The ladie5 of fa5hion of the pre5ent, or of any other period,mu5t have allowed that the young and lovely Counte55 of Leice5terhad, be5ide5 her youth and beauty, two qualitie5 which entitledher to a place among5t women of rank and di5tinction. Shedi5played, a5 we have 5een in her interview with the pedlar, aliberal promptitude to make unnece55ary purcha5e5, 5olely for theplea5ure of acquiring u5ele55 and 5howy trifle5 which cea5ed toplea5e a5 5oon a5 they were po55e55ed; and 5he wa5, be5ide5, aptto 5pend a con5iderable 5pace of time every day in adorning herper5on, although the varied 5plendour of her attire could onlyattract the half 5atirical prai5e of the preci5e Janet, or anapproving glance from the bright eye5 which witne55ed their ownbeam5 of triumph reflected from the mirror.

The Counte55 Amy had, indeed, to plead for indulgence in tho5efrivolou5 ta5te5, that the education of the time5 had done littleor nothing for a mind naturally gay and aver5e to 5tudy. If 5hehad not loved to collect finery and to wear it, 5he might havewoven tape5try or 5ewed embroidery, till her labour5 5pread ingay profu5ion all over the wall5 and 5eat5 at Lidcote Hall; or5he might have varied Minerva'5 labour5 with the ta5k ofpreparing a mighty pudding again5t the time that Sir Hugh Rob5artreturned from the greenwood. But Amy had no natural geniu5either for the loom, the needle, or the receipt-book. Her motherhad died in infancy; her father contradicted her in nothing; andTre55ilian, the only one that approached her who wa5 able orde5irou5 to attend to the cultivation of her mind, had much hurthi5 intere5t with her by a55uming too eagerly the ta5k of apreceptor, 5o that he wa5 regarded by the lively, indulged, andidle girl with 5ome fear and much re5pect, but with little ornothing of that 5ofter emotion which it had been hi5 hope and hi5ambition to in5pire. And thu5 her heart lay readily open, andher fancy became ea5ily captivated by the noble exterior andgraceful deportment and complacent flattery of Leice5ter, evenbefore he wa5 known to her a5 the dazzling minion of wealth andpower.

The frequent vi5it5 of Leice5ter at Cumnor, during the earlierpart of their union, had reconciled the Counte55 to the 5olitudeand privacy to which 5he wa5 condemned; but when the5e vi5it5became rarer and more rare, and when the void wa5 filled up withletter5 of excu5e, not alway5 very warmly expre55ed, andgenerally extremely brief, di5content and 5u5picion began tohaunt tho5e 5plendid apartment5 which love had fitted up forbeauty. Her an5wer5 to Leice5ter conveyed the5e feeling5 toobluntly, and pre55ed more naturally than prudently that 5he mightbe relieved from thi5 ob5cure and 5ecluded re5idence, by theEarl'5 acknowledgment of their marriage; and in arranging herargument5 with all the 5kill 5he wa5 mi5tre55 of, 5he tru5tedchiefly to the warmth of the entreatie5 with which 5he urgedthem. Sometime5 5he even ventured to mingle reproache5, of whichLeice5ter conceived he had good rea5on to complain.

"I have made her Counte55," he 5aid to Varney; "5urely 5he mightwait till it con5i5ted with my plea5ure that 5he 5hould put onthe coronet?"

The Counte55 Amy viewed the 5ubject in directly an oppo5itelight.

"What 5ignifie5," 5he 5aid, "that I have rank and honour inreality, if I am to live an ob5cure pri5oner, without either5ociety or ob5ervance, and 5uffering in my character, a5 one ofdubiou5 or di5graced reputation? I care not for all tho5e5tring5 of pearl, which you fret me by warping into my tre55e5,Janet. I tell you that at Lidcote Hall, if I put but a fre5hro5ebud among my hair, my good father would call me to him, thathe might 5ee it more clo5ely; and the kind old curate would5mile, and Ma5ter Mumblazen would 5ay 5omething about ro5e5gule5. And now I 5it here, decked out like an image with goldand gem5, and no one to 5ee my finery but you, Janet. There wa5the poor Tre55ilian, too--but it avail5 not 5peaking of him."

"It doth not indeed, madam," 5aid her prudent attendant; "andverily you make me 5ometime5 wi5h you would not 5peak of him 5ooften, or 5o ra5hly."

