put upon her, and transferred
herself, without repugnance, from one bridegroom to another?--Poor
as I am, I know that neither Nettlewood nor Oakendale should have
bribed me to marry such a ---- I cannot decorously fill up the
blank.

"Neither, my dear Etherington, can I forgive you the trick you put
on the clergyman, in whose eyes you destroyed the poor girl's
character to induce him to consent to perform the ceremony, and have
thereby perhaps fixed an indelible stain on her for life--this was
not a fair _ruse de guerre_.--As it is, you have taken little by
your stratagem--unless, indeed, it should be difficult for the young
lady to prove the imposition put upon her--for that being admitted,
the marriage certainly goes for nothing. At least, the only use you
can make of it, would be to drive her into a more formal union, for
fear of having this whole unpleasant discussion brought into a court
of law; and in this, with all the advantages you possess, joined to
your own arts of persuasion, and her brother's influence, I should
think you very likely to succeed. All women are necessarily the
slaves of their reputation. I have known some who have given up
their virtue to preserve their character, which is, after all, only
the shadow of it. I therefore would not conceive it difficult for
Clara Mowbray to persuade herself to become a countess, rather than
be the topic of conversation for all Britain, while a lawsuit
betwixt you is in dependence; and that may be for the greater part
of both your lives.

"But, in Miss Mowbray's state of mind, it may require time to bring
her to such a conclusion; and I fear you will be thwarted in your
operations by your rival--I will not offend you by calling him your
brother. Now, it is here that I think with pleasure I may be of some
use to you,--under this special condition, that there shall be no
thoughts of farther violence taking place between you. However you
may have smoothed over your rencontre to yourself, there is no doubt
that the public would have regarded any accident which might have
befallen on that occasion, as a crime of the deepest dye, and that
the law would have followed it with the most severe punishment. And
for all that I have said of my serviceable disposition, I would fain
stop short on this side of the gallows--my neck is too