron's advice at once, if people go on in 
 this way : 
 
 " ' Shut up the sane let the mad go free. ' " 
 
 " I almost anticipated something of this kind, Bar- 
 bara," added Lady Olivia, in a tone of calm regret. " It 
 grieves, but it does not greatly surprise me." 
 
 " Indeed you are scarcely so much shocked and as- 
 tonished as I anticipated," replied Miss Neville, looking 
 rather disappointed at the composure of Lady Olivia's
 
 S44 MODERN ACCOM FLISHMEXTS, 
 
 tone and manner. " I expected you to be violently op- 
 posed to the plan." 
 
 " No, Barbara," said Lady Howard. " You are come 
 to that period of life which is commonly called ' years of 
 discretion,' if ever you are to reach them at all, so I shall 
 not presume to interfere with any schemes, however 
 strongly we disapprove of them ; but I should like you 
 for once to hear what Olivia says upon the subject." 
 
 " You know already, Maria," said Lady Olivia, " my 
 extreme veneration for such missionaries as go out under 
 proper sanction, with proper qualifications those who, 
 after spending a long time in fitting themselves for their 
 laborious and important station, leave all the blessings 
 of civilized society, and all the comforts of domestic 
 life, to spend and be spent in their Master's cause. It 
 was such persons as these who first brought the light of 
 truth to our own islands ; and we owe the same benefit, 
 as a debt, to all nations where our influence can extend 
 missionaries, like Schwartz, and Brainerd, and Marsh- 
 man, and Martyn, who were prepared by deep experi- 
 ence, by years of fervent prayer, and by laborious btudy, 
 to fulfil the solemn duties they had undertaken, and 
 who exhibited a consistent example of all the patience, 
 the virtue, and the self-denial they lived to inculcate ; 
 but the persons you mention have had little experience, 
 and no education to fit them for so vast a responsibility, 
 and therefore they can be scarcely better than blind 
 leaders of the blind." 
 
 Listen, Barbara," said Sir Francis slyly, " and you 
 shall hear a plan which has this moment occurred to me, 
 well deserving of serious consideration : it would com- 
 bine all the advantages you expect from this expedition 
 to Greece, without any of the evils. I have a small vil- 
 lage on my estate in Argyleshire, where the inhabitants
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 345 
 
 are as idle, ignorant, and dirty, as any savages you could 
 possibly desire to civilize. It has often been my wish to 
 establish a school there, and if you will study Gaelic 
 instead of Greek, you shall have the best cottage on my 
 estate; and it would be really agreeable to have so 
 cheerful and pleasant a neighbour at my shooting-box, 
 when I go there for a few weeks in autumn." 
 
 Miss Neville rose with an air of offended dignity, when 
 she perceived the jocular light in which Sir Francis was 
 disposed to view her project, and stalked majestically out 
 of the room, without intending to bestow any mark of 
 attention on those she left behind ; but Sir Francis started 
 up to open the door, and good-humouredly insisted on 
 shaking hands, which she accordingly did, with the worst 
 grace imaginable, and hastily made her exit, not even 
 looking at him, or appearing conscious of his attempt at 
 conciliation. 
 
 "Poor Barbara!" observed Lady Howard, "her love 
 of excitement is like the mark on Blue-Beard's key rub 
 it out on one side, and it starts forth in another, where 
 you least expect it." 
 
 " I have long known," said Sir Francis, resuming his 
 seat, " that it is possible for people to be amiable without 
 being religious; but I do maintain, that no one should 
 pretend to be religious who is not amiable, because I 
 think it an impossibility, and a libel upon what they pro- 
 fess, which must do mischief to all who see them. Why 
 should any one go abroad to teach who cannot set a 
 good example at home ? but to be sure, that is by far the 
 most difficult undertaking of the two, just as it was thf 
 chief difficulty of the monarch to continue great in the 
 eyes of his valet, who knew him best. I see more and 
 more every day how the world is deceived in its estimate 
 of people, who do not even intend to mislead their neigh-
 
 346 .MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 hours ; and I am resolved, on all occasions, to suspend 
 my opinion of any one who has the reputation of sanctity, 
 till I hear it confirmed by his wife, his mother, his sisters, 
 or his children." 
 
 "What would become then of poor Mr Harvey?" said 
 Lady Howard ; " for I know that he preserves a stern and 
 remorseless silence on the subject of religion towards his 
 deaf old father, who differs from him in opinion, but who 
 would attend with pleasure, if he conversed with him 
 as he does with strangers. He would be exceedingly 
 thankful, I have no doubt, if, by any miracle, his father 
 became converted; but there is less excitement in at- 
 tempting the task himself, which is a mere common duty, 
 than there is in bestowing his care as a boon elsewhere ; 
 and after paying the old gentleman a hasty visit occasion- 
 ally, he flies off to the obscure garret of some poor pen- 
 sioner, whom he exhorts and consoles with untiring zeal- 
 Charity in his case should begin at home, though of 
 course it should not end there." 
 
 " Be not righteous over much," said Sir Francis in an 
 under tone. 
 
 " There is no text of Scripture so frequently quoted as 
 that," said Lady Olivia ; " but few seem afraid of in- 
 fringing on the injunction that follows : ' Be not over 
 wise.' It is the ostentation of these qualities, and not 
 the existence of them, that I think we are cautioned to 
 avoid." 
 
