composure which astonished and mortified her lover. He had flattered
himself that, at least, her vanity or pride would have been apparently
gratified by her conquest.--But there was none of the flutter of vanity in
her manner, nor any of the repressed satisfaction of pride. There were in
her looks and words only simplicity and dignity.--She said that she was at
present occupied happily in various ways, endeavouring to improve herself,
and that she should be sorry to have her mind turned from these pursuits;
she desired to secure time to compare and judge of her own tastes, and of
the characters of others, before she should make any engagement, or form an
attachment on which the happiness of her life must depend. She said she was
equally desirous to keep herself free, and to avoid injuring the happiness
of the man who had honoured her by his preference; therefore she requested
he would discontinue a pursuit, which she could not encourage him to hope
would ever be successful.--Long before the time when she should think it
prudent to marry, even if she were to meet with a character perfectly
suited to hers, she hoped that her cousin Buckhurst would be united to some
woman who would be able to return his affection.

The manner in which all this was said convinced Buckhurst that she spoke
the plain and exact truth. From the ease and frankness with which she had
hitherto conversed with him, he had flattered himself that it would not
be difficult to prepossess her heart in his favour; but now, when he saw
the same ease and simplicity unchanged in her manner, he was convinced
that he had been mistaken. He had still hopes that in time he might make
an impression upon her, and he urged that she was not yet sufficiently
acquainted with his character to be able to judge whether or not it would
suit hers. She frankly told him all she thought of him, and in doing
so impressed him with the conviction that she had both discerned the
merits and discovered the defects of his character: she gave him back a
representation of himself, which he felt to be exactly just, and yet which