From which book is this letter? - a riddle

03.10.04, 16:06
Hello - maybe somebody will guess from which book is this letter?
(Instead of the names of the main characters there are ony first letters )

"Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its
containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers
which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of
paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes which, for the
happiness of both, cannot be too soon forgotten; and the effort which the
formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been
spared had not my character required it to be written and read. You must,
therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your
feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but I demand it of your
justice.

"Two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude,
you last night laid to my charge. The first mentioned was, that, regardless
of the sentiments of either, I had detached Mr. B... from your sister, and
the other, that I had, in defiance of various claims, in defiance of honour
and

humanity, ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the prospects of Mr.
W... . Wilfully and wantonly to have thrown off the companion of my youth,
the acknowledged favourite of my father, a young man who had scarcely any
other dependence than on our patronage, and who had been brought up to expect
its exertion, would be a depravity, to which the separation of two young
persons, whose affection could be the growth of only a few weeks, could bear
no comparison. But from the severity of that blame which was last night so
liberally bestowed, respecting each circumstance, I shall hope to be in the
future secured, when the following account of my actions and their motives
has been read. If, in the explanation of them, which is due to myself, I am
under the necessity of relating feelings which may be offensive to yours, I
can only say that I am sorry. The necessity must be obeyed, and further
apology would be absurd.

"I had not been long in H..., before I saw, in common with others, that B...
preferred your elder sister to any other young woman in the country. But it
was not till the evening of the dance at N... that I had any apprehension of
his feeling a serious attachment. I had often seen him in love before. At
that ball, while I had the honour of dancing with you, I was first made
acquainted, by Sir W... L...'s accidental information, that B...'s attentions
to your sister had given rise to a general expectation of their marriage. He
spoke of it as a certain event, of which the time alone could be undecided.
)From that moment I observed my friend's behaviour attentively; and I could
then perceive that his partiality for Miss B... was beyond what I had ever
witnessed in him. Your sister I also watched. Her look and manners were open,
cheerful, and engaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard,
and I remained convinced from the evening's scrutiny, that though she
received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by any
participation of sentiment. If YOU have not been mistaken here, I must have
been in error. Your superior knowledge of your sister must make the latter
probable. If it be so, if I have been misled by such error to inflict pain on
her, your resentment has not been unreasonable. But I shall not scruple to
assert, that the serenity of your sister's countenance and air was such as
might have given the most acute observer a conviction that, however amiable
her temper, her heart was not likely to be easily touched. That I was
desirous of believing her indifferent is certain
    • Gość: veneer Re: From which book is this letter? - a riddle IP: *.olsztyn.mm.pl 03.10.04, 16:57
      That's easy!
      J. Austin's "Pride and Prejudice"
    • andaluzja4 Re: From which book is this letter? - a riddle 03.10.04, 20:15
      Yes , of course!
      I have just read it from that website:
      www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/romance/PrideandPrejudice/Chap1.html
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