"Then, my dear child, I feel satisfied," replied Mrs. Roberts, "perfectly satisfied, Maria. I would rather have preferred, certainly, I will not deny it, I would rather have preferred his declaring his intentions to me, or to your father, before he left the place-I certainly should have preferred it but it is impossible, I know, to have every thing just exactly as we would wish; and thankful I am, and thankful I will be, at the constancy of his passion. But yet, my dear girls, don't you think yourselves, that there is something very odd in his going away so abruptly, without giving me the very least hint in the world that there wa any chance of our ever meeting again? Now don't fancy, my dear Maria, that I doubt your word. On the contrary, my dear love, I feel perfectly sure and certain that you feel convinced of his tender attachment, but-"

"There is no but about it, ma'am," said Maria, interrupting her; "I am not such a baby but that I know how a man behaves when he loves a woman. And I do beg that I may not be plagued any more about

it."

"I am sure, Maria, any notion of plaguing you is the farthest thing from my thoughts. I am quite sensible, my poor dear child, that the more you are convinced of his love the more the parting must be painful -one must have the heart of a tiger to plague you just at this time-so don't you take any notice of what we are talking about, but I should just like to ask Agatha what she thinks. You have a monstrous deal of observation, Agatha, nobody can deny that, and I wish you would tell me now, quite confidentially, as one friend might speak to another, what do you think about it ?”

"About what, ma'am?" said Agatha, raising her eyebrows.

"About Lord Lynberry, my dear. Do you think from what you have seen yourself, and from what you have heard your sister now say, that we may expect his lordship to propose for her? Now speak plain and clear, Agatha, and let me understand you," returned her mother.

"Upon my word, ma'am," replied Agatha, "you have desired me to do the most difficult thing in the world. How can any one speak plain and clear, as you call it, upon a subject so notoriously intricate as the heart of man? Besides, I really must be excused from passing any judgment on the question. Nobody, in fact, can do this but Maria herself-for you must be aware, ma'am, that the very truest love is often that which conceals itself the most carefully from the public eye. But though I will not pronounce a judgment, I may give an opinion, and that opinion is, that in examining this matter, you should take care to keep in mind the rank and station of the young nobleman in question. It is obvious to common sense that we are not to expect precisely the same straightforward conduct from him that might be looked for from a person exactly in our own station. Don't mistake me, however; I use this phrase solely with reference to the old gentleman, his father, who having, unluckily for him, been born in the last century, has conceived himself, and possibly given to his son, or at least attempted to do so, some of those old-fashioned prejudices which make station depend rather on birth and fortune than on fashion. We know better, I hope; we know that once admitted within the magic circle of TON, every thing else is forgotten. That, of course, as far as society is concerned, is all that is looked for-is all that is at all important. But in affairs of marriage, I am afraid these noblemen of the old school are still apt to make a ridiculous fuss about

birth and connexion. Nous autres may laugh at all this, for we know how utterly absurd it is; and it is probable, from the choice he has made, that poor dear Lynberry knows it too. But this, you will observe, may not be sufficient to prevent his having some trouble with his father. I should not be at all surprised if he had a good deal.”

"Yes!” cried Maria, clasping her hands and lifting her eyes to heaven. "Yes! that should account for every thing! In fact, it does explain every thing, and makes, what otherwise might be puzzling, as clear as light! And therefore, mamma, I hope and trust that you will not let any nonsense on papa's part prevent your doing what you ought to do. Remember that the happiness of my whole life depends upon it; and if you refuse, I am doomed to misery-or rather let me say to DEATH! Yes, mamma, to an early tomb! For I know and feel that I have not strength to survive it!"

"Survive what, my dear ?" exclaimed Mrs. Roberts. "What is it that you say will send you to an early tomb? Oh! Maria! how very shockingly you do talk!"

"What is talk, mamma? What is talk compared to action? If you do not do your duty by me now, you will have to weep over my early grave!"

"But what is my duty, Maria? For Heaven's sake explain yourself! You terrify me to death, and then won't even tell me what you want me to do."

"You shan't have reason to complain of that long, mamma, for I have not the least objection to telling you what I want you to do, for I know it is reasonable, and I know it is right. All I ask is, that you should immediately take measures to leave this hateful place, and follow Lord Lynberry to Rome. I am quite sure that in his heart he expects that we should do so, though he was too delicate to say so. He is obliged to go, poor fellow, for such are the orders of his tyrannic father; but I, thank Heaven, am free-Lynberry knows this, and therefore must of course expect that I should follow him!"

