_One o'clock._--My mamma, alarmed by my indisposition, has visited my
apartment. I soon convinced her that it was but trifling, owing
principally to the want of sleep, and that an airing in the garden,
which I intended towards night, would restore me.
_Ten o'clock at night_.--The day is past; and such a day it has been as
I hope nevermore to see. At the hour appointed, I went, tolerably
composed and resolute, into the garden. I had taken several turns, and
retired into the little arbor, where you and I have spent so many happy
hours, before Major Sanford entered. When he appeared, a consciousness
of the impropriety of this clandestine intercourse suffused my cheek,
and gave a coldness to my manners. He immediately penetrated the cause,
and observed that my very countenance told him he was no longer a
welcome guest to me. I asked him if he ought so to be, since his motives
for seeking admission were unworthy of being communicated to my friends.
That, he said, was not the case, but that prudence in the present
instance required a temporary concealment. He then undertook to
exculpate himself from blame, assuring me that as soon as I should
discountenance the expectations of Mr. Boyer, and discontinue the
reception of his address, his intentions should be made known. He was
enlarging upon this topic, when we heard a footstep approaching us, and,
looking up, saw Mr.
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