Page:Lady Anne Granard 1.pdf/283

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278
LADY ANNE GRANARD.

was allowed to devote himself to the service, in which, since then, he had been constantly engaged, but which had allowed him to make trips to various cities in Europe, and associate with persons of every description; for neither the greatest nor the gravest ever shunned the noble-looking youth, whose countenance was the index of truth and integrity, who bore an ancient and honoured name, akin to a title won by essential services to his native country. This variety of introduction, even that which included the monotony of courts, had had a happy effect on his manners, which, however excited, could never be coarse, and however situated, were self-controlled. It was long since he had found himself so tried as by Lady Anne, whom he gravely called "a great liar" for saying her daughter was poorly, and "a great tyrant" for keeping the poor girl at home, and then vanished, in the belief that his self-command would return the sooner for removing from her presence. This circumstance took place, to a sufficient degree, as we have seen, for the purposes of civility, being undoubtedly assisted by the hope, which was frustrated, of seeing Georgiana again. Not doing so (though he laughed at the moment) was, in fact, a great mortification, and he journeyed towards Meersbrook Hall by no means in the humour calculated to make Frederic assured on the subject of his intended application to his grandfather. We must glance at the early life of the elder brother also.