 " Nothing perplexes me so painfully as the faults of 
 really good, pious people," said Sir Francis Howard. 
 *' There are a few whom I would be willing to esteem 
 sincere, were it not for the strangest inconsistencies, which 
 sometimes astonish, and always shock me. :> 
 
 " You see only the strength of the disease, but not 
 the efficacy of the remedy ; and so long as a symptom
 
 OB THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 347 
 
 of evil remains, you are apt to blame the medicine instead 
 of the patient," replied Lady Olivia. " We often expect, 
 with sanguine hope, to find perfection in Christians ; and 
 when defects appear, let us not blame religion instead of 
 nature. "What would these people become without the 
 purifying influences of Gospel truth I and how little we 
 can know the tears and the anguish with which they may 
 have deplored those very sins which have offended us. 
 Christians are to be tried, like gold, in the fire ; but still 
 they continue in the furnace of temptation and of sorrow 
 during the whole period that their life is prolonged. 
 The heart cannot be perfected till we are translated to a 
 new existence. I have often admired the tombstone of 
 Klopstock's wife, on which two wheat sheaves are 
 carved, lying carelessly together, and this motto is 
 engraved, ' the fruit shall ripen in heaven.' " 
 
 " What I object to most seriously in modern enthusi- 
 asm is, that it seems to raise people above natural 
 duties and public opinion. The Scriptures tell us to 
 avoid the very appearance of evil," said Lady Howard ; 
 " but many people now are selfishly indifferent to the 
 effect their conduct may have upon the belief of others, 
 and would brave calumny itself rather than put the or- 
 dinary curb of social custom upon themselves. Their 
 favourite text most frequently quoted is, that the godly 
 shall suffer persecution ; and their very plain inference 
 is, that all who are persecuted must be godly. Good 
 bye, Olivia ; I am sorry to deprive you of the pleasure 
 of my company so soon, but I have an appointment with 
 Millar on the interesting subject of a newly invented 
 jam or jelly, which we are to sit in judgment upon this 
 morning ; but I leave you Sir Francis, and I know ht- 
 will be delighted to renew our discussion about the 
 observance of Sunday ; ' for e'en though vanquished he
 
 348 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 can argue still ;' and I know he dislikes less to be con- 
 quered by you than by any one else in the world, as you 
 bear your honours so meekly." 
 
 '' Then to say the truth, Olivia, I am still decidedly 
 of opinion that too much legislation on the Sabbath, 
 either in families or in nations, is injurious," said Sir 
 Francis, drawing in his chair with a positive look; "and 
 you will probably be shocked to hear that, much as I 
 respect religion, I never wish myself in the House of 
 Commons except to vote against any measure for render- 
 ing people religious by act of parliament." 
 
 " And if wishing for a vote would give me one," re- 
 plied Lady Olivia in a lively tone, " I should take the 
 opposite side, so we may consider ourselves as having 
 tied off, and carry on our debate with closed doors at 
 home." 
 
 " My idea is," said Sir Francis, " that you cannot 
 force people to be pious ; for, as the vulgar proverb says, 
 ' You may take a horse to the water, but you cannot 
 make him drink.'" 
 
 " Yet if you keep water out of his reach entirely he 
 will perish ; and therefore, though you cannot produce 
 the thirst that would make him enjoy it, you must render 
 it accessible to all," said Lady Olivia. " We must either 
 oblige those who defy the law of God to observe in some 
 degree the outward form of a Sabbath, or they will in- 
 evitably force others to break it, and in such a case we 
 need scarcely say which deserves protection most. If a 
 poor man could work during the twenty-four hours of 
 every day, there would be many indigent persons whose 
 desperate poverty would induce them to undertake it ; 
 but would you call that man enthusiastic or interfering 
 who came forward to convince the poor exhausted 
 creatures that they would be actually no richer on ac-
 
 OK THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 349 
 
 count of this addition to their labour that their masters 
 were wrong to exact it of them and that they destroyed 
 their strength and shortened their lives by it, besides 
 defeating that wise purpose of Providence, who has ap- 
 pointed that rest shall invariably succeed to labour ?" 
 
 " Ah ! that is an extreme statement of the case," re- 
 plied Sir Francis. " Bodily rest of course they must 
 have ; even my best hunters cannot work every day of 
 the week, and I should have to keep more of them if it 
 were not for the interval of a day in seven to refresh 
 both them and myself." 
 
 "But rest, Sir Francis, is quite as necessary for the 
 soul as for the body ; and can we be too earnest in de- 
 siring that the toil-worn mechanic shall have one day in 
 seven to elevate his mind above the brutes that perish, by 
 remembering that he is immortal to anticipate that time 
 when, the curse of sin being removed, he shall no longer 
 be called to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
 but when he shall enter on that kingdom of rest and 
 glory to which the rich and the poor are alike invited ?" 
 
 " Do you seriously imagine, Olivia, that the poor 
 people you describe would make so exalted a use of 
 their leisure as your fancy has pictured ?" answered Sir 
 Francis. " It is quite unlike your usual good sense to 
 be so poetical, especially when we consider that the per- 
 sons who are chiefly to benefit by your supposed day of 
 complete leisure and meditation are postboys, butchers, 
 bakers, coach-drivers, and fishmongers, who would most 
 likely all spend it in the ale-house." 
 
