would have wished to bring her
to Rome; to live with her more in public than he had hitherto done; to
conjoin, in short, her society, with the more recreative dissipation of
the world: but there were many obstacles to this plan in his fastidious
imagination. So new to the world, its ways, its fashions, so strange
and infantine in all things, as Lucilla was, he trembled to expose
her inexperience to the dangers that would beset it. He knew that his
"friends" would pay very little respect to her reserve; and that for
one so lovely and unhackneyed, the snares of the wildest and most subtle
adepts of intrigue would be set. Godolphin did not undervalue Lucilla's
pure and devoted heart; but he knew that the only sure antidote against
the dangers of the world is the knowledge of the world. There was
nothing in Lucilla that ever promised to attain that knowledge; her very
nature seemed to depend on her ignorance of the nature of others. Joined
to this fear and a confused sentiment of delicacy towards her, a certain
remorseful feeling in himself made him dislike bringing their connexion
immediately before the curious and malignant world: so much had
circumstance, and Lucilla's own self-willed temper and uncalculating
love, contributed to drive the poor girl into his arms,--and so truly
had he chosen the generous not the selfish part, until passion and
nature were exposed to a temptation that could have been withstood by
none but the adherent to sterner principles than he (the creature of
indolence and feeling) had ever clung to--that Godolphin, viewing his
habits--his education--his whole bias and frame of mind--the estimates
and customs of the world--may not, perhaps be very rigidly judged for
the nature of his tie to Lucilla. But I do not seek to excuse it, nor
did he wholly excuse it to himself. The image of Volktman often occurred
to him, and always in reproach. Living with Lucilla in a spot only trod
by Italians, so indulgent to love, and where the whisper of shame could
never reach her ear, or awaken his remorse, her state did not, however,
seem to her or himself degraded, and the purity of her girlish mind
almost forbade the intrusion of the idea. But to bring her into
public--among his own countrymen--and to feel that the generous and
devoted girl, now so unconscious of sin, would be rated by English eyes
with the basest and most abandoned of the sex,--with the glorifiers in
vice or the hypocrites for money,--this was a t