She had always loved him with uncommon tenderness,
and looked upon him as the ornament of her family; but she had
heard of his extravagances with regret, and though she considered
the stories that were circulated at his expense, as the malicious
exaggerations of his mother and her darling son, her apprehension
had been grievously alarmed by an account of his imprisonment and
distress, which had been accidentally conveyed to that country by
a gentleman from London, who had been formerly of his acquaintance;
she could not, therefore, without the most tender emotions of joy,
see him, as it were, restored to his rightful inheritance, and
re-established in that station of life which she thought he could
fill with dignity and importance.
After their mutual expressions of affection, she retired to her
mother's chamber, with a view to make a second offer of her service
and attendance, which had been already rejected with scorn since
her father's death; while Peregrine consulted his brother-in-law
about the affairs of the family, so far as they had fallen within
his cognizance and observation.
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