 " We cannot help that certainly," replied Lady Olivia ; 
 " I would only desire to remove every incentive to se- 
 cular business on that day, and then let each individual 
 act on his own personal responsibility, as he shall answer 
 for himself alone at the day of judgment. If you could
 
 350 
 
 MODERN' ACCOMPLISHMEXTS, 
 
 but witness, Sir Francis, as I have seen it, a Sabbath of 
 rest enjoyed amidst the humblest dwellings of the pious 
 poor in this neighbourhood, when heaven seems to gain 
 its dominion over earth, and the busy cares of life are 
 hushed into sacred repose, your heart would glow with 
 new feelings of gratitude to God, that He has provided 
 such a foretaste of heaven for those who have little else 
 to render life endurable except the hope of another and 
 a better." 
 
 " Yet they must often be at a loss how to occupy the 
 time. Even in the upper classes, with every resource 
 of reading and conversation, how heavily the day hangs 
 upon our hands." 
 
 " That is too true in some cases," replied Lady Olivia. 
 "To a devout Christian in the higher circles every 
 day is in some degree a Sabbath ; he has leisure at all 
 times to indulge his religious affections, to read, to re- 
 flect, and to pray. But to a poor man who can truly 
 estimate the enjoyments of a Sabbath, there is, amongst 
 a thousand other advantages, the pleasure of contrast ; 
 and in no respect do you see how truly the Great 
 Creator knew what was good for those he had made, 
 than in viewing the peace and happiness, and even the 
 refinement of intellect, which are introduced into the 
 poorest hovel by a due observance of the Sabbath. I 
 do not pretend to say in what manner it might be best 
 promoted ; but I think that every detail connected with 
 that subject ought to undergo the anxious consideration 
 of those who could ascertain how each regulation would 
 bear upon the temporal or eternal welfare of those whose 
 best interests are at stake ; and this is the only subject, 
 Sir Francis, on which I am really a politician." 
 
 " So much the better. I think a female politician is as 
 unnatural a being as a man-milliner; and I never hear
 
 OB TUB MARCH OF INTELLECT. 351 
 
 ladies discussing the government of this country without 
 thinking of the fly that felt competent to criticise the cu- 
 pola of St Paul's. I would never willingly allow ladies 
 to take a newspaper in their hands let them keep to 
 their piano-fortes." 
 
 " Not so fast, Sir Francis," replied Lady Olivia, smil- 
 ing. " You will allow that every lady should inform 
 herself on the history of her own times, though with no 
 more idea of influencing its political management than a 
 passenger in the London mail would entertain of direct- 
 ing the coachman how to drive it." 
 
 " To be sure !" replied Sir Francis. " I enjoy amusing 
 nonsense beyond all measure ; but the dull pompous non- 
 sense that some ladies deliver out, by way of enlighten- 
 ing one on the state of the nation, would make a hyena 
 laugh. My better (or worst) hah is always groping in 
 the dark to find out her own meaning after she gets upon 
 politics. When she treats of paper currency or the 
 corn laws, I have seen her flounder on wonderfully well, 
 but she is dreadfully bewildered in discussing our foreign 
 policy. I have seen her very fluent, and almost intel- 
 ligible, on tithes and corporations, for she has really got 
 up the subject so thoroughly that I sometimes almost 
 begin to fancy she understands it ; and you can have no 
 idea how her eyes glitter with animation when a conve- 
 nient opportunity occurs to introduce her favourite opi- 
 nions. Indeed she does it so skilfully, and they come 
 in so often a propos to every thing, or to nothing, that 
 it often reminds me of the cosmogony of the world in 
 the Vicar of Wakefield. Let ladies study the political 
 economy of their own families the ways and means in 
 their housekeeper's bills the foreign policy of their 
 visiting books and the pension list of such of their poor 
 dependants as they can themselves relieve ; let them
 
 352 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 abolish all slavery amongst their servants and children 
 let them wage a perpetual war against all domestic dis- 
 orders and let them also establish a treaty of commerce 
 with their milliner and dressmaker on the most advan- 
 tageous terms. I am a keen advocate for every thing 
 being done ' in order ;' and as men are initiated more 
 systematically into the labyrinth of political economy, it 
 may be conceded to us, without supposing any particular 
 pre-eminence of natural intellect, that we shall know our 
 trade best, and take a more comprehensive view of the 
 whole business, than those who merely pick up a little 
 superficial knowledge of it in conversation, or from a 
 perusal of the leading article in some newspaper, which 
 is probably a blind partisan of one party or other. Many 
 keen politicians act like the Irish judge, who said he did 
 not like to hear both sides of a question, because it con- 
 fused him. 
 
 " Lady Olivia, before I go," said Sir Francis Howard 
 with gravity which was quite unusual in him, and which 
 greatly surprised her, " let me tell you, for I know how 
 happy you will be to hear it, the pleasure I have enjoyed 
 lately from seeing more of your protegee and pupil, 
 Matilda. She reads to me frequently now, and we gen- 
 erally fall into conversation afterwards, when she always 
 contrives to make herself entertaining, and has several 
 times mentioned remarks she has heard from you, or 
 circumstances which you have told her, that have made 
 more impression on me than you would suppose. If my 
 girl is in any respect what is estimable, she owes it to 
 you, and I cannot refrain from saying how warmly I feel 
 it now, and how much more deeply I may be sensible of 
 the advantage hereafter, when years and infirmities shall 
 have made me more dependent upon the amiable qua- 
 lities and mental acquirements of those around me. She
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 353 
 
 is a Christian after your own pattern, Olivia, and I al- 
 most think that in time she will make me one also." 
 
