THE WORKS OF HENRY FIELDING EDITED BYGEORGE SAINTSBURY IN TWELVE VOLUMESVOL. VII. AMELIAVOL. I. AMELIABYHENRY FIELDING ESQ. [Illustration] VOL. I. EDITED BY GEORGESAINTSBURY WITHILLUSTRATIONS BYHERBERT RAILTON& E. J. WHEELER. MDCCCXCIII [Illustration] CONTENTS OF VOL. I. INTRODUCTION DEDICATION TO RALPH ALLEN, ESQ BOOK I. CHAPTER I. Containing the exordium, &c. CHAPTER II. The history sets out. Observations on the excellency of the Englishconstitution and curious examinations before a justice of peace CHAPTER III. Containing the inside of a prison CHAPTER IV. Disclosing further secrets of the prison-house CHAPTER V. Containing certain adventures which befel Mr. Booth in theprison CHAPTER VI. Containing the extraordinary behaviour of Miss Matthews on hermeeting with Booth, and some endeavours to prove, by reason andauthority, that it is possible for a woman to appear to be what shereally is not CHAPTER VII. In which Miss Matthews begins her history CHAPTER VIII. The history of Miss Matthews continued CHAPTER IX. In which Miss Matthews concludes her relation CHAPTER X. Table-talk, consisting of a facetious discourse that passed inthe prison BOOK II. CHAPTER I. In which Captain Booth begins to relate his history CHAPTER II. Mr. Booth continues his story. In this chapter there are somepassages that may serve as a kind of touchstone by which a young ladymay examine the heart of her lover. I would advise, therefore, thatevery lover be obliged to read it over in the presence of hismistress, and that she carefully watch his emotions while he isreading CHAPTER III. The narrative continued. More of the touchstone CHAPTER IV. The story of Mr. Booth continued. In this chapter the reader willperceive a glimpse of the character of a very good divine, with somematters of a very tender kind CHAPTER V. Containing strange revolutions of fortune CHAPTER VI. Containing many surprising adventures CHAPTER VII. The story of Booth continued--More surprising adventures CHAPTER VIII. In which our readers will probably be divided in their opinion ofMr. Booth's conduct CHAPTER IX. Containing a scene of a different kind from any of the preceding BOOK III. CHAPTER I. In which Mr. Booth resumes his story CHAPTER II. Containing a scene of the tender kind CHAPTER III. In which Mr. Booth sets forward on his journey CHAPTER IVA sea piece CHAPTER V. The arrival of Booth at Gibraltar, with what there befel him CHAPTER VI. Containing matters which will please some readers CHAPTER VII. The captain, continuing his story, recounts some particulars which, we doubt not, to many good people, will appear unnatural CHAPTER VIII. The story of Booth continued CHAPTER IX. Containing very extraordinary matters CHAPTER X. Containing a letter of a very curious kind CHAPTER XI. In which Mr. Booth relates his return to England CHAPTER XII. In which Mr. Booth concludes his story BOOK IV. CHAPTER I. Containing very mysterious matter CHAPTER II. The latter part of which we expect will please our reader betterthan the former CHAPTER III. Containing wise observations of the author, and other matters CHAPTER IV. In which Amelia appears in no unamiable light CHAPTER V. Containing an eulogium upon innocence, and other grave matters CHAPTER VI. In which may appear that violence is sometimes done to the name oflove CHAPTER VII. Containing a very extraordinary and pleasant incident CHAPTER VIII. Containing various matters CHAPTER IX. In which Amelia, with her friend, goes to the oratorio LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIELDING'S BIRTHPLACE, SHARPHAM PARK. _Frontispiece_ SHE THEN GAVE A LOOSE TO HER PASSION THEY OPENED THE HAMPER HE SEIZED HIM BY THE COLLAR INTRODUCTION. Fielding's third great novel has been the subject of much morediscordant judgments than either of its forerunners. If we take theperiod since its appearance as covering four generations, we find thegreatest authority in the earliest, Johnson, speaking of it withsomething more nearly approaching to enthusiasm than he allowedhimself in reference to any other work of an author, to whom he was onthe whole so unjust. The greatest man of letters of the nextgeneration, Scott (whose attitude to Fielding was rather undecided, and seems to speak a mixture of intellectual admiration and moraldislike, or at least failure in sympathy), pronounces it "on the wholeunpleasing, " and regards it chiefly as a sequel to _Tom Jones_, showing what is to be expected of a libertine and thoughtless husband. But he too is enthusiastic over the heroine. Thackeray (whom in thisspecial connection at any rate it is scarcely too much to call thegreatest man of the third generation) overflows with predilection forit, but chiefly, as it would seem, because of his affection for Ameliaherself, in which he practically agrees with Scott and Johnson. Itwould be invidious, and is noways needful, to single out any critic ofour own time to place beside these great men. But it cannot be deniedthat the book, now as always, has incurred a considerable amount ofhinted fault and hesitated dislike. Even Mr. Dobson notes some thingsin it as "unsatisfactory;" Mr. Gosse, with evident consciousness oftemerity, ventures to ask whether it is not "a little dull. " The veryabsence of episodes (on the ground that Miss Matthews's story is tooclosely connected with the main action to be fairly called an episode)and of introductory dissertations has been brought against it, as thepresence of these things was brought against its forerunners. I have sometimes wondered whether _Amelia_ pays the penalty of anaudacity which, _a priori_, its most unfavourable critics wouldindignantly deny to be a fault. It begins instead of ending with themarriage-bells; and though critic after critic of novels has exhaustedhis indignation and his satire over the folly of insisting on these asa finale, I doubt whether the demand is not too deeply rooted in theEnglish, nay, in the human mind, to be safely neglected. The essenceof all romance is a quest; the quest most perennially and universallyinteresting to man is the quest of a wife or a mistress; and thechapters dealing with what comes later have an inevitable flavour oftameness, and of the day after the feast. It is not common now-a-daysto meet anybody who thinks Tommy Moore a great poet; one has toencounter either a suspicion of Philistinism or a suspicion of paradoxif one tries to vindicate for him even his due place in the poeticalhierarchy. Yet I suspect that no poet ever put into words a moreuniversal criticism of life than he did when he wrote "I saw from thebeach, " with its moral of-- "Give me back, give me back, the wild freshness of morning--Her smilesand her tears are worth evening's best light. " If we discard this fallacy boldly, and ask ourselves whether _Amelia_is or is not as good as _Joseph Andrews_ or _Tom Jones_, we shall Ithink be inclined to answer rather in the affirmative than in thenegative. It is perhaps a little more easy to find fault with itscharacters than with theirs; or rather, though no one of thesecharacters has the defects of Blifil or of Allworthy, it is easy tosay that no one of them has the charm of the best personages of theearlier books. The idolaters of Amelia would of course exclaim at thissentence as it regards that amiable lady; and I am myself by no meansdisposed to rank amiability low in the scale of things excellent inwoman. But though she is by no means what her namesake and spiritualgrand-daughter. Miss Sedley, must, I fear, be pronounced to be, anamiable fool, there is really too much of the milk of human kindness, unrefreshed and unrelieved of its mawkishness by the rum or whisky ofhuman frailty, in her. One could have better pardoned her forgivenessof her husband if she had in the first place been a little moreconscious of what there was to forgive; and in the second, a littlemore romantic in her attachment to him. As it is, he was _son homme_;he was handsome; he had broad shoulders; he had a sweet temper; he wasthe father of her children, and that was enough. At least we areallowed to see in Mr. Booth no qualities other than these, and in herno imagination even of any other qualities. To put what I mean out ofreach of cavil, compare Imogen and Amelia, and the difference will befelt. But Fielding was a prose writer, writing in London in the eighteenthcentury, while Shakespeare was a poet writing in all time and allspace, so that the comparison is luminous in more ways than one. I donot think that in the special scheme which the novelist set himselfhere he can be accused of any failure. The life is as vivid as ever;the minor sketches may be even called a little more vivid. Dr Harrisonis not perfect. I do not mean that he has ethical faults, for that isa merit, not a defect; but he is not quite perfect in art. Hisalternate persecution and patronage of Booth, though useful to thestory, repeat the earlier fault of Allworthy, and are something of ablot. But he is individually much more natural than Allworthy, andindeed is something like what Dr Johnson would have been if he hadbeen rather better bred, less crotchety, and blessed with more health. Miss Matthews in her earlier scenes has touches of greatness which athousand French novelists lavishing "candour" and reckless ofexaggeration have not equalled; and I believe that Fielding kept herat a distance during the later scenes of the story, because he couldnot trust himself not to make her more interesting than Amelia. Of thepeers, more wicked and less wicked, there is indeed not much good tobe said. The peer of the eighteenth-century writers (even when, as inFielding's case, there was no reason why they should "mention him with_Kor_, " as Policeman X. Has it) is almost always a faint type ofgoodness or wickedness dressed out with stars and ribbons and coaches-and-six. Only Swift, by combination of experience and genius, hasgiven us live lords in Lord Sparkish and Lord Smart. But Mrs. Ellisonand Mrs. Atkinson are very women, and the serjeant, though the touchof "sensibility" is on him, is excellent; and Dr Harrison's countryfriend and his prig of a son are capital; and Bondum, and "theauthor, " and Robinson, and all the minor characters, are as good asthey can be. It is, however, usual to detect a lack of vivacity in the book, anevidence of declining health and years. It may be so; it is at leastcertain that Fielding, during the composition of _Amelia, _ had muchless time to bestow upon elaborating his work than he had previouslyhad, and that his health was breaking. But are we perfectly sure thatif the chronological order had been different we should havepronounced the same verdict? Had _Amelia_ come between _Joseph_ and_Tom, _ how many of us might have committed ourselves to some suchsentence as this: "In _Amelia_ we see the youthful exuberances of_Joseph Andrews_ corrected by a higher art; the adjustment of plot andcharacter arranged with a fuller craftsmanship; the genius which wasto find its fullest exemplification in _Tom Jones_ already displayingmaturity"? And do we not too often forget that a very short time--infact, barely three years--passed between the appearance of _Tom Jones_and the appearance of _Amelia?_ that although we do not know how longthe earlier work had been in preparation, it is extremely improbablethat a man of Fielding's temperament, of his wants, of his knownhabits and history, would have kept it when once finished long in hisdesk? and that consequently between some scenes of _Tom Jones_ andsome scenes of _Amelia_ it is not improbable that there was no morethan a few months' interval? I do not urge these things in mitigationof any unfavourable judgment against the later novel. I only ask--Howmuch of that unfavourable judgment ought in justice to be set down tothe fallacies connected with an imperfect appreciation of facts? To me it is not so much a question of deciding whether I like _Amelia_less, and if so, how much less, than the others, as a question whatpart of the general conception of this great writer it supplies? I donot think that we could fully understand Fielding without it; I do notthink that we could derive the full quantity of pleasure from himwithout it. The exuberant romantic faculty of Joseph Andrews and itspleasant satire; the mighty craftsmanship and the vast science of lifeof _Tom Jones;_ the ineffable irony and logical grasp of _JonathanWild_, might have left us with a slight sense of hardness, a vaguedesire for unction, if it had not been for this completion of thepicture. We should not have known (for in the other books, with thepossible exception of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, the characters are a littletoo determinately goats and sheep) how Fielding could draw _nuances_, how he could project a mixed personage on the screen, if we had nothad Miss Matthews and Mrs. Atkinson--the last especially a figure fullof the finest strokes, and, as a rule, insufficiently done justice toby critics. And I have purposely left to the last a group of personages about whomindeed there has been little question, but who are among the triumphsof Fielding's art--the two Colonels and their connecting-link, thewife of the one and the sister of the other. Colonel Bath hasnecessarily united all suffrages. He is of course a very littlestagey; he reminds us that his author had had a long theatricalapprenticeship: he is something too much _d'une piece_. But as a studyof the brave man who is almost more braggart than brave, of thegenerous man who will sacrifice not only generosity but bare justiceto "a hogo of honour, " he is admirable, and up to his time almostunique. Ordinary writers and ordinary readers have never been quitecontent to admit that bravery and braggadocio can go together, thatthe man of honour may be a selfish pedant. People have been unwillingto tell and to hear the whole truth even about Wolfe and Nelson, whowere both favourable specimens of the type; but Fielding theinfallible saw that type in its quiddity, and knew it, and registeredit for ever. Less amusing but more delicately faithful and true are Colonel Jamesand his wife. They are both very good sort of people in a way, wholive in a lax and frivolous age, who have plenty of money, noparticular principle, no strong affection for each other, and littleindividual character. They might have been--Mrs. James to some extentis--quite estimable and harmless; but even as it is, they are not tobe wholly ill spoken of. Being what they are, Fielding has taken them, and, with a relentlessness which Swift could hardly have exceeded, anda good-nature which Swift rarely or never attained, has held them upto us as dissected preparations of half-innocent meanness, scoundrelism, and vanity, such as are hardly anywhere else to befound. I have used the word "preparations, " and it in part indicatesFielding's virtue, a virtue shown, I think, in this book as much asanywhere. But it does not fully indicate it; for the preparation, wetor dry, is a dead thing, and a museum is but a mortuary. Fielding'smen and women, once more let it be said, are all alive. The palace ofhis work is the hall, not of Eblis, but of a quite beneficentenchanter, who puts burning hearts into his subjects, not to torturethem, but only that they may light up for us their whole organisationand being. They are