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The Romancist and Novelist's Library (3); New Series
The Romancist and Novelist's Library New Series - 3 Author:William Hazlitt Volume: 3 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1841 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a m... more »illion books for free. Excerpt: To gain the old lady's favour now became necessary, and I accomplished that object by making her presents of liqueurs and little delicacies, as also flattering her in no measured strain ; thanks to which generalship, my hostess was thrown off her guard, and I had the felicity of having some private conversation with the fair niece, who, in the simplicity of her heart, told me some odd things of their father confessor, by which I augured that he entertained improper designs on the young lady. Rosa Matilda, the fair girl in question, was innocence personified; and, as I loved to indulge myself in a tete-o-tete conversation with her, and sought every possible opportunity of gratifying this wish, there is no caleulating what might have been the result of my growing passion, had it not so happened that a very remarkable character, a gentleman who had been one of our gaming fraternity at Genoa, at this critical period came to lodge at our bouse, and speedily gained the maiden's affections. This much-celebrated personage was an Englishman ; but his name, from regard to the feelings of his home connexions, I decline mentioning, and shall content myself by denominating him the Bigamist, a title to which no one can justly dispute his right, inasmuch as he had taken French leave of five or six loving ladies, all of them resident in England, and united to him by the tie of wedlock. Some truths are startling, and those of our higamist's many marriages are not a little so ; but when we examine into the history of other persons, we shall not deem him one of the superlative characters in immorality. Par exa...« less