ents, and sat down to enjoy the
castle-building which he had commenced after he left the house. He
patted his dog, and apostrophised it. "Yes, my poor brute," said
Vanslyperken, "your master will get a rich widow, without it being
necessary that you should be laid dead at her porch. D--n Frau
Vandersloosh."

The widow was more enchanting when Vanslyperken called on the ensuing
day, than she was on the first. Her advances to the lieutenant were no
longer doubtful to him. She entered freely into the state of her
affairs, asked his advice upon money matters, and fully proved to his
satisfaction that, independent of her beauty, she would be a much
greater catch than Frau Vandersloosh. She spoke about her family; said
that she expected her brother over, but that he must come _incog._, as
he was attached to the court of the exiled king, lamented the difficulty
of receiving letters from him, and openly expressed her adherence to the
Stuart family. Vanslyperken appeared to make very little objection to
her political creed; in fact, he was so fascinated that he fell blindly
into the snare; he accepted an invitation to dine with her on that very
day, and went on board to dress himself as fine for her as he had for
the widow Vandersloosh. The lovely widow admired his uniform, and gave
him many gentle hints upon which he might speak: but this did not take
place until a _tete-a-tete_ after dinner, when he was sitting on a sofa
with her (not on such a fubsy sofa as that of Frau Vandersloosh, but one
worked in tapestry); much in the same position as we once introduced him
in to the reader, to wit, with the lady's hand in his. Vanslyperken was
flushed with wine, for Nancy had pushed the bottle, and, at last, he
spoke out clearly what his aspirations were. The widow blushed, laughed,
wiped her eyes as if to brush away a falling tear, and eventually, with
a slight pressure of the hand, stammered that she did not know what to
say, the acquaintance was so short--it was so unexpected--she must
reflect a little: at the same time, she could not but acknowledge, that
she had been taken with him when she first saw him; and then she laughed
and said, that she did really begin to believe that there was such a
thing as love at first sight, and then--he had better go now, she wished
to be alone--she really had a headache. Oh! Nancy Corbett! you were,
indeed, an adept in the art of seduction--no wonder that your name has
been handed down to posterit