compliments beforehand, had just been conning a delicate speech for Lucy;
but no sooner did the person of her partner flash on him than the whole
flattery vanished at once from his recollection. He felt himself grow
pale; and when Lucy turned, and seeing him near, addressed him in the
anxious and soft tone which she thought due to her uncle's friend on his
recovery, Mauleverer bowed, confused and silent; and that green-eyed
passion, which would have convulsed the mind of a true lover, altering a
little the course of its fury, effectually disturbed the manner of the
courtier.

Retreating to an obscure part of the room, where he could see all without
being conspicuous, Mauleverer now employed himself in watching the
motions and looks of the young pair. He was naturally a penetrating and
quick observer, and in this instance jealousy sharpened his talents; he
saw enough to convince him that Lucy was already attached to Clifford;
and being, by that conviction, fully persuaded that Lucy was necessary to
his own happiness, he resolved to lose not a moment in banishing Captain
Clifford from her presence, or at least in instituting such inquiries
into that gentleman's relatives, rank, and respectability as would, he
hoped, render such banishment a necessary consequence of the research.

Fraught with this determination, Mauleverer repaired at once to the
retreat of the squire, and engaging him in conversation, bluntly asked
him who the deuce Miss Brandon was dancing with.

The squire, a little piqued at this _brusquerie_, replied by a long
eulogium on Paul; and Mauleverer, after hearing it throughout with the
blandest smile imaginable, told the squire, very politely, that he was
sure Mr. Brandon's good-nature had misled him. "Clifford!" said he,
repeating the name,--"Clifford! It is one of those names which are