 As Sir Francis and Lady Howard departed from Ash- 
 grove, and advanced along the garden walk, Lady 
 Olivia followed them with her eyes, which were filled 
 with tears of deep sensibility. All great emotion has a 
 melancholy tone, which often rises, when the heart is 
 touched, to holy feelings of solemnity, and always in her 
 mind turned directly to sentiments of reverential devo- 
 tion ; " My prayers are heard, and my work on earth is 
 done!" thought Lady Olivia Neville, while a profound 
 sensation of thankfulness and peace diffused itself over 
 her thoughts. " My strength is daily diminishing, and 
 my days will soon be numbered, but another has been 
 raised up to fill my place in that labour of love which 
 has so long been nearest my heart; and when I am called, 
 as will soon be the case, to continue my existence in 
 brighter scenes than these, may my supplication for her 
 and for them be remembered and answered till we meet 
 to part no more. 
 
 ' The race appointed I have run ; 
 The combat's o'er, the prize is won ; 
 And now my witness is on high, 
 And now my record's in the sky.' "
 
 354 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here, 
 And stayed thy progress to the realms of bliss. 
 
 IT was about the middle of April, when Eleanor Fitz- 
 Patrick set out with Sir Richard to take possession of 
 " her property," as she delighted to call Barnard Castle, 
 and there she was received with an uproar of joy by the 
 numerous tenantry; bonfires blazed on every hill, and a 
 succession of joyous festivities ensued, with bagpipes, 
 tartan, and whisky a discretion, none of her guests being 
 members of any temperance society, or else having 
 obtained for themselves a temporary dispensation from 
 its discipline. 
 
 Meantime Sir Francis Howard, who had recently pur- 
 chased a small estate near Kelso, for the benefit of hunt- 
 ing at the Scottish Melton, became impatient to proceed 
 there, but several circumstances combined to detain him 
 in Edinburgh, which produced a happy reprieve to Ma- 
 tilda, who dreaded to leave her beloved aunt in so pre- 
 carious a state of health, because it almost seemed to her 
 apprehensions as if such a separation would be final. 
 
 Sir Francis Howard was one morning snatching an 
 early breakfast in Moray place, impatiently anticipating 
 a delightful day's hunting near the Roman Camp, as the 
 weather was propitious, and he had sent forward his 
 favourite hunter " Topsy-turvey," which had long been 
 celebrated for its fine action and unrivalled speed. 
 Matilda always stole down when she knew that her 
 father was going any distance to cover, as she then in-
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 355 
 
 variably found him in brilliant spirits, and she poured out 
 his tea, and laughed at all his jests with the keenest en- 
 joyment, which pleased and amused him so much, that he 
 was usually in a jocular mood when Matilda and he were 
 together alone, and every day increased the pride which 
 he evidently felt in his daughter, and the gentle influence 
 which she acquired over his mind and affections. 
 
 " I hate the sight of you, Matilda," said he, laughing, 
 " for you make me feel so ridiculously old that I almost 
 think you should be introduced as my sister. It asto- 
 nishes people to see a good-looking young fellow like 
 me with a grown-up daughter, and actually some of my 
 brother sportsmen begin to inquire for you already, as 
 if they meant to become victims. Only imagine how 
 awkward it will be if my old friend General Cleveland 
 were suddenly to turn round upon me with a proposal, 
 or the venerable Lord Holyrood ; for the older a man 
 is the younger he chooses his wife to be, as if it struck 
 the balance of years between them." 
 
 " Papa, I wish no harm may happen to us, for you 
 are perfectly fey this morning, as the Highlanders call 
 it," replied Matilda. " I really never saw you in greater 
 spirits, and that new horse has so untameable a temper, 
 and so ominous a name, that I am always terrified when 
 you mount him." 
 
 " Pshaw, nonsense ! if I attended to every body's fears 
 and anxieties, I should soon be like the Irishman who 
 declared that this world was no longer a safe place for 
 him to live in," said Sir Francis. " What can a girl 
 like you be supposed to know about horses if you see 
 a tolerable head and tail, with a few graces that would 
 fit him for Astley's, the merest Rosinante in the world 
 would pass for ' a perfect love ;' but my hunters must 
 have good legs to carry me across such a country as
 
 356 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 this, or they are fit for nothing, and ' Topsv-turvey' 
 would take me over a garden wall with ease, if I put 
 him up to it. Even an ox-fence at Melton is a mere 
 joke to him, and he always brings me forward in time 
 for the finish." 
 
 " He is a splendid-looking animal, certainly," replied 
 Matilda, " and as wild as if he had only been caught in 
 an American prairie an hour ago. What is to be the 
 name of that young hunter you bought from Major 
 Foley yesterday ?" 
 
 " I called him Laurel, because he is a bay/' replied 
 Sir Francis. 
 
