a wild fit of folly throwing away fi om you such an opportunity of being settled in life nobly settled as will probably never occur to you again here is a young man of sense of character of temper of manners and of fortune exceedingly attached to you and seeking your hand in the most handsome and disinterested way and let me tell you that you may live eighteen years longer in the world without being addressed by a man of half mr s estate or a tenth part of his merits gladly would i have bestowed of my own daughters on him maria is nobly married but had mr sought s hand i should have given it to him with superior and more satisfaction than i gave maria s to mr after half a moment s pause � and i should have been very much surprised had either of my daughters on receiving a proposal of marriage at any time which might carry with it only half the of immediately and and without paying my opinion or my regard the compliment of any consultation put a decided negative on it i should have been much surprised and much hurt by such a proceeding i should have thought it a gross of duty and t park respect you are not to be judged by the same rule you do not owe me the duty of a child but if your heart can you of ingratitude he ceased was by this time cr so bitterly that angry as he was he would not press that article farther her heart was almost broken by such a picture of what she appeared to him by such so heavy so multiplied so rising in dreadful self willed obstinate selfish and ungrateful he thought her all this she had deceived his expectations she had lost his good opinion what was to become of her i am very sorry said she through her tears i am very sorry indeed sorry yes i hope you are sorry and you will probably have reason to be long sorry for this day s transactions if it were possible for me to do otherwise said she with another strong effort � but i am so perfectly convinced that i could never make him happy and that i should be miserable myself another burst of tears but in spite of tliat burst and in spite of that great black word miserable which served to introduce it sir thomas began to think a little a little change of inclination might have something to do with it and to from the personal entreaty of the young man himself he knew her to be very timid and exceedingly nervous and thought it not improbable that her mind might be in such a state as a little time a little pressing a little patience and a little impatience a judicious mixture of all on the lover s side might work their usual effect on if the gentleman would but � if he had but love enough to � sir thomas began to have hopes and these reflections having passed across his mind and cheered it well said he in a tone of becoming gravity but of less anger � well child dry up your tears there is no use in these tears they can do no good you must now come down stairs with me mr has been kept waiting too long already you must give him your own answer you cannot expect him to be satisfied with less and you only can explain to him the grounds of that of your sentiments park which unfortunately for himself he certainly has i am totally unequal to it but showed such reluctance such misery at the idea of going down to him that sir thomas after a little consideration judged it better to indulge her his hopes from both gentleman and lady suffered a small depression in consequence but when he looked at his niece and saw the state of feature and complexion which her crying had brought her into he thought there might be as much lost as gained by an immediate interview with a few words therefore of no particular meaning he walked off by himself leaving his poor niece to sit and cry over what had passed with very wretched feelings her mind was all disorder the past present future every thing was terrible but her uncle s anger gave her the pain of all selfish and ungrateful to have appeared so to him she was miserable for ever she had no one to take her part to counsel or speak for her her only friend was absent he might have softened his father but all perhaps all would think her selfish and ungrateful she might have to endure the reproach again and again she might hear it or see it or know it to exist for ever in every connection about her she could not but feel some resentment against mr yet if he really loved her and were unhappy too � it was all wretchedness together in about a quarter of an hour her uncle returned she was almost ready to faint at the sight of him he spoke calmly however without without reproach and she revived a little there was comfort too in his words as well as his manner for he began with mr is gone he has just left me i need not repeat what has passed i do not want to add to any thing you may now be feeling by an account of what he has felt suffice it that he has behaved in the most gentleman like and generous manner and has confirmed me in a most favourable opinion of his understanding heart and temper upon my representation of what you were suffering he immediately and with the greatest delicacy ceased to urge to see you for the present here who had looked up looked 