She has not done wisely, to desert the
friend and guardian of her youth, ay, even of her childhood, in order to
seek protection from strangers. This is an unhappy world, Mr. Van Staats!
All our calculations come to nought; and it is in the power of fortune to
reverse the most reasonable and wisest of our expectations. A gale of wind
drives the richly-freighted ship to the bottom; a sudden fall in the
market robs us of our gold, as the November wind strips the oak of its
leaves; and bankruptcies and decayed credit often afflict the days of the
oldest houses, as disease saps the strength of the body:--Alida! Alida!
thou hast wounded one that never harmed thee, and rendered my age
miserable!"
"It is vain to contend with the inclinations," returned the proprietor of
the manor, sighing in a manner that did no discredit to the sincerity of
his remark. "I could have been happy to have placed your niece in the
situation that my respected mother filled with so much dignity and credit,
but it is now too late----"
"We don't know that;--we don't know that;" interrupted the Alderman, who
still clung to the hope of effecting the first great wish of his heart,
with the pertinacity with which he would have clung to the terms of any
other fortunate bargain. "We should never despair, Mr. Van Staats, as long
as the transaction is left open."
"The manner in which Mademoiselle Barberie has expressed her preference,
is so very decided, that I see no hope of completing the arrangement.
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