and the conversation in which he usually indulges is the severest satire upon the taste of the ladies he addresses. How rude he was to poor Mrs. Sanderson! But what he said was true enough. You must know," lowering her voice," she is a paravant"-we presume Miss Nelthorpe meant a parvenue-" she was a butcher's daughter; and an accurate observer may still see something very butcherly about her. Then there is Mrs. Mapletoft-that is another paravant, as you may plainly see, poor woman! the moment she opens her mouth. Now Mr. Tom Birkit is far from being a paravant, but he is—"

"He is, I take it, an enchanted, if not enchanting knight," said Julia, "who is under a vow not to speak a word of sense in the presence of the ladies, or, like the monster in 'Beauty and the Beast,' compelled, by a maleficent fairy, to conceal that he has common understanding."

"C'est selon," answered Miss Nelthorpe, meaning cela se peut. "Then there is

the

the flower of the flock-I mean the pastor of it-the divine little divine, Mr. Adolphus Lascelles; he is not a paravant neither, but, on the contrary, a most charming, handsome, agreeable young manwell-born and well-bred; but then there is a dark shade"

Miss Nelthorpe sighed, shook her head, looked very mysterious, and was preparing to speak more fully, when a thundering rap at the door announced Mrs. Sanderson and her four daughters; and Julia, however unwillingly, was obliged to forego any hope of farther explanation respecting the interesting being who had alone been able to awaken any curiosity in her mind.

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My dear Mrs. Sanderson," said Miss Nelthorpe, rising to meet the " butcherly lady,' "I hope you caught no cold last night. I never saw Miss Eliza look more divinely. Mr. Tom Birkit is quite smitten; that is plain, poor man! Miss Jane, what new book are you reading? I hope, Eleanor,

G 6

Eleanor, you have not forgotten you are to teach me how to make those very pret ty mittens."

Satisfied with having said something pleasant to every one, the brisk little lady ambled out of the room.

"How shockingly deformed poor Miss Nelthorpe is!" said grateful Eliza.

I would not be her," says bright Elea "for more than I can say.”

nor,

“For my part," said Jane, imagining she had uttered a most superior speech, "I never see crooked Miss Nelthorpe and upright Miss Ravenshawe together, without being reminded of an Italian treatise, which has for its title, Il Torto e il Drit to."

6

In this contracted scene, as in more extensive circles, there was a prevailing principle of self-esteem, which made every one, though apparently upon a par with the rest, imagine themselves, distinguished by some peculiar advantage.

Miss Nelthorpe's figure was unfortunate,

her

her habits economical, and her dress stu diously plain. A superficial observer might have supposed her one of the most. insignificant persons in the society. But Miss Nelthorpe adopted this mode of dress, to distinguish her from the showily-decorated parvenues, or paravants, of whom she so frequently complained, and prided herself also on a degree of understanding that gave her an influence inferior only to Miss Ravenshawe. Miss Ravenshawe thought the family from which she was descended placed her sufficiently above all those with whom she associated; while Mrs. Sanderson thought the fine family, of which she was the parent, gave her, though a plebeian, a much more substantial claim to consideration and respect. Mary and Eliza Sanderson, without caring for a few slights from the two well-born and elderly spinsters, were satisfied with their obvious superiority in the real advantages of youth and beauty. It was difficult to say what Mrs. Mapletoft was proud of, for

she

she was vulgar, illiterate, and poor; but she had at length found consolation in discovering that her health was peculiarly delicate, and her nerves excessively weak, which, together with her standing quarrel with Mr. Lascelles, gave her occupation sufficient to cheat the long winter evenings: besides her grievances, there were as many heartburnings as there were persons in Rothbury. Miss Ravenshawe and Miss Nelthorpe, though they kept up a decent appearance, hated each other heartily, for a cause that shall appear in the sequel. The pride of lord Lulworth and family had revolted all his neighbours; and those neighbours only joined with his fordship in piously hating the rector.

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CHAP