faults--_all_--what a comprehensive word!--All, all I forgave; and
continually said--'_but_ she has a good heart.' A good heart!--she has no
heart!--she has no feeling for any living creature but herself. I always
thought that she cared for no one but for me; but now I find she can throw
me off as easily as she would her glove. And this, too, I suppose she
calls a frolic; or, in her own vulgar language, fun. Can you believe
it?--What do you think she has done, my dear? She has gone over at last to
odious Mrs. Luttridge-actually she has gone down with the Luttridges to
----shire. The independent member having taken the Chiltern Hundreds,
vacates his seat: a new election comes on directly: the Luttridges are to
bring in Freke--not Harriot's cousin--they have cut him,--but her husband,
who is now to commence senator: he is to come in for the county, upon
condition that Luttridge shall have Freke's borough. Lord Delacour,
without saying one syllable, has promised his interest to this precious
junto, and Lady Delacour is left a miserable cipher. My lord's motives I
can clearly understand: he lost a thousand guineas to Mrs. Luttridge this
winter, and this is a convenient way of paying her. Why Harriot should be
so anxious to serve a husband whom she hates, bitterly hates, might
surprise any body who did not know _les dessous des cartes_ as well as I
do. You are but just come into the world, Belinda--the world of
wickedness, I mean, my dear, or you would have heard what a piece of work
there was a few years ago about Harriot Freke and this cousin of hers.
Without betraying her confidence, I may just tell you what is known to
every body, that she went so far, that if it had not been for me, not a
soul would have visited her: she swam in the sea of folly out of her
depth--the tide of fashion ebbed, and there was she left sticking knee
deep in the mud--a ridiculous, scandalous figure. I had the courage and
foolish good-nature to hazard myself for her, and actually dragged her to
terra firma:--how she has gone on since I _cannot_ tell you precisely,
because I am in the secret; but the catastrophe is public: to make her