99

"I do not speak Sir, – she continued, out of anydisrespect to You; but I could not answer it to m1 myself to allow of his stay; there is no know::ing what might be the consequence of it, if he were to continue here, for girls nowadayswill always give a handsome young Man thepreference before any other, tho'though for why, I nevercould discover, for what after all is Youth and Beauty? Why in fact, it is nothing more than being Young & HandsomeIt and that is but apoor substitute for real worth & Merit; Beleive me Cousin that, what ever people may say to the contrary, there is certainly nothing like Virtue for making us what we ought to be,and as to a handsome young Man's, beingyoung & handsome & having an agreable pe[.]r::son2, it is nothing at all to the purpose for hehad much better be respectable. I always didthink so, and I always shall, and therefore you

Footnotes

1.
'm' erased after 'to'. Back to context...
2.
'r' written over illegible letter, possibly 'e' or 'a'. Back to context...
Image for page: 99 of manuscript: blvolthird