the sinful _liaisons_ carried on without them.

Lady C---- endeavoured to prove that the flight frequently originated
in a latent sense of honour and shame, which rendered the presence of
the deceived husband and innocent children insufferable to her whose
indulgence of a guilty passion had caused her to forfeit her right to
the conjugal home; but they could not comprehend this, and persisted in
thinking the woman who fled with her lover more guilty than her who
remained under the roof of the husband she deceived.

One thing is quite clear, which is, that the woman who feels she dare
not meet her wronged husband and children, if she dishonours them, will
be more deterred from sin by the consciousness of the necessity of
flight, which it imposes, than will be the one who sees no such
necessity, and who dreads not the penalty she may be tempted to incur.

Lady C---- maintained that elopements are not a fair criterion for
judging of the morality of a country; for that she who sins and flies
is less hardened in guilt than she who remains and deceives: and the
example is also less pernicious, as the one who has forfeited her place
in society serves as a beacon to warn others; while she whose errors
are known, yet still retains hers, is a dangerous instance of the
indulgence afforded to hardened duplicity. It is not the horror of
guilt, but the dread of its exposure, that operates on the generality
of minds; and this is not always sufficient to deter from sin.

Les Dames de B---- dined with us yesterday. They are very clever and
amusing, and, what is better, are excellent women. Their attachment to
each other, and devotion to their nephew, are edifying; and he appears
worthy of it. Left an orphan when yet an infant, these sisters adopted
their nephew, and for his sake have refused many advantageous offers of
marriage, devoting themselves to forwarding his interests and insuring
him their inheritance. They have shared his studies, taken part in his
success, and entered into his pains and pleasures, made his friends
theirs, and theirs his; no wonder, then, that he loves them so fondly,
and is never happier than with them, taking a lively interest in all
their pursuits.

These good and warm-hearted women are accused of being enthusiasts, and
romantic. People say that at their age it is odd, if not absurd, to
indulge in such exaggerated notions of attachment; nay more, to give
such disinterested proofs of it. They may well s