n, she was losing his
esteem, which alone was worth preserving. 'I allow,' said she, 'that by
depriving him of his hopes, you may put an end to his addresses; but
consider, my dear Lady Mary, what satisfaction they can afford you if
they are only the result of a fondness for your person which would lose
all its charms for him as soon as it became familiarized by possession.
You would then at once find yourself both neglected and despised by the
man for whose sake you had rendered yourself truly despicable. I know
you are incapable of an action that would at the same time rid you of
his esteem and of the more valuable consciousness of knowing yourself to
be truly estimable. I am not of the opinion of those who think chastity
the only virtue of consequence to our sex; but it is certainly so very
essential to us that she who violates it seldom preserves any other. And
how should she? For if there are others as great, greater there cannot
be, there is none so necessary. But herein I know you are of my opinion;
I only therefore intreat you to shew Lord Robert that you are so; do not
let him mistake your real sentiments; nor in order to preserve his love,
if custom will oblige me to call his passion by that name, leave him
reason to flatter himself that you will fall a victim to his arts and
your own weakness.

'Consider with yourself,' continued she, 'which is most desirable, his
esteem or his courtship? If you really love him, you can make no
comparison between them, for surely there cannot be a greater suffering
than to stand low in the opinion of any person who has a great share of
our affections. If he neglects you on finding that his criminal designs
cannot succeed, he certainly does not deserve your love, and the
consciousness of having raised yourself in his opinion and forced him to
esteem you, together with the pleasure of reflecting that you have acted
as you ought, will afford you consolation.'

These arguments had due weight with Lady Mary, she determined to follow
her friend's advice and submit to the consequences. Lady Sheerness had
company that evening and among the rest Lord Robert. He was, as usual,
assiduous in his addresses to Lady Mary who, withdrawing to a little
distance from the company, told him, that she had too long suffered his
lordship to continue a courtship, which he had plainly acknowledged was
made with such views as gave her great reason to blame herself for ever
having listened to it. She a