Burney [married name D'Arblay], Frances (1752-1840)

Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress

London

Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell

1782

"But fifteen summers had she bloomed, and her heart was an easy conquest; yet, once made mine, it resisted all allurement to infidelity."

"I will not speak to you of my family," said he; "historical accuracy would little answer to either of us. I am a native of the West Indies, and I was early sent hither to be educated. While I was yet at the University, I saw, I adored, and I pursued the fairest flower that ever put forth its sweet buds, the softest heart that ever was broken by ill-usage! She was poor and unprotected, the daughter of a villager; she was untaught and unpretending, the child of simplicity! But fifteen summers had she bloomed, and her heart was an easy conquest; yet, once made mine, it resisted all allurement to infidelity. My fellow students attacked her; she was assaulted by all the arts of seduction; flattery, bribery, supplication, all were employed, yet all failed; she was wholly my own; and with sincerity so attractive, I determined to marry her in defiance of all worldly objections.
(IV, p. 312)

War::Conquest

C-H Lion

At least 14 entries in ESTC (1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1790, 1791, 1793, 1795, 1796).

Frances Burney, Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. By the Author of Evelina. 5 vols. (London: Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell, 1782). <Link to ESTC>

06/16/2013