summer such was the state of ai airs in the month of july and had just reached her year when the society of the village received an addition in the brother and sister of mrs grant a mr and miss the children of her mother by a second marriage they were young people of fortune the son had a good estate in the daughter twenty thousand pounds as children their sister had always been very fond of them but as her own marriage had been soon followed by the death of their common parent which left them to the care of a brother of their father of whom mrs grant knew nothing she liad scarcely seen them since in their uncle i park house they had found a kind home admiral and mrs though agreeing in nothing else were united in affection for these children or at least were no further adverse in their feelings than that each had their favorite to whom they showed the greatest fondness of the two the admiral delighted in the boy mrs on the girl and it was the lady s death which now obliged her after some months further trial at her uncle s house to find another home admiral was a man of vicious conduct who chose instead of retaining his niece to bring his mistress under his own roof and to this mrs grant was indebted for her sister s proposal of coming to her � a measure quite as welcome on one side as it could be expedient on the other for mrs grant having by this time run through the usual resources of ladies in the country without a family of children � having more than filled her favorite sitting room with pretty furniture and made a choice collection of plants and poultry � was very much in want of some variety at home the arrival therefore of a sister whom she had always loved and now hoped to retain with her as long as she remained single was highly agreeable and her chief anxiety was lest should not satisfy the habits of a young woman who had been mostly used to london miss was not entirely free from similar apprehensions though they arose principally from doubts of her sister s style of living and tone of society and it was not till after she had tried in vain to persuade her brother to settle with her at ld park i own country house that she could to hazard herself among her other relations to any thing like a of or of society henry had a great dislike he could not hia sister in an article of such importance but he escorted her with the utmost into and as readily engaged to fetch her away again at half an hour s notice whenever she were weary of the place the meeting was very satisfactory on each side miss found a sister without or a sister s husband who looked tbe gentleman and a house and well fitted up and mrs grant received in those whom sha hoped to love better than ever a young man and woman of very was remarkably pretty henry though not handsome had air and countenance the man of both were lively ai d pleasant and mrs grant immediately gave them credit for everything else she was delighted with each but mary wan her dearest object and having never been able ta glory in beauty of her own she thoroughly enjoyed the power of being proud of her a she had not waited her arrival to look out for a suitable match for her she bad fixed on tom the eldest son of a was not too good for a girl of twenty pounds with all the elegance and which mrs grant foresaw in her and being a warm hearted woman mary had not been three hours in tbe house before � be told her what she had planned park miss was glad to find a family of such consequence so very near them and not at all displeased either at her sister s early care or the choice it had fallen on matrimony was her object provided she could marry well and having seen mr in town she knew that objection could no more be made to his person than to his situation in life while she treated it as a joke therefore she did not forget to think of it seriously the scheme was soon repeated to henry and now added mrs grant i have thought of something to make it quite complete i should dearly love to settle you both in this country and therefore henry you shall marry the youngest miss � a nice handsome good accomplished girl who will make you very happy henry bowed and thanked her my dear sister said mary if you can persuade him into anything of the sort it will be a fresh matter of delight to me to find myself allied to anybody so clever and i shall only regret that you have not half a dozen daughters to dispose of if you can persuade henry to marry you must have the address of a all that english abilities can do has been tried already i have three very particular friends who have been all dying for him in their turn and the pains which they their mothers very clever women as well as my dear aunt and myself have taken to reason or trick him into marrying is inconceivable he is the most horrible that can be imagined if your miss do not i to their hearts broke let them avoid my dear brother i will not believe this of i am sure you are too good you will be kinder than mary you will allow for the doubts of youth and i am of a cautious temper and unwilling to risk my happiness in a hurry nobody can think more highly of 