eye upon that poetic paragraph of F. B.'s, you may fancy, with what
a panic it filled the good and pious lady. Her son become a Protestant!
After all the grief and trouble his wildness had occasioned to her, Paul
forsake his religion! But that her husband was so ill and aged as not to
be able to bear her absence, she would have hastened to London to
rescue her son out of that perdition. She sent for her younger son, who
undertook the embassy; and the Prince and Princesse de Moncontour, in
their hotel at London, were one day surprised by the visit of the Abbe
de Florac.

As Paul was quite innocent of any intention of abandoning his religion,
the mother's kind heart was very speedily set at rest by her envoy. Far
from Paul's conversion to Protestantism, the Abbe wrote home the most
encouraging accounts of his sister-in-law's precious dispositions. He
had communications with Madame de Moncontour's Anglican director, a man
of not powerful mind, wrote M. l'Abbe, though of considerable repute for
eloquence in his Sect. The good dispositions of his sister-in-law were
improved by the French clergyman, who could be most captivating and
agreeable when a work of conversion was in hand. The visit reconciled
the family to their English relative, in whom good-nature and many other
good qualities were to be seen now that there were hopes of reclaiming
her. It was agreed that Madame de Moncontour should come and inhabit the
Hotel de Florac at Paris: perhaps the Abbe tempted the worthy lady by
pictures of the many pleasures and advantages she would enjoy in that
capital. She was presented at her own court by the French ambassadress
of that day: and was received at the Tuileries with a cordiality which
flattered and pleased her.

Having been presented herself, Madame la Princesse in turn presented
to her august sovereign Mrs. T. Higg and Miss Higg, of Manchester, Mrs.
Samuel Higg, of Newcome; the husbands of those ladies (the Princess's
brothers) also sporting a court-dress for the first time. Sam Higg's
neighbour, the member for Newcome; Sir Brian Newcome, Bart., was too
ill to act as Higg's sponsor before majesty; but Barnes Newcome was
uncommonly civil to the two Lancashire gentlemen; though their politics
were different to his, and Sam had voted against Sir Brian at his
last election. Barnes took them to dine at a club--recommended his
tailor--and sent Lady Clara Pulleyn to call on Mrs. Higg--who pronounced
her to be a pretty young