] I maintain my good opinion of him, and much as I doubt that I will sway those who do not like him to my side, I fear I must try.

I also persist in liking him, but I do not have a very good record when it comes to judging men's characters so I may not be such an ally!

] Then Henry admits that Frederick was just amusing himself. "If the effect of his behaviour does not justify him with you, we had better not seek after the cause." You know, I can see Henry doing this too! The way he indulges himself with Mrs. Allan, I can see him passing an evening by induging a vain coquette. I cannot see him continuing to press it for days, but I can see him begin. Perhaps he is not so different from his brother.

I love that reply - so worldly wise!! And yes, I think it is possible to see similarities of levity in both brothers' approach to the world. Perhaps because, having such a father, you learn not to take the world too seriously?

] "But we must first suppose Isabella to have had a heart to lose, -- consequently to have been a very different creature; and, in that case, she would have met with very different treatment."

And again!! And the view that he would not have behaved anything like this towards a different woman.

] Henry and Eleanor know him better, and they are both very fond of him....I trust her judgement and Henry's.

This is my strongest argument for his being as I imagine him.