Page:Duty and Inclination 2.pdf/146

144 "But the society of a few well-chosen guests," added Oriana, "of cultivated minds and agreeable manners, such as are found united in our two clerical friends, are not persons of such a description to be highly prized and appreciated?"

"In this I fully agree with you, dear Oriana; and it is my opinion also, that the less we incline to dissipated pleasures, the more social become our habits; and, in consequence, those who might render themselves congenial to me, are not to be met with in the confined circle of our neighbourhood. When the good Doctor and Edmund depart, called away to pursue their official duties in London, will not our solitude appear to you as irksome as it did formerly?"

"Oh! speak not of it, Rosilia," interrupted her sister; "loneliness in such a case would be far less intolerable than that insipidity to be met with from minds barren of all intellectual and rational resource."

"Though the struggle is hard," continued Rosilia, "it is my constant endeavour to resign myself to this solitude, ever desirous of appearing pleased and happy, for the sake of our dear parents, and to sacrifice all minor considerations to what they conceive necessary to the welfare and interests of the family."