any
tolerable acquaintance important to her, gives her
another claim on my attention. I shall as much as
possible endeavour to keep my intimacies in their
proper place, and prevent their clashing. . . . Among
so many friends, it will be well if I do not get
into a scrape; and now here is Miss Blachford
come. I should have gone distracted if the Bullers
had staid. . . .

I am quite of your opinion as to the folly of
concealing any longer our intended partnership
with Martha, and wherever there has of late been
an enquiry on the subject I have always been
sincere, and I have sent word of it to the
Mediterranean in a letter to Frank. None of _our_
nearest connections I think will be unprepared for
it, and I do not know how to suppose that Martha's
have not foreseen it.

When I tell you we have been visiting a Countess
this morning, you will immediately, with great
justice, but no truth, guess it to be Lady Roden.
No: it is Lady Leven, the mother of Lord Balgonie.
On receiving a message from Lord and Lady Leven
through the Mackays, declaring their intention of
waiting on us, we thought it right to go to them.
I hope we have not done too much, but the friends
and admirers of Charles must be attended to. They
seem very reasonable, good sort of people, very
civil, and full of his praise.[145] We were shewn
at first into an empty drawing-room, and presently
in came his lordship, not knowing who we were, to
apologise for the servant's mistake, and tell a
lie himself that Lady Leven was not within. He is
a tall gentlemanlike-looking man, with spectacles,
and rather deaf. After sitting with him ten
minutes we walked away; but, Lady Leven coming
out of the dining parlour as we passed the door,
we were obliged to attend her back to it, and pay
our visit over again. She is a stout woman, with a
very handsome face. By this means we had the
pleasure of hearing Charles's praises twice over.
They think themselves excessively obliged to him,
and estimate him so highly as to wish Lord
Balgonie, when he is qui