Surprize, and perhaps a mixture of secret satisfaction prevented her
from interrupting him during the first part of his discourse; but rage,
at the mention of Horatio, forced from her this exclamation:--has the
villain then betrayed me! cried she.--No, madam, replied he, justice
obliges me to acquit him, tho' my rival.--He had the misfortune, in
putting your billet into his pocket, to let it fall; I took it up unseen
by him,--opened it, read it, and must confess, that all my generosity to
my friend was wholly swallowed up in my passion for you.--I returned not
to him that kind declaration you were pleased to make him, and he is
ignorant of the blessing you intended for him:--if the crime I have been
guilty of seem unpardonable in your eyes, command my death, I will
instantly obey you, for life would be a torment under your displeasure;
and if, in my last moments, you vouchsafe some part of that softness to
the occasion of my fate, that you so lavishly bestowed on the fortunate
Horatio, I will bless the lovely mouth that dooms me to destruction!
He pronounced all this with an emphasis, which made her not doubt the
power of her charms; and surveying him while he was speaking, found
enough in his person to compensate for the disappointment she had met
with from Horatio: besides, she reflected, that if what he had told her
concerning the dropping her letter, was a fiction, it was however an
ingenious one, and shewed his wit, as well as love, in bringing both
himself and friend off in so handsome a manner.
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