Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/175

 increasing or diminishing of which solely depended on her own pleasure. Thus by putting him under restrictions, she certainly circumscribed his numerous excesses, but made him at the same time, conceive a mortal hatred against her; and nobody interfering to effect a reconciliation between them, shocking scenes naturally ensued. Under these circumstances I kept myself as much as possible upon the passive, comforted my mother, but all my efforts to appease, mend or reclaim Emanuel not only miscarried, but even threatened to prove dangerous in case of perseverance on my part. He began to confider me as an accomplice leagued against him.

"Soon we discovered the cause of this unnatural conduct, which could indeed not remain concealed! It was a girl, Don Pedro's intimate acquaintance, and perhaps one of the most wanton, cunning and malicious creatures under the fun. It could not be denied, that he was handsome, but making her charms the instrument of her dark and villanous machinations, she completely undid