_common friend_, who was not a suspected person with the Luttridges; in
short, my dear, I gained my point--every body came from Mrs. Luttridge's
to me, or to my aloe. She had a prodigiously fine supper, but scarcely a
soul stayed with her; they all came to see what could be seen but once in
a hundred years. Now the aloe, you know, is of a cumbersome height for a
supper ornament. My saloon luckily has a dome, and under the dome we
placed it. Round the huge china vase in which it was planted we placed the
most beautiful, or rather the most expensive hothouse plants we could
procure. After all, the aloe was an ugly thing; but it answered my
purpose--it made Mrs. Luttridge, as I am credibly informed, absolutely
weep with vexation. I was excessively obliged to your aunt Stanhope; and I
assured her that if ever it were in my power, she might depend upon my
gratitude. Pray, when you write, repeat the same thing to her, and tell
her that since she has introduced Belinda Portman to me, I am a hundred
times more obliged to her than ever I was before.

"But to proceed with my important history.--I will not tire you with
fighting over again all my battles in my seven years' war with Mrs.
Luttridge. I believe love is more to your taste than hatred; therefore I
will go on as fast as possible to Clarence Hervey's return from his
travels. He was much improved by them, or at least I thought so; for he
was heard to declare, that after all he had seen in France and Italy, Lady
Delacour appeared to him the most charming woman, _of her age_, in Europe.
The words, _of her age_, piqued me; and I spared no pains to make him
forget them. A stupid man cannot readily be persuaded out of his
senses--what he sees he sees, and neither more nor less; but 'tis the
easiest thing in the world to catch hold of a man of genius: you have
nothing to do but to appeal from his senses to his imagination, and then
he sees with the eyes of his imagination, and hears with the ears of his
imagination; and then no matter what the age, beauty, or wit of the