Among the many gentlemen whom it was my fortune to please, one, ere
long, established himself in my mother's good graces, to the exclusion
of all less important aspirants. However, I had not understood or even
remarked his attentions, nor in the slightest degree suspected his or my
mother's plans respecting me, when I was made aware of them rather
abruptly by my mother herself. We had attended a splendid ball, given by Lord M----, at his residence
in Stephen's Green, and I was, with the assistance of my waiting-maid,
employed in rapidly divesting myself of the rich ornaments which, in
profuseness and value, could scarcely have found their equals in any
private family in Ireland. I had thrown myself into a lounging-chair beside the fire, listless and
exhausted after the fatigues of the evening, when I was aroused from the
reverie into which I had fallen by the sound of footsteps approaching my
chamber, and my mother entered. "Fanny, my dear," said she, in her softest tone, "I wish to say a word
or two with you before I go to rest. You are not fatigued, love, I
hope?" "No, no, madam, I thank you," said I, rising at the same time from my
seat, with the formal respect so little practised now. "Sit down, my dear," said she, placing herself upon a chair beside me;
"I must chat with you for a quarter of an hour or so. Saunders" (to the
maid), "you may leave the room; do not close the room door, but shut
that of the lobby." This precaution against curious ears having been taken as directed, my
mother proceeded:

"You have observed, I should suppose, my dearest Fanny--indeed, you
_must_ have observed Lord Glenfallen's marked attentions to you?" "I assure you, madam--" I began. "Well, well, that is all right," interrupted my mother. "Of course, you
must be modest upon the matter; but listen to me for a few moments, my
love, and I will prove to your satisfaction that your modesty is quite
unnecessary in this case. You have done better than we could have hoped,
at least, so very soon. Lord Glenfallen is in love with you. I give you
joy of your conquest;" and, saying this, my mother kissed my forehead. "In love with me!" I exclaimed in unfeigned astonishment. "Yes, in love with you," repeated my mother; "devotedly, distractedly in
love with you. Why, my dear, what is there wonderful in it? Look in the
glass, and look at these," she continued, pointing, with a smile, to the
jewels which I had just removed from my person, and which now lay in a
glittering heap upon the table. "May there not--" said I, hesitating between confusion and real alarm,
"is it not possible that some mistake may be at the bottom of all
this?" "Mistake, dearest! none," said my mother. "None; none in the world. Judge for yourself; read this, my love." And she placed in my hand a
letter, addressed to herself, the seal of which was broken. I read it
through with no small surprise. After some very fine complimentary
flourishes upon my beauty and perfections, as also upon the antiquity
and high reputation of our family, it went on to make a formal proposal
of marriage, to be communicated or not to me at present, as my mother
should deem expedient; and the letter wound up by a request that the
writer might be permitted, upon our return to Ashtown House, which was
soon to take place, as the spring was now tolerably advanced, to visit
us for a few days, in case his suit was approved. "Well, well, my dear," said my mother, impatiently; "do you know who
Lord Glenfallen is?" "I do, madam," said I, rather timidly; for I dreaded an altercation with
my mother. "Well, dear, and what frightens you?" continued she. "Are you afraid of
a title? What has he done to alarm you? He is neither old nor ugly." I was silent, though I might have said, "He is neither young nor
handsome." "My dear Fanny," continued my mother, "in sober seriousness, you have
been most fortunate in engaging the affections of a nobleman such as
Lord Glenfallen, young and wealthy, with first-rate--yes, acknowledged
_first-rate_ abilities, and of a family whose influence is not exceeded
by that of any in Ireland. Of course, you see the offer in the same
light that I do--indeed, I think you _must_." This was uttered in no very dubious tone. I was so much astonished by
the suddenness of the whole communication, that I literally did not know
what to say. "You are not in love?" said my mother, turning sharply, and fixing her
dark eyes upon me with severe scrutiny. "No, madam," said I, promptly; horrified--what young lady would not have
been?--at such a query. "I'm glad to hear it," said my mother, drily. "Once, nearly twenty years
ago, a friend of mine consulted me as to how he should deal with a
daughter who had made what they call a love-match--beggared herself, and
disgraced her family; and I said, without hesitation, take no care for
her, but cast her off. Such punishment I awarded for an offence
committed against the reputation of a family not my own; and what I
advised respecting the child of another, with full as small compunction
I would _do_ with mine. I cannot conceive anything more unreasonable or
intolerable than that the fortune and the character of a family should
be marred by the idle caprices of a girl." She spoke this with great severity, and paused as if she expected some
observation from me. I, however, said nothing. "But I need not explain to you, my dear Fanny," she continued, "my views
upon this subject; you have always known them well, and I have never yet
had reason to believe you are likely to offend me voluntarily, or to
abuse or neglect any of those advantages which reason and duty tell you
should be improved. Come hither, my dear; kiss me, and do not look so
frightened. Well, now, about this letter--you need not answer it yet; of
course, you must be allowed time to make up your mind. In the meantime,
I will write to his lordship to give him my permission to visit us at
Ashtown. Good-night, my love." And thus ended one of the most disagreeable, not to say astounding,
conversations I had ever had. It would not be easy to describe exactly
what were my feelings towards Lord Glenfallen;--whatever might have been
my mother's suspicions, my heart was perfectly disengaged--and hitherto,
although I had not been made in the slightest degree acquainted with his
real views, I had liked him very much as an agreeable, well-informed
man, whom I was always glad to meet in society. He had served in the
navy in early life, and the polish which his manners received in his
after intercourse with courts and cities had not served to obliterate
that frankness of manner which belongs proverbially to the sailor. Whether this apparent candour went deeper than the outward bearing, I
was yet to learn.