"It was indiscreet, in one who trades at so much hazard."

"I kept the bauble for my pleasure!--Whim is sometimes stronger than the
thirst of gain; and this chain does not quit me, till I bestow it on the
lady of my love."

"One so actively employed can scarcely spare time to seek a fitting object
for the gift."

"Is merit and loveliness in the sex, so rare? La belle Barberie speaks in
the security of many conquests, or she would not deal thus lightly, in a
matter that is so serious with most females."

"Among other countries your vessel hath visited a land of witchcraft, or
you would not pretend to a knowledge of things, that, in their very
nature, must be hidden from a stranger.--Of what value may be those
beautiful feathers of the ostrich?"

"They came of swarthy Africa, though so spotless themselves. The bunch was
had, by secret traffic, from a Moorish man, in exchange for a few skins of
Lachrymyae Christi, that he swallowed with his eyes shut. I dealt with the
fellow, only in pity for his thirst, and do not pride myself on the value
of the commodity. It shall go, too, to quicken love between me and thy
uncle."

Alida could not object to this liberality, though she was not without a
secret opinion that the gifts were no more than delicate and
well-concealed offerings to herself. The effect of this suspicion was
two-fold; it caused the maiden to become more reserved in the expression
of her tastes, though it in no degree lessened her confidence in, and
admiration of, the wayward and remarkable trader.

"My uncle will have cause to commend thy generous spirit," said the
heiress, bending her head a little coldly, at this repeated declaration of
her companion's intentions, "though it would seem that, in trade, justice
is as much to be desired as generosity;--this seemeth a curious design,
wrought with the needle!"

"It is the labor of many a day, fashioned by the hand of a recluse. I
bought it of a nun, in France, who passed years in toil, upon the conceit,
which is of more value than the material. The meek daughter of solitude
wept when she parted with the fabric, for, in her eyes, it had the tie of
association and habit. A companion might be lost to one who lives in the
confusion of the world, and it should not cause more real sorrow, than
parting from the product of her needle, gave that mild resident of the
cloisters!"

"And is it permitted for your sex to visit those places of religious
retirement?" ask