 body, for I am told that he is your cousin; tho' I believe I ought to request your excuse for mentioning it, as I believe you don't wish it to be made public.
I never heard of it till the other evening, said I; and now that I recollect, you I believe was my authority.
And that I promise you is as good as possible: for Lady Mary Lawrence, who is aunt to Lady Elizabeth Sedley, and who has had the charge of her from her infancy, (Lady Mortonbury having died when her daughter was quite a child,) is extremely intimate with my mother, and has frequently mentioned to her this projected alliance, which she is exceedingly eager should take place, as the young man is a very particular favorite with her, and she designs I know to present her niece with a very valuable set of jewels on the occasion, and they are actually bespoke: tho' Lady Mary told my

mother the affair was not to be concluded till Lord Belmont's return from abroad, (who has been the chief promoter of the match,) and his Lordship is not expected till autumn; therefore the marriage is not publicly talked of by the relations on either side, but all the world knows of it for all that.
My doom is then fixed, said I to myself. My authority is undoubted, and all delusion at an end. Let me not sink however with unpardonable weakness under the blow. Let me resist this overwhelming regret with all my fortitude. Had it not been from the foible of a too susceptible heart, all efforts had been on this account unnecessary. Let me therefore atone to my own mind by the most rigorous exertions for the error I have committed, and let a name so fatal, so interesting, be mentioned in my journal no more.
These reflections, which in an instant

passed through my mind, bestowed a momentary enthusiasm that enabled me to talk with a composure on the subject for which I applauded myself not a little.
I make no doubt but Lady Elizabeth will be extremely happy, said I, for Mr. Roatsley really seems to be an agreeable man.
Oh! extremely clever and agreeable certainly, cried Miss Farnford, (who had been examining some work with Fanny above stairs, but who just then returned,) and the handsomest creature I ever beheld. But I think if he is actually going to be married the lady has reason to be not a little jealous, for if ever I discovered a man to be in love in my life, Mr. Roatsley is deeply