not in the least the worse for it, and we areinfinitely the better. [Illustration. ] [Illustration. ] DEDICATION. To RALPH ALLEN, ESQ. SIR, --The following book is sincerely designed to promote the cause ofvirtue, and to expose some of the most glaring evils, as well publicas private, which at present infest the country; though there isscarce, as I remember, a single stroke of satire aimed at any oneperson throughout the whole. The best man is the properest patron of such an attempt. This, Ibelieve, will be readily granted; nor will the public voice, I think, be more divided to whom they shall give that appellation. Should aletter, indeed, be thus inscribed, DETUR OPTIMO, there are few personswho would think it wanted any other direction. I will not trouble you with a preface concerning the work, norendeavour to obviate any criticisms which can be made on it. The good-natured reader, if his heart should be here affected, will be inclinedto pardon many faults for the pleasure he will receive from a tendersensation: and for readers of a different stamp, the more faults theycan discover, the more, I am convinced, they will be pleased. Nor will I assume the fulsome stile of common dedicators. I have nottheir usual design in this epistle, nor will I borrow their language. Long, very long may it be before a most dreadful circumstance shallmake it possible for any pen to draw a just and true character ofyourself without incurring a suspicion of flattery in the bosoms ofthe malignant. This task, therefore, I shall defer till that day (if Ishould be so unfortunate as ever to see it) when every good man shallpay a tear for the satisfaction of his curiosity; a day which, atpresent, I believe, there is but one good man in the world who canthink of it with unconcern. Accept then, sir, this small token of that love, that gratitude, andthat respect, with which I shall always esteem it my GREATEST HONOURto be, Sir, Your most obliged, and most obedient humble servant, HENRY FIELDING. _Bow Street, Dec. 2, 1751. _ [Illustration. ] AMELIA. BOOK I. Chapter i. _Containing the exordium, &c. _ The various accidents which befel a very worthy couple after theiruniting in the state of matrimony will be the subject of the followinghistory. The distresses which they waded through were some of them soexquisite, and the incidents which produced these so extraordinary, that they seemed to require not only the utmost malice, but the utmostinvention, which superstition hath ever attributed to Fortune: thoughwhether any such being interfered in the case, or, indeed, whetherthere be any such being in the universe, is a matter which I by nomeans presume to determine in the affirmative. To speak a bold truth, I am, after much mature deliberation, inclined to suspect that thepublic voice hath, in all ages, done much injustice to Fortune, andhath convicted her of many facts in which she had not the leastconcern. I question much whether we may not, by natural means, accountfor the success of knaves, the calamities of fools, with all themiseries in which men of sense sometimes involve themselves, byquitting the directions of Prudence, and following the blind guidanceof a predominant passion; in short, for all the ordinary phenomenawhich are imputed to Fortune; whom, perhaps, men accuse with no lessabsurdity in life, than a bad player complains of ill luck at the gameof chess. But if men are sometimes guilty of laying improper blame on thisimaginary being, they are altogether as apt to make her amends byascribing to her honours which she as little deserves. To retrieve theill consequences of a foolish conduct, and by struggling manfully withdistress to subdue it, is one of the noblest efforts of wisdom andvirtue. Whoever, therefore, calls such a man fortunate, is guilty ofno less impropriety in speech than he would be who should call thestatuary or the poet fortunate who carved a Venus or who writ anIliad. Life may as properly be called an art as any other; and the greatincidents in it are no more to be considered as mere accidents thanthe several members of a fine statue or a noble poem. The critics inall these are not content with seeing anything to be great withoutknowing why and how it came to be so. By examining carefully theseveral gradations which conduce to bring every model to perfection, we learn truly to know that science in which the model is formed: ashistories of this kind, therefore, may properly be called models of_human life_, so, by observing minutely the several incidents whichtend to the catastrophe or completion of the whole, and the minutecauses whence those incidents are produced, we shall best beinstructed in this most useful of all arts, which I call the _art_ of _life_. Chapter ii _The history sets out. Observations on the excellency of the Englishconstitution and curious examinations before a justice of peace. _ On the first of April, in the year ----, the watchmen of a certainparish (I know not particularly which) within the liberty ofWestminster brought several persons whom they had apprehended thepreceding night before Jonathan Thrasher, Esq. , one of the justices ofthe peace for that liberty. But here, reader, before we proceed to the trials of these offenders, we shall, after our usual manner, premise some things which it may benecessary for thee to know. It hath been observed, I think, by many, as well as the celebratedwriter of three letters, that no human institution is capable ofconsummate perfection. An observation which, perhaps, that writer atleast gathered from discovering some defects in the polity even ofthis well-regulated nation. And, indeed, if there should be any suchdefect in a constitution which my Lord Coke long ago told us "thewisdom of all the wise men in the world, if they had all met togetherat one time, could not have equalled, " which some of our wisest menwho were met together long before said was too good to be altered inany particular, and which, nevertheless, hath been mending ever since, by a very great number of the said wise men: if, I say, thisconstitution should be imperfect, we may be allowed, I think, to doubtwhether any such faultless model can be found among the institutionsof men. It will probably be objected, that the small imperfections which I amabout to produce do not lie in the laws themselves, but in the illexecution of them; but, with submission, this appears to me to be noless an absurdity than to say of any machine that it is excellentlymade, though incapable of performing its functions. Good laws shouldexecute themselves in a well-regulated state; at least, if the samelegislature which provides the laws doth not provide for the executionof them, they act as Graham would do, if he should form all the partsof a clock in the most exquisite manner, yet put them so together thatthe clock could not go. In this case, surely, we might say that therewas a small defect in the constitution of the clock. To say the truth, Graham would soon see the fault, and would easilyremedy it. The fault, indeed, could be no other than that the partswere improperly disposed. Perhaps, reader, I have another illustration which will set myintention in still a clearer light before you. Figure to yourself thena family, the master of which should dispose of the several economicaloffices in the following manner; viz. Should put his butler in thecoach-box, his steward behind his coach, his coachman in the butlery, and his footman in the stewardship, and in the same ridiculous mannershould misemploy the talents of every other servant; it is easy to seewhat a figure such a family must make in the world. As ridiculous as this may seem, I have often considered some of thelower officers in our civil government to be disposed in this verymanner. To begin, I think, as low as I well can, with the watchmen inour metropolis, who, being to guard our streets by night from thievesand robbers, an office which at least requires strength of body, arechosen out of those poor old decrepit people who are, from their wantof bodily strength, rendered incapable of getting a livelihood bywork. These men, armed only with a pole, which some of them are scarceable to lift, are to secure the persons and houses of his majesty'ssubjects from the attacks of gangs of young, bold, stout, desperate, and well-armed villains. Quae non viribus istis Munera conveniunt. If the poor old fellows should run away from such enemies, no one Ithink can wonder, unless it be that they were able to make theirescape. The higher we proceed among our public officers and magistrates, theless defects of this kind will, perhaps, be observable. Mr. Thrasher, however, the justice before whom the prisoners above mentioned werenow brought, had some few imperfections in his magistratical capacity. I own, I have been sometimes inclined to think that this office of ajustice of peace requires some knowledge of the law: for this simplereason; because, in every case which comes before him, he is to judgeand act according to law. Again, as these laws are contained in agreat variety of books, the statutes which relate to the office of ajustice of peace making of themselves at least two large volumes infolio; and that part of his jurisdiction which is founded on thecommon law being dispersed in above a hundred volumes, I cannotconceive how this knowledge should by acquired without reading; andyet certain it is, Mr. Thrasher never read one syllable of the matter. This, perhaps, was a defect; but this was not all: for where mereignorance is to decide a point between two litigants, it will alwaysbe an even chance whether it decides right or wrong: but sorry am I tosay, right was often in a much worse situation than this, and wronghath often had five hundred to one on his side before that magistrate;who, if he was ignorant of the law of England, was yet well versed inthe laws of nature. He perfectly well understood that fundamentalprinciple so strongly laid down in the institutes of the learnedRochefoucault, by which the duty of self-love is so strongly enforced, and every man is taught to consider himself as the centre of gravity, and to attract all things thither. To speak the truth plainly, thejustice was never indifferent in a cause but when he could get nothingon either side. Such was the justice to whose tremendous bar Mr. Gotobed theconstable, on the day above mentioned, brought several delinquents, who, as we have said, had been apprehended by the watch for diverseoutrages. The first who came upon his trial was as bloody a spectre as ever theimagination of a murderer or a tragic poet conceived. This poor wretchwas charged with a battery by a much stouter man than himself; indeedthe accused person bore about him some evidence that he had been in anaffray, his cloaths being very bloody, but certain open sluices on hisown head sufficiently shewed whence all the scarlet stream had issued:whereas the accuser had not the least mark or appearance of any wound. The justice asked the defendant, What he meant by breaking the king'speace?----To which he answered----"Upon my shoul I do love the kingvery well, and I have not been after breaking anything of his that Ido know; but upon my shoul this man hath brake my head, and my headdid brake his stick; that is all, gra. " He then offered to produceseveral witnesses against this improbable accusation; but the justicepresently interrupted him, saying, "Sirrah, your tongue betrays yourguilt. You are an Irishman, and that is always sufficient evidencewith me. " The second criminal was a poor woman, who was taken up by the watch asa street-walker. It was alleged against her that she was found walkingthe streets after twelve o'clock, and the watchman declared hebelieved her to be a common strumpet. She pleaded in her defence (aswas really the truth) that she was a servant, and was sent by hermistress, who was a little shopkeeper and upon the point of delivery, to fetch a midwife; which she offered to prove by several of theneighbours, if she was allowed to send for them. The justice asked herwhy she had not done it before? to which she answered, she had nomoney, and could get no messenger. The justice then called her severalscurrilous names, and, declaring she was guilty within the statute ofstreet-walking, ordered her to Bridewell for a month. A genteel young man and woman were then set forward, and a very grave-looking person swore he caught them in a situation which we cannot asparticularly describe here as he did before the magistrate; who, having received a wink from his clerk, declared with much warmth thatthe fact was incredible and impossible. He presently discharged theaccused parties, and was going, without any evidence, to commit theaccuser for perjury; but this the clerk dissuaded him from, saying hedoubted whether a justice of peace had any such power. The justice atfirst differed in opinion, and said, "He had seen a man stand in thepillory about perjury; nay, he had known a man in gaol for it too; andhow came he there if he was not committed thither?" "Why, that istrue, sir, " answered the clerk; "and yet I have been told by a verygreat lawyer that a man cannot be committed for perjury before he isindicted; and the reason is, I believe, because it is not against thepeace before the indictment makes it so. " "Why, that may be, " criesthe justice, "and indeed perjury is but scandalous words, and I know aman cannot have no warrant for those, unless you put for rioting[Footnote: _Opus est interprete. _ By the laws of England abusive wordsare not punishable by the magistrate; some commissioners of the peace, therefore, when one scold hath applied to them for a warrant againstanother, from a too eager desire of doing justice, have construed alittle harmless scolding into a riot, which is in law an outrageousbreach of the peace committed by several persons, by three at theleast, nor can a less number be convicted of it. Under this wordrioting, or riotting (for I have seen it spelt both ways), manythousands of old women have been arrested and put to expense, sometimes in prison, for a little intemperate use of their tongues. This practice began to decrease in the year 1749. ] them into thewarrant. " The witness was now about to be discharged, when the lady whom he hadaccused declared she would swear the peace against him, for that hehad called her a whore several times. "Oho! you will swear the peace, madam, will you?" cries the justice: "Give her the peace, presently;and pray, Mr. Constable, secure the prisoner, now we have him, while awarrant is made to take him up. " All which was immediately performed, and the poor witness, for want of securities, was sent to prison. A young fellow, whose name was Booth, was now charged with beating thewatchman in the execution of his office and breaking his lanthorn. This was deposed by two witnesses; and the shattered remains of abroken lanthorn, which had been long preserved for the sake of itstestimony, were produced to corroborate the evidence. The justice, perceiving the criminal to be but shabbily drest, was going to commithim without asking any further questions. At length, however, at theearnest request of the accused, the worthy magistrate submitted tohear his defence. The young man then alledged, as was in reality thecase, "That as he was walking