offence, the excellent gentleman to whom she was now married, had always treated Marianne as if she were a girl, rather than a woman. Nay, he had even gone so far, and forgotten himself so entirely, as, on one memorable occasion, to take hold of her hand, instead of offering her his arm: an insult to her dignity which she did not find it easy to forgive.

The nearest approach she had ever made toward forgiveness, was on the occasion of her dog being invited; and she therefore set out in high good humor, accompanied by her father's coachman, for the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth, which, unfortunately for Nero, happened to be in the centre of a large town.

It is scarcely necessary to say, that, by a brotherin-law so kind and good, Marianne was received with the warmest welcome; and though the day was rainy, and Nero had walked a considerable distance along the streets; though his long hair was dropping with mud; and though he entered in this plight the beautiful hall of Mr. Wentworth's house; he was kindly spoken to by the gentleman himself, and even patted on the head, as he rushed past him to follow his mistress up the wide stairs, and over the rich carpets, which, like all the furniture of the house, appeared to be costly, elegant, and new.

"Whatever shall I do with him ?" said Marianne, drawing back, really appalled at the aspect of the drawing-room, when contrasted with the condition of her dog.

"With whom?" asked Selina.

"Have you

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Only old Nero," replied Marianne.

"Oh! you have really brought him!" exclaimed her sister. "To tell you the truth, I thought you were joking all the time;-and so dirty, too! Whatever shall we do with him, indeed? Wentworth is so particular. Dear Marianne, I do wish you had left him at home."

"Love me, love my dog!" exclaimed Marianne. "I came to try you, and I see my experiment has failed. But without joking, Selina, I am sorry he should come up stairs in this dirty plight; and if you will allow me, I will send him down with one of the servants."

"I hardly dare trust him," replied Selina; "for though we may love you well enough to bear with him for your sake, my servants can not be expected to do the same, and a sorry life he would have of it among them."

Poor Marianne! she was now very seriously distressed; and instead of rejoicing in the invitation given to her dog, began almost to wish that her relations had not loved her, rather than that they should have shown it in such a manner. Mr. Wentworth, however, relieved her from the suffering she was enduring, by telling her very candidly, that he had provided a lodging for her dog, where he would be treated with every kindness, where she might see him as often as she wished, and whence she might take him to accompany her in her walks; "for," he added, very seriously, "you must see that, in such a house as this, with every disposition to make both you and your friend happy, it would be quite impossible to accommodate him."

"I am quite sure I shall never like Mr. Wentworth," said Marianne to herself that night, when she went to bed; and when she awoke in the morning, her first thought was again-" I am quite sure I shall never like him." She thought, too, that as the day was fine, Nero might have been admitted into the house; but there was no mention of him, and it is very probable that Mr. Wentworth went out to his business, without once remembering that there was such a being in exist

ence.

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I like him less and less," said Marianne to herself, after he was gone; and she strengthened herself in this impression as much as she could, by recollecting all that he had said and done. which she could in any way find fault with, during the short interval of their early meal. For one thing, and that was a very grave charge, Mr. Wentworth had read the newspaper, and one long column on education he had actually read aloud, during breakfast. For another, he had worn a pair of shabby slippers; and for a third, he had paid no attention to what she was talking about with Selina, but had actually broken the thread of their conversation, by some observations upon the price of cattle in Smithfield market.

It was in vain that Mr. Wentworth endeavored to overcome the prejudices of his young relative, by all the kindness he was accustomed to exercise toward those around him. Marianne had seen very little of the world, and had no means of judging of such a character as that of her brother-inlaw. Yet, like too many young and inexperienced people, she thought herself quite justified in dis

liking him, because he did not please her taste. Thus her behavior to him was not always respectful, and at times scarcely obliging. When he asked her to walk with him, she had either a headache or was tired; when he read aloud to her, it was not the book she wished to hear; when he drew his chair to the fire, in order to enjoy the pleasure of a social hour at the close of the day, she became silent, or conversed with others in an under tone on subjects in which he could not possibly feel an interest.

Although, as an insignificant person, Marianne might do all this without committing any flagrant breach of good manners, yet there is a manner which so clearly implies an absence of interest and kind feeling, that is in reality more offensive than absolute rudeness; and young people, who dare not be directly rude, will sometimes put on this manner toward persons, whom they would really admire, if they could but understand or know them better.

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"I am afraid," said Selina to her sister one day, as they sat together at their work, "that you do not like my husband?"

"What makes you think so?" said Marianne, blushing deeply.

"Your behavior implies it," replied her sister. "To be perfectly frank with you," said Marianne, "I am afraid I do not."

"Have you ever tried to like him ?" asked Selina.

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"What can you mean ?" said Marianne, looking up with astonishment. Liking comes of itself, or not at all."

"I beg your pardon," said Selina.

"We can

not absolutely make liking, but we can cultivate it; and there are sometimes strong reasons why we should endeavor to like those who are not personally agreeable to us."

"Yes," replied Marianne, "I am perfectly aware there are. In my own case, for instance, it would be greatly to my advantage if I could like Mr. Wentworth."

999

"I did not mean that exactly," replied her sister. Perhaps you will understand me better, if I repeat the old adage, Love me, love my dog.' "An excellent old saying!" exclaimed Marianne, "and I wish all people would remember it as well as I do."

you how

"I was going to tell ber it better," observed Selina.

you might remem

"What do you mean ?" asked Marianne, for she had not once suspected that the adage could be applied to her disadvantage.

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I mean," replied her sister, "what I should have thought your love for me would have induced you, at least to try-to like the best and the kindest friend I have in the world. I should have thought that your love for me would have induced you to suppose, that I could not have chosen such a friend as my companion for life, without he had possessed merits of which you might not perhaps be aware; but, above all, I should have thought that your love for me would have been a sufficient reason for your treating my husband with every mark of respect; and, even if you could not love him yourself, I should have thought you would have spared me the pain of feeling that you disJiked him."