etermined boon companion; and, in the retrospect of the preceding
day, the young Laird of St. Ronan's saw nothing very consolatory, unless
that the excess was not, in the present case, of his own seeking, but
had arisen out of the necessary duties of a landlord, or what were
considered as such by his companions.

But it was not so much his dizzy recollections of the late carouse which
haunted him on awakening, as the inexplicability which seemed to shroud
the purposes and conduct of his new ally, the Earl of Etherington.

That young nobleman had seen Miss Mowbray, had declared his high
satisfaction, had warmly and voluntarily renewed the proposal which he
had made ere she was yet known to him--and yet, far from seeking an
opportunity to be introduced to her, he had even left the party
abruptly, in order to avoid the necessary intercourse which must there
have taken place between them. His lordship's flirtation with Lady
Binks had not escaped the attention of the sagacious Mowbray--her
ladyship also had been in a hurry to leave Shaws-Castle; and Mowbray
promised to himself to discover the nature of this connexion through
Mrs. Gingham, her ladyship's attendant, or otherwise; vowing deeply at
the same time, that no peer in the realm should make an affectation of
addressing Miss Mowbray a cloak for another and more secret intrigue.
But his doubts on this subject were in great measure removed by the
arrival of one of Lord Etherington's grooms with the following letter:--

"My Dear Mowbray,--You would naturally be surprised at my escape
from the table yesterday before you returned to it, or your lovely
sister had graced it with her presence. I must confess my folly; and
I may do so the more boldly, for, as the footing on which I first
opened this treaty was not a very romantic one, you will scarce
suspect me of wishing to render it such. But I did in reality feel,
during the whole of yesterday, a reluctance which I cannot express,
to be presented to the lady on whose favour the happiness of my
future life is to depend, upon such a public occasion, and in the
presence of so promiscuous a company. I had my mask, indeed, to wear
while in the promenade, but, of course, that was to be laid aside at
table, and, consequently, I must have gone through the ceremony of
introduction; a most interesting moment, which I was desirous to
defer till a fitter season. I trust you will pe