any dangers and difficulties, during which they
suffered a cruel separation; after the torments of which, he had happily
found her in England, where she now lived entirely cut off from her
native country and connexions, and destitute of every other resource but
his honour, love, and protection. And, finally, that he was determined
to combat his own desires, how violent soever they might be, until he
should have made some suitable provision for the consequences of a
stricter union with the mistress of his soul, that he might not, by a
precipitate marriage, ruin the person whom he adored.
This end he proposed to attain, by an application to the court of Vienna,
which he did not doubt would have some regard to his own service, and
that of his father; and thither he resolved to repair, with the first
opportunity, now that he had found a friend with whom he could intrust
the inestimable jewel of his heart.
He likewise gave our hero to understand, that he had been eight months in
England, during which he had lived in a frugal manner, that he might not
unnecessarily exhaust the money he had been able to raise upon his own
credit; that, hitherto, he had been obliged to defer his departure for
Germany on account of his attendance upon the mother of his mistress, who
was lately dead of sorrow and chagrin; and that, since he resided in
London, he had often heard of the celebrated Count Fathom, though he
never imagined that his friend Ferdinand could be distinguished by that
appellation.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
FATHOM JUSTIFIES THE PROVERB, "WHAT'S BRED IN THE BONE WILL NEVER COME
OUT OF THE FLESH."
Some circumstances of this conversation made a deep impression upon the
mind of our adventurer, who nevertheless concealed his emotions from the
knowledge of his friend, and was next day introduced to that hidden
treasure of which Renaldo had spoken with such rapture and adoration. It
was not without reason he had expatiated upon the personal attractions of
this young lady, whom, for the present, we shall call Monimia, a name
that implies her orphan situation. When she entered the room, even
Fathom, whose eyes had been sated with beauty, was struck dumb with
admiration, and could scarce recollect himself so far as to perform the
ceremony of his introduction.
She seemed to be about the age of eighteen. Her stature was tall; her
motion graceful. A knot of artificial flowers restrained the luxuriancy
of her fine black
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