ABSTRACT
The circumstances of surprise and interest, under which Matilda had been first introduced to Strathallan, had led him, perhaps, to notice with more attention than he otherwise would have done, her singular and captivating style of beauty. Her behaviour, when the Ball was in agitation, had convinced / him that she had a heart, which corresponded with the charms of her countenance: but to discover that she had a mind which in its minutest emotions sympathized with his, harmonized in every taste, and agreed in every feeling – was reserved for him in the too short and delightful evening he had passed with her, at his mother’s Converzatione. He could not resist seeking soon to renew a gratification so great. Matilda’s timidity, that had at first thrown a veil over all her perfections, wore off by degrees; and, as Mr. Melbourne’s continued indisposition prevented their intercourse from being so frequent as Lord Strathallan wished it, he enjoyed in those meetings a pleasure, perhaps the more exquisite from its being rare.
