Cecilia Or Memoirs of an Heiress Author:Fanny Burney Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Chapter ib, A SKETCH OF HIGH LIFE. EAGER to renew a conversation which had afforded her so much pleasure, Cecilia, neither sensible of fatigue from her cha... more »nge of hours nor her journey, arose with the light, and as soon as she was dressed, hastened to the breakfast apartment. She had not, however, been more impatient to enter than she soon became to quit it; for though not much surprized to find herself there before her friend, her ardour for waiting her arrival was somewhat chilled, upon finding the fire but just lighted, the room cold, and the servants still employed in putting it in order. At i o o'clock she made another attempt: the room was then better prepared for her reception, but still it was empty. Again she was retiring, when the appearance of Mr Arnott stopped her. He expressed his surprize at her early rising, in a manner that marked the pleasure it gave to him ; and then, returning to the conversation of the preceding evening, lie expatiated with warmth and feeling upon the happiness of his boyish days, remembered every circumstance belonging to the plays in which they had formerly been companions, and dwelt upon every incident with a minuteness of delight that shewed his unwillingness ever to have done with the subject. This discourse detained her till they were joined by Mrs Harrel, and then another, more gay and more general succeeded to it. During their breakfast, Miss Larolles was announced as a visitor to Cecilia, to whom she immediately advanced with the intimacy of an old acquaintance, taking her hand, and assuring her she could no longer defer the honour of waiting upon her. Cecilia, much amazed at this warmth of civility from one to whom she was almost a stranger, received her compliment rather coldly ; but Miss Larolles, without cons...« less