home to his lodging he saw two men inthe street cruelly beating a third, upon which he had stopt andendeavoured to assist the person who was so unequally attacked; thatthe watch came up during the affray, and took them all four intocustody; that they were immediately carried to the round-house, wherethe two original assailants, who appeared to be men of fortune, foundmeans to make up the matter, and were discharged by the constable, afavour which he himself, having no money in his pocket, was unable toobtain. He utterly denied having assaulted any of the watchmen, andsolemnly declared that he was offered his liberty at the price of halfa crown. " Though the bare word of an offender can never be taken against theoath of his accuser, yet the matter of this defence was so pertinent, and delivered with such an air of truth and sincerity, that, had themagistrate been endued with much sagacity, or had he been verymoderately gifted with another quality very necessary to all who areto administer justice, he would have employed some labour in cross-examining the watchmen; at least he would have given the defendant thetime he desired to send for the other persons who were present at theaffray; neither of which he did. In short, the magistrate had toogreat an honour for truth to suspect that she ever appeared in sordidapparel; nor did he ever sully his sublime notions of that virtue byuniting them with the mean ideas of poverty and distress. There remained now only one prisoner, and that was the poor manhimself in whose defence the last-mentioned culprit was engaged. Histrial took but a very short time. A cause of battery and brokenlanthorn was instituted against him, and proved in the same manner;nor would the justice hear one word in defence; but, though hispatience was exhausted, his breath was not; for against this lastwretch he poured forth a great many volleys of menaces and abuse. The delinquents were then all dispatched to prison under a guard ofwatchmen, and the justice and the constable adjourned to aneighbouring alehouse to take their morning repast. Chapter iii. _Containing the inside of a prison. _ Mr. Booth (for we shall not trouble you with the rest) was no soonerarrived in the prison than a number of persons gathered round him, alldemanding garnish; to which Mr. Booth not making a ready answer, asindeed he did not understand the word, some were going to lay hold ofhim, when a person of apparent dignity came up and insisted that noone should affront the gentleman. This person then, who was no lessthan the master or keeper of the prison, turning towards Mr. Booth, acquainted him that it was the custom of the place for every prisonerupon his first arrival there to give something to the former prisonersto make them drink. This, he said, was what they call garnish, andconcluded with advising his new customer to draw his purse upon thepresent occasion. Mr. Booth answered that he would very readily complywith this laudable custom, was it in his power; but that in reality hehad not a shilling in his pocket, and, what was worse, he had not ashilling in the world. --"Oho! if that be the case, " cries the keeper, "it is another matter, and I have nothing to say. " Upon which heimmediately departed, and left poor Booth to the mercy of hiscompanions, who without loss of time applied themselves to uncasing, as they termed it, and with such dexterity, that his coat was not onlystript off, but out of sight in a minute. Mr. Booth was too weak to resist and too wise to complain of thisusage. As soon, therefore, as he was at liberty, and declared free ofthe place, he summoned his philosophy, of which he had noinconsiderable share, to his assistance, and resolved to make himselfas easy as possible under his present circumstances. Could his own thoughts indeed have suffered him a moment to forgetwhere he was, the dispositions of the other prisoners might haveinduced him to believe that he had been in a happier place: for muchthe greater part of his fellow-sufferers, instead of wailing andrepining at their condition, were laughing, singing, and divertingthemselves with various kinds of sports and gambols. The first person v/ho accosted him was called Blear-eyed Moll, a womanof no very comely appearance. Her eye (for she had but one), whenceshe derived her nickname, was such as that nickname bespoke; besideswhich, it had two remarkable qualities; for first, as if Nature hadbeen careful to provide for her own defect, it constantly lookedtowards her blind side; and secondly, the ball consisted almostentirely of white, or rather yellow, with a little grey spot in thecorner, so small that it was scarce discernible. Nose she had none;for Venus, envious perhaps at her former charms, had carried off thegristly part; and some earthly damsel, perhaps, from the same envy, had levelled the bone with the rest of her face: indeed it was farbeneath the bones of her cheeks, which rose proportionally higher thanis usual. About half a dozen ebony teeth fortified that large and longcanal which nature had cut from ear to ear, at the bottom of which wasa chin preposterously short, nature having turned up the bottom, instead of suffering it to grow to its due length. Her body was well adapted to her face; she measured full as much roundthe middle as from head to foot; for, besides the extreme breadth ofher back, her vast breasts had long since forsaken their native home, and had settled themselves a little below the girdle. I wish certain actresses on the stage, when they are to performcharacters of no amiable cast, would study to dress themselves withthe propriety with which Blear-eyed Moll was now arrayed. For the sakeof our squeamish reader, we shall not descend to particulars; let itsuffice to say, nothing more ragged or more dirty was ever emptied outof the round-house at St Giles's. We have taken the more pains to describe this person, for tworemarkable reasons; the one is, that this unlovely creature was takenin the fact with a very pretty young fellow; the other, which is moreproductive of moral lesson, is, that however wretched her fortune mayappear to the reader, she was one of the merriest persons in the wholeprison. Blear-eyed Moll then came up to Mr. Booth with a smile, or rathergrin, on her countenance, and asked him for a dram of gin; and whenBooth assured her that he had not a penny of money, she replied--"D--nyour eyes, I thought by your look you had been a clever fellow, andupon the snaffling lay [Footnote: A cant term for robbery on thehighway] at least; but, d--n your body and eyes, I find you are somesneaking budge [Footnote: Another cant term for pilfering] rascal. " Shethen launched forth a volley of dreadful oaths, interlarded with somelanguage not proper to be repeated here, and was going to lay hold onpoor Booth, when a tall prisoner, who had been very earnestly eyingBooth for some time, came up, and, taking her by the shoulder, flungher off at some distance, cursing her for a b--h, and bidding her letthe gentleman alone. This person was not himself of the most inviting aspect. He was long-visaged, and pale, with a red beard of above a fortnight's growth. Hewas attired in a brownish-black coat, which would have shewed moreholes than it did, had not the linen, which appeared through it, beenentirely of the same colour with the cloth. This gentleman, whose name was Robinson, addressed himself verycivilly to Mr. Booth, and told him he was sorry to see one of hisappearance in that place: "For as to your being without your coat, sir, " says he, "I can easily account for that; and, indeed, dress isthe least part which distinguishes a gentleman. " At which words hecast a significant look on his own coat, as if he desired they shouldbe applied to himself. He then proceeded in the following manner: "I perceive, sir, you are but just arrived in this dismal place, whichis, indeed, rendered more detestable by the wretches who inhabit itthan by any other circumstance; but even these a wise man will soonbring himself to bear with indifference; for what is, is; and whatmust be, must be. The knowledge of this, which, simple as it appears, is in truth the heighth of all philosophy, renders a wise man superiorto every evil which can befall him. I hope, sir, no very dreadfulaccident is the cause of your coming hither; but, whatever it was, youmay be assured it could not be otherwise; for all things happen by aninevitable fatality; and a man can no more resist the impulse of fatethan a wheelbarrow can the force of its driver. " Besides the obligation which Mr. Robinson had conferred on Mr. Boothin delivering him from the insults of Blear-eyed Moll, there wassomething in the manner of Robinson which, notwithstanding themeanness of his dress, seemed to distinguish him from the crowd ofwretches who swarmed in those regions; and, above all, the sentimentswhich he had just declared very nearly coincided with those of Mr. Booth: this gentleman was what they call a freethinker; that is tosay, a deist, or, perhaps, an atheist; for, though he did notabsolutely deny the existence of a God, yet he entirely denied hisprovidence. A doctrine which, if it is not downright atheism, hath adirect tendency towards it; and, as Dr Clarke observes, may soon bedriven into it. And as to Mr. Booth, though he was in his heart anextreme well-wisher to religion (for he was an honest man), yet hisnotions of it were very slight and uncertain. To say truth, he was inthe wavering condition so finely described by Claudian: labefacta cadelat Religio, causaeque--viam non sponte sequebar Alterius; vacua quae currere semina motu Affirmat; magnumque novas fer inane figures Fortuna, non arte, regi; quae numina sensu Ambiguo, vel nulla futat, vel nescia nostri. This way of thinking, or rather of doubting, he had contracted fromthe same reasons which Claudian assigns, and which had induced Brutusin his latter days to doubt the existence of that virtue which he hadall his life cultivated. In short, poor Booth imagined that a largershare of misfortunes had fallen to his lot than he had merited; andthis led him, who (though a good classical scholar) was not deeplylearned in religious matters, into a disadvantageous opinion ofProvidence. A dangerous way of reasoning, in which our conclusions arenot only too hasty, from an imperfect view of things, but we arelikewise liable to much error from partiality to ourselves; viewingour virtues and vices as through a perspective, in which we turn theglass always to our own advantage, so as to diminish the one, and asgreatly to magnify the other. From the above reasons, it can be no wonder that Mr. Booth did notdecline the acquaintance of this person, in a place which could notpromise to afford him any better. He answered him, therefore, withgreat courtesy, as indeed he was of a very good and gentledisposition, and, after expressing a civil surprize at meeting himthere, declared himself to be of the same opinion with regard to thenecessity of human actions; adding, however, that he did not believemen were under any blind impulse or direction of fate, but that everyman acted merely from the force of that passion which was uppermost inhis mind, and could do no otherwise. A discourse now ensued between the two gentlemen on the necessityarising from the impulse of fate, and the necessity arising from theimpulse of passion, which, as it will make a pretty pamphlet ofitself, we shall reserve for some future opportunity. When this wasended they set forward to survey the gaol and the prisoners, with theseveral cases of whom Mr. Robinson, who had been some time underconfinement, undertook to make Mr. Booth acquainted. Chapter iv. _Disclosing further secrets of the prison-house. _ The first persons whom they passed by were three men in fetters, whowere enjoying themselves very merrily over a bottle of wine and a pipeof tobacco. These, Mr. Robinson informed his friend, were threestreet-robbers, and were all certain of being hanged the ensuingsessions. So inconsiderable an object, said he, is misery to lightminds, when it is at any distance. A little farther they beheld a man prostrate on the ground, whoseheavy groans and frantic actions plainly indicated the highestdisorder of mind. This person was, it seems, committed for a smallfelony; and his wife, who then lay-in, upon hearing the news, hadthrown herself from a window two pair of stairs high, by which meanshe had, in all probability, lost both her and his child. A very pretty girl then advanced towards them, whose beauty Mr. Boothcould not help admiring the moment he saw her; declaring, at the sametime, he thought she had great innocence in her countenance. Robinsonsaid she was committed thither as an idle and disorderly person, and acommon street-walker. As she past by Mr. Booth, she damned his eyes, and discharged a volley of words, every one of which was too indecentto be repeated. They now beheld a little creature sitting by herself in a corner, andcrying bitterly. This girl, Mr. Robinson said, was committed becauseher father-in-law, who was in the grenadier guards, had sworn that hewas afraid of his life, or of some bodily harm which she would do him, and she could get no sureties for keeping the peace; for which reasonjustice Thrasher had committed her to prison. A great noise now arose, occasioned by the prisoners all flocking tosee a fellow whipt for petty larceny, to which he was condemned by thecourt of quarter-sessions; but this soon ended in the disappointmentof the spectators; for the fellow, after being stript, having advancedanother sixpence, was discharged untouched. This was immediately followed by another bustle; Blear-eyed Moll, andseveral of her companions, having got possession of a man who wascommitted for certain odious unmanlike practices, not fit to be named, were giving him various kinds of discipline, and would probably haveput an end to him, had he not been rescued out of their hands byauthority. When this bustle was a little allayed, Mr. Booth took notice of ayoung woman in rags sitting on the ground, and supporting the head ofan old man in her lap, who appeared to be giving up the ghost. These, Mr. Robinson informed him, were father and daughter; that the latterwas committed for stealing a loaf, in order to support the former, andthe former for receiving it, knowing it to be stolen. A well-drest man then walked surlily by them, whom Mr. Robinsonreported to have been committed on an indictment found against him fora most horrid perjury; but, says he, we expect him to be bailed today. "Good Heaven!" cries Booth, "can such villains find bail, and is noperson charitable enough to bail that poor father and daughter?" "Oh!sir, " answered Robinson, "the offence of the daughter, being felony, is held not to be bailable in law; whereas perjury is a misdemeanoronly; and therefore persons who are even indicted for it are, nevertheless, capable of being bailed. Nay, of all perjuries, that ofwhich this man is indicted is the worst; for it was with an intentionof taking away the life of an innocent person by form of law. As toperjuries in civil matters, they are not so very criminal. " "They arenot, " said Booth; "and yet even these are a most flagitious offence, and worthy the highest punishment. " "Surely they ought to bedistinguished, " answered Robinson, "from the others: for what istaking away a little property from a man, compared to taking away hislife and his reputation, and ruining his family into the bargain?