though, except your company, there is nothing on earth gives me so much
pleasure as writing to you, yet it never gives me those giddy raptures
so much talked of among lovers. I have often thought, that if a
well-grounded affection be not really a part of virtue, 'tis something
extremely akin to it. Whenever the thought of my E. warms my heart,
every feeling of humanity, every principle of generosity, kindles in my
breast. It extinguishes every dirty spark of malice and envy, which are
but too apt to infest me. I grasp every creature in the arms of
universal benevolence, and equally participate in the pleasures of the
happy, and sympathise with the miseries of the unfortunate. I assure
you, my dear, I often look up to the Divine disposer of events with an
eye of gratitude for the blessing which I hope He intends to bestow on
me, in bestowing you. I sincerely wish that He may bless my endeavours
to make your life as comfortable and happy as possible, both in
sweetening the rougher parts of my natural temper, and bettering the
unkindly circumstances of my fortune. This, my dear, is a passion, at
least in my view, worthy of a man, and, I will add, worthy of a
Christian. The sordid earth-worm may profess love to a woman's person,
whilst, in reality, his affection is centred in her pocket; and the
slavish drudge may go a-wooing as he goes to the horse-market, to choose
one who is stout and firm, and as we say of an old horse, one who will
be a good drudge and draw kindly. I disdain their dirty, puny ideas. I
would be heartily out of humour with myself, if I thought I were capable
of having so poor a notion of the sex, which were designed to crown the
pleasures of society. Poor devils! I don't envy them their happiness who
have such notions. For my part, I propose quite other pleasures with my
dear partner.

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