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24 hitherto entirely prohibited, and but rarely allowed to her sister, and such as they could never hope to partake of, doomed as they appeared to be, to the sameness of sequestered life. These considerations, however weighty in the first instance, soon became absorbed in the idea, that girls so eminently lovely as were hers, could not fail of attracting admiration; and her fancy yielding by degrees to the impression of the moment, she painted lovers, such as might transplant the fair blossoms of her culture from the dreary wilds of seclusion to soils more congenial to their sweetness and delicacy.

The agreeable company of Lady Valpée having cheered the General, he felt a wish to retain the good humour she had awakened; and what could be more conducive thereto than the society of Douglas? he requested of him, therefore, to spend the day at the Villa. The invitation, so gratifying to its object, was readily complied with; it would prolong to him moments that were precious, those fleeting intervals when occasion presented of insinuating to her he loved the deep regard with which she had inspired him, hoping thereby to effect an ascendancy over the softness of her heart. But Rosilia, as thoughtless of love as she was of beauty, notwithstanding love and beauty with every