--Ihope there can be no comparison in the crimes, and I think there oughtto be none in the punishment. However, at present, the punishment ofall perjury is only pillory and transportation for seven years; and, as it is a traversable and bailable offence, methods are found toescape any punishment at all. "[Footnote: By removing the indictment by_certiorari_ into the King's Bench, the trial is so long postponed, and the costs are so highly encreased, that prosecutors are oftentired out, and some incapacitated from pursuing. _Verbum sapienti. _] Booth exprest great astonishment at this, when his attention wassuddenly diverted by the most miserable object that he had yet seen. This was a wretch almost naked, and who bore in his countenance, joined to an appearance of honesty, the marks of poverty, hunger, anddisease. He had, moreover, a wooden leg, and two or three scars on hisforehead. "The case of this poor man is, indeed, unhappy enough, " saidRobinson. "He hath served his country, lost his limb, and receivedseveral wounds at the siege of Gibraltar. When he was discharged fromthe hospital abroad he came over to get into that of Chelsea, butcould not immediately, as none of his officers were then in England. In the mean time, he was one day apprehended and committed hither onsuspicion of stealing three herrings from a fishmonger. He was triedseveral months ago for this offence, and acquitted; indeed, hisinnocence manifestly appeared at the trial; but he was brought backagain for his fees, and here he hath lain ever since. " Booth exprest great horror at this account, and declared, if he hadonly so much money in his pocket, he would pay his fees for him; butadded that he was not possessed of a single farthing in the world. Robinson hesitated a moment, and then said, with a smile, "I am goingto make you, sir, a very odd proposal after your last declaration; butwhat say you to a game at cards? it will serve to pass a tedious hour, and may divert your thoughts from more unpleasant speculations. " I do not imagine Booth would have agreed to this; for, though somelove of gaming had been formerly amongst his faults, yet he was not soegregiously addicted to that vice as to be tempted by the shabbyplight of Robinson, who had, if I may so express myself, no charms fora gamester. If he had, however, any such inclinations, he had noopportunity to follow them, for, before he could make any answer toRobinson's proposal, a strapping wench came up to Booth, and, takinghold of his arm, asked him to walk aside with her; saying, "What apox, are you such a fresh cull that you do not know this fellow? why, he is a gambler, and committed for cheating at play. There is not sucha pickpocket in the whole quad. "[Footnote: A cant word for a prison. ] A scene of altercation now ensued between Robinson and the lady, whichended in a bout at fisticuffs, in which the lady was greatly superiorto the philosopher. While the two combatants were engaged, a grave-looking man, ratherbetter drest than the majority of the company, came up to Mr. Booth, and, taking him aside, said, "I am sorry, sir, to see a gentleman, asyou appear to be, in such intimacy with that rascal, who makes noscruple of disowning all revealed religion. As for crimes, they arehuman errors, and signify but little; nay, perhaps the worse a man isby nature, the more room there is for grace. The spirit is active, andloves best to inhabit those minds where it may meet with the mostwork. Whatever your crime be, therefore I would not have you despair, but rather rejoice at it; for perhaps it may be the means of yourbeing called. " He ran on for a considerable time with this cant, without waiting for an answer, and ended in declaring himself amethodist. Just as the methodist had finished his discourse, a beautiful youngwoman was ushered into the gaol. She was genteel and well drest, anddid not in the least resemble those females whom Mr. Booth hadhitherto seen. The constable had no sooner delivered her at the gatethan she asked with a commanding voice for the keeper; and, when hearrived, she said to him, "Well, sir, whither am I to be conducted? Ihope I am not to take up my lodging with these creatures. " The keeperanswered, with a kind of surly respect, "Madam, we have rooms forthose who can afford to pay for them. " At these words she pulled ahandsome purse from her pocket, in which many guineas chinked, saying, with an air of indignation, "That she was not come thither on accountof poverty. " The keeper no sooner viewed the purse than his featuresbecame all softened in an instant; and, with all the courtesy of whichhe was master, he desired the lady to walk with him, assuring her thatshe should have the best apartment in his house. Mr. Booth was now left alone; for the methodist had forsaken him, having, as the phrase of the sect is, searched him to the bottom. Infact, he had thoroughly examined every one of Mr. Booth's pockets;from which he had conveyed away a penknife and an iron snuff-box, these being all the moveables which were to be found. Booth was standing near the gate of the prison when the young ladyabove mentioned was introduced into the yard. He viewed her featuresvery attentively, and was persuaded that he knew her. She was indeedso remarkably handsome, that it was hardly possible for any who hadever seen her to forget her. He enquired of one of the underkeepers ifthe name of the prisoner lately arrived was not Matthews; to which hewas answered that her name was not Matthews but Vincent, and that shewas committed for murder. The latter part of this information made Mr. Booth suspect his memorymore than the former; for it was very possible that she might havechanged her name; but he hardly thought she could so far have changedher nature as to be guilty of a crime so very incongruous with herformer gentle manners: for Miss Matthews had both the birth andeducation of a gentlewoman. He concluded, therefore, that he wascertainly mistaken, and rested satisfied without any further enquiry. Chapter v. _Containing certain adventures which befel Mr. Booth in the prison. _ The remainder of the day Mr. Booth spent in melancholy contemplationon his present condition. He was destitute of the common necessariesof life, and consequently unable to subsist where he was; nor wasthere a single person in town to whom he could, with any reasonablehope, apply for his delivery. Grief for some time banished thethoughts of food from his mind; but in the morning nature began togrow uneasy for want of her usual nourishment: for he had not eat amorsel during the last forty hours. A penny loaf, which is, it seems, the ordinary allowance to the prisoners in Bridewell, was nowdelivered him; and while he was eating this a man brought him a littlepacket sealed up, informing him that it came by a messenger, who saidit required no answer. Mr. Booth now opened his packet, and, after unfolding several piecesof blank paper successively, at last discovered a guinea, wrapt withgreat care in the inmost paper. He was vastly surprized at this sight, as he had few if any friends from whom he could expect such a favour, slight as it was; and not one of his friends, as he was apprized, knewof his confinement. As there was no direction to the packet, nor aword of writing contained in it, he began to suspect that it wasdelivered to the wrong person; and being one of the most untaintedhonesty, he found out the man who gave it him, and again examined himconcerning the person who brought it, and the message delivered withit. The man assured Booth that he had made no mistake; saying, "Ifyour name is Booth, sir, I am positive you are the gentleman to whomthe parcel I gave you belongs. " The most scrupulous honesty would, perhaps, in such a situation, havebeen well enough satisfied in finding no owner for the guinea;especially when proclamation had been made in the prison that Mr. Booth had received a packet without any direction, to which, if anyperson had any claim, and would discover the contents, he was ready todeliver it to such claimant. No such claimant being found (I mean nonewho knew the contents; for many swore that they expected just such apacket, and believed it to be their property), Mr. Booth very calmlyresolved to apply the money to his own use. The first thing after redemption of the coat, which Mr. Booth, hungryas he was, thought of, was to supply himself with snuff, which he hadlong, to his great sorrow, been without. On this occasion he presentlymissed that iron box which the methodist had so dexterously conveyedout of his pocket, as we mentioned in the last chapter. He no sooner missed this box than he immediately suspected that thegambler was the person who had stolen it; nay, so well was he assuredof this man's guilt, that it may, perhaps, be improper to say hebarely suspected it. Though Mr. Booth was, as we have hinted, a man ofa very sweet disposition, yet was he rather overwarm. Having, therefore, no doubt concerning the person of the thief, he eagerlysought him out, and very bluntly charged him with the fact. The gambler, whom I think we should now call the philosopher, receivedthis charge without the least visible emotion either of mind ormuscle. After a short pause of a few moments, he answered, with greatsolemnity, as follows: "Young man, I am entirely unconcerned at yourgroundless suspicion. He that censures a stranger, as I am to you, without any cause, makes a worse compliment to himself than to thestranger. You know yourself, friend; you know not me. It is true, indeed, you heard me accused of being a cheat and a gamester; but whois my accuser? Look at my apparel, friend; do thieves and gamesterswear such cloaths as these? play is my folly, not my vice; it is myimpulse, and I have been a martyr to it. Would a gamester have askedanother to play when he could have lost eighteen-pence and wonnothing? However, if you are not satisfied, you may search my pockets;the outside of all but one will serve your turn, and in that one thereis the eighteen-pence I told you of. " He then turned up his cloaths;and his pockets entirely resembled the pitchers of the Belides. Booth was a little staggered at this defence. He said the real valueof the iron box was too inconsiderable to mention; but that he had acapricious value for it, for the sake of the person who gave it him;"for, though it is not, " said he, "worth sixpence, I would willinglygive a crown to any one who would bring it me again. " Robinson answered, "If that be the case, you have nothing more to dobut to signify your intention in the prison, and I am well convincedyou will not be long without regaining the possession of your snuff-box. " This advice was immediately followed, and with success, the methodistpresently producing the box, which, he said, he had found, and shouldhave returned it before, had he known the person to whom it belonged;adding, with uplifted eyes, that the spirit would not suffer himknowingly to detain the goods of another, however inconsiderable thevalue was. "Why so, friend?" said Robinson. "Have I not heard youoften say, the wickeder any man was the better, provided he was whatyou call a believer?" "You mistake me, " cries Cooper (for that was thename of the methodist): "no man can be wicked after he is possessed bythe spirit. There is a wide difference between the days of sin and thedays of grace. I have been a sinner myself. " "I believe thee, " criesRobinson, with a sneer. "I care not, " answered the other, "what anatheist believes. I suppose you would insinuate that I stole thesnuff-box; but I value not your malice; the Lord knows my innocence. "He then walked off with the reward; and Booth, turning to Robinson, very earnestly asked pardon for his groundless suspicion; which theother, without any hesitation, accorded him, saying, "You neveraccused me, sir; you suspected some gambler, with whose character Ihave no concern. I should be angry with a friend or acquaintance whoshould give a hasty credit to any allegation against me; but I have noreason to be offended with you for believing what the woman, and therascal who is just gone, and who is committed here for a pickpocket, which you did not perhaps know, told you to my disadvantage. And ifyou thought me to be a gambler you had just reason to suspect any illof me; for I myself am confined here by the perjury of one of thosevillains, who, having cheated me of my money at play, and hearing thatI intended to apply to a magistrate against him, himself began theattack, and obtained a warrant against me of Justice Thrasher, who, without hearing one speech in my defence, committed me to this place. " Booth testified great compassion at this account; and, he havinginvited Robinson to dinner, they spent that day together. In theafternoon Booth indulged his friend with a game at cards; at first forhalfpence and afterwards for shillings, when fortune so favouredRobinson that he did not leave the other a single shilling in hispocket. A surprizing run of luck in a gamester is often mistaken for somewhatelse by persons who are not over-zealous believers in the divinity offortune. I have known a stranger at Bath, who hath happenedfortunately (I might almost say unfortunately) to have four by honoursin his hand almost every time he dealt for a whole evening, shunneduniversally by the whole company the next day. And certain it is, thatMr. Booth, though of a temper very little inclined to suspicion, beganto waver in his opinion whether the character given by Mr. Robinson ofhimself, or that which the others gave of him, was the truer. In the morning hunger paid him a second visit, and found him again inthe same situation as before. After some deliberation, therefore, heresolved to ask Robinson to lend him a shilling or two of that moneywhich was lately his own. And this experiments he thought, wouldconfirm him either in a good or evil opinion of that gentleman. To this demand Robinson answered, with great alacrity, that he shouldvery gladly have complied, had not fortune played one of her jadetricks with him: "for since my winning of you, " said he, "I have beenstript not only of your money but my own. " He was going to haranguefarther; but Booth, with great indignation, turned from him. This poor gentleman had very little time to reflect on his own misery, or the rascality, as it appeared to him, of the other, when the sameperson who had the day before delivered him the guinea from theunknown hand, again accosted him, and told him a lady in the house (sohe expressed himself) desired the favour of his company. Mr. Booth immediately obeyed the message, and was conducted into aroom in the prison, where he was presently convinced that Mrs. Vincentwas no other than his old acquaintance Miss Matthews. Chapter vi _Containing the extraordinary behaviour of Miss Matthews on hermeeting with Booth, and some endeavours to prove, by reason andauthority, that it is possible for a woman to appear to be what shereally is not. _ Eight or nine years had past since any interview between Mr. Booth andMiss Matthews; and their meeting now in so extraordinary a placeaffected both of them with an equal