struck with the strange sound of the carriage. 'Where are we? not upon the
stones, I'm sure,' said I; and putting my head out of the window, I saw we
were beyond the turnpike. 'The coachman's drunk as well as you, Harriot,'
said I; and I was going to pull the string to stop him, but Harriot had
hold of it. 'The man is going very right,' said she; 'I've told him where
to go. Now don't fancy that Lawless and I are going to run away with you.
All this is unnecessary now-a-days, thank God!' To this I agreed, and
laughed for fear of being ridiculous. 'Guess where you are going,' said
Harriot, I guessed and guessed, but could not guess right; and my merry
companions were infinitely diverted with my perplexity and impatience,
more especially as, I believe, in spite of all my efforts, I grew rather
graver than usual. We went on to the end of Sloane-street, and quite out
of town; at last we stopped. It was dark; the footman's flambeau was out;
I could only just see by the lamps that we were at the door of a lone,
odd-looking house. The house door opened, and an old woman appeared with a
lantern in her hand.

"'Where is this farce, or freak, or whatever you call it, to end?' said I,
as Harriot pulled me into the dark passage along with her.

"Alas! my dear Belinda," said Lady Delacour, pausing, "I little foresaw
where or how it was to end. But I am not come yet to the tragical part of
my story, and as long as I can laugh I will. As the old woman and her
miserable light went on before us, I could almost have thought of Sir
Bertrand, or of some German _horrifications_; but I heard Lawless, who
never could help laughing at the wrong time, bursting behind me, with a
sense of his own superiority.

"'Now you will learn your destiny, Lady Delacour!' said Harriot, in a
solemn tone.