96 THE HISTORY OF

am. You have heard me speak of having liv-
ed, in my younger days, with my Lady West,
the widow lady, who lives at the great house
on the other side of the town; about six miles,
it may be, from this place. Well, about an
hour ago, as I was at the Blue-Boar, who should
ride into the yard but Mr. Thomas, my Lady
West's footman. As soon as he saw me, ‘ Mrs,
Bennet,’ said he, ‘my business is to you: |
knew I should find you here.’ And then, with-
out getting off his horse, he told me that his
lady had a mind of a little air this evening, and
that she thought of coming to drink tea at my
cottage, and bringing with her, her two nieces,
«My lady will be with you by four o'clock,
provided it is very fine weather; but mind,
Dame Bennet,’ added he, in his droll way, ‘ if
there is one drop of rain, you must not look
for us.’ So Mr. Thomas rode out of the yard,
and I came home, in spite of my cousin at the
Blue-Boar, who said she should be hurried
to death, to get her business done without
me.”

Although T had reason to think that my mis-
tress had often before said the thing that was
not true to me, yet I could not suppose that all
this long story, about my Lady West, and Mr.
Thomas, the footman, was every word of it
quite false, as it proved to be. I could not
have thought that there could have breathed
on earth, so very bad a woman as | found my
mistress to be very soon afterwards. I believ-
ed that my Lady West and her nieces really
were coming to visit Mrs. Bennet; and J be-