FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   >>   >|  
nge you will wear flounces--_I_ cannot endure them, and they are so unbecoming for you!' "Well, I _did_ give James Thompson, 'the cox-comb,' as Harry called him, leave to understand I was not 'at home' to him; and I stayed away from all places of amusement to which Harry _would not_, or could not go, (which former I came at last to know was most frequently the case.) And I did treat Charles Wood more coolly than my conscience approved, for nature gave to him a good, kind heart, if she did not make him a genius. And I left off flounces, which my tasty little 'dress-maker' thought '_such_ a pity;' and I braided my hair, which all the time cried out against the stiff bands I put on the curly locks; in short, for six months I made a fool of myself, by giving way to all my exacting lover's whims. It makes me shudder when I think of what had been my fate had I married him--I should have died a very martyr long before this day. "I knew that on most subjects Harry's opinion was worth having--his judgment sound; so I resolved to try what might be done on _this_ point, which certainly concerned our happiness so much. By degrees I went back to my old habits, saying never a word to him of the test I was intending to put to him. Perhaps _you_ would have proceeded differently--you might have reasoned with him, and urged him not to distress himself about affairs far too trifling for him to interfere with--about which no woman likes the interference, even of a favored lover. "But such a course was not the one for me--and in the end, a person pursuing a far different method of reasoning might, probably would, have arrived at the same climax that I did. Wherever among my old friends I chose to go, I went without consulting the pleasure of his highness, who had led me about as a child in leading-strings quite long enough. What books I liked, I read; concerning my judgment on this point, perhaps, (not altogether unwarrantably either,) quite as good as his own. I dressed in what fashion I pleased--and wore my hair in the style nature intended. At one determined stroke I broke the thread-like chains which, from their very fineness, had been more galling to me than links of iron. I could read by Harry's look of astonishment what his thoughts were, as he saw these changes in me--and it was with some anxiety, I do confess, that I awaited the result; for all this time I loved him well, though my attachment was _not_ so selfish in its natu
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

nature

 

judgment

 

flounces

 
favored
 
anxiety
 

confess

 
reasoning
 

method

 

interference

 

person


awaited
 

pursuing

 

differently

 

proceeded

 

reasoned

 
selfish
 

Perhaps

 

intending

 

distress

 
result

trifling

 
interfere
 

attachment

 

affairs

 

arrived

 

unwarrantably

 

dressed

 
fashion
 

altogether

 

pleased


fineness

 

thread

 

determined

 

stroke

 

intended

 

chains

 

galling

 

friends

 

Wherever

 

astonishment


thoughts

 

climax

 

consulting

 

pleasure

 

leading

 

strings

 
highness
 

Charles

 

coolly

 

conscience