surprize. After some immaterial ceremonies, the lady acquainted Mr. Booth that, having heard there was a person in the prison who knew her by the nameof Matthews, she had great curiosity to inquire who he was, whereuponhe had been shewn to her from the window of the house; that sheimmediately recollected him, and, being informed of his distressfulsituation, for which she expressed great concern, she had sent himthat guinea which he had received the day before; and then proceededto excuse herself for not having desired to see him at that time, whenshe was under the greatest disorder and hurry of spirits. Booth made many handsome acknowledgments of her favour; and added thathe very little wondered at the disorder of her spirits, concludingthat he was heartily concerned at seeing her there; "but I hope, madam, " said he-- Here he hesitated; upon which, bursting into an agony of tears, shecried out, "O captain! captain! many extraordinary things have passedsince last I saw you. O gracious heaven! did I ever expect that thiswould be the next place of our meeting?" She then flung herself into her chair, where she gave a loose to herpassion, whilst he, in the most affectionate and tender manner, endeavoured to soothe and comfort her; but passion itself did probablymore for its own relief than all his friendly consolations. Havingvented this in a large flood of tears, she became pretty wellcomposed; but Booth unhappily mentioning her father, she againrelapsed into an agony, and cried out, "Why? why will you repeat thename of that dear man? I have disgraced him, Mr. Booth, I am unworthythe name of his daughter. "--Here passion again stopped her words, anddischarged itself in tears. After this second vent of sorrow or shame, or, if the reader pleases, of rage, she once more recovered from her agonies. To say the truth, these are, I believe, as critical discharges of nature as any of thosewhich are so called by the physicians, and do more effectually relievethe mind than any remedies with which the whole materia medica ofphilosophy can supply it. When Mrs. Vincent had recovered her faculties, she perceived Boothstanding silent, with a mixture of concern and astonishment in hiscountenance; then addressing herself to him with an air of mostbewitching softness, of which she was a perfect mistress, she said, "Ido not wonder at your amazement, Captain Booth, nor indeed at theconcern which you so plainly discover for me; for I well know thegoodness of your nature: but, O, Mr. Booth! believe me, when you knowwhat hath happened since our last meeting, your concern will beraised, however your astonishment may cease. O, sir! you are astranger to the cause of my sorrows. " "I hope I am, madam, " answered he; "for I cannot believe what I haveheard in the prison--surely murder"--at which words she started fromher chair, repeating, "Murder! oh! it is music in my ears!--You haveheard then the cause of my commitment, my glory, my delight, myreparation! Yes, my old friend, this is the hand, this is the arm thatdrove the penknife to his heart. Unkind fortune, that not one drop ofhis blood reached my hand. --Indeed, sir, I would never have washed itfrom it. --But, though I have not the happiness to see it on my hand, Ihave the glorious satisfaction of remembering I saw it run in riverson the floor; I saw it forsake his cheeks, I saw him fall a martyr tomy revenge. And is the killing a villain to be called murder? perhapsthe law calls it so. --Let it call it what it will, or punish me as itpleases. ---Punish me!--no, no---that is not in the power of man--notof that monster man, Mr. Booth. I am undone, am revenged, and have nowno more business for life; let them take it from me when they will. " Our poor gentleman turned pale with horror at this speech, and theejaculation of "Good heavens! what do I hear?" burst spontaneouslyfrom his lips; nor can we wonder at this, though he was the bravest ofmen; for her voice, her looks, her gestures, were properly adapted tothe sentiments she exprest. Such indeed was her image, that neithercould Shakspear describe, nor Hogarth paint, nor Clive act, a fury inhigher perfection. [Illustration: She then gave a loose to her passions] "What do you hear?" reiterated she. "You hear the resentment of themost injured of women. You have heard, you say, of the murder; but doyou know the cause, Mr. Booth? Have you since your return to Englandvisited that country where we formerly knew one another? tell me, doyou know my wretched story? tell me that, my friend. " Booth hesitated for an answer; indeed, he had heard some imperfectstories, not much to her advantage. She waited not till he had formeda speech; but cried, "Whatever you may have heard, you cannot beacquainted with all the strange accidents which have occasioned yourseeing me in a place which at our last parting was so unlikely that Ishould ever have been found in; nor can you know the cause of all thatI have uttered, and which, I am convinced, you never expected to haveheard from my mouth. If these circumstances raise your curiosity, Iwill satisfy it. " He answered, that curiosity was too mean a word to express his ardentdesire of knowing her story. Upon which, with very little previousceremony, she began to relate what is written in the followingchapter. But before we put an end to this it may be necessary to whisper a wordor two to the critics, who have, perhaps, begun to express no lessastonishment than Mr. Booth, that a lady in whom we had remarked amost extraordinary power of displaying softness should, the very nextmoment after the words were out of her mouth, express sentimentsbecoming the lips of a Dalila, Jezebel, Medea, Semiramis, Parysatis, Tanaquil, Livilla, Messalina, Agrippina, Brunichilde, Elfrida, LadyMacbeth, Joan of Naples, Christina of Sweden, Katharine Hays, SarahMalcolm, Con Philips, [Footnote: Though last not least. ] or any otherheroine of the tender sex, which history, sacred or profane, ancientor modern, false or true, hath recorded. We desire such critics to remember that it is the same Englishclimate, in which, on the lovely 10th of June, under a serene sky, theamorous Jacobite, kissing the odoriferous zephyr's breath, gathers anosegay of white roses to deck the whiter breast of Celia; and inwhich, on the 11th of June, the very next day, the boisterous Boreas, roused by the hollow thunder, rushes horrible through the air, and, driving the wet tempest before him, levels the hope of the husbandmanwith the earth, dreadful remembrance of the consequences of theRevolution. Again, let it be remembered that this is the selfsame Celia, alltender, soft, and delicate, who with a voice, the sweetness of whichthe Syrens might envy, warbles the harmonious song in praise of theyoung adventurer; and again, the next day, or, perhaps the next hour, with fiery eyes, wrinkled brows, and foaming lips, roars forth treasonand nonsense in a political argument with some fair one of a differentprinciple. Or, if the critic be a Whig, and consequently dislikes such kind ofsimiles, as being too favourable to Jacobitism, let him be contentedwith the following story: I happened in my youth to sit behind two ladies in a side-box at aplay, where, in the balcony on the opposite side, was placed theinimitable B---y C---s, in company with a young fellow of no veryformal, or indeed sober, appearance. One of the ladies, I remember, said to the other--"Did you ever see anything look so modest and soinnocent as that girl over the way? what pity it is such a creatureshould be in the way of ruin, as I am afraid she is, by her beingalone with that young fellow!" Now this lady was no bad physiognomist, for it was impossible to conceive a greater appearance of modesty, innocence, and simplicity, than what nature had displayed in thecountenance of that girl; and yet, all appearances notwithstanding, Imyself (remember, critic, it was in my youth) had a few morningsbefore seen that very identical picture of all those engagingqualities in bed with a rake at a bagnio, smoaking tobacco, drinkingpunch, talking obscenity, and swearing and cursing with all theimpudence and impiety of the lowest and most abandoned trull of asoldier. Chapter vii. _In which Miss Matthews begins her history. _ Miss Matthews, having barred the door on the inside as securely as itwas before barred on the outside, proceeded as follows: "You may imagine I am going to begin my history at the time when youleft the country; but I cannot help reminding you of something whichhappened before. You will soon recollect the incident; but I believeyou little know the consequence either at that time or since. Alas! Icould keep a secret then! now I have no secrets; the world knows all;and it is not worth my while to conceal anything. Well!--You will notwonder, I believe. --I protest I can hardly tell it you, even now. ---But I am convinced you have too good an opinion of yourself to besurprized at any conquest you may have made. ---Few men want that goodopinion--and perhaps very few had ever more reason for it. Indeed, Will, you was a charming fellow in those days; nay, you are not muchaltered for the worse now, at least in the opinion of some women; foryour complexion and features are grown much more masculine than theywere. " Here Booth made her a low bow, most probably with a compliment;and after a little hesitation she again proceeded. ---"Do you remembera contest which happened at an assembly, betwixt myself and MissJohnson, about standing uppermost? you was then my partner; and youngWilliams danced with the other lady. The particulars are not now worthmentioning, though I suppose you have long since forgot them. Let itsuffice that you supported my claim, and Williams very sneakingly gaveup that of his partner, who was, with much difficulty, afterwardsprevailed to dance with him. You said--I am sure I repeat the wordsexactly--that you would not for the world affront any lady there; butthat you thought you might, without any such danger declare, thatthere was no assembly in which that lady, meaning your humble servant, was not worthy of the uppermost place; 'nor will I, ' said you, 'suffer, the first duke in England, when she is at the uppermost endof the room, and hath called her dance, to lead his partner aboveher. ' "What made this the more pleasing to me was, that I secretly hatedMiss Johnson. Will you have the reason? why, then, I will tell youhonestly, she was my rival. That word perhaps astonishes you, as younever, I believe, heard of any one who made his addresses to me; andindeed my heart was, till that night, entirely indifferent to allmankind: I mean, then, that she was my rival for praise, for beauty, for dress, for fortune, and consequently for admiration. My triumph onthis conquest is not to be expressed any more than my delight in theperson to whom I chiefly owed it. The former, I fancy, was visible tothe whole company; and I desired it should be so; but the latter wasso well concealed, that no one, I am confident, took any notice of it. And yet you appeared to me that night to be an angel. You looked, youdanced, you spoke-everything charmed me. " "Good Heavens!" cries Booth, "is it possible you should do me so muchunmerited honour, and I should be dunce enough not to perceive theleast symptom?" "I assure you, " answered she, "I did all I could to prevent you; andyet I almost hated you for not seeing through what I strove to hide. Why, Mr. Booth, was you not more quick-sighted?--I will answer foryou--your affections were more happily disposed of to a much betterwoman than myself, whom you married soon afterwards. I should ask youfor her, Mr. Booth; I should have asked you for her before; but I amunworthy of asking for her, or of calling her my acquaintance. " Booth stopt her short, as she was running into another fit of passion, and begged her to omit all former matters, and acquaint him with thatpart of her history to which he was an entire stranger. She then renewed her discourse as follows: "You know, Mr. Booth, Isoon afterwards left that town, upon the death of my grandmother, andreturned home to my father's house; where I had not been long arrivedbefore some troops of dragoons came to quarter in our neighbourhood. Among the officers there was a cornet whose detested name was Hebbers, a name I could scarce repeat, had I not at the same time the pleasureto reflect that he is now no more. My father, you know, who is ahearty well-wisher to the present government, used always to invitethe officers to his house; so did he these. Nor was it long beforethis cornet in so particular a manner recommended himself to the poorold gentleman (I cannot think of him without tears), that our housebecame his principal habitation, and he was rarely at his quarters, unless when his superior officers obliged him to be there. I shall saynothing of his person, nor could that be any recommendation to a man;it was such, however, as no woman could have made an objection to. Nature had certainly wrapt up her odious work in a most beautifulcovering. To say the truth, he was the handsomest man, except oneonly, that I ever saw--I assure you, I have seen a handsomer---but--well. --He had, besides, all the qualifications of a gentleman; wasgenteel and extremely polite; spoke French well, and danced to amiracle; but what chiefly recommended him to my father was his skillin music, of which you know that dear man was the most violent lover. I wish he was not too susceptible of flattery on that head; for I haveheard Hebbers often greatly commend my father's performance, and haveobserved that the good man was wonderfully pleased with suchcommendations. To say the truth, it is the only way I can account forthe extraordinary friendship which my father conceived for thisperson; such a friendship, that he at last became a part of ourfamily. "This very circumstance, which, as I am convinced, stronglyrecommended him to my father, had the very contrary effect with me: Ihad never any delight in music, and it was not without much difficultyI was prevailed on to learn to play on the harpsichord, in which I hadmade a very slender progress. As this man, therefore, was frequentlythe occasion of my being importuned to play against my will, I beganto entertain some dislike for him on that account; and as to hisperson, I assure you, I long continued to look on it with greatindifference. "How strange will the art of this man appear to you presently, who hadsufficient address to convert that very circumstance which had atfirst occasioned my dislike into the first seeds of affection for him! "You have often, I believe, heard my sister Betty play on theharpsichord; she was, indeed, reputed the best performer in the wholecountry. "I was the farthest in the world from regarding this perfection ofhers with envy. In reality, perhaps, I despised all perfection of thiskind: at least, as I had neither skill nor ambition to excel this way, I looked upon it as a matter of mere indifference. "Hebbers first put this emulation in my head. He took great pains topersuade me that I had much greater abilities of the musical kind thanmy sister, and that I might with the greatest ease, if I pleased, excel her; offering me, at the same time, his assistance if I wouldresolve to undertake it. "When he had sufficiently inflamed my ambition, in