I had not altogether overlooked
the possibility of embarrassment at A., but my passion prevented the
clear foresight of consequences. I have often found that evils
which are imaginary will press upon me with singular vivacity, while
those which may with certainty be deduced from any action are but
obscurely apprehended, so that in fact intensity of colour is an
indication of unreality. I must add that if the future had
presented itself to me with prophetic distinctness, my love for
Melissa was so great that I should not have hesitated. My frequent
visits to B. had not passed unnoticed at A., and the reason was
suspected. Hints were not wanting, and the custom-house surveyor
told me a harrowing tale of a fellow-surveyor who had alienated all
his friends and had been obliged to leave his house near Tower Hill
because he had chosen to marry the daughter of a poor author who
lived in Whitefriars. One day early in the morning I was in B. and
met the squire's young ladies with their mother. She was a very
proud dame. Her maiden name was Bone, and her father had been a
sugar-baker in Bristol, but this was not a retail trade, and she had
often told me that she was descended from Geoffrey de Bohun, who was
in the retinue of William the Conqueror and killed five Saxons with
his own hand at the battle of Hastings.
Pages:
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142