 " Papa, that pun is quite as atrocious as the one you 
 put Sir Colin Fletcher out of countenance about long 
 ago, when he told mamma she seemed musically inclined, 
 as she was eating hautboys. Mr Grant has called his 
 new horse ' Business,' because then, wherever he goes, 
 he is always out on business. I suppose you will have 
 a brilliant field to-day, the weather is propitious, and I 
 have observed several weather-beaten scarlet coats pass- 
 ing already." 
 
 " Yes," said Sir Francis with animation ; " I pity 
 every man in the world who does not hunt this morning, 
 for the most perfect felicity is to ride such a horse as 
 mine on such a day. I need not even say, like Madame 
 de Pompadour, when she drank off her glass of cold 
 water, < Oh ! that this were a sin, to give it a relish !'" 
 
 " What an odious woman !" exclaimed Matilda. " It 
 is shocking to see any one assume the gay prerogative of 
 saying, even in jest, what is wicked, especially when we 
 remember, that for every idle word a solemn reckoning 
 is to be made hereafter." 
 
 " Yet, Matilda, people who are resolved to shine in 
 conversation must generally speak at random a little,
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 357 
 
 without weighing what they say too carefully, for it is 
 very true ' que la confiance fournil plus ci la conversa- 
 tion que I'esprit.' But I must be off, so good bye, my 
 dear girl, and take care of yourself. I still hope to have 
 ten years' good hunting, in spite of your distrust about 
 Topsy-turvey's temper ; and after I grow old and heavy, 
 we shall enjoy a quiet trot together along the road occa- 
 sionally, or a canter by the sea-side ; meantime, you 
 may always depend upon my staying at home with you 
 in a hard frost, when we shall read and talk together 
 for the future till it thaws again." 
 
 " Thank you, papa ten thousand thanks for your 
 welcome promise," cried Matilda eagerly. " I would 
 live upon an ice-berg for the next month to enjoy your 
 society there." 
 
 " I cannot quite return the compliment, Matilda, but 
 I do say, that there is no one with whom I would rather 
 spend a rainy morning by the fireside, and I hope we 
 shall enjoy one yet, if you are not the first to desert, 
 but I know of somebody who will try to eclipse me in 
 your good graces soon, and who is very well deserving 
 to succeed. I must say no more at present, but you 
 may depend upon one thing, that Eleanor, with all her 
 fortune, will never find his equal. Adieu for the present, 
 and solve my mystery if you can," added Sir Francis, 
 giving one of his most riants glances towards his daugh- 
 ter. " Your mother knows nothing about it yet, but I 
 prophesy that when the sky falls we shall catch larks." 
 
 When Matilda was alone, she thought with astonish- 
 ment of all that Sir Francis had said before he left the 
 room ; but when she reflected on his insatiable love of a 
 joke, and the rallying tone in which he had spoken, she 
 fouud it impossible, as she had often found it before, to 
 ascertain whether he was in jest or in earnest ; but her
 
 358 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 conjectures and meditations were suddenly put to flight 
 by the unexpected re- entrance of her father himself, 
 whose expression of countenance was entirely altered 
 from its usual hilarity to a look of anxiety and extreme 
 agitation. 
 
 I wish all may be well at Ashgrove," he said hastily. 
 " Your aunt did not look well when we were there on 
 Friday, and this note for you has been sent by express. 
 The man who brought it is a stranger, and he says that 
 his orders were to ride at full speed." 
 
 Matilda held out her trembling hand for the letter, and 
 tore it open with a palpitating heart, for she augured too 
 surely the nature of its contents, which were worse than 
 her utmost anticipation of evil. Our heroine read with 
 grief and consternation a few lines from Millar, to say 
 that Lady Olivia had been suddenly seized during 
 the night with a succession of fainting fits, which had 
 been so alarming that immediate apprehensions were 
 entertained by Dr Mansfield for her life. 
 
 " Order the carriage instantly !" cried Sir Francis, 
 in a hurried voice to the servant, while Matilda sunk 
 into her chair, nearly insensible with agitation. " And 
 tell Bingham I shall not hunt to-day, so he may put 
 up the horses. Matilda," added he with a look of pro- 
 found emotion, " Lady Olivia may probably not be 
 able to see me, but I must accompany you to the cottage, 
 for I wish to show the utmost respect to one whom we 
 have both so much reason to venerate and love. Say 
 nothing to vour mother at present ; she has not risen, 
 and would detain us for an hour about her keys and 
 directions to the servants. I never saw any one in my 
 life so unconscious of time, but I shall leave a message, 
 and she can follow." 
 
 It was no ordinary feeling that could have induced Sir
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 359 
 
 Francis to relinquish so readily his day's hunting, but 
 without casting a transient thought of regret upon the 
 loss, he threw himself into his travelling chariot beside 
 his daughter, and drew down all the blinds. They pro- 
 ceeded in melancholy silence along the road, for Matil- 
 da's heart was too full to speak, and the way had never 
 before appeared so endlessly long. It was the first 
 time she had ever approached that house without the 
 most joyful anticipations ; and when she remembered 
 the affectionate smile which had invariably greeted her 
 arrival there, a fresh burst of grief overpowered her, to 
 think how probably that smile would be wanting now 
 and for ever. 
 
