Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His SisterBehn, Aphra
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Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister
Behn, Aphra
Epistolary fiction, English
’.ow,’ cried he out, ‘No more _Philander_’. _Sylvia_! By heaven, I had
rather be no more _Philander_!’ And at that word, without considering
whether he were in order for a visit or not, he advancing his joyful
voice, cried out to the page, ‘Lead on, my faithful boy, lead on to
_Sylvia_.’ In vain _Brilliard_ beseeches him to put himself into a
better equipage; in vain he urges to him, the indecency of making a
visit in that posture; he thought of nothing but _Sylvia_; however he
ran after him with his hat, cloak, and comb, and as he was in the
chair dressed his hair, and suffered the page to conduct him where he
pleased: which being to _Sylvia_’., lodgings, he ran up stairs, and
into her chamber, as by instinct of love, and found her laid on her
bed, to which he made but one step from the door; and catching her in
his arms, as he kneeled upon the carpet, they both remained unable to
utter any thing but sighs: and surely _Sylvia_ never appeared more
charming; she had for a month or two lived at her ease, and had
besides all the advantage of fine dressing which she had purposely put
on, in the most tempting fashion, on purpose to engage him, or rather
to make him see how fine a creature his perfidy had lost him: she
first broke silence, and with a thousand violent reproaches, seemed as
if she would fain break from those arms, which she wished might be too
strong for her force; while he endeavours to appease her as lovers do,
protesting a thousand times that there was nothing in that history of
his amour with _Calista_, but revenge on _Octavio_, who he knew was
making an interest in her heart, contrary to all the laws of honour
and friendship, (for he had learned, by the reproaches of the Lady
Abbess, that _Calista_ was sister to _Octavio_). ‘He has had the
daring to confess to me his passion,’ said he, ‘for you, and could I
do less in revenge, than to tell him I had one for his sister? I knew
by the violent reproaches I ever met with in your letters, though they
were not plainly confessed, that he had played me foul, and discovered
my feigned intrigue to you; and even this I suffered, to see how far
you could be prevailed with against me. I knew _Octavio_ had charms of
youth and wit, and that you had too much the ascendant over him, to be
denied any secret you had a mind to draw from him; I knew your nature
too curious, and your love too inquisitive, not to press him to a
sight of my letters, which seen must incense you; and this trial I
designedly made of your faith, and as a return to _Octavio_.’ Thus he
flatters, and she believes, because she has a mind to believe; and
thus by degrees he softens the listening _Sylvia_; swears his faith
with sighs, and confirms it with his tears, which bedewed her fair
bosom, as they fell from his bright dissembling eyes; and yet so well
he dissembled, that he scarce knew himself that he did so: and such
effects it wrought on _Sylvia_, that in spite of all her honour and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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