The novels of Charles Brockden Brown, consisting of Wieland;or, The transformation. Arthur Mervyn; or, Memoirs of the year 1793. Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a sleep-walker. Jane Talbot. Ormond; or, The secret witness. Clara Howard; or, The enthusiasm of love. With a memoir of the author.

178 JANE TALBOT.
indeed, sever hearts so excellent? Shall I be the author
of such exquisite and lasting misery to a woman like
Mrs. Fielder? and shall I find that misery compensated
by the happiness of her daughter? What pure and unmingled joy will the daughter taste, while conscious of
having destroyed the peace, and perhaps hastened the
end, of one who, with regard to her, has always deserved
and always possessed a gratitude and veneration without
bounds? And for whom is the tranquillity and affection
of the mother to be sacrificed? For me, —a poor, unworthy wretch; deservedly despised by every strenuous
and upright mind; a fickle, inconsiderate, frail mortal,
whose perverse habits no magic can dissolve.
No. Mly whole heart implores Jane to forget and
abandon me; to adhere -to her mother; since no earthly
power and no length of time will change Mrs. Fielder's
feelings with regard to me; since I shall never obtain, as
I shall never deserve, her regard, and since her mother's
happiness is, and ought to be, dearer to Jane than her
own personal and exclusive gratification. God grant that
she may be able to perform, and cheerfully perform, her
duty!
But how often, my friend, have I harped on this string!
Yet I must write, and I must put down my present thoughts,
and these are the sentiments eternally present.
LETTER XLIV.
To HIenry C(olden.
Philadelphia, December 1.
I SAID I would not write to you again; I would encourage, I would allow of, no intercourse between us.
This was my solemn resolution and my voluntary and no
less solemn promise; yet I sit down to abjure this vow,
to break this promise.
What a wretch am I! Feeble and selfish beyond all
example among women! Why, why was I born, or why
received I breath in a world and at a period, with whose