When these thoughts had fully taken possession of
Jones, they occasioned a perturbation in his mind,
which, in a constitution less pure and firm than his,
might have been, at such a season, attended with very
dangerous consequences. He was truly sensible
of the great worth of Sophia. He extremely liked
her person, no less admired her accomplishments, and
tenderly loved her goodness. In reality, as he
had never once entertained any thought of possessing
her, nor had ever given the least voluntary indulgence
to his inclinations, he had a much stronger passion
for her than he himself was acquainted with. His
heart now brought forth the full secret, at the same
time that it assured him the adorable object returned
his affection.
Which all who have no heart will think to contain
much ado about nothing.
The reader will perhaps imagine the sensations which
now arose in Jones to have been so sweet and delicious,
that they would rather tend to produce a chearful
serenity in the mind, than any of those dangerous
effects which we have mentioned; but in fact, sensations
of this kind, however delicious, are, at their first
recognition, of a very tumultuous nature, and have
very little of the opiate in them. They were,
moreover, in the present case, embittered with certain
circumstances, which being mixed with sweeter ingredients,
tended altogether to compose a draught that might
be termed bitter-sweet; than which, as nothing can
be more disagreeable to the palate, so nothing, in
the metaphorical sense, can be so injurious to the
mind.
For first, though he had sufficient foundation to
flatter himself in what he had observed in Sophia,
he was not yet free from doubt of misconstruing compassion,
or at best, esteem, into a warmer regard. He
was far from a sanguine assurance that Sophia had any
such affection towards him, as might promise his inclinations
that harvest, which, if they were encouraged and nursed,
they would finally grow up to require. Besides,
if he could hope to find no bar to his happiness from
the daughter, he thought himself certain of meeting
an effectual bar in the father; who, though he was
a country squire in his diversions, was perfectly
a man of the world in whatever regarded his fortune;
had the most violent affection for his only daughter,
and had often signified, in his cups, the pleasure
he proposed in seeing her married to one of the richest
men in the county. Jones was not so vain and
senseless a coxcomb as to expect, from any regard which
Western had professed for him, that he would ever
be induced to lay aside these views of advancing his
daughter. He well knew that fortune is generally
the principal, if not the sole, consideration, which
operates on the best of parents in these matters:
for friendship makes us warmly espouse the interest
of others; but it is very cold to the gratification
of their passions. Indeed, to feel the happiness
