Although Theresa refused to join in the confederacy with her mother,
she afterwards kept her secret. For this her motive was commendable,
although I will not determine whether she did it well or ill. Two
women, who have secrets between them, love to prattle together; this
attracted them towards each other, and Theresa, by dividing herself,
sometimes let me feet I was alone; for I could no tonger consider as a
society that which we all three formed.
I now felt the neglect I had been guilty of during the first years
of our connection, in not taking advantage of the docility with
which her love inspired her, to improve her talents and give her
knowledge, which, by more closely connecting us in our retirement
would agreeably have filled up her time and my own, without once
suffering us to perceive the length of a private conversation. Not
that this was ever exhausted between us, or that she seemed
disgusted with our walks; but we had not a sufficient number of
ideas common to both to make ourselves a great store, and we could not
incessantly talk of our future projects which were confined to those
of enjoying the pleasure of life. The objects around us inspired me
with reflections beyond the reach of her comprehension. An
attachment of twelve years' standing had no longer need of words: we
were too well acquainted with each other to have any new knowledge
to acquire in that respect. The resource of puns, jests, gossiping and
scandal, was all that remained.
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