I flatter myself I am not one of them. I trust I
have some mind, to regulate my heart; and some conscience, to prevent
my sacrificing my duties for the sake of my heart."

"If you knew," said Fanny, "the meaning of what love was, you'd know
that it cannot be given up in a moment, as you suppose; rooted out,
as you choose to call it. But, to tell you the truth, Selina, I don't
choose to root it out. I gave my word to Frank not twelve months since,
and that with the consent of every one belonging to me. I owned that
I loved him, and solemnly assured him I would always do so. I cannot,
and I ought not, and I will not break my word. You would think of
nothing but what you call your own dignity; I will not give up my own
happiness, and, I firmly believe his, too, for anything so empty."

"Don't be angry with me, Fanny," said Lady Selina; "my regard for your
dignity arises only from my affection for you. I should be sorry to see
you lessen yourself in the eyes of those around you. You must remember
that you cannot act as another girl might, whose position was less
exalted. Miss O'Joscelyn might cry for her lost lover till she got him
back again, or got another; and no one would be the wiser, and she
would not be the worse; but you cannot do that. Rank and station are
in themselves benefits; but they require more rigid conduct, much more
control over the feelings than is necessary in a humbler position. You
should always remember, Fanny, that much is expected from those to whom
much is given."

"And I'm to be miserable all my life because I'm not a parson's
daughter, like Miss O'Joscelyn!"

"God forbid, Fanny! If you'd employ your time, engage your mind, and
cease to think of Lord Ballindine, you'd soon cease to be miserable.
Yes; though you might never again feel the happiness of loving, you
might still be far from miserable."

"But I can't cease to think of him, Selina;--I won't even try."

"Then, Fanny, I truly pity you."

"No, Selina; it's I that pity you," said Fanny, roused to energy as
different thoughts crowded to her mind. "You, who think more of your
position as an earl's daughter--an aristocrat, than of your nature
as a woman! Thank Heaven, I'm not a queen, to be driven to have other
feelings than those of my sex. I do love Lord Ballindine, and if I had
the power to cease to do so this moment, I'd sooner drown myself than
exercise it."

"Then why were you weak enough to reject him?"

"Because I was a weak