ot only by her wit and beauty,
but by the report of her wealth, it being known to all how Simon had
enriched the estate. And 'twas this abundance of suitors which prevented
Moll from choosing any one in particular, else had there been but one, I
believe the business would have been settled very quickly. For now she
was in the very flush of life, and the blood that flowed in her veins
was of no lukewarm kind.

But here (that I may keep all my strings in harmony) I must quit Moll
for a space to tell of her father. That first hint of the Don's bringing
him to his senses somewhat (like a dash of cold water), and the
exuberance of his joy subsiding, he quickly became more circumspect in
his behaviour, and fell into the part he had to play. And the hard,
trying, sorrowful part that was, neither he nor I had foreseen. For now
was he compelled for the first time in his life, at any length, to live
apart from his daughter, to refrain from embracing her when they met in
the morning, to speak to her in a rough, churlish sort when his heart,
maybe, was overflowing with love, and to reconcile himself to a cool,
indifferent behaviour on her side, when his very soul was yearning for
gentle, tender warmth. And these natural cravings of affection were
rather strengthened than stilled by repression, as one's hunger by
starving. To add to this, he now saw his Moll more bewitching than ever
she was before, the evidence of her wit and understanding stimulating
that admiration which he dared not express. He beheld her loved and
courted openly by all, whilst he who had deeper feeling for her than
any, and more right to caress her, must at each moment stifle his
desires and lay fetters on his inclinations, which constraint, like
chains binding down a stout, thriving oak, did eat and corrode into his
being, so that he did live most of these days in a veritable torment.
Yet, for Moll's sake, was he very stubborn in his resolution; and, when
he could no longer endure to stand indifferently by while others were
enjoying her sprightly conversation, he would go up to his chamber and
pace to and fro, like some she-lion parted from her cub.

These sufferings were not unperceived by Moll, who also had strong
feeling to repress, and therefore could comprehend her father's torture,
and she would often seize an opportunity, nay, run great risk of
discovery, to hie her secretly to his room, there to throw herself in
his arms and strain him to her heart, c