Agreeable Then To My Present

[allegory] Is A Flight By Which The Human Wit Attempts At One And The Same Time To Investigate Two Objects, And Consequently Is Fitted Only To The Most Exalted Geniuses.

I Had Some Short Struggle In My Mind Whether I Should Resign My Lover Or My Liberty, But This Lasted Not Long. I Found Myself As Free As Air And Could Not Bear The Thought Of Putting Myself In Any Man's Power For Life Only From A Present Capricious Inclination.

Tis This Desire Of Bending All Things To Our Own Purposes Which Turns Them Into Confusion And Is The Chief Source Of Every Error In Our Lives.

I Am None Of Those Nonsensical Fools That Can Whine And Make Romantic Love--i Leave That To Younger Brothers. Let My Estate Speakfor Me.

Yet If Strict Criticism Should Till Frown On Our Method, Let Candor And Good Humor Forgive What Is Done To The Best Of Our Judgment, For The Sake Of Perspicuity In The Story And The Delight And Entertainment Of Our Candid Reader.