 A group of poor people surrounded the door when 
 their carriage drew up, whose distressed countenances 
 showed evidently that the rumour of Lady Olivia's dan- 
 ger had already reached them, but they all respectfully 
 drew back when Sir Francis and Matilda passed. The 
 old butler could not look up when he opened the door, 
 and Millar appeared at a short distance with her counte- 
 nance bathed in tears, and beckoned for Matilda to come 
 instantly to Lady Olivia's room. " She has asked for you 
 several times, and will be so happy you are come at last." 
 
 " How is my aunt ?" said Matilda, in breathless agita- 
 tion. Without waiting for an answer, she hastened into 
 her bed-room, but could not for some minutes advance 
 farther than the door, overpowered with emotion, and 
 deeply impressed by the scene which she there contem- 
 plated. The tranquil and serene countenance of Lady 
 Olivia Neville had become so entirely colourless as to 
 be scarcely distinguishable from the pillow on which it 
 rested. Dr Mansfield felt her pulse with a look of deep 
 concern and anxiety, while her eyes remained intently 
 fixed on the white-haired and venerable Mr Arnold,
 
 S60 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 who was audibly engaged in prayer. Matilda's eye 
 finally rested on a figure nearly concealed in a remote 
 part of the room, evidently shunning observation, and 
 so buried in uncontrollable grief, that some moments 
 elapsed before she recognized Miss Barbara Neville, 
 whose countenance seemed convulsed with weeping, in 
 all the desolation of natural, unaffected sorrow. Nothing 
 could be more solemn and affecting than the prayer of 
 Mr Arnold, nor dictated by a spirit of deeper humility 
 and implicit confidence in the mediation of Christ, as our 
 only access to the mercy of God, and in the influence of 
 the Holy Spirit, as the sole means of fitting us for glory 
 and happiness hereafter. Lady Olivia closed her eyes 
 in heartfelt acquiescence when he concluded, and seem- 
 ed to be silently engaged in fervent supplication. 
 
 " My kind friend," she said at length, in broken ac- 
 cents, " it cheers me to hear once more that voice which, 
 so long assisted my devotions at the house of God. Tell 
 me, Dr Mansfield, for I can hear it with thankfulness 
 and composure, when do you expect that my existence 
 here shall come to a termination ? It appears to me very 
 near." 
 
 The good and sympathizing doctor mournfully de- 
 clared, that from the state of extreme exhaustion to which 
 his patient was so suddenly reduced, he feared her anti- 
 cipations were but too correct, and that he apprehended 
 a few hours would probably close her earthly career." 
 
 " At last," said Lady Olivia, slowly turning her eyes 
 towards Heaven, with a look of unspeakable solemnity, 
 " Glory be to God, I am prepared !" 
 
 Her thoughts were some moments afterwards recalled 
 from the feeling of intense anticipation with which they 
 were occupied, by an irresistible call on her sympathy ; 
 for Matilda Howard approached with a countenance
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 301 
 
 already haggard by the recent shock, and clasping the 
 hand of Lady Olivia in her own, she kissed it with pas- 
 sionate eagerness, and rivetted her hold as if she would 
 thus have endeavoured to avert the stroke which was 
 about to separate them, while she gazed in the face of 
 her departing friend with a look of tearless anguish. 
 
 " Be comforted, dearest Matilda," said Lady Olivia, 
 feebly. " Forget your own sorrow for a moment, and 
 think how soon I shall be with Christ. Seek him con- 
 tinually, and w r e shall meet again. It is a sad separation, 
 my child. It grieves me to reflect that you will have 
 sufferings and sorrows of your own to endure, and that I 
 shall not be here to sympathize with you. But oh, Ma- 
 tilda, think how short is the ' for ever' of this world, and 
 weep as though you wept not, for all will soon be at an 
 end ; but the immortal soul which has been sanctified 
 by God, will remain blessed throughout eternity. Speak 
 to her, Mr Arnold ; you know all, and I can say no 
 more. She needs consolation ; for I can tell all she 
 suffers in losing a friend, whose best earthly comfort 
 she has so long been considered. My own children 
 never were dearer to me." 
 
 " Blessed ! oh, how blessed ! are the dead that die in 
 the Lord I" said Mr Arnold, impressively. " Soon shall 
 we all stand, as our beloved friend does, on the verge of 
 eternity : may our hope be as humble, and as secure. 
 We sorrow now, but we must also rejoice. My dear 
 young lady, would you delay the wearied courser when 
 he reaches the goal ? the worn-out traveller, when he 
 gains the summit of the mountain ? or the tempest- 
 tossed mariner, who finds refuge at last in his long-de- 
 sired haven ? Why then should you grieve for Lady 
 Olivia ? Think only of the blessed exchange that awaits 
 her from a life of sorrow to an eternity of blessedness.
 
 362 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Yes," replied Matilda, bursting into tears. " I know 
 that well ; but for my own sake for the sake of all who 
 are dear to me for every one on earth except herself 
 I must dearest aunt, I must be allowed to weep." 
 
 " Nor would I forbid it, my beloved Matilda," answer- 
 ed Lady Olivia, tenderly. " Your affection has long been 
 one precious gem, amidst the wreck of every earthly at- 
 tachment ; and there is no human being who would not 
 feel soothed, as I do, by the consciousness that tears such 
 as yours will follow my silent dust to the grave, and 
 sanctify my memory in your remembrance." 
 
