menade on the Steyne, and the varied
character that nightly fills the libraries; I read men, not books, and
above all I enjoy the world of fashion. Where the King is, there is
concentrated all that is delightful in society. Your retired dowagers
and Opposition peers may congregate in rural retirement, and sigh with
envy at the enchanting splendour of the court circle; those only who
have felt its cheering influence can speak of its inspiring pleasures;
and all who have participated in the elegant scene will laugh at the
whispers of malignity and the innuendoes of disappointment, which are
ever pregnant with some newly invented _on dit_ of scandalous tendency,
to libel a circle of whom they know nothing but by report; and that
report, in nine instances out of ten, 'the weak invention of the
enemy.'" "Bravo, Lady Mary; your spirited defence of the Pavilion party
does honour to your heart, and displays as much good sense as honest
feeling; but a little interest, methinks, lurks about it for all that: I
have not forgotten the honour we received on our last visit; and you, I
can perceive, anticipate a renewal of the same gratifying condescension;
so give James his instructions, and let him proceed to Brighton
to-morrow to make the necessary arrangements for our arrival."

~291~~Thus ended the colloquy in the usual family manner, when well-bred
men entertain something more than mere respect for their elegant and
accomplished partners.

[Illustration: page291]

SKETCHES AT BRIGHTON.

_The Pavilion Party--Interior described--Royal and Noble
Anecdotes--King and Mathews_.

~292~~I had preceded D'Almaine and the Countess only a few hours in my
arrival at Brighton; you know the vivacity and enchanting humour which
ever animates that little divinity, and will not therefore be surprised
to hear, on her name being announced at the Pavilion, we were honoured
with a royal invitation to an evening party. I had long sighed for an
opportunity to view the interior of that eccentric building; but to
have enjoyed such a treat, made doubly attractive by the presence of
the King, reposing from the toils of state in his favourite retreat, and
surrounded by the select circle of his private friends, was more than my
most sanguine expectations could have led me to conjecture. Suspending,
therefore, my curiosity until the morrow, relative to the Steyne, the
beach, the libraries, and the characters, I made a desperate effort in