ut her
acquaintance, who still found her house agreeable, applauded their
charity in attending her at home. Cards even employed the morning, for
fear any intermission of visitors should leave her a moment's time for
reflection. In this manner she passed the short remainder of her life,
without one thought of that which was to come. Her acquaintance, for I
cannot call them as they did themselves, friends, were particularly
careful to avoid every subject that might remind her of death. At night
she procured sleep by laudanum; and from the time she rose, she took
care not to have leisure to think; even at meals she constantly engaged
company, lest her niece's conversation should not prove sufficient to
dissipate her thoughts. Every quack who proposed curing what was
incurable was applied to, and she was buoyed up with successive hopes of
approaching relief.

She grew at last so weak that, unable even to perform her part at the
card-table, Lady Mary was obliged to deal, hold her cards and sort them
for her, while she could just take them out one by one and drop them on
the table. Whist and quadrille became too laborious to her weakened
intellects, but loo supplied their places and continued her amusement to
the last, as reason or memory were not necessary qualifications to play
at it.

Her acquaintances she found at length began to absent themselves, but
she re-animated their charity by making frequent entertainments for
them, and was reduced to order genteel suppers to enliven the evening,
when she herself was obliged to retire to her bed. Though it was for a
considerable time doubtful whether she should live till morning, it was
no damp to the spirits of any of the company from which she had
withdrawn, except to Lady Mary, who, with an aching heart, was obliged
to preside every evening at the table, and to share their unfeeling
mirth, till two or three o'clock in the morning.

She was greatly afflicted with the thought of her aunt's approaching
death, whose indulgence to her, however blameable, had made a deep
impression on her heart; as this gave a more serious turn to her mind,
she could not see Lady Sheerness's great insensibility to what must
happen after death without much concern. The great care that was taken
to rob her of leisure to reflect on matters of such high importance
shocked her extremely; and she was disgusted with the behaviour of those
she called her friends, who she plainly perceived would have fall