 Yes for ever!" sobbed Matilda. "What will life 
 be without you ? Oh ! how cheerless and lonely !" 
 
 " I know what it is to weep in solitary grief," whis- 
 pered Lady Olivia, in a tone of exhaustion ; " but much 
 as I feel for you, I would not banish one sorrow that our 
 heavenly Father sees to be necessary, if it can but give 
 you hereafter such peace and joy as I have at this mo- 
 ment, and which I know to be only the commencement 
 of an eternity as blessed." 
 
 Matilda clasped her hands, and silently looked to- 
 wards heaven, with an expression of intense devotion ; 
 but could not speak. 
 
 " Poor Eleanor ! she is much in my thoughts to- 
 night," added Lady Olivia. " Tell her, Matilda, my last 
 prayer for her was, that she may not be tempted to make 
 this world her portion, or ever to think that it can satisfy 
 an immortal soul. She has much to mislead her now ; 
 may the Almighty direct her heart aright. You may 
 both have many years yet of earthly happiness to come, 
 and I earnestly trust it will be consistent with your 
 good," continued Lady Olivia, after a long pause to 
 recover strength. " But should it be otherwise, then 
 rest assured, my child, that the furnace of suffering is also
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT- 363 
 
 a furnace to purify. I now look Lack, and rejoice to 
 think, that hy affliction I have been prepared to leave this 
 world without regret, except for YOU and our beloved 
 Eleanor. It seems but yesterday since my widowed 
 heart first told me that life must henceforth be a long 
 course of solitary mourning ; but, Matilda, all that is 
 said of our fleeting existence seems now but a faint em- 
 blem of its rapid flight the path of an arrow the va- 
 pour that appeareth for a moment the weaver's shuttle 
 and the track of a vessel on the tide " 
 
 Lady Olivia's voice became inaudible from weakness ; 
 but while Matilda glanced at the calm and sanctified 
 expression which beamed on the countenance of her 
 aunt, when thus recalling the memory of sorrow, now 
 eternally at an end, she felt that it must indeed have 
 been sent in mercy, when the fruit was so blessed. 
 
 Dr Mansfield enjoined repose for some hours; and 
 after his departure perfect stillness reigned throughout 
 the apartment, where sorrow and anxiety were too keenly 
 felt to be audibly expressed. Even amidst the depth of 
 her own affliction, Matilda could not help giving an oc- 
 casional glance of compassionate kindness towards Miss 
 Neville, who remained with her face buried in her hand- 
 kerchief, leaning on the table, and perfectly immove- 
 able ; but our heroine could not venture to intrude upon 
 the privacy which she so evidently courted, seeing she 
 never raised up her head for a moment, except when the 
 distant tones of Lady Olivia's voice were audible, and 
 then she listened with breathless attention. 
 
 Towards evening, having apparently recovered some 
 strength, Lady Olivia opened her eyes, and fixed them 
 for some moments, with an expression of the tenderest 
 interest, on Matilda, who arose and silently kissed her 
 pallid cheek.
 
 364 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 " Is your mother come?" said Lady Olivia, with some 
 difficulty. " Let me see her and Sir Francis once again. 
 I know how they both would value my blessing." 
 
 Matilda hastily withdrew, and a few moments after- 
 wards she stood between her father and mother beside 
 the couch of their expiring friend, who faintly turned to 
 them with a transient smile of heartfelt kindness. 
 
 " May the best mercies of Heaven rest on you all!" said 
 she fervently, "and when your mortal bodies are called to 
 pay the universal penalty, as I am about to do, may your 
 immortal souls be at peace as mine is, with the hope of 
 pardon and everlasting life through Christ our Saviour." 
 
 Sir Francis solemnly bent his head in token of entire 
 acquiescence in the prayer, and a deep sob from Lady 
 Howard, told more than words could have done, the 
 depth of her grief. 
 
 " Barbara," said Lady Olivia, faintly extending her 
 hand, " I know you are not far distant." 
 
 Miss Neville instantly approached with averted coun- 
 tenance, and making a vain attempt to assume the ap- 
 pearance of composure ; but after struggling with her 
 feelings for some moments, she covered her face with 
 her handkerchief, and burst into tears. 
 
 " Maria," continued Lady Olivia, gently clasping the 
 two sisters' hands in her own, " before my eyes are 
 dimmed by death, let me see you both united in heart 
 let me die in the hope that you will hereafter be kindly 
 affectioned one towards another." 
 
 She looked with an air of anxious entreaty towards 
 Lady Howard, who struggled for some moments against 
 her long-cherished aversion, and against the ruling pride 
 of her heart, but at length nature and feeling prevailed, 
 and being moved above all by the sight of Miss Neville's 
 unfeigned distress, she clasped her in her arms, while
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 365 
 
 they wept together with a degree of mutual sympathy 
 which no other event could have produced. 
 
 " Sir Francis, I have provided that she shall want for 
 nothing but kindness : that I cannot now supply," said 
 Lady Olivia, looking earnestly towards him, while he 
 stood near the bed with an expression of profound emo- 
 tion. " Matilda will do much, but you and Maria might 
 do still more." 
 
