Her father was walking about the room, looking grave and anxious.“Lizzy,”said he,“what are you doing?Are you out of your senses,to be accepting this man?Have not you always hated him?”
“None at all.We all know him to be a proud,unpleasant sort of man;but this would be nothing if you really liked him.”
“Lizzy,”said her father,“I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything,which he condescended to ask.I now give it to you,if you are resolved on having him. But let me advise you to think better of it.I know your disposition,Lizzy.I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable,unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior.Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage.You could scarcely escape discredit and misery. My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life.You know not what you are about.”