e of Mr.
Haughton, a woman of much good sense and modesty of deportment: their
daughter, a young lady conspicuous for nothing but good nature; and the
wife and son of the rector--the latter but lately admitted to holy orders
himself.

The remainder of the day passed in an uninterrupted flow of pleasant
conversation, the natural consequence of a unison of opinions on all
leading questions, the parties having long known and esteemed each other
for those qualities which soonest reconcile us to the common frailties of
our nature. On parting at the usual hour, it was agreed to meet that day
week at the rectory, and the doctor, on making his bow to Lady Moseley,
observed, that he intended, in virtue of his office, to make an early call
on the Jarvis family, and that, if possible, he would persuade them to be
of the party.

Sir Edward Moseley was descended from one of the most respectable of the
creations of his order by James, and had inherited, with many of the
virtues of his ancestor, an estate which placed him amongst the greatest
landed proprietors of the county. But, as it had been an invariable rule
never to deduct a single acre from the inheritance of the eldest son, and
the extravagance of his mother, who was the daughter of a nobleman, had
much embarrassed the affairs of his father, Sir Edward, on coming into
possession of his estate, had wisely determined to withdraw from the gay
world, by renting his house in town, and retiring altogether to his
respectable mansion, about a hundred miles from the metropolis. Here he
hoped, by a course of systematic but liberal economy, to release himself
from all embarrassments, and to make such a provision for his younger
children, the three daughters already mentioned, as he conceived their
birth entitled them to expect. Seventeen years enabled him to accomplish
this plan; and for more than eighteen months, Sir Edward had resumed the
hospitality and appearance usual in his family, and had even promised his
delighted girls to take possession, the ensuing winter, of the house in
St. James's Square. Nature had not qualified Sir Edward for great or
continued exertions, and the prudent decision he had taken to retrieve his
fortunes, was perhaps an act of as much forecast and vigor as his talents
or energy would afford; it was the step most obviously for his interests,
and the one that was safest both in its execution and consequences, and as
such it had been adopted: but, had it requ