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Rh in request: they ought to accept those who will have them. The young men of our days are somewhat selfish: they only marry when it suits them; and never think about other persons’ diffidence. The heavens are not in your favour:—planets have been consulted, and they are not auspicious to such as are born, like you, in April. Only look what the Almanack says: ‘Maids born this month will have kind, good-natured countenances, be of slender form, and changeable in their inclinations, much like the weather, and must keep an eye upon their virgin mood. Should a smiling wooer come, let them not reject his offer!’ See how well that suits you! The suitor has been, and none will come after him, for you have rejected his offer.”

“Mother, mother! heed not what the planet says! my heart whispers me that I ought to love and honour the man whom I wed; and if I find no such man, or am sought by none, let me remain single all my life. I can maintain myself by my own hands. I will learn to be both content and happy; and nurse you in your old age, as a good daughter ought. Yet, if the man of my heart should come, mother, oh, then bless us both; and inquire not whether he be great, honoured, and wealthy, but only whether he loves, and is beloved.”

“Love, my poor daughter, keeps but a scanty table; it is not enough to live upon.”