d oh, Eleanor, I cannot tell you how dear
it is to me; and yet there is not a line, not a look of his countenance
which I have not learned by heart, without such useless aids to my
memory. But I am ashamed of telling you all this, and my eyes ache so,
that I can write no more.

Ever, as ever, dearest Eleanor, your affectionate friend.

F. A.

LETTER III. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

Eleanor, I am undone! My mother--my mother has been so cruel; but she
cannot, she cannot intend it, or she knows very little of my heart. With
some ties may be as easily broken as formed; with others they are twined
around life itself.

Clarence dined with us yesterday, and was unusually animated and
agreeable. He was engaged on business with Lord Aspeden afterwards, and
left us early. We had a few people in the evening, Lord Borodaile among
the rest; and my mother spoke of Clarence, and his relationship to
and expectations from Mr. Talbot. Lord Borodaile sneered; "You are
mistaken," said he, sarcastically; "Mr. Linden may feel it convenient to
give out that he is related to so old a family as the Talbots; and since
Heaven only knows who or what he is, he may as well claim alliance with
one person as another; but he is certainly not the nephew of Mr.
Talbot of Scarsdale Park, for that gentleman had no sisters and but
one brother, who left an only daughter; that daughter had also but one
child, certainly no relation to Mr. Linden. I can vouch for the truth
of this statement; for the Talbots are related to, or at least nearly
connected with, myself; and I thank Heaven that I have a pedigree, even
in its collateral branches, worth learning by heart." And then Lord
Borodaile--I little thought, when I railed against him, what serious
cause I should have to hate him--turned to me and harassed me with his
tedious attentions the whole of the evening.

This morning Mamma sent for me into her boudoir. "I have observed," said
she, with the greatest indifference, "that Mr. Linden has, of late, been
much too particular in his manner towards you: your foolish and undue
familiarity with every one has perhaps given him encouragement. After
the gross imposition which Lord Borodaile exposed to us last night, I
cannot but consider the young man as a mere adventurer, and must not
only insist on your putting a total termination to civilities which we
must henceforth consider presumption, but I myself shall consider it
incumbent upon me greatly to limit