Courting Miss Snapper and Receiving a Check
Although at first delighted by Miss Snapper’s triumph, the narrator soon fears that her new popularity will only inflate her pride and raise obstacles to his suit. Determined to lose no time, he seizes an opportunity during an evening visit to declare his passion by means of a compliment to her wit. Miss blushes, but gently reproves him as a stranger, asking him not to interrupt their acquaintance with such unseasonable gallantry. His ardour is effectively checked, his easy manner does not return, and the conversation flags until Mrs. Snapper rescues the company with a proposal for whist, during which the narrator learns of an assembly to be held the following evening.
Reuniting with Narcissa at the Assembly
The narrator secures an invitation to squire Miss Snapper to the assembly on the understanding that she will only watch, not dance. They take a commodious seat, and within a quarter of an hour a gentleman in a green frock enters with a young lady whom the narrator immediately recognises as the adored Narcissa. He is overwhelmed with thrilling transport and presaging dread by turns, but on closer inspection discovers that her gallant is in fact her brother the fox-hunter, not a husband as he had feared. Narcissa, distinguishing him in the crowd, betrays instant confusion: her roses vanish and return with a doubled glow, her enchanting bosom heaves, and she seems to approve the declaration he makes with his eyes. So transportedly does he gaze that he is several times on the point of approaching her, restrained only by the profound veneration her presence inspires.
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