which, perhaps, hefound too little difficulty, the continual praises of my sister, whichbefore I had disregarded, became more and more nauseous in my ears;and the rather, as, music being the favourite passion of my father, Ibecame apprehensive (not without frequent hints from Hebbers of thatnature) that she might gain too great a preference in his favour. "To my harpsichord then I applied myself night and day, with suchindustry and attention, that I soon began to perform in a tolerablemanner. I do not absolutely say I excelled my sister, for many were ofa different opinion; but, indeed, there might be some partiality inall that. "Hebbers, at least, declared himself on my side, and nobody coulddoubt his judgment. He asserted openly that I played in the bettermanner of the two; and one day, when I was playing to him alone, heaffected to burst into a rapture of admiration, and, squeezing megently by the hand, said, There, madam, I now declare you excel yoursister as much in music as, added he in a whispering sigh, you do her, and all the world, in every other charm. "No woman can bear any superiority in whatever thing she desires toexcel in. I now began to hate all the admirers of my sister, to beuneasy at every commendation bestowed on her skill in music, andconsequently to love Hebbers for the preference which he gave to mine. "It was now that I began to survey the handsome person of Hebbers withpleasure. And here, Mr. Booth, I will betray to you the grand secretof our sex. ---Many women, I believe, do, with great innocence, andeven with great indifference, converse with men of the finest persons;but this I am confident may be affirmed with truth, that, when once awoman comes to ask this question of herself, Is the man whom I likefor some other reason, handsome? her fate and his too, very stronglydepend on her answering in the affirmative. "Hebbers no sooner perceived that he had made an impression on myheart, of which I am satisfied I gave him too undeniable tokens, thanhe affected on a sudden to shun me in the most apparent manner. Hewore the most melancholy air in my presence, and, by his dejectedlooks and sighs, firmly persuaded me that there was some secret sorrowlabouring in his bosom; nor will it be difficult for you to imagine towhat cause I imputed it. "Whilst I was wishing for his declaration of a passion in which Ithought I could not be mistaken, and at the same time tremblingwhenever we met with the apprehension of this very declaration, thewidow Carey came from London to make us a visit, intending to stay thewhole summer at our house. "Those who know Mrs. Carey will scarce think I do her an injury insaying she is far from being handsome; and yet she is as finished acoquette as if she had the highest beauty to support that character. But perhaps you have seen her; and if you have I am convinced you willreadily subscribe to my opinion. " Booth answered he had not; and then she proceeded as in the followingchapter. Chapter VIII _The history of Miss Matthews continued_. "This young lady had not been three days with us before Hebbers grewso particular with her, that it was generally observed; and my poorfather, who, I believe, loved the cornet as if he had been his son, began to jest on the occasion, as one who would not be displeased atthrowing a good jointure into the arms of his friend. "You will easily guess, sir, the disposition of my mind on thisoccasion; but I was not permitted to suffer long under it; for oneday, when Hebbers was alone with me, he took an opportunity ofexpressing his abhorrence at the thoughts of marrying for interest, contrary to his inclinations. I was warm on the subject, and, Ibelieve, went so far as to say that none but fools and villains didso. He replied, with a sigh, Yes, madam, but what would you think of aman whose heart is all the while bleeding for another woman, to whomhe would willingly sacrifice the world; but, because he must sacrificeher interest as well as his own, never durst even give her a hint ofthat passion which was preying on his very vitals? 'Do you believe, Miss Fanny, there is such a wretch on earth?' I answered, with anassumed coldness, I did not believe there was. He then took me gentlyby the hand, and, with a look so tender that I cannot describe it, vowed he was himself that wretch. Then starting, as if conscious of anerror committed, he cried with a faltering voice, 'What am I saying?Pardon me, Miss Fanny; since I beg only your pity, I never will askfor more. --' At these words, hearing my father coming up, I betrayedmyself entirely, if, indeed, I had not done it before. I hastilywithdrew my hand, crying, Hush! for heaven's sake, my father is justcoming in; my blushes, my look, and my accent, telling him, I suppose, all which he wished to know. "A few days now brought matters to an eclaircissement between us; thebeing undeceived in what had given me so much uneasiness gave me apleasure too sweet to be resisted. To triumph over the widow, for whomI had in a very short time contracted a most inveterate hatred, was apride not to be described. Hebbers appeared to me to be the cause ofall this happiness. I doubted not but that he had the mostdisinterested passion for me, and thought him every way worthy of itsreturn. I did return it, and accepted him as my lover. "He declared the greatest apprehensions of my father's suspicion, though I am convinced these were causeless had his designs beenhonourable. To blind these, I consented that he should carry on shamaddresses to the widow, who was now a constant jest between us; and hepretended from time to time to acquaint me faithfully with everythingthat past at his interviews with her; nor was this faithless womanwanting in her part of the deceit. She carried herself to me all thewhile with a shew of affection, and pretended to have the utmostfriendship for me But such are the friendships of women!" At this remark, Booth, though enough affected at some parts of thestory, had great difficulty to refrain from laughter; but, by goodluck, he escaped being perceived; and the lady went on withoutinterruption. "I am come now to a part of my narrative in which it is impossible tobe particular without being tedious; for, as to the commerce betweenlovers, it is, I believe, much the same in all cases; and there is, perhaps, scarce a single phrase that hath not been repeated tenmillions of times. "One thing, however, as I strongly remarked it then, so I will repeatit to you now. In all our conversations, in moments when he fell intothe warmest raptures, and exprest the greatest uneasiness at the delayof his joys, he seldom mentioned the word marriage; and never oncesolicited a day for that purpose. Indeed, women cannot be cautionedtoo much against such lovers; for though I have heard, and perhapstruly, of some of our sex, of a virtue so exalted, that it is proofagainst every temptation; yet the generality, I am afraid, are toomuch in the power of a man to whom they have owned an affection. Whatis called being upon a good footing is, perhaps, being upon a verydangerous one; and a woman who hath given her consent to marry canhardly be said to be safe till she is married. "And now, sir, I hasten to the period of my ruin. We had a wedding inour family; my musical sister was married to a young fellow as musicalas herself. Such a match, you may be sure, amongst other festivities, must have a ball. Oh! Mr. Booth, shall modesty forbid me to remark toyou what past on that occasion? But why do I mention modesty, who haveno pretensions to it? Everything was said and practised on thatoccasion, as if the purpose had been to inflame the mind of everywoman present. That effect, I freely own to you, it had with me. Music, dancing, wine, and the most luscious conversation, in which mypoor dear father innocently joined, raised ideas in me of which Ishall for ever repent; and I wished (why should I deny it?) that ithad been my wedding instead of my sister's. "The villain Hebbers danced with me that night, and he lost noopportunity of improving the occasion. In short, the dreadful eveningcame. My father, though it was a very unusual thing with him, grewintoxicated with liquor; most of the men were in the same condition;nay, I myself drank more than I was accustomed to, enough to inflame, though not to disorder. I lost my former bed-fellow, my sister, and--you may, I think, guess the rest--the villain found means to steal tomy chamber, and I was undone. "Two months I passed in this detested commerce, buying, even then, myguilty, half-tasted pleasures at too dear a rate, with continualhorror and apprehension; but what have I paid since--what do I paynow, Mr. Booth? O may my fate be a warning to every woman to keep herinnocence, to resist every temptation, since she is certain to repentof the foolish bargain. May it be a warning to her to deal withmankind with care and caution; to shun the least approaches ofdishonour, and never to confide too much in the honesty of a man, norin her own strength, where she has so much at stake; let her remembershe walks on a precipice, and the bottomless pit is to receive her ifshe slips; nay, if she makes but one false step. "I ask your pardon, Mr. Booth; I might have spared these exhortations, since no woman hears me; but you will not wonder at seeing me affectedon this occasion. " Booth declared he was much more surprised at her being able so well topreserve her temper in recounting her story. "O sir, " answered she, "I am at length reconciled to my fate; and Ican now die with pleasure, since I die revenged. I am not one of thosemean wretches who can sit down and lament their misfortunes. If I evershed tears, they are the tears of indignation. --But I will proceed. "It was my fate now to solicit marriage; and I failed not to do it inthe most earnest manner. He answered me at first withprocrastinations, declaring, from time to time, he would mention it tomy father; and still excusing himself for not doing it. At last hethought on an expedient to obtain a longer reprieve. This was bypretending that he should, in a very few weeks, be preferred to thecommand of a troop; and then, he said, he could with some confidencepropose the match. "In this delay I was persuaded to acquiesce, and was indeed prettyeasy, for I had not yet the least mistrust of his honour; but whatwords can paint my sensations, when one morning he came into my room, with all the marks of dejection in his countenance, and, throwing anopen letter on the table, said, 'There is news, madam, in that letterwhich I am unable to tell you; nor can it give you more concern thanit hath given me. ' "This letter was from his captain, to acquaint him that the rout, asthey call it, was arrived, and that they were to march within twodays. And this, I am since convinced, was what he expected, instead ofthe preferment which had been made the pretence of delaying ourmarriage. "The shock which I felt at reading this was inexpressible, occasionedindeed principally by the departure of a villain whom I loved. However, I soon acquired sufficient presence of mind to remember themain point; and I now insisted peremptorily on his making meimmediately his wife, whatever might be the consequence. "He seemed thunderstruck at this proposal, being, I suppose, destituteof any excuse: but I was too impatient to wait for an answer, andcried out with much eagerness, Sure you cannot hesitate a moment uponthis matter--'Hesitate! madam!' replied he--'what you ask isimpossible. Is this a time for me to mention a thing of this kind toyour father?'--My eyes were now opened all at once--I fell into a ragelittle short of madness. Tell not me, I cried, of impossibilities, nortimes, nor of my father---my honour, my reputation, my all are atstake. --I will have no excuse, no delay--make me your wife thisinstant, or I will proclaim you over the face of the whole earth forthe greatest of villains. He answered, with a kind of sneer, 'Whatwill you proclaim, madam?--whose honour will you injure?' My tonguefaltered when I offered to reply, and I fell into a violent agony, which ended in a fit; nor do I remember anything more that past till Ifound myself in the arms of my poor affrighted father. "O, Mr. Booth, what was then my situation! I tremble even now from thereflection. --I must stop a moment. I can go no farther. " Boothattempted all in his power to soothe her; and she soon recovered herpowers, and proceeded in her story. Chapter ix _In which Miss Matthews concludes her relation_. Before I had recovered my senses I had sufficiently betrayed myself tothe best of men, who, instead of upbraiding me, or exerting any anger, endeavoured to comfort me all he could with assurances that all shouldyet be well. This goodness of his affected me with inexpressiblesensations; I prostrated myself before him, embraced and kissed hisknees, and almost dissolved in tears, and a degree of tendernesshardly to be conceived---But I am running into too minutedescriptions. "Hebbers, seeing me in a fit, had left me, and sent one of theservants to take care of me. He then ran away like a thief from thehouse, without taking his leave of my father, or once thanking him forall his civilities. He did not stop at his quarters, but made directlyto London, apprehensive, I believe, either of my father or brother'sresentment; for I am convinced he is a coward. Indeed his fear of mybrother was utterly groundless; for I believe he would rather havethanked any man who had destroyed me; and I am sure I am not in theleast behindhand with him in good wishes. "All his inveteracy to me had, however, no effect on my father, atleast at that time; for, though the good man took sufficient occasionsto reprimand me for my past offence, he could not be brought toabandon me. A treaty of marriage was now set on foot, in which myfather himself offered me to Hebbers, with a fortune superior to thatwhich had been given with my sister; nor could all my brother'sremonstrances against it, as an act of the highest injustice, avail. "Hebbers entered into the treaty, though not with much warmth. He hadeven the assurance to make additional demands on my father, whichbeing complied with, everything was concluded, and the villain oncemore received into the house. He soon found means to obtain myforgiveness of his former behaviour; indeed, he convinced me, sofoolishly blind is female love, that he had never been to blame. "When everything was ready for our nuptials, and the day of theceremony was to be appointed, in the midst of my happiness I receiveda letter from an unknown hand, acquainting me (guess, Mr. Booth, how Iwas shocked at receiving it) that Mr. Hebbers was already married to awoman in a distant part of the kingdom. "I will not tire you with all that past at our next interview. Icommunicated the letter to Hebbers, who, after some little hesitation, owned the fact, and not only owned it, but had the address to improveit to his own advantage, to make it the means of satisfying meconcerning all his former delays; which, to say the truth, I was notso much displeased at imputing to any degree of villany, as I shouldhave been to impute it to the want of a sufficient warmth ofaffection, and though the disappointment of all my hopes, at the veryinstant of their expected fruition, threw me into the most