h for lack of a little money.
Yesterday I was the happiest of beings, and why should I not be as happy
all my days? I would gladly agree that my life should be short provided
that it should be a happy one."

I, too, philosophised, but my reflections were sombre. I saw my resources
all but exhausted, and I began to meditate a journey to Lisbon. If my
fortune had been inexhaustible, the Hanoverians might have held me in
their silken fetters to the end of my days. It seemed to me as if I loved
them more like a father than a lover, and the fact that I slept with them
only added to the tenderness of the tie. I looked into Gabrielle's eyes,
and there I saw but love. How could such a love exist in her unless she
were naturally virtuous, and yet devoid of those prejudices which are
instilled into us in our early years.

The next day Pembroke called and asked me to give him a dinner. Augusta
delighted him. He made proposals to her which excited her laughter as he
did not want to pay till after the event, and she would not admit this
condition. However, he gave her a bank note for ten guineas before he
left, and she accepted it with much grace. The day after he wrote her a
letter, of which I shall speak presently.

A few minutes after the nobleman had gone the mother sent for me to come
to her, and after paying an eloquent tribute to my virtues, my
generosity, and my unceasing kindness towards her family, she made the
following proposal:

"As I feel sure that you have all the love of a father for my daughters,
I wish you to become their father in reality! I offer you my hand and
heart; become my husband, you will be their father, their lord and mine.
What do you say to this?"

I bit my lips hard and had great difficulty in restraining my inclination
to laughter. Nevertheless, the amazement, the contempt, and the
indignation which this unparalleled piece of impudence aroused in me soon
brought me to myself. I perceived that this consummate hypocrite had
counted on an abrupt refusal, and had only made this ridiculous offer
with the idea of convincing me that she was under the impression that I
had left her daughters as I had found them, and that the money I had
spent on them was merely a sign of my tender and fatherly affection. Of
course she knew perfectly well how the land lay, but she thought to
justify herself by taking this step. She was aware that I could only look
upon such a proposal as an insult, but she did not care