was, perhaps, about the same size with Georgiana's, and put it into the letter so adroitly, it might have lain there undisturbed for months; since, although it had been much the poor girl's custom to gaze on her prize, to press it to her lips and her bosom, since she knew every word of the letter, it was of late her habit to caress the bag which contained it, and be content with feeling the ring instead of seeing it. In consequence, she never missed it; and two days had passed, in which Lady Anne remained in quiet possession of her secret, and, what she emphatically deemed, "a prize." There were further conjectures respecting the Thetis, but nothing of any importance was added to the information originally given, and which was of so alarming a character.
Under these circumstances, the party assembled at Mr. Palmer's was unavoidably of a very serious description, and Lady Anne took what she called "their cue," though she could not fail to make many comparisons between them and herself, very much in favour of the latter. "They are very much older than me," said she; "though they carry things off mighty well; and really, if that Mrs. Margaret chose to dress properly, she might take from her looks a good ten years, not but the close coiffure and the milk-white hair parted on her brow has something pretty in it, when supported by that fair, smooth, unwrinkled face. She never
