Adeline Mowbray; or, The Mother and Daughter. Amelia Opie

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      'Own what Sir?' asked the astonished Adeline.

      'That they thought marriage a cursed bore, and preferred leading the life of honour, to be sure.'

      'The life of honour! What is that?' demanded Adeline, while Glenmurray paced the room in agitation.

      'That life, my dear girl, which you mean to lead;—love and liberty with the man of your heart.'

      'Sir Patrick,' cried Glenmurray impatiently, 'this conversation is—'

      'Prodigiously amusing to me,' returned the baronet, 'especially as I never could hold it to a modest woman before.'

      'Nor shall you now, Sir,' fiercely interrupted Glenmurray.

      'Shall not, Sir?' vociferated Sir Patrick.

      'Pray, gentlemen, be less violent,' exclaimed the terrified and astonished Adeline. 'I can't think what could offend you, Mr. Glenmurray, in Sir Patrick's original observation: the life of honour appears to me a very excellent name for the pure and honourable union which it is my wish to form; and—'

      'There; I told you so;' triumphantly interrupted Sir Patrick: 'and I never was better pleased in life:—sweet creature! at once so lovely, so wise, and so liberal!'

      'Sir,' cried Glenmurray, 'this is a mistake: your life of honour and Miss Mowbray's are as different as possible; you are talking of what you are grossly ignorant of.'

      'Ignorant! I ignorant! Look you, Mr. Glenmurray, do you pretend to tell me I know not what the life of honour is, when I have led it so many times with so many different women?'

      'How, Sir!' replied Adeline: 'many times? and with many different women? My life of honour can be led with one only.'

      'Well, my dear soul, I only led it with one at a time.'

      'O Sir! you are indeed ignorant of my meaning,' she rejoined: 'It is the individuality of an attachment that constitutes its purity; and—'

      'Ba-ba-bu, my lovely girl! which has purity to do in the business?'

      'Indeed, Sir Patrick,' meekly returned Adeline, 'I—'

      'Miss Mowbray,' angrily interrupted Glenmurray, 'I beg, I conjure you to drop this conversation: your innocence is no match for—'

      'For what, Sir?' furiously demanded Sir Patrick.

      'Your licentiousness,' replied Glenmurray.

      'Sir, I wear a sword,' cried the baronet.—'And I a cane,' said Glenmurray calmly, 'either to defend myself or chastise insolence.'

      'Mr. Glenmurray! Sir Patrick!' exclaimed the agitated Adeline: 'for my sake, for pity's sake desist!'

      'For the present I will, madam,' faltered out Sir Patrick;—'but I know Mr. Glenmurray's address, and he shall hear from me.'

      'Hear from you! Why, you do not mean to challenge him? you can't suppose Mr. Glenmurray would do so absurd a thing as fight a duel? Sir, he has written a volume to prove the absurdity of the custom.—No, no! you threaten his life in vain,' she added, giving her hand to Glenmurray; who, in the tenderness of the action and the tone of her voice, forgot the displeasure which her inadvertency had caused, and pressing her hand to his lips, secretly renewed his vows of unalterable attachment.

      'Very well, madam,' exclaimed Sir Patrick in a tone of pique: 'then, so as Mr. Glenmurray's life is safe, you care not what becomes of mine!'

      'Sir,' replied Adeline, 'the safety of a fellow-creature is always of importance in my eyes.'

      'Then you care for me as a fellow-creature only,' retorted Sir Patrick, 'not as Sir Patrick O'Carrol?—Mighty fine, truly, you dear ungrateful—' seizing her hand; which he relinquished, as well as the rest of his speech, on the entrance of Mrs. Mowbray.

      Soon after Adeline left the room, and Glenmurray bowed and retired; while Sir Patrick, having first repeated his vows of admiration to the mother, returned home to muse on the charms of the daughter, and the necessity of challenging the moral Glenmurray.

      Sir Patrick was a man of courage, and had fought several duels: but as life at this time had a great many charms for him, he resolved to defer at least putting himself in the way of getting rid of it; and after having slept late in the morning, to make up for the loss of sleep in the night, occasioned by his various cogitations, he rose, resolved to go to Mrs. Mowbray's, and if he had an opportunity, indulge himself in some practical comments on the singular declaration made the evening before by her lovely daughter.

      Glenmurray meanwhile had passed the night in equal watchfulness and greater agitation. To fight a duel would be, as Adeline observed, contrary to his principles; and to decline one, irritated as he was against Sir Patrick, was repugnant to his feelings.

      To no purpose did he peruse and re-peruse nearly the whole of his own book against duelling; he had few religious restraints to make him resolve on declining a challenge, and he felt moral ones of little avail: but in vain did he sit at home till the morning was far advanced, expecting a messenger from Sir Patrick;—no messenger came:—he therefore left word with his servant, that, if wanted, he might be found at Mrs. Mowbray's, and went thither, in hopes of enjoying an hour's conversation with Adeline; resolving to hint to her, as delicately as he could, that the opinions which she had expressed were better confined, in the present dark state of the public mind, to a select and discriminating circle.

CHAPTER VI

       Table of Contents

      Sir Patrick had reached Mrs. Mowbray's some time before him, and had, to his great satisfaction, found Adeline alone; nor did it escape his penetration that her cheeks glowed, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure, at his approach.

      But he would not have rejoiced in this circumstance, had he known that Adeline was pleased to see him merely because she considered his appearance as a proof of Glenmurray's safety; for, in spite of his having written against duelling, and of her confidence in his firmness and consistency, she was not quite convinced that the reasoning philosopher would triumph over the feeling man.

      'You are welcome, Sir Patrick!' cried Adeline, as he entered, with a most winning smile: 'I am very glad to see you: pray sit down.'

      The baronet, who, audacious as his hopes and intentions were, had not expected so kind a reception, was quite thrown off his guard by it, and catching her suddenly in his arms, endeavoured to obtain a still kinder welcome. Adeline as suddenly disengaged herself from him, and, with the dignity of offended modesty, desired him to quit the room, as, after such an insolent attempt, she could not think herself justified in suffering him to remain with her.

      But her anger was soon changed into pity, when she saw Sir Patrick lay down his hat, seat himself, and burst into a long deliberate laugh.

      'He is certainly mad!' she exclaimed; and, leaning against the chimney-piece, she began to contemplate him with a degree of fearful interest.

      'Upon my soul! now,' cried the baronet, when his laugh was over, 'you do not suppose, my dear creature, that you and I do not understand one another! Telling a young fellow to СКАЧАТЬ