that I have heard of have originated in some motive that lay very near the surface. Some men are desperately in love; but more often it is that the table wants a lady at the head of it; or a man is poor, and marries for money; or he is rich, and wants connexion; or very often he marries because his friends have decided the matter for him, and it is less trouble to make the offer than to avoid making it. Now none of these first causes appear to influence Mr. Glentworth."
"Perhaps," said Georgiana, "he has had an unhappy attachment?"
"Or, perhaps," said Louisa, "he has been too poor to marry. He may have been engaged, and, after waiting for years, is now able to fulfil his engagement."
"An engaged man," replied Isabella, "would not have been so anxious to seek us out, and would not be so anxious to secure our house as a refuge for his leisure hours."
"Well, my dears," said Mrs. Palmer, "we shall see: and, what is of most importance to you is, I think, from all I can hear, you will find in Mr. Glentworth a sure and kind friend; and that is what we all of us want some time or other.'"
In a few days, Mr. Glentworth became almost domesticated in the house, an arrangement partly pleasing and partly otherwise to Lady Anne. She liked the air of intimacy with a man so rich; his acquaintance was no expence, and he still retained his old habit
