Date: 1788

"The idea which seemed to press most painfully on her mind, was the blemish which the purity of her character must sustain by her being so long absent with Delamere--a blemish which she knew could hardly ever be removed but by her returning as his wife."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"Cursed be the hour I first indulged it, and cursed the weakness of mind that cannot conquer it!"

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"But you, who feel not any portion of the flame that devours me, can cooly argue, while my heart is torn in pieces; and deign not even to make any allowance for the unguarded sallies of unconquerable passion!"

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"He had studied the characters of the two Miss Delameres, and found that of the eldest the fittest for his purpose; tho' the person of the youngest, and the pride which encased the heart of the other, would have made a less able politician decide for Augusta."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

" If therefore, my love, you really do not disapprove this young man, whose fortune is splendid, and of whose character I have received the most favourable accounts, I shall have a weight removed from my mind, and enjoy all the tranquillity I can hope for on this side the grave."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"I continued it from habit, and because I knew not how to employ my time otherwise; but I felt a dreary vacuity in my heart; and amid splendor and admiration was unhappy."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"But the moment the suddenness of his passion gave way to reflection, the tumult of his mind subsided, and he thought it must be an artifice of his mother's to separate him from Emmeline."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"The seeds of jealousy and mistrust thus skillfully sown, could hardly fail of taking root in an heart so full of sensibility, and a temper so irritable as his."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"The caresses of an animal he had so long remembered, touched some chord of the heart that vibrated to softer emotions than those which had for the last three hours possessed him--he burst into tears."

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1788

"For tho' Mrs. Ashwood's hints, and the behaviour of James Crofts, had left no doubt of their ill opinion of her, yet she never supposed them capable of an attempt to impress the same idea on the mind of Delamere; and had no notion of the variety of motives which made the whole family of the Crof...

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)