her away into her native country, which was either Norfolk or Suffolk, and with so much secrecy that nobody knew whither she was gone, or how she was provided for: but Farnham with some difficulty drew from the rest of the servants, with whom he found means of conversing, that she had boasted, in some moments of vulgar exultation, that her fortune was made for ever.
No clue, however, could I obtain by which I could find out this woman; and after much fruitless enquiry, where the

art of the adversary with whom I had to engage baffled all my assiduity, I determined to go to Lord Castlenorth, to state to him the stigma that his wife had thrown on the honour of my mother, his sister, and to demand that I might have proofs of the facts she alledged, such as she could now give, or that she might acknowledge the wickedness and injustice of her aspersions.
I was not aware, till I conversed with Lord Castlenorth, to how debilitated a state indolence, ignorance, pride, and prejudice, can reduce the human mind. His, however, was of so singular a cast, that instead of being shocked at the injury done to his sister's honour, he affected to resent, in spite of his family pride, my doubts of his wife's veracity, flew from the point to which I attempted to bring him, and we parted in mutual disgust: at least I was disgusted, and more wretched and more hopeless than before I had made this attempt.

Every effort to discover the retreat of the woman failing, my next measure was to go to the convent at Hieres. It was owing to these cruel circumstances, Celestina, that I left you in doubt while I remained in England; it was owing to these, that I left England in the hope—though it became every day more mingled with apprehension—that I left England without accounting to you for my conduct. Were these surmises groundless, why should I empoison your delicate mind? why should I sully for a moment the sacred fame of my mother by divulging them? were they found to be at length too well substantiated, it would be then time enough to inform you of them.
On my arrival at Hieres, I went directly to the present Confessor of the community out of whose care my mother took you. I found him to be intelligent, obliging, and officious. From him I learned, that the present Superior

was a young woman of good family, who had been compelled to take the veil, and who would probably have very few real scruples as