thing very extraordinary in the antipathy which, at this period, she suddenly conceived for this old building. She even indulged this feeling so far as to assert, that instead of repairing it, she believed that they would all act much more wisely and beneficially for themselves, if they suffered it to fall altogether. Old Hartmann, also cooled considerably in his ardour for its preservation, declaring, thoughtfully, “That his young lady probably was not herself aware of the importance of what she said. But her abrupt and strong antipathy to this ominous building, certainly contained and indicated some serious meaning”—So implicitly did he believe in her powers of anticipation.
In the meantime, my love for Adelaide daily increased, without my daring to confess it, either to her, or to her father. It would have been folly in me, poor and destitute as I was, to seek a connexion with a young and high-born maiden, accustomed to every comfort and luxury; but deprived, by an unhappy chance, of the means of continuing in future the splendour which she had hitherto enjoyed. The views which must guide her father in the choice of a husband for her, were obvious, and necessary; and it was equally obvious that her beauty and fascination, joined to the most cultivated mind, must abundantly compensate for her want of wealth, even in the eyes of a selfish world.
It is true, that out of his large revenues, by dint of the strictest economy, Bentheim might ultimately have saved a considerable provision for his beloved daughter. But he could not but feel the precariousness of life; he might die before the first year was complete; every prudential reason, therefore, united to incite him to incur no doubtful risks, but to secure her future independence, by immediately matching her with some opulent man.
In the bitterness which these feelings, and the just sense of her position and my own excited in me, I had often determined to offer the Baron my resignation; and so intolerable did they
