CHAPTER IX.

Throughout the world, if it were sought,
Fayre words ynoughe a man shall fynde:
They be good chepe, they cost right nought,
Their substance, it is only wynde;

But well to say, and so to meane,

That swete accord is seldome sene.

SIB T. WYATT.

EASTER was now come. No amelioration appeared in the circumstances of the Mortons; and Agnes, who had hoped that time would render her parents more reconciled to their situation, was doomed in this to be disappointed. The first shock of their distress had made them indifferent to many minor points of comfort; and they had steeled themselves to the necessity of bearing even more than they had to endure, and secretly gloried in their

petty heroism. But these feelings had subsided; they had leisure to review their wants, and contrast their present with their former life; and, day after day, they appeared more desirous to forget their poverty, and do as they were accustomed.

It was the task of Agnes to recal them to prudence and resignation; and a melancholy task it was, especially for one who, like her, had almost within her grasp the means of making their existence so much more endurable. She read in their countenances the belief of her power to assist them. She began to reproach herself for not having used sufficient exertions, and resolved to apply once more to Sackville. She had already been assured by him, that to apply any part of her fortune to the payment of her father's debts, would be a violation of the wishes of her deceased aunt. But it did not, she thought, necessarily follow from thence, that she was forbidden to administer to her parents' comfort; and she trusted that something

out of the accumulating surplus income, over and above her yearly allowance, might be granted her for that purpose. In strict justice, to pay the debts would be a more honourable employment of the money, than to devote it to the pleasures of him who had contracted them; but it was not likely that Agnes, full of the griefs of her parents, should take this severe view of the case.

It was about a week before the dinner at the Bagshawes, that Agnes first made her application to Sackville. He heard her with an air of sincere interest, and professed to enter warmly into her feelings. He said that what she required was not impossible, but that there were difficulties which stood in the way of it. Such a measure required the concurrence of both the trustees; and, however willing he himself might be to assist her, there was no prospect of Mr. Hawksworth agreeing to any thing of the kind. "But," said Sackville, "there are other means of obtaining what you require."

Agnes eagerly intreated him to adopt them. "Most willingly," replied he, with a smile, "I shall want only your consent.'

He paused for a moment, looked earnestly at her anxious countenance, approached nearer to her, and proceeded.

"Your aunt, whose

ever be dear to both of

us, provided in her will that the whole income of the fortune she left you, should pass into

your hands, not simply on your arriving at the age of twenty-four, but even previously, in case of the occurrence of an event, which I think I hardly need recal to your mind. It is your marriage, my dear Agnes, which will give you the fullest power of relieving the distresses of your parents. Then you will be at liberty to contribute more fully to their happiness; and I need not speak of the happiness which you will confer upon your fortunate husband, who, I am sure, will have a sincere pleasure in joining his humble endeavours to restore your father and Lady Louisa to the station which is their right.

There is only one person, to whom I cannot venture to say that this expedient would be acceptable or advantageous, and that is yourself. To the others I will not scruple to say, that your immediate marriage would be an inestimable benefit."

Agnes heard him with an agitation that was visible, chiefly, in her increasing paleness. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and the expression of her countenance was melancholy and anxious.

"Mr. Sackville," said she, "I engaged last September to accept you, within the space of a year, and I received from you an assurance that no attempt should be made to hasten the period of our union, at least before the end of the next June. I had hoped that, on a point of such delicacy, this promise would have been strictly observed. I need not any longer ask you whether it has or not."

Sackville was startled by the unexpected tone of reproach in which her observation was