He had alluded, in his letter to Emily, to the obligation he was under to the services of Denbigh, in erasing his unfortunate partiality for her: but what those services were, we are unable to say, unless they were the usual arguments of the plainest good sense, enforced in the singularly insinuating and kind manner which distinguished that gentleman. In fact, Lord Chatterton was not formed by nature to love long, deprived of hope, or to resist long the flattery of a preference from such a woman as Harriet Denbigh. On the other hand, Derwent was warm in his encomiums on Emily to all but herself; and Mrs. Wilson again thought it prudent to examine into the state of her feelings, in order to discover if there was any danger of his unremitted efforts drawing Emily into a connexion that neither her religion nor prudence could wholly approve. Derwent was a man of the world--a Christian only in name; and the cautious widow determined to withdraw in season, should she find grounds for her apprehensions. About ten days after the departure of the Dowager and her companions, Lady Harriet exclaimed, in one of her morning visits-- "Lady Moseley! I have now hopes of presenting to you soon the most polished man in the United Kingdom!" "As a husband! Lady Harriet?" inquired the other, with a smile. "Oh, no! only as a cousin, a second cousin! madam!" replied Lady Harriet, blushing a little, and looking in the opposite direction to the one in which Chatterton was placed. "But his name? You forget our curiosity! What is his name?" cried Mrs. Wilson, entering into the trifling for the moment. "Pendennyss, to be sure, my dear madam: whom else can I mean?" "And you expect the earl at Bath?" Mrs. Wilson eagerly inquired. "He has given us such hopes, and Derwent has written him to-day, pressing the journey." "You will be disappointed, I am afraid, sister," said the duke. "Pendennyss has become so fond of Wales of late, that it is difficult to get him out of it." "But," said Mrs. Wilson, "he will take his seat in parliament during the winter, my lord?" "I hope he will, madam; though Lord Eltringham holds his proxies, in my absence, in all important questions before the house." "Your grace will attend, I trust," said Sir Edward. "The pleasure of your company is among my expected enjoyments in the town." "You are very good, Sir Edward," replied the duke, looking at Emily. "It will somewhat depend on circumstances, I believe." Lady Harriet smiled, and the speech seemed understood by all but the lady most concerned in it. "Lord Pendennyss is a universal favorite, and deservedly so," cried the duke. "He has set an example to the nobility, which few are equal to imitate. An only son, with an immense estate, he has devoted himself to the profession of a soldier, and gained great reputation by it in the world; nor has he neglected any of his private duties as a man----" "Or a Christian, I hope," said Mrs. Wilson, delighted with the praises of the earl.