ABSTRACT
When Don Julian ceased speaking, we both remained for some moments silent: his misfortunes deeply affected me, though I had myself no idea of a passion such as he felt, for an object, however beautiful, who had acted as he described Xaviera to have done in regard to him. – In this respect we seemed to have changed characters; and the jealousy which is, in the national character of the Portuguese, a feature so predominant, was transferred to the Englishman. Convinced that Don Julian was really attached only to the unfortunate Xaviera, the admiration with which he spoke of the charms of Isabella gave me less uneasiness: but still the partiality which I fancied I had of late observed in her towards him, dwelt upon my mind: – it was probable that, notwithstanding his predilection for Donna Xaviera, he was not of a disposition to play the Stoic towards any other pretty woman; and there was not only in his dejection, but in his misfortunes, something that I fancied rendered him particularly interesting to the women. Yet I learnt that he was my wife’s confidant: my displeasure was however soon at an end, and excited by very different motives, when I found from him that Isabella was rendered extremely uneasy by my supposed attachment to Mrs. Effingham; and that this jealousy had been fed by the Admiral, who had taken every occasion to make my wife remark this supposed partiality for my former acquaintance, while he had endeavoured to take advantage of this impression, and of the pecuniary assistance he had given us, to persecute Isabella with professions, which, while they filled her with horror and disgust, she could not escape from without telling me, nor tell me without hazarding consequences she trembled to think of. – This had been the subject of her late conferences with Don Julian; and it was without her consent, and to preclude the possibility of my harbouring suspicions as to the nature of those conferences, that he now determined to reveal to me this odious mystery.
