Our own opinion is,
that this work would have been only in one volume; for the requisite
morality would have made out the present one; but, as it was, the
image of Miss Dacre hovered above our hero as his guardian genius. He
despaired of ever obtaining her; but yet he determined not wilfully to
crush all hope. Some great effort must be made to right his position.
Lady Aphrodite must not be deserted: the very thought increased his
fever. He wrote, to gain time; but another billet, in immediate answer,
only painted increased terrors, and described the growing urgency of her
persecuted situation. He was driven into a corner, but even a stag at
bay is awful: what, then, must be a young Duke, the most noble animal in
existence?
Ill as he was, he wrote these lines, not to Lady Aphrodite, but to her
husband:--
'My Dear Grafton,
'You will be surprised at hearing from me. Is it necessary for me to
assure you that my interference on a late occasion was accidental? And
can you, for a moment, maintain that, under the circumstances, I could
have acted in a different manner? I regret the whole business; but most
I regret that we were placed in collision.
Pages:
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325