ference of
those we have once loved for some other person; still more so, when that
other chances to be one we dislike. The breach of affection seems then
tinctured with a kind of betrayal; we call to mind how once we swayed
the temper and ruled the thoughts of her who now has thrown off her
allegiance; we feel, perhaps for the first time too, how forgotten are
all our lessons, how dead is all our wonted influence; we remember when
the least word, the slightest action, bent beneath our will; when our
smile was happiness and our very sadness a reproof; and now we see
ourselves unminded and neglected, and no more liberty to advise, no more
power to control, than the merest stranger of the passing hour. What a
wound to our self-love!

That my cousin Julia loved De Vere, O'Grady's suspicions had already
warned me; the little I had seen of her since my return strengthened
the impression, while his confident manner and assured tone confirmed
my worst fears. In my heart I knew how utterly unworthy he was of such a
girl; but then, if he had already won her affections, my knowledge came
too late. Besides, the changed circumstances of my own fortune, which
must soon become known, would render my interference suspicious, and
consequently of no value; and, after all, if I determined on such a
course, what allegation could I bring against him which he could not
explain away as the mere levity of the young officer associating among
those he looked down upon and despised?

Such were some of my reflections as I slowly returned homewards from
the Horse Guards. As I arrived, a travelling-carriage stood at the door;
boxes, imperials, and cap-cases littered the hall and steps; servants
were hurrying back and forward, and Mademoiselle Clemence, my mother's
maid, with a poodle under one arm and a macaw's cage in the other, was
adding to the confusion by directions in a composite language that would
have astonished Babel itself.

'What means all this?' said I. 'Is Lady Charlotte leaving town?'

'Miladi va partir----'

'Her ladyship's going to Hastings, sir,' said the butler, interrupting.
'Dr. T-----has been here this morning and recommends an immediate change
of air for her ladyship.'

'Is Sir George in the house?'

'No, sir, he's just gone out with the doctor.'

Ah, thought I, this then is a concerted measure to induce my mother to
leave town. 'Is Lady Julia at home?'

'Yes, sir, in the drawing-room.'

'Whose horse is that with