Book Description

Excerpt from The Three Chances, Vol. 3 of 3 Never had it occurred to her, presumptuous as she was, to question her powers of endurance, or her efficiency for the duties she was undertaking; until her acquaint ance with Manley Frere aroused her to a better know ledge of herself, and the capacities of her nature; and caused her to pant for a higher and happier destiny, than to become the companion of one with whom she held no common bond of sympathy: whose principles and prejudices were foreign to any of her own - whose society wearied her - and whom, till the last moment they spent together, she could never regard with any livelier sentiment than that of a respectful indifference. In what alone concerned Maria Palliser, there was meet retribution and most impartial judgment in the turn Of fortune which had caused her to feel and acknow ledge her error but it was hard upon Colonel Hussey to be made the victim Of her selfish mistake nor could her sternest accuser be more painfully conscious Of the wrong she had done him, than his false but repentant mistress. Excuses for breaking her engagement with him reasons persuasive and satisfactory enough - had thronged Upon her when she communed only with herself; but in finally setting her thoughts in array for the enlighten ment Of another, Maria could not but perceive how very few of these arguments were calculated to convince even the world at large - least of all the man she was pre paring to forsake. If she grounded her Obj cotions to marrying him on scruples of recent date, and professed to have only just become sensible Of the nature of her rash promise, and to have had some sudden revelation of the holiness and high mystery of this same marriage contract, which some can enter upon so thoughtlessly - but which she now perceived to require a heart more tender and atfec tions far more lively than it was in her gift to bestow then he would have reason to complain that she had suffered her convictions to lie dormant so many months, and, with a strange refinement Of caprice, had kept the chain of their compact inviolate, till the wedding-day was fixed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.