ness, she is timid to a painful degree; and very much in love with her husband.
Mr. Courtenaye's embarrassment, on meeting me, was too much to conceal. Ethel was plainly in his thoughts; and, if it be any consolation to her, he looks very much altered and depressed. I suppose the family estate must have been heavily burdened; and, between pride and poverty, love quitted the field, banished, if not subdued. I have seen him once or twice since, either in low or highly excited spirits. I have not met Mrs. Courtenaye again; for, twice that I called, she was too ill to see me, and she appears in public but little, owing to her health.
We go next week on a visit to Cliveden, so that I am not likely to see any thing more of them for some time; and yet I cannot help being interested in her. On my return, my first visit shall be to her.
Lady Orkney's history, to whose house we are going, is a curious one. As Miss Elizabeth Villiers, by her charms she pierced the cuirass that enveloped the well-disciplined heart of
