Methinks I can gather
from your letters a predilection for this Major Sanford. But he is a
rake, my dear friend; and can a lady of your delicacy and refinement
think of forming a connection with a man of that character? I hope not;
nay, I am confident you do not. You mean only to exhibit a few more
girlish airs before you turn matron; but I am persuaded, if you wish to
lead down the dance of life with regularity, you will not find a more
excellent partner than Mr. Boyer. Whatever you can reasonably expect in
a lover, husband, or friend, you may perceive to be united in this
worthy man. His taste is undebauched, his manners not vitiated, his
morals uncorrupted. His situation in life is, perhaps, as elevated as
you have a right to claim. Forgive my plainness, Eliza. It is the task
of friendship, sometimes, to tell disagreeable truths. I know your
ambition is to make a distinguished figure in the first class of
polished society, to shine in the gay circle of fashionable amusements,
and to bear off the palm amidst the votaries of pleasure. But these are
fading honors, unsatisfactory enjoyments, incapable of gratifying those
immortal principles of reason and religion which have been implanted in
your mind by Nature, assiduously cultivated by the best of parents, and
exerted, I trust, by yourself. Let me advise you, then, in conducting
this affair,--an affair big, perhaps, with your future fate,--to lay
aside those coquettish airs which you sometimes put on; and remember
that you are not dealing with a fop, who will take advantage of every
concession, but with a man of sense and honor, who will properly
estimate your condescension and frankness.
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