Page:The Mysterious Warning - Parsons (1796, volume 3).djvu/167

 "One!" exclaimed Heli; "be confined to one woman! Great happiness indeed I should find then. And that one, what would become of her, without companions.—Shut up from all social converse—nothing to amuse her—nothing to animate or agitate her mind; what a dull insipid mass of clay should I meet, when I condescend to unbend and divert myself."

"I had indeed forgotten her situation," returned Ferdinand, "and must acknowledge, if the severity of your customs oblige women to solitude and confinement, one could not exist long without a companion; but she might have slaves, attendants to converse with."

"It would never do," said Heli.—"Too much consequence and power thrown into the hands of one woman, would make her insolent and rebellious. By dividing our attentions, we reduce them to an equality that prevents intrigues, discontents, and insolence; makes them emulous to please, and cautious to offend. But they are so capricious and so