 " Your wishes are sacred to us all," replied he, mourn- 
 fully; " but, alas ! who shall supply your place, Olivia, 
 to her or to any of us ?" 
 
 " He who never leaves nor forsakes us. Oh ! seek 
 Him, Sir Francis, and then no sorrow will deserve the 
 name. "We part in sadness; but in His presence let us 
 
 meet again with joy. I would be alone now, nature 
 
 is exhausted," whispered Lady Olivia, almost inaudi- 
 bly; " Matilda will remain, and let you know when any 
 change takes place." 
 
 Sir Francis kindly and considerately drew the arm of 
 Miss Neville within his own, and supported her out of 
 the room in silence, followed by Lady Howard. Sud- 
 denly Barbara turned back, moved by an irresistible 
 impulse of emotion, and having once more kissed the 
 cheek of Lady Olivia, she rushed out and hastened to a 
 solitary apartment, where sinking on her knees in an 
 agony of grief, she consigned herself to the indulgence 
 of deep, unmitigated sorrow; and hours fled and darkness 
 closed unheeded, for still she wept, while memory con- 
 tinued to pour in its tide of tender and affecting recol- 
 lections. Meantime Miss Howard remained immoveably 
 stationed beside her aunt in almost breathless silence, 
 till at length she called her forward. 
 
 ' Matilda, my child, my last earthly care ! can I d j
 
 366 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 
 
 nothing for you ?" said Lady Olivia, rousing the little 
 strength that remained, after resting for nearly an hour, 
 and looking fondly at her niece. " I have solemnly 
 committed you to Him who has been the unfailing re- 
 source of thousands in all ages, now rejoicing before the 
 glorious Trinity of Heaven. It is a multitude whom no 
 man can number, and, oh ! how blessed is the prospect 
 of soon uniting my voice in that perpetual anthem of 
 praise which ascends in ceaseless gratitude to him who 
 loved the souls of men !" 
 
 Lady Olivia remained for some time in silent and ele- 
 vated meditation, while her eyes shone with serenity, 
 and the colour faintly tinged her countenance, produ- 
 cing momentary life and animation. 
 
 " I shall see that benignant and holy Saviour who 
 visited this world of sin for our sakes ; I shall behold 
 his prophets and apostles, and the holy men of every 
 successive age whom I have loved and honoured; I shall 
 meet again those dear ones of earth who were never ab- 
 sent from my thoughts. I go to such joys as the heart 
 of man cannot conceive ! And yet, Matilda, though we 
 see as through a glass darkly, enough is revealed of our 
 blessed prospects to show that an eternity amidst the 
 choicest blessings of this world would be less than no- 
 thing in the balance. I pray, my child, that you may fol- 
 low me, and whether the path along which you are led 
 to glory be strewed with roses or hedged in with thorns, 
 it will matter but little if the Holy Spirit be your guide 
 and comforter. Shall it not be so, Matilda ! Shall not 
 a few years restore us to each other ? Then let us now 
 thank God that my passage is short and easy to the 
 glories of eternal day." 
 
 Matilda could not reply, but she slowly sunk on her
 
 OR THE MARCH OF INTELLECT. 367 
 
 knees beside the couch of Lady Olivia, who breathed 
 forth a prayer so profoundly touching, so full of cheer- 
 ful faith and holy resignation, so abounding in bright 
 anticipations of the future, and in deepest tenderness 
 for those she left behind, that before the sublime strain 
 of her adoration and praise was concluded, Matilda felt 
 as if she were herself on the verge of eternity, and as if 
 no worldly sorrow could ever reach her more. 
 
 It was long after midnight when Miss Howard, who 
 had lighted her candles and remained stationary by the 
 bed of her aunt, wrapt in serious meditation, and occa- 
 sionally reading the Holy Scriptures, became suddenly 
 struck with surprise at an unusual quietness which reign- 
 ed in the room not a breath was heard not a sound 
 was uttered, but the stillness of death seemed around 
 her. Slowly and fearfully she drew aside the curtain and 
 gazed into the bed. One glance was sufficient to reveal 
 the dreadful truth, and Matilda discovered, with a de- 
 gree of awe too solemn for the indulgence of any human 
 emotion, that the spirit of Lady Olivia Neville had fled 
 for ever. Her lips were parted, and still bore the traces 
 of a peaceful smile her eyes were turned towards hea- 
 ven, and the colour yet lingered in her cheek. The pil- 
 low was unruffled, and one hand rested loosely on the 
 quilt, while the other was placed beneath her head in 
 the attitude of deep repose. 
 
 She slept, indeed, for it was the sleep of death, in 
 which her body was to await that call which shall restore 
 our slumbering dust to a GLORIOUS RESURRECTION. 
 
 In vain my fancy strives to paint, 
 
 The moment after death, 
 The glories that surround the saint, 
 
 In yielding up his breath.
 
 368 MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, &C. 
 
 This much and this is all we know 
 
 They are completely blest, 
 Have done with sin, and care, and woe 
 
 And in the Saviour rest. 
 
 One gentle sigh their fetters breaks, 
 We scarce can say they're gone, 
 
 Before the willing spirit takes 
 Her mansion near the throne. 
 
 Faith strives, but all its efforts fail 
 
 To trace them in their flight, 
 No eye can pierce within the veil 
 
 Which hides that world of light. 
 
 NEWTON. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
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