ny
more than was actually necessary. One day, when Isabelle had finished a
chapter in the volume from which she was reading to him, and was about
to begin another, he interrupted her, and said, "My dear sister, that
book is certainly very amusing, and the author a man of remarkable wit
and talent; but I must confess that I prefer your charming conversation
to your delightful reading. Do you know, I would not have believed it
possible to gain so much, in losing all hope of what I desired more
ardently than I had ever done anything in my whole life before. The
brother is very much more kindly treated than the suitor--are you aware
of that? You are as sweet and amiable to the one as you were severe and
unapproachable to the other. I find in this calm, peaceful affection,
charms that I had never dreamed of, and you reveal to me a new side of
the feminine character, hitherto utterly unknown to me. Carried away by
fiery passions, and irritated to madness by any opposition, I was like
the wild huntsman of the ancient legend, who stopped for no obstacle,
but rode recklessly over everything in his path. I looked upon whatever
beautiful woman I was in pursuit of as my legitimate prey. I scouted the
very idea of failure, and deemed myself irresistible. At the mention of
virtue, I only shrugged my shoulders, and I think I may say, without too
much conceit, to the only woman I ever pursued who did not yield to me,
that I had reason not to put much faith in it. My mother died when I was
a mere baby; you, my sweet sister, were not near me, and I have never
known, until now, all the purity, tenderness, and sublime courage
of which your sex is capable. I chanced to see you. An irresistible
attraction, in which, perhaps, the unknown tie of blood had its
influence, drew me to you, and for the first time in my life a feeling
of respect and esteem mingled with my passion. Your character delighted
me, even when you drove me to despair. I could not but secretly approve
and admire the modest and courteous firmness with which you rejected
my homage. The more decidedly you repulsed me, the more I felt that you
were worthy of my adoration. Anger and admiration succeeded each other
in my heart, and even in my most violent paroxysms of rage I always
respected you. I descried the angel in the woman, and bowed to the
ascendency of a celestial purity. Now I am happy and blessed indeed;
for I have in you precisely what I needed, without knowing it--this