that real levity which so ill became the condition of a dying woman. She
trembled at the idea of being under the guidance of one who was so little
able to conduct herself: and she could not help blaming her aunt Stanhope
severely for placing her in such a perilous situation. It was obvious that
some of Lady Delacour's history must have been known to Mrs. Stanhope; and
Belinda, the more she reflected, was the more surprised at her aunt's
having chosen such a chaperon for a young woman just entering into the
world. When the understanding is suddenly roused and forced to exert
itself, what a multitude of deductions it makes in a short time! Belinda
saw things in a new light; and for the first time in her life she reasoned
for herself upon what she saw and felt. It is sometimes safer for young
people to see than to hear of certain characters. At a distance, Lady
Delacour had appeared to Miss Portman the happiest person in the world;
upon a nearer view, she discovered that her ladyship was one of the most
miserable of human beings. To have married her niece to such a man as Lord
Delacour, Mrs. Stanhope would have thought the most fortunate thing
imaginable; but it was now obvious to Belinda, that neither the title of
viscountess, nor the pleasure of spending three fortunes, could ensure
felicity. Lady Delacour confessed, that in the midst of the utmost luxury
and dissipation she had been a constant prey to ennui; that the want of
domestic happiness could never be supplied by that public admiration of
which she was so ambitious; and that the immoderate indulgence of her
vanity had led her, by inevitable steps, into follies and imprudences
which had ruined her health, and destroyed her peace of mind. "If Lady
Delacour, with all the advantages of wealth, rank, wit, and beauty, has
not been able to make herself happy in this life of fashionable
dissipation," said Belinda to herself, "why should I follow the same
course, and expect to be more fortunate?"

It is singular, that the very means which Mrs. Stanhope had taken to make