"Follow him, my dear!" said Mrs. Roberts, relapsing for a moment into the rococo decencies of her former mode of life. "I know very well that, as Agatha says, things are not exactly as they used to be. But still, somehow, I do think the notion of all setting off and following this young gentleman to Rome, has something very queer in it.”

66

Queer!" cried Maria, with violent emotion," what a word to use at such a moment! My life is hanging upon a thread, and you call it queer."

"Upon my word, ma'am, I must say that I think you are very unfeeling," said Agatha. "If you choose to refuse the perfectly reasonable request of Maria, you certainly might do so without making a joke of it. I see plainly that it is likely enough that her happiness, poor girl, may be sacrificed to your detestable old-fashioned notions; but at any rate there is no need to add insult to tyranny."

"How you do run on, Agatha!" exclaimed her mother, looking as angry as she dared. "You know perfectly well that I am as far from wishing to part Maria and Lynberry as you can be. And if you can explain away the oddness of our all setting off after him the moment he gone, I shall be very glad to listen to you. There! I am sure I can't

is

say any thing fairer than that, can I?"

"I don't see any great fairness in it, ma'am," replied her eldest

daughter. "It is putting a monstrous bore upon me, if I am to do battle with all your windmills. You really should not have brought us abroad at all, ma'am, if you were conscious of not having strength of mind sufficient to overcome the ridiculous prejudices to which you have been accustomed at home. I confess indeed that I am a good deal disappointed at hearing you speak in this manner; for though of course we all know that your education, like that of every other woman brought up in England, must have placed you a thousand leagues behind those who have had the advantage of visiting the continent in youth, yet still I flattered myself that you had sufficient quickness of observation to enable you to get rid of all such nonsense."

"And so I have, Agatha," said Mrs. Roberts, bridling with conscious ability, "and you would soon perceive that you were perfectly right in thinking so if you would but have a little patience. But it is not fair, my dear, to expect that every body should be as quick as yourself. But let us talk a little soberly and reasonably about all this. You hurry on so, that I declare I hardly know what it is you do want. Do you mean, both of you, that you think we ought to give up this expensive house that we stand engaged to pay for during the whole of the summer-do you really mean that we ought to give this up directly, and set off to Rome after Lord Lynberry ?"

"I don't know what you mean, ma'am, by going after Lord Lynberry. As he is gone already we must go after him, if we ever intend to go to Rome at all. But not to quarrel with phrases," pursued Agatha, assuming great dignity of manner, "not to quarrel with phrases, but to come with equal courage and sincerity to the real question at once, I do think that if Maria feels persuaded that Lord Lynberry has left Baden-Baden by the desire of his father, and that, notwithstanding his doing so; he is still attached to her, in that case I certainly do think that it is your duty, ma'am, to bring them together again, and that with as little delay as possible."

"Well, Agatha," replied her mother, "I suppose you are right, for certainly, according to the old system of things it was hardly reasonable to suppose that Lord Southtown would approve of the match just at first. But then, my dear girls, I must say that I think the question of our going or not going, ought to depend very much upon what has passed between Maria and Lord Lynberry. Nobody can know this, you know, but her own dear self, and though I am sure I would be the last person in the world to insist upon a poor dear blushing girl telling every thing that had passed between herself and her lover, yet I do think that, under the circumstances, Maria ought to be a little open with us. Don't you

think so, Agatha ?"

"Why yes, ma'am, I confess I think there is a good deal of reason in what you say," replied Agatha. "The giving up the house, Maria, certainly ought not to be done without some good reason for it. You need not tell every thing, dear; but if he either said or did any thing which proved that he left you with the sentiments and emotions of a lover, I really think that you ought to confess it to mamma; and if do not, she must certainly be held excusable if she refuses to set off for Rome." "Well then, ma'am," replied Maria, with a good deal of indignation naturally arising from the force thus put upon her delicacy, "well then, ma'am, he took me in his arms and kissed me! I don't know what more you would have !"

you

COSTUME AND CHARACTERS OF THE COURT OF

GEORGE II.

BY MISS STRICKLAND.

A FEW months before the utter fall of the elder line of Bourbon from their restored throne, the Duchesse de Berri invented the most splendid regal entertainment known in the present age; this was her well-remembered bal costume of the historical characters at the court of France, during the brief space in which the lovely Mary Stuart united the dignities of Dauphiness and Queen-Regnant of Scotland. It was a happily chosen era, for grace and grandeur of attire, united to historical distinction of character, gave an overpowering interest to the scene. One of the most attractive features was, that many of Scotch and French haut noblesse possessed the names and titles of their celebrated ancestors, and appeared in their characters. The bal costumé à la Marie Stuart will be long remembered among the departed glories of the French restoration; this fête seems to have been the precedent for the historical bal costumé.

