e one or the other, having
never put them to the test, nor did I imagine I ever should. "Your
friends, Eliza," said she, "would be very happy to see you united to a
man of Mr. Boyer's worth, and so agreeably settled as he has a prospect
of being." "I hope," said I, "that my friends are not so weary of my
company as to wish to dispose of me. I am too happy in my present
connections to quit them for new ones. Marriage is the tomb of
friendship. It appears to me a very selfish state. Why do people in
general, as soon as they are married, centre all their cares, their
concerns, and pleasures in their own families? Former acquaintances are
neglected or forgotten; the tenderest ties between friends are weakened
or dissolved; and benevolence itself moves in a very limited sphere."
"It is the glory of the marriage state," she rejoined, "to refine by
circumscribing our enjoyments. Here we can repose in safety.

'The friendships of the world are oft
Confed'racies in vice, or leagues in pleasure:
Ours has the purest virtue for its basis;
And such a friendship ends not but with life.'

True, we cannot always pay that attention to former associates which we
may wish; but the little community which we superintend is quite as
important an object, and certainly renders us more beneficial to the
public. True benevolence, though it may change its objects, is not
limited by time or place. Its effects are the same, and, aided by a
second self, are rendered more diffusive and salutary."

Some pleasantry passed, and we retired to dress. When summoned to
dinner, I found Mr. Boyer below. If what is sometimes said be true, that
love is diffident, reserved, and unassuming, this man must be tinctured
with it. These symptoms were visible in his deportment when I entered
the room. However, he soon recovered himself, and the conversation took
a general turn. The festive board was crowned with sociability, and we
found in reality "the feast of reason and the flow of soul." After we
rose from table, a walk in the garden was proposed--an amusement we are
all peculiarly fond of. Mr. Boyer offered me his arm. When at a
sufficient distance from our company, he begged leave to congratulate
himself on having an opportunity, which he had ardently desired for some
time, of declaring to me his attachment, and of soliciting an interest
in my favor; or, if he might be allowed the term, affection. I replied,
"That, sir, is indeed laying claim to an imp