So come down to Mrs. Franks,
and order your birthnight dress like a reasonable creature."

Like a reasonable creature, Miss Portman followed Lady Delacour, and
bespoke, or rather let her ladyship bespeak for her, fifty guineas' worth
of elegance and fashion. "You must go to the drawing-room with me next
week, and be presented," said Lady Delacour, "and then, as it is the first
time, you must be elegantly dressed, and you must not wear the same dress
on the birthnight. So, Mrs. Franks, let this be finished first, as fast as
you can, and by that time, perhaps, we shall think of something
superlatively charming for the night of nights."

Mrs. Franks departed, and Belinda sighed. "A silver penny for your
thoughts!" cried Lady Delacour. "You are thinking that you are like
Camilla, and I like Mrs. Mitten. Novel reading.--as I dare say you have
been told by your governess, as I was told by mine, and she by hers, I
suppose--novel reading for, young ladies is the most dangerous----

"Oh, Clarence Hervey, I protest!" cried Lady Delacour, as he at this
instant entered the room. "Do, pray, Clarence, help me out, for the sake
of this young lady, with a moral sentence against novel reading: but that
might go against your conscience, or your interest; so we'll spare you.
How I regret that we had not the charming serpent at the masquerade the
other night!"

The moment her ladyship mentioned the masquerade, the conversation which
had passed at Lady Singleton's came full into Clarence Hervey's
recollection, and his embarrassment was evident--not indeed to Belinda,
who had turned away to look over some new music that lay upon a stand at