"Sir!" Mr. Stallabras drew himself up to his fall height, and his fingers closed upon the roll of proof-sheets as if it had been a sword-hilt. "Sir! all ladies--who have taste--are beautiful. I am ready to be the champion of the sex. Some are more beautiful than others,"--here he raised his eyes to me and sighed. "Some flowers are more beautiful than others. The man of taste loves to let his eyes rest on such a pleasing object,"--here two young gentlemen winked at each other--"she is a credit to her sex. When goodness is joined to such beauty, as is the case with----" Here he looked at me and hesitated. "Oh!" cried Nancy, "say with _me_, Mr. Stallabras, or Miss Peggy Baker." "May I say Miss Pleydell?" he asked, with a comprehensive smile. "There, indeed, is all Clarissa, and the heart of sensibility, in contemplating her perfections, reverts to the scenes of our divine Richardson." CHAPTER XI. HOW SIR MILES RENEWED HIS OFFER. Thus did I get rid of one suitor, knowing that there were still two more in the field, and anxious about my lord's absence, which, I doubted not, was concerned in some way with me. Heavens! if he should find out the secret! If the Doctor should communicate to him the thing which I desired to tell at my own time and place. The Evil One, at this juncture, suggested a temptation of his own. Suppose a message, which my lord could trust, were to reach him, stating that there would be no attempt to follow up the so-called marriage in the Rules, that he could go his own way, unmolested; that the very certificate and the leaf of the register containing the proof of the marriage would be restored to him--how would that be? Yet, what sort of happiness could a wife expect who every day had to fear the chance of detection and exposure? Some time or other he would learn that I was the niece of the man who had dealt him this blow; some day he would learn the whole story. Why, there was not only the Doctor, but his man Roger, the villain with the pale face, the scarred cheeks, and the red nose. If the Doctor were dead, what would prevent such a man from telling the story abroad and proclaiming it to all comers? For poor Kitty there was only one course open; she must work her way to happiness through shame and confession. Yet with all the shame and confession there was no certainty that the happiness would follow. A man vehemently loves and desires a woman, but a woman vehemently desires the love and desire of a man. I desired, with all my strength and with all my might, the affections of my lord. His image, his idea, were with me always. For me there was no other man in the world. But first I had to deal with my present suitors. Solomon dismissed, and made happy with praises and guineas (a poet is a creature whose vanity seems always to outweigh all other qualities), I had next to reckon with Sir Miles, who was more reasonable and yet more persistent.