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What

good

mother

is

there

that

would

not

commiserate

a

penniless

spinster

,

who

might

have

been

my

lady

,

and

have

shared

four

thousand

a

year

?

What

well-bred

young

person

is

there

in

all

Vanity

Fair

,

who

will

not

feel

for

a

hard-working

,

ingenious

,

meritorious

girl

,

who

gets

such

an

honourable

,

advantageous

,

provoking

offer

,

just

at

the

very

moment

when

it

is

out

of

her

power

to

accept

it

?

I

am

sure

our

friend

Becky

's

disappointment

deserves

and

will

command

every

sympathy

.

I

remember

one

night

being

in

the

Fair

myself

,

at

an

evening

party

.

I

observed

old

Miss

Toady

there

also

present

,

single

out

for

her

special

attentions

and

flattery

little

Mrs.

Briefless

,

the

barrister

's

wife

,

who

is

of

a

good

family

certainly

,

but

,

as

we

all

know

,

is

as

poor

as

poor

can

be

.

What

,

I

asked

in

my

own

mind

,

can

cause

this

obsequiousness

on

the

part

of

Miss

Toady

;

has

Briefless

got

a

county

court

,

or

has

his

wife

had

a

fortune

left

her

?

Miss

Toady

explained

presently

,

with

that

simplicity

which

distinguishes

all

her

conduct

.

"

You

know

,

"

she

said

,

"

Mrs

Briefless

is

granddaughter

of

Sir

John

Redhand

,

who

is

so

ill

at

Cheltenham

that

he

ca

n't

last

six

months

.

Mrs.

Briefless

's

papa

succeeds

;

so

you

see

she

will

be

a

baronet

's

daughter

.

"

And

Toady

asked

Briefless

and

his

wife

to

dinner

the

very

next

week

.

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If

the

mere

chance

of

becoming

a

baronet

's

daughter

can

procure

a

lady

such

homage

in

the

world

,

surely

,

surely

we

may

respect

the

agonies

of

a

young

woman

who

has

lost

the

opportunity

of

becoming

a

baronet

's

wife

.

Who

would

have

dreamed

of

Lady

Crawley

dying

so

soon

?

She

was

one

of

those

sickly

women

that

might

have

lasted

these

ten

years

--

Rebecca

thought

to

herself

,

in

all

the

woes

of

repentance

--

and

I

might

have

been

my

lady

!

I

might

have

led

that

old

man

whither

I

would

.

I

might

have

thanked

Mrs.

Bute

for

her

patronage

,

and

Mr.

Pitt

for

his

insufferable

condescension

.

I

would

have

had

the

town-house

newly

furnished

and

decorated

.

I

would

have

had

the

handsomest

carriage

in

London

,

and

a

box

at

the

opera

;

and

I

would

have

been

presented

next

season

.

All

this

might

have

been

;

and

now

--

now

all

was

doubt

and

mystery

.

But

Rebecca

was

a

young

lady

of

too

much

resolution

and

energy

of

character

to

permit

herself

much

useless

and

unseemly

sorrow

for

the

irrevocable

past

;

so

,

having

devoted

only

the

proper

portion

of

regret

to

it

,

she

wisely

turned

her

whole

attention

towards

the

future

,

which

was

now

vastly

more

important

to

her

.

And

she

surveyed

her

position

,

and

its

hopes

,

doubts

,

and

chances

.

In

the

first

place

,

she

was

MARRIED

--

that

was

a

great

fact

.

Sir

Pitt

knew

it

.

She

was

not

so

much

surprised

into

the

avowal

,

as

induced

to

make

it

by

a

sudden

calculation

.

It

must

have

come

some

day

:

and

why

not

now

as

at

a

later

period

?

He

who

would

have

married

her

himself

must

at

least

be

silent

with

regard

to

her

marriage

.

How

Miss

Crawley

would

bear

the

news

--

was

the

great

question

.

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Misgivings

Rebecca

had

;

but

she

remembered

all

Miss

Crawley

had

said

;

the

old

lady

's

avowed

contempt

for

birth

;

her

daring

liberal

opinions

;

her

general

romantic

propensities

;

her

almost

doting

attachment

to

her

nephew

,

and

her

repeatedly

expressed

fondness

for

Rebecca

herself

.

She

is

so

fond

of

him

,

Rebecca

thought

,

that

she

will

forgive

him

anything

:

she

is

so

used

to

me

that

I

do

n't

think

she

could

be

comfortable

without

me

:

when

the

eclaircissement

comes

there

will

be

a

scene

,

and

hysterics

,

and

a

great

quarrel

,

and

then

a

great

reconciliation

.

At

all

events

,

what

use

was

there

in

delaying

?

the

die

was

thrown

,

and

now

or

to-morrow

the

issue

must

be

the

same

.

And

so

,

resolved

that

Miss

Crawley

should

have

the

news

,

the

young

person

debated

in

her

mind

as

to

the

best

means

of

conveying

it

to

her

;

and

whether

she

should

face

the

storm

that

must

come

,

or

fly

and

avoid

it

until

its

first

fury

was

blown

over

.

In

this

state

of

meditation

she

wrote

the

following

letter

:

Dearest

Friend

,

The

great

crisis

which

we

have

debated

about

so

often

is

COME

.

Half

of

my

secret

is

known

,

and

I

have

thought

and

thought

,

until

I

am

quite

sure

that

now

is

the

time

to

reveal

THE

WHOLE

OF

THE

MYSTERY

.

Sir

Pitt

came

to

me

this

morning

,

and

made

--

what

do

you

think

?

--

A

DECLARATION

IN

FORM

.

Think

of

that

!

Poor

little

me

.

I

might

have

been

Lady

Crawley

.

How

pleased

Mrs.

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