Considering the friendship you have honour’d Edmund with, I have no idea he can presume to think of Miss Warley, seeing what he must see.

I shall expect to find a letter on my arrival in St. James’s Street.—­Omit not those respects which are due at Barford Abbey.

Yours,

MOLESWORTH.

LETTER XII.

Lord DARCEY to the Honourable GEORGE MOLESWORTH.

Barford Abbey.

I should be in a fine plight, truly, to let her go to France without me!—­Why, I am almost besides myself at the thoughts of an eight days separation.—­Was ever any thing so forgetful!—­To bring no other cloaths here but mourning!—­Did she always intend to encircle the sun with a sable cloud?—­Or, why not dispatch a servant?—­A journey into Oxfordshire is absolutely necessary.—­Some other business, I suppose; but I am not enough in her confidence to know of what nature.—­Poh! love!—­Impossible, and refuse me so small a boon as to attend her!—­requested too in a manner that spoke my whole soul.—­Yes; I had near broke through all my resolutions.—­This I did say, If Miss Warley refuses her dear hand, pressing it to my lips, in the same peremptory manner,—­what will become of him who without it is lost to the whole world?—­The reply ventur’d no further than her cheek;—­there sat enthron’d in robes of crimson.—­I scarce dar’d to look up:—­her eyes darted forth a ray so powerful, that I not only quitted her hand, but suffered her to leave the room without my saying another word.—­This happened at Jenkings’s last evening; in the morning she was to set out with the old gentleman for Oxfordshire.—­I did not attempt seeing her again ’till that time, fearing my presence might be unpleasing, after the confusion I had occasion’d.

Sick of my bed I got up at five; and taking a gun, directed my course to the only spot on earth capable of affording me delight.—­The outer gate barr’d:—­no appearance of any living creature, except poor Caesar.—­He, hearing my voice, crept from his wooden-house, and, instead of barking, saluted me in a whining tone:—­stretching himself, he jumped towards the gate, licking my hand that lay between the bars.—­I said many kind things to this faithful beast, in hopes my voice would awaken some of the family.—­The scheme succeeded.—­A bell was sounded from one of the apartments; that opposite to which I stood.—­A servant opening the window-shutters, I was tempted to keep my stand.—­A white beaver with a green feather, and a riding-dress of the same colour, plainly told me this was the room where rested all my treasure, and caused in my mind such conflicts as can no more be described by me than felt by another.—­Unwilling to encrease my tortures I reeled to an old tree, which lay on a bank near;—­there sat down to recover my trembling.—­The next thing which alarmed me was an empty chaise, driving full speed down the