bide implicitly by
these injunctions. Her father then observed--"This, gentlemen, is all I
require. I have observed that I considered your pretensions equal: so
has my daughter treated them. You have both made professions to her; she
has appointed a time to answer you. That time has arrived, and I now
inform you that she has decided in favour of--Alonzo."

* * * * *

The declaration of Melissa's father burst upon the mental powers of
Beauman, like a sudden and tremendous clap of thunder on the deep and
solemn silence of night. Unaccustomed to disappointment, he had
calculated on success. His addresses to the ladies had ever been
honourably received.

Melissa was the first whose charms were capable of rendering them
sincere. He was not ignorant of Alonzo's attention to her: it gave him
however but little uneasiness. He believed that his superior
qualifications would eclipse the pretensions of his rival. He considered
himself a connoisseur in character, especially in the character of the
ladies. He conformed to their taste; he flattered their foibles, and
obsequiously bowed to the minutia of female volatility. He considered
himself skilled in the language of the heart; and he trusted that from
his pre-eminent powers in the science of affection, he had only to see,
to sue and to conquer. He had frankly offered his hand to Melissa, and
pressed her for a decisive answer. This from time to time she suspended,
and finally appointed a day to give him and Alonzo a determinate answer,
though neither knew the arrangements made with the other.

Finding, however, the dilemma in which she was placed, she had
previously consulted her parents. Her father had no objection to her
choosing between two persons of equal claims to affluence and
reputation; this choice she had made, and her father was considered the
most proper person to pronounce it.

When Beauman had urged his suit to Melissa, he supposed that her
hesitations, delays and suspensions, were only the effects of maiden
diffidence and timidity. He had no suspicions of her ultimately
rejecting it; and when she finally named the day of decision, he was
confident she would decide in his favour. These sentiments he had
communicated to the person who had written to Alonzo, intimating that
Melissa had fixed a time which was to crown his happiest wishes.

He had listened therefore attentively to the words of Melissa's father,
momentarily expecting