ABSTRACT
After having been so long accustomed to hear only the seducing voice of praise, (for Colonel Cecil, who doated upon his daughter, never perceived she had a fault,) Mrs. Woodfield was not without apprehensions that in reproving her errors, however gently, she should lose the affection of her niece. This, though extremely painful to her, she was determined to hazard, not only because she felt it to be her duty, but because, from the observations she made on the character and temper of Mr. Halesworth, she was sure that it was the apparent coincidence of Caroline’s disposition with his own that had attracted his regard, rather than her beauty or acquirements; and she was afraid that, should he have reason to believe himself mistaken in the idea he had thus formed, he might either repent of the engagement he had made, or with doubting and uneasiness fulfil it.
