nity that modesty and discretion would permit. I
saw little of him during the mornings, as he went out with his gun with
the other gentlemen, but in the evenings he was my constant and devoted
attendant. I received many congratulations from female acquaintances
(friends I had none) upon my having conquered one who was supposed to be
invulnerable to the charms of our sex, and made no disclaimer when
spoken to on the subject. Every hour I expected the declaration to be
made, when, imagine my indignation and astonishment, at being informed
one morning when I arose, that Colonel Dempster and my sister Ellen had
disappeared, and it was reported that they had been seen in a carriage
driving at furious speed.

"It was but too true. It appeared that Colonel Dempster, who had been
informed by my brother of my temper and disposition, and who was aware
that without paying court to me, his visit would not be extended, and
who had fallen in love with Ellen almost as soon as he saw her, had
practised this dissimulation towards me to enable him, without my
knowledge, to gain my sister's affections; that his mornings were not
spent in shooting with my brother, as was supposed, but in my sister
Ellen's company; my brother, to whom he had acknowledged his attachment,
conniving with him to deceive me. A letter from the colonel to my
father, excusing himself for the step he had taken, and requesting him
to pardon his daughter, was brought in the same morning and read by me.
`Very foolish of him,' said my father; `what is the use of stealing what
you may have for asking. He might have had Ellen if he had spoken to
me; but I always thought that he was courting you, Barbara.'

"This letter, proving the truth of the report, was too much for me; I
fell down at my father's feet in a violent fit, and was carried to my
bed. The next day I was seized with a brain fever, and it was doubtful
if ever my reason would return. But it did gradually, and, after a
confinement to my room of three months, I recovered both health and
reason; partially, I may say, for I doubt not but that the shock I then
received has had a lasting effect upon me, and that it has caused me to
be the unsettled, restless, wandering thing that I now am, only content
when in motion, and using my pen to create an artificial excitement. I
believe most people are a little cracked before they begin to write. I
will not assert that it is a proof of madness, but it is a proof t