But now,
thought he, I may, without breach of my word, since he is no longer under
my tuition, afford the youth the means of judging for himself, and have
only to dread his reproaches for so long concealing the light which the
perusal will flash upon his mind. While he thus indulged the reveries of
an author and a politician, his darling proselyte, seeing nothing very
inviting in the title of the tracts, and appalled by the bulk and compact
lines of the manuscript, quietly consigned them to a corner of his
travelling trunk.
Aunt Rachel's farewell was brief and affectionate. She only cautioned her
dear Edward, whom she probably deemed somewhat susceptible, against the
fascination of Scottish beauty. She allowed that the northern part of the
island contained some ancient families, but they were all Whigs and
Presbyterians except the Highlanders; and respecting them she must needs
say, there could be no great delicacy among the ladies, where the
gentlemen's usual attire was, as she had been assured, to say the least,
very singular, and not at all decorous. She concluded her farewell with a
kind and moving benediction, and gave the young officer, as a pledge of
her regard, a valuable diamond ring (often worn by the male sex at that
time), and a purse of broad gold-pieces, which also were more common
Sixty Years Since than they have been of late.
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