- Besides that range of genius, extent of
knowledge, and happy power of communication, which must render him, Maria thought, respected and admired in public life, he seemed to her to have those just moral principles, virtues, and refined sentiments, which constitute, at once, the use and pleasure of domestic life. But thinking so favourably of him, and feeling so kindly to him, she cautiously forbore an acknowledgment of mutual affection. She observed, that in his ideas he was lofty and aspiring, and apprehending that whatever love might now dictate, ambition might hereafter prompt views and connexions more conducive to aggrandizement. She, therefore, not only refused his immediate offers, but would admit of no promises or engagements: that if at any future time interest or inclination might induce him to desire a change, there might be no re-
