And noble, thrice noble
Clementina, be thine the preference even in the heart of Harriet Byron,
because justice gives it to thee; for, Harriet, hast thou not been taught
to prefer right and justice to every other consideration? And, wouldst
thou abhor the thought of a common theft, yet steal an heart that is the
property, and that by the dearest purchase, of another?
LETTER XVIII
MISS BYRON.--IN CONTINUATION
FRIDAY EVENING.
We have had a great debate about the place in which the nuptial ceremony
is to be performed.
Charlotte, the perverse Charlotte, insisted upon not going to church.
Lord G---- dared not to give his opinion; though his father and Lady
Gertrude, as well as every other person, were against her.
Lord L---- said, that if fine ladies thought so slightly of the office,
as that it might be performed anywhere, it would be no wonder, if fine
gentlemen thought still more slightly of the obligation it laid them
under.
Being appealed to, I said, that I thought of marriage as one of the most
solemn acts of a woman's life.
And if of a woman's, of a man's, surely, interrupted Lady L----. If your
whimsey, Charlotte, added she, arises from modesty, you reflect upon your
sister; and, what is worse, upon your mother.
Charlotte put up her pretty lip, and was unconvinced.
Lady Gertrude laid a heavy hand upon the affectation; yet admires her
niece-elect.
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