"From your strange and eventful story, the virtuous may be convinced that they should never despair—the guilty, that they should never exult, as the hour of deliverance to one, and retribution to the other, often arrives when least expected: both should also learn by it, that a merciful God makes allowances for human frailty, and accepts sincere repentance as an atonement for error." In the words of the poet the holy man might have concluded,
Heaven has but
Our sorrows for our sins, and then delights
To pardon erring man. Sweet mercy seems
Its darling attribute, which limits justice,
As if there were degrees in Infinite,
And Infinite would rather want perfection,
Than punish to extent.
"The affection subsisting between my sons (said the Marquis), prevents my feeling that uneasiness I should otherwise experience at the idea of leaving one almost wholly depending upon the other."
