"Make haste, then," muttered the baronet." But where is Ellinor? Must we wait another hour for her too ?" Catherine replied, that Ellinor was quite ready; and, turning to her aunt, requested she would make as much haste as possible. At length Catherine's perseverance succeeded, and they descended to the impatient Sir Thomas.

"Do you call this twelve o'clock ?" addressing his lady as she approached-" I wonder which of the town clocks your ladyship regulates your watch by? Twelve o'clock!" he repeated, at the same time whisking his watch into his pocket-" But you always make a point of being later than the hour fixed."

"I am sure,” replied her ladyship, who, in place of wisely remaining silent until her better half had cooled, generally, by some teazing reply, kept up the remembrance of discussions, which her silence, or change of subject, would have made more quickly forgot, "I am sure we need be in no such tremendous haste. P is not so very far

off; and certainly the houses will not run away."

The contracted brow of the baronet indicated an approaching tempest, which, however, was happily averted by their approximation to the carriage, and the necessity of their stepping into it; and we shall take this opportunity of introducing these sonages to our readers.

per

Sir Thomas Lennox, a descendant of one of the most ancient families in Scotland, had, early in life, married his present lady, whose beauty and accomplishments had made a deep, and, as he then thought, an indelible impression upon his ardent and romantic imagination. But Lady Lennox was not calculated to render a man of his temper and disposition happy. 'Sir Thomas was generous and high-spirited, but proud, and impatient of contradiction; and if his lady had been a woman either of a firm and calm temper, of whom he stood a little in awe, or of a gentle and yielding disposition, he might have been both a better and a hap

pier man. But, unfortunately, his choice had fallen on one without sufficient firmness to check his domineering spirit, and yet not of a nature so gentle as to submit to his caprices. Lady Lennox could not resist (womanlike) always having the last word, and, true to her sex, never allowed a disagreeable subject to drop for want of an inspiriting rejoinder, even although she knew she would be obliged to yield at last. Sir Thomas was so much accustomed to take his own way, that he could not endure the slightest contradiction on the most trifling subject; and at the same time he had become so accustomed to contradiction, that he seemed disappointed when any one dared to coincide with him in his opinions, without first arguing the matter.

The family of this ill-assorted couple, who were paired, but certainly not matched, consisted of a son and daughter, (with whom we shall make our readers acquainted in the course of our narrative,) and the niece of Sir Thomas, who, in her infancy

having lost both her parents, had from that period resided in the family of her uncle, by whom she was treated with unvarying kind

ness.

Having now given our readers an account of the principal personages of our story, we shall return to the carriage, where we left the party. Hardly were they seated, when Catherine, with the view of drawing the attention of Sir Thomas from the late discussion, most unfortunately remarked, that it looked like rain." I have expected that for some time," replied Sir Thomas. "The day generally changes after twelve. Had we set out, as we ought to have done, at the proper hour, we might have had our business completed, and have been home again by this time."

Catherine thought, this will never do; I must try another subject. "Have you been often in P-?" was her next attempt to change the conversation.

“Oh, yes, frequently," replied the ba

ronet.

"Which is the pleasantest street?" was her next question.

"I am not quite sure," rejoined he; "but they all seem pleasant enough."

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Why," said Ellinor, (which, by the by, was the first word she had uttered since they set out, as she generally left it to the superior dexterity of Catherine to change a disagreeable subject, or make up matters betwixt Sir Thomas and her mamma,) "I rather think Hope Street is considered the most fashionable one. I hope you will take a house there. I know Mrs Hamilton lived in it, and Ann told me it was the most agreeable street in P, for all the gaiety is to be seen there. And then, you know, papa, it is so near the Baths, it will be very convenient for you. And Ann Hamilton says, that all the military pass down that street to the sands, and that the windows command a beautiful view ;-we must fix there."

"I should like very much to know," said Sir Thomas, while a smile passed over his