Page:Edgar Huntly, or The Sleep Walker.djvu/56

 "Among the nefarious deeds which he perpetrated, was to be numbered the seduction of a young lady, whose heart was broken by the detection of his perfidy. The fruit of this unhappy union was a daughter. Her mother died shortly after her birth. Her father was careless of her destiny: she was consigned to the care of a hireling, who, happily for the innocent victim, performed the maternal offices for her own sake, and did not allow the want of a stipulated recompence to render her cruel or neglectful.

"This orphan was sought out by the benevolence of Mrs. Lorimer, and placed under her own protection. She received from her the treatment of a mother. The tie of kindred, corroborated by habit, was not the only thing that united them: that resemblance to herself which had been so deplorably defective in her brother, was completely realised in his offspring: Nature seemed to have precluded every difference between them but that of age. This darling object excited in her bosom more than maternal sympathies: her soul clung to the happiness of her Clarice with more ardour than to that of her own son. The latter was not only less worthy of affection, but their separation necessarily diminished their mutual confidence.

"It was natural for her to look forward to the future destiny of Clarice. On these occasions she could not help contemplating the possibility of an union between her son and niece. Considerable advantages belonged to this scheme; yet it was the subject of hope, rather than the scope of a project. The contingencies were numerous and delicate on which the ultimate desirableness of this union depended. She was far from certain that her son would be worthy of this benefit; or that, if he were worthy, his propensities would not select for themselves a different object: it was equally dubious whether the young lady would not think proper otherwise to dispose of her affections. These uncertainties could be dissipated only by time: meanwhile she was chiefly solicitous to render them virtuous and wise.

"As they advanced in years the hopes that she had formed were annihilated. The youth was not exempt from egregious errors. In addition to this, it was manifest that the young people were disposed to regard each other in