'has imbibed an attachment for another; one, who is more his equal than my child; but on a principle of honour, his first engagements bind him to her. I entertain the supposition from what I have heard merely, and it is my intention to communicate with Angelina accordingly, who, I doubt not, will be instantly willing to release him from his captivity. Disengaged from Nichols, she will be no longer under the painful necessity of practising a restraint upon her feelings; and will then be at liberty freely to indulge those sentiments in your favour, which I have plainly perceived she has been struggling to subdue.'
"How delightful were such sounds! they penetrated my heart and filled me with ecstasy. The cause of Angelina's late reserve towards me was thus accounted for, and endeared her to me the more.
"Exhausted by the long conference he had held, I persuaded your benign friend to take refreshment; and after thanking him a thousand times for having raised me from a state of distress to make me the happiest of men, I returned to my lodgings in the little village just by; not, however, until I had acceded to the request of the dear Basil to renew my visits daily.
"Yours, &c.
"A. De Brooke."