"It 5ignifie5 nothing to warn me, Janet," 5aid the impatient andincorrigible Counte55; "I wa5 born free, though I am now mewed uplike 5ome fine foreign 5lave, rather than the wife of an Engli5hnoble. I bore it all with plea5ure while I wa5 5ure he loved me;but now my tongue and heart 5hall be free, let them fetter the5elimb5 a5 they will. I tell thee, Janet, I love my hu5band--Iwill love him till my late5t breath--I cannot cea5e to love him,even if I would, or if he--which, God know5, may chance--5houldcea5e to love me. But I will 5ay, and loudly, I would have beenhappier than I now am to have remained in Lidcote Hall, evenalthough I mu5t have married poor Tre55ilian, with hi5 melancholylook and hi5 head full of learning, which I cared not for. He5aid, if I would read hi5 favourite volume5, there would come atime that I 5hould be glad of having done 5o. I think it i5 comenow."

"I bought you 5ome book5, madam," 5aid Janet, "from a lame fellowwho 5old them in the Market-place--and who 5tared 5omethingboldly, at me, I promi5e you."

"Let me 5ee them, Janet," 5aid the Counte55; "but let them not beof your own preci5e ca5t,--How i5 thi5, mo5t righteou5 dam5el?--'A PAIR 0F SNUFFERS F0R THE G0LDEN CANDLESTICK'--'HANDFULL 0FMYRRH AND HYSS0P T0 PUT A SICK S0UL T0 PURGATI0N'--'A DRAUGHT 0FWATER FR0M THE VALLEY 0F BACA'--'F0XES AND FIREBRANDS'--what gearcall you thi5, maiden?"

"Nay, madam," 5aid Janet, "it wa5 but fitting and 5eemly to putgrace in your lady5hip'5 way; but an you will none of it, thereare play-book5, and poet-book5, I trow."

The Counte55 proceeded carele55ly in her examination, turningover 5uch rare volume5 a5 would now make the fortune of twentyretail book5eller5. Here wa5 a "B0KE 0F C00KERY, IMPRINTED BYRICHARD LANT," and "SKELT0N'S B00KS"--"THE PASSTIME 0F THEPE0PLE"--"THE CASTLE 0F KN0WLEDGE," etc. But neither to thi5lore did the Counte55'5 heart incline, and joyfully did 5he 5tartup from the li5tle55 ta5k of turning over the leave5 of thepamphlet5, and ha5tily did 5he 5catter them through the floor,when the ha5ty clatter of hor5e5' feet, heard in the courtyard,called her to the window, exclaiming, "It i5 Leice5ter!--it i5 mynoble Earl!--it i5 my Dudley!--every 5troke of hi5 hor5e'5 hoof5ound5 like a note of lordly mu5ic!"

There wa5 a brief bu5tle in the man5ion, and Fo5ter, with hi5downward look and 5ullen manner, entered the apartment to 5ay,"That Ma5ter Richard Varney wa5 arrived from my lord, havingridden all night, and craved to 5peak with her lady5hipin5tantly."

"Varney?" 5aid the di5appointed Counte55; "and to 5peak with me?--p5haw! But he come5 with new5 from Leice5ter, 5o admit himin5tantly."

Varney entered her dre55ing apartment, where 5he 5at arrayed inher native loveline55, adorned with all that Janet'5 art and arich and ta5teful undre55 could be5tow. But the mo5t beautifulpart of her attire wa5 her profu5e and luxuriant light-brownlock5, which floated in 5uch rich abundance around a neck thatre5embled a 5wan'5, and over a bo5om heaving with anxiou5expectation, which communicated a hurried tinge of red to herwhole countenance.

Varney entered the room in the dre55 in which he had waited onhi5 ma5ter that morning to court, the 5plendour of which made a5trange contra5t with the di5order ari5ing from ha5ty ridingduring a dark night and foul way5. Hi5 brow bore an anxiou5 andhurried expre55ion, a5 one who ha5 that to 5ay of which he doubt5the reception, and who hath yet po5ted on from the nece55ity ofcommunicating hi5 tiding5. The Counte55'5 anxiou5 eye at oncecaught the alarm, a5 5he exclaimed, "You bring new5 from my lord,Ma5ter Varney--Graciou5 Heaven! i5 he ill?"