The desire of seeing before her the appearance of the splendour of her predecessors in a living and moving tableau, is assuredly a fine idea for a young and intellectual sovereign. Her majesty's grand historical bal costume of 1842, more than rivalled the celebrated Marie Stuart's fête of the Duchesse de Berri in splendour, but perhaps the mixture of costumes impaired the classic effect. The ball that will take place in a few days, will present a unity of costume of an extraordinary kind; it will be purely a wig and powder ball, in which the era, 1740 to 1750, will present itself in antithesis to 1845. There can be little assumption of historical character, for it was a period singularly destitute of celebrity. Many of the female nobility who had graced the court of the elegant and fascinating Queen Caroline, had forsaken it during the sway of her odious successor in the king's affections, Walmoden, Countess of Yarmouth; the young Princess Amelia, the favourite daughter of the king, was unpopular on account of her association with "the Yarmouth," and her strong enmity to her brother the Prince of Wales, and his lovely consort, Augusta of Saxe Gotha (her present majesty's great grandfather and great grandmother), who were utterly banished from the second Georgian court after 1737. Moreover, portraits in court costume of the queenless and widowed period of George II.'s reign, are extremely scarce, for the fashions had become so very hideous and unnatural, that beautiful women and talented men preferred sitting for their portraits adorned in their nightcaps rather than in the court dress of the era.

But three years before the date 1740, the court of England presented a scene of greater brilliancy than had been known since the widowhood of Queen Anne. Caroline of Anspach-Brandenburgh, the influential consort of George II., possessed a character and person which would have distinguished her not only among queens, but among women. She was decidedly the leading spirit of her age; the foundation of her education had been laid in the seventeenth century, when women still

were expected to receive solid instruction in their youth, and the queen had bestowed some attention on self-education and the study of character. Her fine taste a little ameliorated the stiff and ungainly outline of the costume of her period; her own portraits in full dress present majesty and grandeur, if not grace of outline.

Queen Caroline was beautiful at the time of her marriage, which took place some years before her father-in-law was called to the crown of Great Britain. Her handsome face had been marred with the smallpox directly after her marriage, therefore her English subjects never saw her in the attraction of her beauty. Her bust and arms were, however, very lovely, charms which have been transmitted to the daughters of her royal race; her hands were small and dimpled, and her action in speaking exceedingly graceful. Her height was majestic; her eyes sweet, powerful, and penetrating; but at the time of her accession to the dignity of queen-consort, she had become somewhat corpulent, so as to elicit some very coarse personal observations from the coarseminded premier, Sir Robert Walpole, whose impertinence, however, she overlooked when needful with the coolest spirit of business-like diplomacy.

The costume of this queen was splendid, and was mingled with as much taste as was consistent with the prevalence of powdered wigs and pomatumed curls. The revival of the immense farthingale or rotund hoop-petticoat marks the modes of the chief part of the last century; it had never ceased to be worn in the German courts, but had reigned in those regions of rigid etiquette, ever since the predominance of the imperial line of Charles V., by whom it had been introduced under the name of guarda-infanta. For this reason, the circumference of the hoops at the court of Queen Caroline rivalled those of the courts of Henry IV., Queen Elizabeth, and James I. Thus, these strange and frightful appendages, although they had given way in England and France before the fine tastes of Charles I. and the elegant Henrietta, had never been out of fashion at the imperial court, which the whole of the Hanoverian family reigning in England regarded as their head and model. Spanish gold and Spanish influence had set the fashion of the guarda-infanta or farthingale throughout Europe, and it fixed for two centuries as the German court-dress, and almost became in Germany a national costume.

Powder and hoops were by no means prevalent at the early court of Louis XIV. The young beauties, La Vallière, Montespan, and the girl-duchess Fontange needed them not: their beautiful costumes seemed a revival of the elegant style of the court of Francis I., where Titian set the fashion. When Catharine of Braganza brought to England the Spanish farthingale, as large as a round-table, it was overwhelmed with ridicule, and the newly-married queen hastily changed her fashions for the flowing draperies immortalised by the pencil of Lely. A moderate-sized hoop was worn by the belles of the court of James II.'s queen; but it seemed only a self-defence against the weight of the court train, and did not exceed the bounds of grace and elegance. Mary II., the regnal partner and consort of William III., introduced the whalebone hoop and stiffened bodice, being a Dutch edition and imitation of the fashions of the imperial court. William III. being the Emperor of Germany's generalissimo, his queen viewed the costumes of Vienna with veneration, and wore them herself; but the mode became