J:) 



VUTOBIOGRAPHY U3 



credit of editing or compiling the heroine's reminis- 

 cences, and sharing in the produce, I had met in private 

 company. 



On my first perusal I condemned the book, as I 

 strongly suspected it to be nothing more or less than 

 an infamous attempt to extort money. 



This formed the subject of conversation one morning 

 between me and the Right Honourable gentleman. He 

 acknowledged that I Avas right in my conjecture, and 

 stated that he knew a person wdio had been applied to 

 for a sum of money to have his name omitted from a long 

 list of those members of the aristocracy who came within 

 the frail fair one's acquaintance. This he had refused. 

 Whether the threatened consequence followed, I was not 

 then aware. On his next journey up, it coming on to 

 rain, he got inside, and when we stopped to dine, he came 

 lauo-hino- into the room, statin 2; that there was a female 

 in the coach, who had told him she was about to 'write a 

 book — her own autobiography — and hoped he would put 

 his name down as a subscriber. 



•' Do you know her ? " said he. 



" Perfectly well," I replied. 



" Not a little assurance, I think, to ask me to appear 

 in print." 



" Better there," I rejoined, " than in the pages of 

 another female author I could name." 



A loud laugh, and " Well said," was all my imprudent 

 sally elicited. 



Apropos of this lady, for she was such, both by birth 

 and education, who thus importuned my Right Honour- 

 able friend : she was not a '' blue," but an eccentric 



