westbrook-lodge.

Prepare yourself, Charles, for a piece of excellent news. If you are as much my friend as I believe you to be, you must think it so. Lady Lucan is quite well! That foolish fellow, Humphrey, when he came to the Hall with an account of her illness, alarmed me causelessly: but I should not blame the poor fellow; since it was only his value for his lady that magnified his fears, and represented her indisposition as a dangerous one. It was happy for me that I heard the intelligence in no other company than that of yourself, and the Melworth family; as I might, possibly, have had the severest shafts of ridicule levelled at me for discovering so much weakness upon a mother's account.

Her ladyship had, it seems, eaten something that had disagreed with her stomach;/ and my father, ever tenderly solicitous about her, after persuading her to lie down upon the bed, dispatched honest Humphrey for the physician. The good creature set spurs to his horse; sent away the doctor; and then, concluding my presence to be equally necessary, went forwards to me; and, by this simple mistake of his, was I prevented from partaking with you of the pleasures of Harrowgate. But let me not speak of that as a pleasure which would, in reality, have afforded me none. I am ten times happier where I am; therefore do not expect me to join you there; I should then be at least ten miles farther distant from Mel-worth-hall. In my last visit to that place, I found myself in the oddest way I ever was in, in my life; – I could not conceive what was the matter with me. – At first, I began to be frightened; thinking I certainly was going to be very ill. – I examined my pulse; that was as well as usual.