ver obliged her but once; and
begged, with the most earnest supplications, that I would give her an
opportunity of seeing him at my house. But I thought proper to avoid her
company, as soon as I perceived her intention.

"We continued at Paris for some time, during which I contracted an
acquaintance with the sister of Madame de la T--. She was the
supposed mistress of the prince of C--, endowed with a great share of
understanding, and loved pleasure to excess, though she maintained her
reputation on a respectable footing, by living with her husband and
mother. This lady, perceiving that I had inspired her lover with a
passion, which gave me uneasiness on her account, actually practised all
her eloquence and art in persuading me to listen to his love; for it
was a maxim with her to please him at any rate. I was shocked at her
indelicate complaisance, and rejected the proposal as repugnant to my
present engagement, which I held as sacred as any nuptial tie, and much
more binding than a forced or unnatural marriage.

"Upon our return to England, we lived in great harmony and peace, and
nothing was wanting to my happiness, but the one thing to me the most
needful; I mean the enchanting tenderness and delightful enthusiasm of
love. Lord B--'s heart, I believe, felt the soft impressions; and, for
my own part, I loved him with the most faithful affection. It is not
enough to say I wished him well; I had the most delicate, the most
genuine esteem for his virtue; I had an intimate regard and anxiety for
his interest; and felt for him as if he had been my own son. But still
there was a vacancy in my heart; there was not that fervour, that
transport, that ecstasy of passion which I had formerly known; my bosom
was not filled with the little deity; I could not help recalling to my
remembrance the fond, the ravishing moments I had passed with S--. Had
I understood the conditions of life, those pleasures were happily
exchanged for my present situation, because, if I was now deprived
of those rapturous enjoyments, I was also exempted from the cares
and anxiety that attended them; but I was generally extravagant in my
notions of happiness, and therefore construed my present tranquility
into an insipid languor and stagnation of life.

"While I remained in this inactivity of sentiment, Lord --, having
received a very considerable addition to his fortune, sent a message
to me, promising, that if I would leave Lord B--, he would make me