uce his friend's wife or
sister, or strip him of his last farthing at a gaming table, and then
shoot him through the head, by way of making amends; or who scrupulously
discharges all gambling and betting debts; utterly neglecting those of
the poor tradesman, or industrious mechanic, but the "justum et tenacem
propositi virum," of the Roman satirist, the man of strict integrity,
and immoveable principles. Frederic had long since formed a
determination, that as soon as he could clear himself from the army, he
would most seriously incline himself to the search of a wife. Although
considered by his fair-haired countrywomen as lawful game, and moreover
as one who was well worth securing, he had hitherto escaped any very
serious affection of the heart. The beauty of Bianca, so unlike what he
had been accustomed to, had charmed him; her unaffected modesty had
commanded his respect; and when he left her father's house, he
determined that it was absolutely necessary to his comfort, to see her
again. Accordingly the next evening, and the next, and many succeeding
evenings, saw him riding towards old Morelli's cottage; and he had long
been convinced, from what he saw of Bianca, that he had at last found
the woman who only of all her sex could make him happy; which is
precisely what every man thinks when in love for the first time, and
alters his mind in less than a twelvemonth. Nor was the gentle Bianca
insensible to his evident partiality for her society; she detected
herself repeatedly, without being willing to acknowledge it, wishing for
evening--disappointed, if the sky was overcast, or the weather
rainy--fluttering with hope, and joy, and indescribable emotion, at the
sight of every distant cavalier, or at the sound of every horse's hoof
upon the road towards the city. The warm blush, the speaking smile, the
sparkling eyes, of both the lovely Bianca and the young soldier, would
have been sufficient to convince the most casual observer that there
existed the most decided case of a _serious affection of the heart_. Of
course old Morelli's eyes had long before seen and made due report to
his mind, as to what was the true state of his daughter's and the young
nobleman's affection. Ever anxious for Bianca's happiness and welfare,
and still more so now that she had attained that age when female beauty
is both mature and fully developed, while at the same time it has all
the freshness and rosiness of youth, he became exceedingly alarm