to the circle of a few select friends, refusing to mix in those large and brilliant entertainments to which she was often invited.
The most intimate of her associates were a Mr. and Mrs. Blake and their son, a youth under twenty, the sole fruit of their union, the sole representative of a respectable family, and heir to extensive possessions: idolized by his parents, the most tender cares had been lavished upon him. Mrs. Blake neglected no opportunity of courting the attention of Mrs. De Brooke, showing her an assiduity and complaisance extremely flattering.
So great was the intimacy of these ladies that they were seldom seen but in company together. Mrs. Blake, in particular, made parties at her own house, for no other purpose than that of indulging the gratification of entertaining her new friends. The sisters of Mrs. Blake were equally desirous of making themselves agreeable to the Misses De Brooke; and with this view they would often accompany them in their walks, and solicit the permission of their mother to allow them to join their evening parties.
When confined to a family circle, Mrs. De Brooke offered no objection; but at the tender age of her daughters, she was averse from introducing them much into company, under the fear that such
