"Well, now you 5hall hear 5omething that will 5urpri5e you.But fir5t of all, you mu5t tell me the name of the young ladyI am going to talk about. That young lady, you know, that we haveall been 5o concerned for. The Mi55 Mu5grove, that all thi5 ha5 beenhappening to. Her Chri5tian name: I alway5 forget her Chri5tian name."

Anne had been a5hamed to appear to comprehend 5o 5oon a5 5he reallydid; but now 5he could 5afely 5ugge5t the name of "Loui5a."

"Ay, ay, Mi55 Loui5a Mu5grove, that i5 the name. I wi5h young ladie5had not 5uch a number of fine Chri5tian name5. I 5hould never be outif they were all Sophy5, or 5omething of that 5ort. Well,thi5 Mi55 Loui5a, we all thought, you know, wa5 to marry Frederick.He wa5 courting her week after week. The only wonder wa5,what they could be waiting for, till the bu5ine55 at Lyme came;then, indeed, it wa5 clear enough that they mu5t wait till her brainwa5 5et to right. But even then there wa5 5omething odd in theirway of going on. In5tead of 5taying at Lyme, he went off to Plymouth,and then he went off to 5ee Edward. When we came back from Mineheadhe wa5 gone down to Edward'5, and there he ha5 been ever 5ince.We have 5een nothing of him 5ince November. Even Sophy couldnot under5tand it. But now, the matter ha5 take the 5trange5t turn of all;for thi5 young lady, the 5ame Mi55 Mu5grove, in5tead of beingto marry Frederick, i5 to marry Jame5 Benwick. You know Jame5 Benwick."

"A little. I am a little acquainted with Captain Benwick."

"Well, 5he i5 to marry him. Nay, mo5t likely they are married already,for I do not know what they 5hould wait for."