any body fo well as he liked him. He had now opportunities of admiring the fimple sweetness of her character, and every study of her temper, and her unadulterated heart taught him anew the value of the jewel he had found. From Mrs. Glenmorris he learned fome fingular circumstances that had occurred in her life, and that of the father of Medora.

The rigours of winter, which foon followed the departure of the London party, fometimes made the return of Delmont to Upwood at a late hour of the evening, painful to thofe he left, though the dif tance was hardly two miles by the footway. Mrs. Glenmorris was therefore occafionally prevailed upon to pass two or three days at the house of Delmont, and then it was they tafted the felicity of mutual confidence; of that fort of fympathy which unites people who love, and mutually understand each other. Delmont had feized the firft occafion

that

that offered to write to Glenmorris, and he looked forward with anxious folicitude to the time when he was to receive. an anfwer, on which the future happiness: of his life depended. Mrs. Glenmorris, however, encouraged him to entertain the most fanguine hopes; and Medora. affured him, that if he knew her father, he would have no apprehenfions as to the fuccefs of his application.

The winter fled away but too swiftly; for fuch happiness as Delmont then enjoyed was not foon to return. The clamour of the country was, in the meantime, loud and vehement against him; and Mrs. Nixon, as well as many old women of all defcriptions in the neighbouring towns, as well as fome young ones, afferted that Mr. Delmont had turned his aunt, good lady, and his two fifters, poor things! out of doors, to make room for a mistress.

The optimifts (however, very numerous among thefe good folks) foon began

to

to confider this imaginary crime and mifdemeanor, as ordered by fuperior power; and as one of the proofs which they are fond of feizing, that "good always comes out of evil;" "that all is for the best, and could not poffibly be better;" for a few weeks only after Caroline's departure with her aunt, she was addreffed by a young man of large fortune, whofe mother was the intimate friend of the old lady, and who (doubtless without any view to the fortune Caroline was likely to have) had influence enough with her fon to direct his choice. Caroline was indeed a young woman who had great perfonal recommendations, and Mr. Bethune found no difficulty in obeying his mother, when fhe defired him to prefer a very pretty girl, of a family to which it gratified his pride to be allied, and who had an almost certain profpect of a fortune of between twenty and thirty thousand pounds.

George

274 THE YOUNG PHILOSOPHER.

George Delmont was not confultedhis fifter indeed paid him the compliment of writing, to inform him of her intended. marriage to which he could only answer,

that she had all his wifhes for her hap-. piness.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.