preferred rational pleasures, and the company of a few
young men of liberal views and sentiments, to the empty display and
unsubstantial show, which wins the smile of moneyed plebians.

[The Merchant's Daughter:

Though his means were ample, his expenditures were moderate: every
thing around him was neat and plain, and intended only for use. Free
from the fashion-mania which at that time attacked certain people
like an epidemic, he preferred comfort and ease at his own fireside,
and the company of a few friends to the empty display, and
unsubstantial show which win the smile of moneyed plebeians.

His general deportment, his countenance and manner, discovered a mind
and disposition, that had always been accustomed to unremitting
indulgence. He was ardent in friendship; possessing a heart of the
keenest sensibility, with a scrupulous regard for the feelings of
others. He had been much in female society--in company with the amiable
and intelligent. Still he had never seen any one that he thought was
possessed of congenial feelings, or whose mind would assimilate with his
own.

[The Merchant's Daughter:

He married, when young, a lady of congenial feelings....]

When he became acquainted with Alida, his sensations were awakened to a
new influence;--that he did not attempt to banish from his mind. He
never before had seen any one he thought so worthy of esteem, or so
calculated to inspire him with lasting friendship. "The kindness, and
sincerity of her heart, speaks in her artless manner," said he, (as he
was one evening returning home from her father's.) "She delights the old
and captivates the young. Yet her beauty is not so dazzling at first
glance, but every day that she is seen, the more her features charm, the
more her manners please. Innocence dwells in the silvery curls of her
light auburn hair, that waves over her shoulders in simple elegance. She
has been reared with proper care and attention, and educated not to
shine in a ball-room, but with a soft soothing friendship, to dissipate
ennui and gloom, and make the happiness of the domestic circle."

[The Merchant's Daughter:

the sincerity of her artless smile delighted the old and captivated
the young. Her face was of the grecian mould, -- beautiful, yet her
beauty was not so dazzling as at a first glance to hold the gazer in
thrall -- but every day that she was seen, the more her features
charmed, the more her manners