“Ah! happy they, the happiest of their kind!” who, without a struggle, submit their reason to be swathed by all the absurd bandages of custom. What, though they cripple or distort their minds; are not these deformities beauties in the eyes of fashion? and are not these people the favoured nurselings of the _World_, secure of her smiles, her caresses, her fostering praise, her partial protection, through all the dangers of youth and all the dotage of age? “Ah! happy they, the happiest of their kind!” who learn to speak, and think, and act by rote; who have a phrase, or a maxim, or a formula ready for every occasion; who follow-- “All the nurse and all the priest have taught.” And is it possible that Olivia can envy these _tideless-blooded_ souls their happiness--their apathy? Is her high spirit so broken by adversity? Not such the promise of her early years, not such the language of her unsophisticated heart! Alas! I scarcely know, I scarcely recollect, that proud self, which was wont to defy the voice of opinion, and to set at nought the decrees of prejudice. The events of my life shall be related, or rather the history of my sensations; for in a life like mine, sensations become events--a metamorphosis which you will see in every page of my history. I feel an irresistible impulse to open my whole heart to you, my dear Leonora. I ought to be awed by the superiority of your understanding and of your character; yet there is an indulgence in your nature, a softness in your temper, that dissipates fear, and irresistibly attracts confidence. You have generously refused to be prejudiced against me by busy, malignant rumour; you have resolved to judge of me for yourself. Nothing, then, shall be concealed. In such circumstances I cannot seek to extenuate any of my faults or follies. I am ready to acknowledge them all with self-humiliation more poignant than the sarcasms of my bitterest enemies. But I must pause till I have summoned courage for my confession. Dear Leonora, adieu! OLIVIA. * * * * * LETTER II. OLIVIA TO LEONORA.