violentdisorders; yet, when I came a little to myself, he had no greatdifficulty to persuade me that in every instance, with regard to me, Hebbers had acted from no other motive than from the most ardent andungovernable love. And there is, I believe, no crime which a womanwill not forgive, when she can derive it from that fountain. In short, I forgave him all, and am willing to persuade myself I am not weakerthan the rest of my sex. Indeed, Mr. Booth, he hath a bewitchingtongue, and is master of an address that no woman could resist. I doassure you the charms of his person are his least perfection, at leastin my eye. " Here Booth smiled, but happily without her perceiving it. "A fresh difficulty (continued she) now arose. This was to excuse thedelay of the ceremony to my father, who every day very earnestly urgedit. This made me so very uneasy, that I at last listened to aproposal, which, if any one in the days of my innocence, or even a fewdays before, had assured me I could have submitted to have thought of, I should have treated the supposition with the highest contempt andindignation; nay, I scarce reflect on it now with more horror thanastonishment. In short, I agreed to run away with him--to leave myfather, my reputation, everything which was or ought to have been dearto me, and to live with this villain as a mistress, since I could notbe his wife. "Was not this an obligation of the highest and tenderest kind, and hadI not reason to expect every return in the man's power on whom I hadconferred it? "I will make short of the remainder of my story, forwhat is there of a woman worth relating, after what I have told you? "Above a year I lived with this man in an obscure court in London, during which time I had a child by him, whom Heaven, I thank it, hathbeen pleased to take to itself. "During many months he behaved to me with all the apparent tendernessand even fondness imaginable; but, alas! how poor was my enjoyment ofthis compared to what it would have been in another situation? When hewas present, life was barely tolerable: but, when he was absent, nothing could equal the misery I endured. I past my hours almostentirely alone; for no company but what I despised, would consort withme. Abroad I scarce ever went, lest I should meet any of my formeracquaintance; for their sight would have plunged a thousand daggers inmy soul. My only diversion was going very seldom to a play, where Ihid myself in the gallery, with a daughter of the woman of the house. A girl, indeed, of good sense and many good qualities; but how muchbeneath me was it to be the companion of a creature so low! O heavens!when I have seen my equals glittering in a side-box, how have thethoughts of my lost honour torn my soul!" "Pardon me, dear madam, " cries Booth, "for interrupting you; but I amunder the utmost anxiety to know what became of your poor father, forwhom I have so great a respect, and who, I am convinced, must sobitterly feel your loss. " "O Mr. Booth, " answered she, "he was scarce ever out of my thoughts. His dear image still obtruded itself in my mind, and I believe wouldhave broken my heart, had I not taken a very preposterous way to easemyself. I am, indeed, almost ashamed to tell you; but necessity put itin my head. --You will think the matter too trifling to have beenremembered, and so it surely was; nor should I have remembered it onany other occasion. You must know then, sir, that my brother wasalways my inveterate enemy and altogether as fond of my sister. --Heonce prevailed with my father to let him take my sister with him inthe chariot, and by that means I was disappointed of going to a ballwhich I had set my heart on. The disappointment, I assure you, wasgreat at the time; but I had long since forgotten it. I must have beena very bad woman if I had not, for it was the only thing in which Ican remember that my father ever disobliged me. However, I now revivedthis in my mind, which I artificially worked up into so high aninjury, that I assure you it afforded me no little comfort. When anytender idea intruded into my bosom, I immediately raised this fantomof an injury in my imagination, and it considerably lessened the furyof that sorrow which I should have otherwise felt for the loss of sogood a father, who died within a few months of my departure from him. "And now, sir, to draw to a conclusion. One night, as I was in thegallery at Drury-lane playhouse, I saw below me in a side-box (she wasonce below me in every place), that widow whom I mentioned to youbefore. I had scarce cast my eyes on this woman before I was soshocked with the sight that it almost deprived me of my senses; forthe villain Hebbers came presently in and seated himself behind her. "He had been almost a month from me, and I believed him to be at hisquarters in Yorkshire. Guess what were my sensations when I beheld himsitting by that base woman, and talking to her with the utmostfamiliarity. I could not long endure this sight, and having acquaintedmy companion that I was taken suddenly ill, I forced her to go homewith me at the end of the second act. "After a restless and sleepless night, when I rose the next morning Ihad the comfort to receive a visit from the woman of the house, who, after a very short introduction, asked me when I had heard from thecaptain, and when I expected to see him? I had not strength or spiritsto make her any answer, and she proceeded thus:--'Indeed I did notthink the captain would have used me so. My husband was an officer ofthe army as well as himself; and if a body is a little low in theworld, I am sure that is no reason for folks to trample on a body. Idefy the world to say as I ever was guilty of an ill thing. ' Forheaven's sake, madam, says I, what do you mean? 'Mean?' cries she; 'Iam sure, if I had not thought you had been Captain Hebbers' lady, hislawful lady too, you should never have set footing in my house. Iwould have Captain Hebbers know, that though I am reduced to letlodgings, I never have entertained any but persons of character. '--Inthis manner, sir, she ran on, saying many shocking things not worthrepeating, till my anger at last got the better of my patience as wellas my sorrow, and I pushed her out of the room. "She had not been long gone before her daughter came to me, and, aftermany expressions of tenderness and pity, acquainted me that her motherhad just found out, by means of the captain's servant, that thecaptain was married to another lady; 'which, if you did not knowbefore, madam, ' said she, 'I am sorry to be the messenger of such illnews. ' "Think, Mr. Booth, what I must have endured to see myself humbledbefore such a creature as this, the daughter of a woman who letslodgings! However, having recollected myself a little, I thought itwould be in vain to deny anything; so, knowing this to be one of thebest-natured and most sensible girls in the world, I resolved to tellher my whole story, and for the future to make her my confidante. Ianswered her, therefore, with a good deal of assurance, that she neednot regret telling me this piece of ill news, for I had known itbefore I came to her house. "'Pardon me, madam, ' replied the girl, 'you cannot possibly have knownit so long, for he hath not been married above a week; last night wasthe first time of his appearing in public with his wife at the play. Indeed, I knew very well the cause of your uneasiness there; but wouldnot mention---' "His wife at the play? answered I eagerly. What wife? whom do youmean? "'I mean the widow Carey, madam, ' replied she, 'to whom the captainwas married a few days since. His servant was here last night to payfor your lodging, and he told it my mother. ' "I know not what answer I made, or whether I made any. I presentlyfell dead on the floor, and it was with great difficulty I was broughtback to life by the poor girl, for neither the mother nor the maid ofthe house would lend me any assistance, both seeming to regard merather as a monster than a woman. "Scarce had I recovered the use of my senses when I received a letterfrom the villain, declaring he had not assurance to see my face, andvery kindly advising me to endeavour to reconcile myself to my family, concluding with an offer, in case I did not succeed, to allow metwenty pounds a-year to support me in some remote part of the kingdom. "I need not mention my indignation at these proposals. In the highestagony of rage, I went in a chair to the detested house, where I easilygot access to the wretch I had devoted to destruction, whom I nosooner found within my reach than I plunged a drawn penknife, which Ihad prepared in my pocket for the purpose, into his accursed heart. For this fact I was immediately seized and soon after committedhither; and for this fact I am ready to die, and shall with pleasurereceive the sentence of the law. "Thus, sir, " said she, "I have related to you my unhappy story, and ifI have tired your patience, by dwelling too long on those parts whichaffected me the most, I ask your pardon. " Booth made a proper speech on this occasion, and, having exprest muchconcern at her present situation, concluded that he hoped her sentencewould be milder than she seemed to expect. Her reply to this was full of so much bitterness and indignation, thatwe do not think proper to record the speech at length, in which havingvented her passion, she all at once put on a serene countenance, andwith an air of great complacency said, "Well, Mr. Booth, I think Ihave now a right to satisfy my curiosity at the expense of yourbreath. I may say it is not altogether a vain curiosity, for perhaps Ihave had inclination enough to interest myself in whatever concernsyou; but no matter for that: those days (added she with a sigh) arenow over. " Booth, who was extremely good-natured and well-bred, told her that sheshould not command him twice whatever was in his power; and then, after the usual apology, was going to begin his history, when thekeeper arrived, and acquainted the lady that dinner was ready, at thesame time saying, "I suppose, madam, as the gentleman is anacquaintance of yours, he must dine with us too. " Miss Matthews told the keeper that she had only one word to mention inprivate to the gentleman, and that then they would both attend him. She then pulled her purse from her pocket, in which were upwards oftwenty guineas, being the remainder of the money for which she hadsold a gold repeating watch, her father's present, with some othertrinkets, and desired Mr. Booth to take what he should have occasionfor, saying, "You know, I believe, dear Will, I never valued money;and now I am sure I shall have very little use for it. " Booth, withmuch difficulty, accepted of two guineas, and then they both togetherattended the keeper. Chapter x _Table-talk, consisting of a facetious discourse that passed in theprison_. There were assembled at the table the governor of these (notimproperly called infernal) regions; the lieutenant-governor, vulgarlynamed the first turnkey; Miss Matthews, Mr. Booth, Mr. Robinson thegambler, several other prisoners of both sexes, and one Murphy, anattorney. The governor took the first opportunity to bring the affair of MissMatthews upon the carpet, and then, turning to Murphy, he said, "It isvery lucky this gentleman happens to be present; I do assure you, madam, your cause cannot be in abler hands. He is, I believe, the bestman in England at a defence; I have known him often succeed againstthe most positive evidence. " "Fy, sir, " answered Murphy; "you know I hate all this; but, if thelady will trust me with her cause, I will do the best in my power. Come, madam, do not be discouraged; a bit of manslaughter and coldiron, I hope, will be the worst: or perhaps we may come off betterwith a slice of chance-medley, or _se defendendo_" "I am very ignorant of the law, sir, " cries the lady. "Yes, madam, " answered Murphy; "it can't be expected you shouldunderstand it. There are very few of us who profess it that understandthe whole, nor is it necessary we should. There is a great deal ofrubbish of little use, about indictments, and abatements, and bars, and ejectments, and trovers, and such stuff, with which people cramtheir heads to little purpose. The chapter of evidence is the mainbusiness; that is the sheet-anchor; that is the rudder, which bringsthe vessel safe _in portum_. Evidence is, indeed, the whole, the_summa totidis_, for _de non apparentibus et non insistentibus eandemest ratio_. " "If you address yourself to me, sir, " said the lady, "you are much toolearned, I assure you, for my understanding. " "_Tace_, madam, " answered Murphy, "is Latin for a candle: I commendyour prudence. I shall know the particulars of your case when we arealone. " "I hope the lady, " said Robinson, "hath no suspicion of any personhere. I hope we are all persons of honour at this table. " "D--n my eyes!" answered a well-dressed woman, "I can answer formyself and the other ladies; though I never saw the lady in my life, she need not be shy of us, d--n my eyes! I scorn to rap [Footnote: Acant word, meaning to swear, or rather to perjure yourself] againstany lady. " "D--n me, madam!" cried another female, "I honour what you have done. I once put a knife into a cull myself--so my service to you, madam, and I wish you may come off with _se diffidendo_ with all my heart. " "I beg, good woman, " said Miss Matthews, "you would talk on some othersubject, and give yourself no concern about my affairs. " "You see, ladies, " cried Murphy, "the gentle-woman doth not care totalk on this matter before company; so pray do not press her. " "Nay, I value the lady's acquaintance no more than she values mine, "cries the first woman who spoke. "I have kept as good company as thelady, I believe, every day in the week. Good woman! I don't use to beso treated. If the lady says such another word to me, d--n me, I willdarken her daylights. Marry, come up! Good woman!