CHAPTER III.
"An open foe may prove a curse,
But a pretended friend is worse."
Gay.
Having landed in Wales, the General and his family, after a due interval of repose, pursued their journey through the beautifully diversified and mountainous country which lay before them.
On account of the extreme debility of Oriana, they made but easy journeys. The exhaustion under which she laboured was evident, notwithstanding the united efforts of the parents to relieve it; and their anxiety on her account continued to fluctuate in proportion as the symptoms of weakness and fatigue she exhibited increased or subsided, until their entrance into the attractive city of Bath, the place of their destination.
In possession of a handsome income, the General determined to provide for his wife and daughters an establishment proportioned to his means. An elegantly furnished house, in one of the most admired parts of the town, was soon chosen.
