Certainly not. Sir Ulick’s acquaintance with unprincipled women misled
him completely in this instance, and deprived him of his usual power
of discriminating character. Harry Ormond was uncommonly handsome; and
though so young, had a finely-formed, manly, graceful figure; and his
manner, whenever he spoke to women, was peculiarly prepossessing. These
personal accomplishments, Sir Ulick thought, were quite sufficient to
win any lady’s heart--but Florence Annaly was not to be won by such
means: no feeling of love for Mr. Ormond had ever touched her heart, nor
even crossed her imagination; none under such circumstances could have
arisen in her innocent and well-regulated mind. Sudden terror, and
confused apprehension of evil, made her grow very pale at the sight of
his bloody apparition at the window of the ball-room. Bodily weakness,
for she was not at this time in strong health, must be her apology, if
she need any, for the faintness and loss of presence of mind, which Sir
Ulick construed into proofs of tender anxiety for the personal fate of
this young man. In the scene that followed, horror of his crime, pity
for the agony of his remorse, was what she felt--what she strongly
expressed to her mother, the moment she reached her apartment that
night: nor did her mother, who knew her thoroughly, ever for an instant
suspect that in her emotion, there was a mixture of any sentiments
but those which she expressed. Both mother and daughter were extremely
shocked. They were also struck with regret at the idea, that a
young man, in whom they had seen many instances of a generous, good
disposition, of natural qualities and talents, which might have made
him a useful, amiable, and admirable member of society, should be, thus
early, a victim to his own undisciplined passion. During the preceding
winter they had occasionally seen something of Ormond in Dublin. In the
midst of the dissipated life which he led, upon one or two occasions,
of which we cannot now stop to give an account, he had shown that he was
capable of being a very different character from that which he had
been made by bad education, bad example, and profligate indulgence, or
shameful neglect on the part of his guardian.
Immediately after Sir Ulick had left Ormond, the surgeon appeared, and
a new train of emotions arose. He had no time to reflect on Sir Ulick’s
conduct. He felt hurried on rapidly, like one in a terrible dream. He
returned with the surgeon to the wounded man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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