पृष्ठ 302 / 817

"I beg your pardon. I will try again. At present I am not in love

with Mr. Wickham; no, I certainly am not. But he is, beyond all

comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw--and if he becomes

really attached to me--I believe it will be better that he should

not. I see the imprudence of it. Oh, that abominable Mr. Darcy!

My father's opinion of me does me the greatest honour; and I

should be miserable to forfeit it. My father, however, is partial

to Mr. Wickham. In short, my dear aunt, I should be very sorry to

be the means of making any of you unhappy; but since we see,

every day, that where there is affection young people are seldom

withheld, by immediate want of fortune, from entering into

engagements with each other, how can I promise to be wiser than

so many of my fellow-creatures, if I am tempted, or how am I even

to know that it would be wiser to resist? All that I can promise

you, therefore, is not to be in a hurry. I will not be in a hurry

to believe myself his first object.