There's Jane; but then she's pretty--really beautiful. Why, her
face is a fortune: she will of course captivate a rich man; and what
more can a father wish? As for Emily--I fear Emily, my dear,
you're rather plain than otherwise; but what, I would ask, is
beauty?--fleeting, transitory, skin-deep. The happiest marriages are
those of mutual affection--not one-sided admiration: so, on the whole,
I should say that my mind is easier about Emily than Jane. As for
Maria, she's so clever, she can't but get on. As a musician, an
artist, an authoress, what bright careers are open for her! While as
for you, stupid little Clara, who never could be taught anything--I
very much doubt whether the dunces of this world are not the very
happiest people in it--Yes, Clara; leave to others the vain and empty
distinctions of literary renown, which is but a bubble, and be happy
in the homely path of obscure but virtuous duty!'
Happy Jack ceased. There was a pause. 'And now,' he said, 'having
provided for my family, I will go to sleep, with a clear conscience
and a tranquil mind.
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