reverie upon that fate which seemed ever, as concerning Rosilia, to oppose his passion and to separate him from her. Scarcely had the only true attachment of which he had ever felt susceptible, and which if subdued for a time had never become extinguished, rekindled in his soul its pure and holy fires, than it was again to meet with repression. Dread, anxiety, and uncertainty infused their bitterness within him. Rigidly adhering to the highest principles of social duty, Rosilia herself must decide the point, thought he: but in thus reflecting he trembled under the possibility of Harcourt meeting her acceptance; having made up his mind not to proffer his own claims unless his friend met with a denial.
Harcourt had been well acquainted abroad with Mrs. Melbourne, in whose estimation he held some share; and Douglas had assured him of a cordial and hospitable reception from her sister Mrs. Boville. The long-tried patience of Douglas, his perseverance, and his noble self-denial and extreme delicacy in having given the priority to Harcourt in his claims on her to whom he had been formerly and still was so devotedly attached, were crowned at last with reward in being providentially the instrument of her preservation from tyranny, cruelty, and oppression. And amidst the horror and torturing anxiety of seeing her reduced to such a situation, how precious also had been to him those moments, like sweet balsam to his wounded feelings, when he awoke to the delicious ecstasy, the full and perfect consciousness of
