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ing of Mrs. Ireton; with a note from his mistress, indicating that Mrs. Ireton was already prepared to take her for a companion. "An humble companion," Elinor wrote, "I need not add; I had nearly said a pitiful one; for who would voluntarily live with such an antidote to all the comforts of life, that has spirit, sense, or soul? O envied Ellis! how potent must be the passion, the infatuation, that can make Harleigh view such meanness as grace, and adore it as dignity!—O icy Ellis!—but the human heart would want strength to support such pre-eminent honour, were it bestowed upon a mind gifted for its appreciation!"
Then again, wishing her joy of her taste, she assured her that it was reciprocated; for Mrs. Ireton was all impatience to display, to a new dependent, her fortune, her power, and her magnificence.
Juliet, with her answer of thanks for this service, wrote a few lines for Mrs. Pierson, which she begged the