Time now flew on the &longs;ofte&longs;t pinions with Rebecca;
every ri&longs;ing day brought increa&longs;e to her happiness;
the tenderne&longs;s and affection of Lady Mary hourly
increa&longs;ed; &longs;he had di&longs;covered in her gentle companion
great ta&longs;te for mu&longs;ic, and a dawning of genius for
drawing.

“The&longs;e are talents,” &longs;aid her lady&longs;hip, “that ever
afford a fund of innocent amu&longs;ement to the po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;or,

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and it is certainly my duty, by cultivating them, to
compen&longs;ate, in &longs;ome mea&longs;ure, for the cheerful acquiescense
Rebecca &longs;hows to every de&longs;ire of mine, particularly
in &longs;ubmitting, without repining, to a reclu&longs;e
life, which mo&longs;t young per&longs;ons, at her time of life, and
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ed of her beauty and vivacity, would think cruel
in the extreme.”

Lady Mary had received an education befitting her
rank, and had not neglected the means of improving a
very elevated under&longs;tanding, and a bright natural genius,
by refu&longs;ing attention to the ample means of cultivation
which fortune held out; on the contrary &longs;he
made her&longs;elf mi&longs;tre&longs;s of the fine arts, mu&longs;ic and painting,
and to the mo&longs;t delicate and judicious choice of
the works of fancy, &longs;he added an exten&longs;ive knowledge
of hi&longs;tory and natural philo&longs;ophy.

To her, therefore, the cultivation of &longs;uch a mind as
Rebecca's was a &longs;ource of the mo&longs;t refined plea&longs;ure.
She &longs;aw its beauties daily expand under her attentive
care, with the &longs;ame delight as the lapidary di&longs;covers the
cru&longs;t that envelopes the rough diamond give way to
his labours, and the ine&longs;timable jewel a&longs;&longs;uming a degree
of brilliancy that promi&longs;es well to reward his indu&longs;try.

But, though the talents of Rebecca were thus ea&longs;ily
drawn forth, and the ru&longs;ticity of her manners began to
a&longs;&longs;ume a more poli&longs;hed air, it was impo&longs;&longs;ible to alter the
&longs;implicity and purity of her mind. Whenever her generous
patrone&longs;s endeavoured to give her &longs;ome idea of
the manners of the world, &longs;he manife&longs;ted &longs;uch a degree
of &longs;weet incredibility, when informed of vices of which
&longs;he had no idea, and was &longs;o ready to frame excu&longs;es for
errors of which &longs;he imagined few could be guilty, and
none intentionally, that Lady Mary was at length assured
that nothing but experience would convince the
innocent maid, but that every bo&longs;om was as free from
guilt and treachery as her own.

“My dear Rebecca,” &longs;aid &longs;he to her one day, “I
will no longer labour to inform you of the vices and follies
of mankind, the total ignorance of which &longs;eems to
con&longs;titute your chief felicity. Long, my &longs;weet girl,
may you retain that primitive &longs;implicity of heart; it

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&longs;hall be my care to leave you at my death an independence,
to prevent your charming un&longs;u&longs;pecting nature
from buying experience at &longs;o dear a rate, as an intercourse
with, or a dependence upon, the &longs;miles of an
unfeeling, misjudging world.”

Thus Lady Mary determined; but, alas! like too
many others, &longs;he deferred, adding this codicil to her
will from day to day, till a &longs;udden accident put it intirely
out of her power.

The autumn was now advancing, and Rebecca looked
forward to the time when &longs;he &longs;hould revi&longs;it her native
village. “And how will my dear father be delighted,”
&longs;aid &longs;he, “to &longs;ee and hear my improvements? To be
&longs;ure there is no harp&longs;ichord in his cottage; but he will
&longs;urely come to the Park, and then I will &longs;urpri&longs;e him
by playing &longs;ome of his favourite airs: my mother too,
I will reque&longs;t Lady Mary to let me give her that piece
of grey lu&longs;tring &longs;he &longs;o kindly brought me from town la&longs;t
week. I will buy her al&longs;o a new cloak and bonnet,
&longs;he will be the gaye&longs;t of all our neighbours next winter;”
then taking out her port folio, &longs;he &longs;elected
of her be&longs;t drawings, and, in imagination, arranged
them round her father's little ru&longs;tic parlour.

Lady Mary was that morning gone to Wind&longs;or on a
vi&longs;it to an old acquaintance, and Rebecca, having
amu&longs;ed her&longs;elf in her own apartment &longs;ome time, in the
manner already mentioned, at length took up her lute,
and opening a window which looked into a retired part
of the garden, and into which darted the mild rays of
a September's &longs;un. She tuned her in&longs;trument, and began
&longs;inging the following little &longs;ong, which &longs;he had
learned but a few days before; it was of con&longs;equence a
favourite from its novelty more than from its real beauty.

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While Rebecca was &longs;inging, &longs;he had been &longs;o intent
on her mu&longs;ic, that &longs;he had not ob&longs;erved any body enter
the part of the garden to which her window looked;
but on laying down her lute, and turning her eyes that
way, &longs;he perceived a young gentleman, in a riding
dre&longs;s, leaning again&longs;t a tree, and gazing intently at her.
The natural ro&longs;es that played on her cheeks were heightened
by this di&longs;covery. She aro&longs;e ha&longs;tily, and was
going to pull down the window, when the young gentleman
advancing, with a look of the mo&longs;t earne&longs;t supplication:

Stay one moment, angelic creature!” &longs;aid he,
tell me if what I now behold is reality or an il
? Art thou a &longs;pirit of light, or the lovelie&longs;t human
being the earth bears?”

“Sir!” replied Rebecca, with a voice and look of
&longs;urpri&longs;e, “did you &longs;peak to me?” and &longs;he involuntarily
&longs;u&longs;pended the hand that was rai&longs;ed to &longs;hut the window.

“Oh! &longs;peak again, thou faire&longs;t of thy &longs;ex,” &longs;aid he,
“Tell me, art thou, indeed, a mortal?”

“To be &longs;ure I am,” &longs;aid Rebecca, &longs;miling; “what
el&longs;e &longs;hould I be?”

“And do&longs;t thou live here?”

“Sometimes,” replied Rebecca, with more re&longs;erve,
beginning to perceive the impropriety &longs;he was guilty of
in talking to a &longs;tranger.

“And cannot you either de&longs;cend into the garden, or
&longs;uffer me to vi&longs;it the apartment that contains &longs;o much
loveline&longs;s?”

“I can do neither,” &longs;aid Rebecca gravely, and &longs;he
again rai&longs;ed her hand to draw down the &longs;a&longs;h.

“Oh! &longs;tay an in&longs;tant,” &longs;aid he, “and tell me, all
angel as thou art! Did thy heart ever vibrate with the
&longs;oft emotions of love?”

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