again; he would devise some plan for restoring her to society, and the
enjoyment of her rank; their separation would then follow, as a matter of
course.

Again he thought, how during this long month, he had avoided Perdita,
flying from her as from the stings of his own conscience. But he was awake
now; all this should be remedied; and future devotion erase the memory of
this only blot on the serenity of their life. He became cheerful, as he
thought of this, and soberly and resolutely marked out the line of conduct
he would adopt. He remembered that he had promised Perdita to be present
this very evening (the 19th of October, anniversary of his election as
Protector) at a festival given in his honour. Good augury should this
festival be of the happiness of future years. First, he would look in on
Evadne; he would not stay; but he owed her some account, some compensation
for his long and unannounced absence; and then to Perdita, to the forgotten
world, to the duties of society, the splendour of rank, the enjoyment of
power.

After the scene sketched in the preceding pages, Perdita had contemplated
an entire change in the manners and conduct of Raymond. She expected
freedom of communication, and a return to those habits of affectionate
intercourse which had formed the delight of her life. But Raymond did not
join her in any of her avocations. He transacted the business of the day
apart from her; he went out, she knew not whither. The pain inflicted by
this disappointment was tormenting and keen. She looked on it as a
deceitful dream, and tried to throw off the consciousness of it; but like
the shirt of Nessus, it clung to her very flesh, and ate with sharp agony
into her vital principle. She possessed that (though such an assertion may
appear a paradox) which belongs to few, a capacity of happiness. Her
delicate organization and creative imagination rendered her peculiarly