g-room; they to the nursery--(a constant and laudable
custom with them)--to see how the children were going on, as far as
could be learned from the drowsy attendants of the aforesaid children.
Little Aubrey would have reminded you of one of the exquisite sketches
of children's heads by Reynolds or Lawrence, as he lay breathing
imperceptibly, with his rich flowing hair spread upon the pillow, in
which his face was partly hid, and his arms stretched out. Mrs. Aubrey
put her finger into one of his hands, which was half open, and which
closed as it were instinctively upon it, with a gentle pressure.
"Look--only look--Kate!" softly whispered Mrs. Aubrey. Miss Aubrey
leaned forward and kissed his little cheek with an ardor which almost
awoke him. After a glance at a tiny head partly visible above the
clothes, in an adjoining bed, and looking like a rosebud almost entirely
hid among the leaves, they withdrew.

"The little loves!--how one's heart thrills with looking at them!" said
Miss Aubrey as they descended. "Kate!" whispered Mrs. Aubrey, with an
arch smile, as they stood at their respective chamber doors, which
adjoined, "Mr. Delamere is improved--is not he?--Ah, Kate! Kate!--I
understand!"

"Agnes, how can you"--hastily answered Miss Aubrey, with cheeks suddenly
crimsoned. "I never heard such nonsense"----

"Night, night, Kate! think over it!" said Mrs. Aubrey, and kissing her
beautiful sister-in-law, the next moment the blooming wife had entered
her bedroom. Miss Aubrey slipped into her dressing-room, where Harriet,
her maid, was sitting asleep before the fire. Her lovely mistress did
not for a few minutes awake her; but placing her candlestick on the
toilet table, stood in a musing attitude.

"It's so perfectly _ridiculous_" at length she said aloud; and up
started her maid. Within half an hour Miss Aubrey was in bed, but by no
means asleep!

The next morning, about eleven o'clock, Mr. Aubrey was seated in the
library, in momentary expectation of his letters; and a few moments
before the postman's _rat-tat_ was heard, Mrs. and Miss Aubrey made
their appearance, as was their wont, in expectation of anything which
might have upon the cover, in addition to the address--

"CHARLES AUBREY, ESQ., M. P.," &c. &c. &c.,

the words, "Mrs. Aubrey," or "Miss Aubrey," in the corner. In addition
to this, 'twas not an unpleasant thing to skim over the contents of
_his_ letters! as one by one he opened them, and laid them