Had Mr. Sinclair insisted on knowing from his daughter’s lips the cause of her absence from prayers, and given a high moral proof of the affection he bore her, it is probable that the consciousness on her part of his being cognizant of her passion, would have kept it so far within bounds as to submit to the control of reason instead of ultimately subverting it.
— from Jane Sinclair; Or, The Fawn Of Springvale The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two by William Carleton