They
have tried every experiment to restore their Clementina: he has a noble
estate now in possession. The fame of his goodness is gone out to
distant countries. O my dear! All opposition must fly before him. And
if it be the will of Heaven to restore Clementina, all her friends must
concur in giving her to him upon the terms he has proposed; and from
which, having himself proposed them, Sir Charles Grandison cannot recede.
His heart, it is evident, is at Bologna. Well, and so it ought to be.
And yet I could not forbear being sensibly touched by the following
words, which I overheard him say to Lord L----, in answer to something my
lord said to him:
'I am impatient to be abroad. Had I not waited for Mr. Lowther, the last
letters I received from Italy should have been answered in person.'
But as honour, compassion, love, friendship (still nobler than love!)
have demands upon him, let him obey the call. He has set me high in his
esteem. Let me be worthy of his friendship. Pangs I shall occasionally
feel; but who that values one person above the rest of the world, does
not?
Sir Charles, as we sat at tea, mentioned his cousin Grandison to Lord
L----: It is strange, my lord, said he, that we hear nothing of our
cousin Everard, since he was seen at White's. But whenever he emerges,
Charlotte, if I am absent, receive him without reproaches: yet I should
be glad that he could have rejoiced with us.
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