--the lady's a whoreas well as myself! and, though I am sent hither to mill doll, d--n myeyes, I have money enough to buy it off as well as the lady herself. " Action might perhaps soon have ensued this speech, had not the keeperinterposed his authority, and put an end to any further dispute. Soonafter which, the company broke up, and none but himself, Mr. Murphy, Captain Booth, and Miss Matthews, remained together. Miss Matthews then, at the entreaty of the keeper, began to open hercase to Mr. Murphy, whom she admitted to be her solicitor, though shestill declared she was indifferent as to the event of the trial. Mr. Murphy, having heard all the particulars with which the reader isalready acquainted (as far as related to the murder), shook his headand said, "There is but one circumstance, madam, which I wish was outof the case; and that we must put out of it; I mean the carrying thepenknife drawn into the room with you; for that seems to imply maliceprepensive, as we call it in the law: this circumstance, therefore, must not appear against you; and, if the servant who was in the roomobserved this, he must be bought off at all hazards. All here you sayare friends; therefore I tell you openly, you must furnish me withmoney sufficient for this purpose. Malice is all we have to guardagainst. " "I would not presume, sir, " cries Booth, "to inform you in the law;but I have heard, in case of stabbing, a man may be indicted upon thestatute; and it is capital, though no malice appears. " "You say true, sir, " answered Murphy; "a man may be indicted _contraformam statutis;_ and that method, I allow you, requires no malice. Ipresume you are a lawyer, sir?" "No, indeed, sir, " answered Booth, "I know nothing of the law. " "Then, sir, I will tell you--If a man be indicted _contra formamtatutis_, as we say, no malice is necessary, because the form of thestatute makes malice; and then what we have to guard against is havingstruck the first blow. Pox on't, it is unlucky this was done in aroom: if it had been in the street we could have had five or sixwitnesses to have proved the first blow, cheaper than, I am afraid, weshall get this one; for when a man knows, from the unhappycircumstances of the case, that you can procure no other witness buthimself, he is always dear. It is so in all other ways of business. Iam very implicit, you see; but we are all among friends. The safestway is to furnish me with money enough to offer him a good round sumat once; and I think (it is for your good I speak) fifty pounds is theleast than can be offered him. I do assure you I would offer him noless was it my own case. " "And do you think, sir, " said she, "that I would save my life at theexpense of hiring another to perjure himself?" "Ay, surely do I, " cries Murphy; "for where is the fault, admittingthere is some fault in perjury, as you call it? and, to be sure, it issuch a matter as every man would rather wish to avoid than not: andyet, as it may be managed, there is not so much as some people are aptto imagine in it; for he need not kiss the book, and then pray where'sthe perjury? but if the crier is sharper than ordinary, what is it hekisses? is it anything but a bit of calf's-skin? I am sure a man mustbe a very bad Christian himself who would not do so much as that tosave the life of any Christian whatever, much more of so pretty alady. Indeed, madam, if we can make out but a tolerable case, so muchbeauty will go a great way with the judge and the jury too. " The latter part of this speech, notwithstanding the mouth it camefrom, caused Miss Matthews to suppress much of the indignation whichbegan to arise at the former; and she answered with a smile, "Sir, youare a great casuist in these matters; but we need argue no longerconcerning them; for, if fifty pounds would save my life, I assure youI could not command that sum. The little money I have in my pocket isall I can call my own; and I apprehend, in the situation I am in, Ishall have very little of that to spare. " "Come, come, madam, " cries Murphy, "life is sweet, let me tell you, and never sweeter than when we are near losing it. I have known many aman very brave and undaunted at his first commitment, who, whenbusiness began to thicken a little upon him, hath changed his note. Itis no time to be saving in your condition. " The keeper, who, after the liberality of Miss Matthews, and on seeinga purse of guineas in her hand, had conceived a great opinion of herwealth, no sooner heard that the sum which he had in intentionintirely confiscated for his own use was attempted to be broke inupon, thought it high time to be upon his guard. "To be sure, " crieshe, "Mr. Murphy, life is sweet, as you say, that must be acknowledged;to be sure, life is sweet; but, sweet as it is, no persons can advancemore than they are worth to save it. And indeed, if the lady cancommand no more money than that little she mentions, she is to becommended for her unwillingness to part with any of it; for, to besure, as she says, she will want every farthing of that to live like agentlewoman till she comes to her trial. And, to be sure, as sweet aslife is, people ought to take care to be able to live sweetly whilethey do live; besides, I cannot help saying the lady shews herself tobe what she is, by her abhorrence of perjury, which is certainly avery dreadful crime. And, though the not kissing the book doth, as yousay, make a great deal of difference; and, if a man had a great whileto live and repent, perhaps he might swallow it well enough; yet, whenpeople comes to be near their end (as who can venture to foretel whatwill be the lady's case?) they ought to take care not to overburthentheir conscience. I hope the lady's case will not be found murder; forI am sure I always wish well to all my prisoners who shew themselvesto be gentlemen or gentlewomen; yet one should always fear the worst" "Indeed, sir, you speak like an oracle, " answered the lady; "and onesubornation of perjury would sit heavier on my conscience than twentysuch murders as I am guilty of. " "Nay, to be sure, madam, " answered the keeper, "nobody can pretend totell what provocation you must have had; and certainly it can never beimagined that a lady who behaves herself so handsomely as you havedone ever since you have been under my keys should be guilty ofkilling a man without being very highly provoked to do it. " Mr. Murphy was, I believe, going to answer when he was called out ofthe room; after which nothing passed between the remaining personsworth relating, till Booth and the lady retired back again into thelady's apartment. Here they fell immediately to commenting on the foregoing discourse;but, as their comments were, I believe, the same with what mostreaders have made on the same occasion, we shall omit them. At last, Miss Matthews reminding her companion of his promise of relating toher what had befallen him since the interruption of their formeracquaintance, he began as is written in the next book of this history. BOOK II. Chapter i. _In which Captain Booth begins to relate his history. _ The tea-table being removed, and Mr. Booth and the lady left alone, heproceeded as follows: "Since you desire, madam, to know the particulars of my courtship tothat best and dearest of women whom I afterwards married, I willendeavour to recollect them as well as I can, at least all thoseincidents which are most worth relating to you. "If the vulgar opinion of the fatality in marriage had ever anyfoundation, it surely appeared in my marriage with my Amelia. I knewher in the first dawn of her beauty; and, I believe, madam, she had asmuch as ever fell to the share of a woman; but, though I alwaysadmired her, it was long without any spark of love. Perhaps thegeneral admiration which at that time pursued her, the respect paidher by persons of the highest rank, and the numberless addresses whichwere made her by men of great fortune, prevented my aspiring at thepossession of those charms which seemed so absolutely out of my reach. However it was, I assure you the accident which deprived her of theadmiration of others made the first great impression on my heart inher favour. The injury done to her beauty by the overturning of achaise, by which, as you may well remember, her lovely nose was beatall to pieces, gave me an assurance that the woman who had been somuch adored for the charms of her person deserved a much higheradoration to be paid to her mind; for that she was in the latterrespect infinitely more superior to the rest of her sex than she hadever been in the former. " "I admire your taste extremely, " cried the lady; "I remember perfectlywell the great heroism with which your Amelia bore that misfortune. " "Good heavens! madam, " answered he; "what a magnanimity of mind didher behaviour demonstrate! If the world have extolled the firmness ofsoul in a man who can support the loss of fortune; of a general whocan be composed after the loss of a victory; or of a king who can becontented with the loss of a crown; with what astonishment ought we tobehold, with what praises to honour, a young lady, who can withpatience and resignation submit to the loss of exquisite beauty, inother words to the loss of fortune, power, glory, everything whichhuman nature is apt to court and rejoice in! what must be the mindwhich can bear to be deprived of all these in a moment, and by anunfortunate trifling accident; which could support all this, togetherwith the most exquisite torments of body, and with dignity, withresignation, without complaining, almost without a tear, undergo themost painful and dreadful operations of surgery in such a situation!"Here he stopt, and a torrent of tears gushed from his eyes; such tearsare apt to flow from a truly noble heart at the hearing of anythingsurprisingly great and glorious. As soon as he was able he againproceeded thus: "Would you think, Miss Matthews, that the misfortune of my Amelia wascapable of any aggravation? I assure you, she hath often told me itwas aggravated with a circumstance which outweighed all the otheringredients. This was the cruel insults she received from some of hermost intimate acquaintance, several of whom, after many distortionsand grimaces, have turned their heads aside, unable to support theirsecret triumph, and burst into a loud laugh in her hearing. " "Good heavens!" cried Miss Matthews; "what detestable actions willthis contemptible passion of envy prevail on our sex to commit!" "An occasion of this kind, as she hath since told me, made the firstimpression on her gentle heart in my favour. I was one day in companywith several young ladies, or rather young devils, where poor Amelia'saccident was the subject of much mirth and pleasantry. One of thesesaid she hoped miss would not hold her head so high for the future. Another answered, 'I do not know, madam, what she may do with herhead, but I am convinced she will never more turn up her nose at herbetters. ' Another cried, 'What a very proper match might now be madebetween Amelia and a certain captain, ' who had unfortunately receivedan injury in the same part, though from no shameful cause. Many othersarcasms were thrown out, very unworthy to be repeated. I was hurtwith perceiving so much malice in human shape, and cried out verybluntly, Indeed, ladies, you need not express such satisfaction atpoor Miss Emily's accident; for she will still be the handsomest womanin England. This speech of mine was afterwards variously repeated, bysome to my honour, and by others represented in a contrary light;indeed, it was often reported to be much ruder than it was. However, it at length reached Amelia's ears. She said she was very much obligedto me, since I could have so much compassion for her as to be rude toa lady on her account. "About a month after the accident, when Amelia began to see company ina mask, I had the honour to drink tea with her. We were alonetogether, and I begged her to indulge my curiosity by showing me herface. She answered in a most obliging manner, 'Perhaps, Mr. Booth, youwill as little know me when my mask is off as when it is on;' and atthe same instant unmasked. --The surgeon's skill was the least Iconsidered. A thousand tender ideas rushed all at once on my mind. Iwas unable to contain myself, and, eagerly kissing her hand, I cried--Upon my soul, madam, you never appeared to me so lovely as at thisinstant. Nothing more remarkable passed at this visit; but I sincerelybelieve we were neither of us hereafter indifferent to each other. "Many months, however, passed after this, before I ever thoughtseriously of making her my wife. Not that I wanted sufficient love forAmelia. Indeed it arose from the vast affection I bore her. Iconsidered my own as a desperate fortune, hers as entirely dependenton her mother, who was a woman, you know, of violent passions, andvery unlikely to consent to a match so highly contrary to the interestof her daughter. The more I loved Amelia, the more firmly I resolvedwithin myself never to propose love to her seriously. Such a dupe wasmy understanding to my heart, and so foolishly did I imagine I couldbe master of a flame to which I was every day adding fuel. "O, Miss Matthews! we have heard of men entirely masters of theirpassions, and of hearts which can carry this fire in them, and concealit at their pleasure. Perhaps there may be such: but, if there are, those hearts may be compared, I believe, to damps, in which it is moredifficult to keep fire alive than to prevent its blazing: in mine itwas placed in the midst of combustible matter. "After several visits, in which looks and sighs had been interchangedon both sides, but without the least mention of passion in private, one day the discourse between us when alone happened to turn on love;I say happened, for I protest it was not designed on my side, and I amas firmly convinced not on hers. I was now no longer master of myself;I declared myself the most wretched of all martyrs to this tenderpassion; that I had long concealed it from its object. At length, after mentioning many particulars, suppressing, however, those whichmust have necessarily brought it home to Amelia, I concluded withbegging her to be the confidante of my amour, and to give me heradvice on that occasion. "Amelia (O, I shall never forget the dear perturbation!) appeared allconfusion at this instant. She trembled, turned pale, and discoveredhow well she understood me, by a thousand more symptoms than I couldtake notice of, in a state of mind so very little different from herown. At last, with faltering accents, she said I had made a very illchoice of a counsellor in a matter in which she was so ignorant. --Adding, at last, 'I believe, Mr. Booth, you gentlemen want very littleadvice in these affairs, which you all understand better than we do. ' "I will relate no more of our conversation at present; indeed I amafraid I tire you with too many particulars. " "O, no!" answered she; "I should be glad to hear every step of anamour which had so tender a beginning. Tell me everything you said ordid, if you can remember it. " He then proceeded, and so will we in the next chapter. Chapter ii. _Mr. Booth continues his story. In this chapter there are somepassages that may serve as a kind of touchstone by which a young ladymay examine the heart of her lover. I would advise, therefore, thatevery lover be obliged to read it over in the presence of hismistress, and that she carefully watch his emotions while he isreading. _ "I was under the utmost concern, " cries Booth, "when I retired from myvisit, and had reflected coolly on what I had said. I now saw plainlythat I had made downright love to Amelia; and I feared, such was myvanity, that I had already gone too far, and been too successful. Feared! do I say? could I fear what I hoped? how shall I describe theanxiety of my mind?" "You need give yourself no great pain, " cried Miss Matthews, "todescribe what I can so easily guess. To be honest with you, Mr. Booth, I do not agree with your lady's opinion that the men have a superiorunderstanding in the matters of love. Men are often blind to thepassions of women: but every woman is as quick-sighted as a hawk onthese occasions; nor is there one article in the whole science whichis not understood by all our sex. " "However, madam, " said Mr. Booth, "I now undertook to deceive Amelia. I abstained three days from seeing her; to say the truth, Iendeavoured to work myself up to a resolution of leaving her for ever:but when I could not so far subdue my passion---But why do I talknonsense of subduing passion?--I should say, when no other passioncould surmount my love, I returned to visit her; and now I attemptedthe strangest project which ever entered into the silly head of alover. This was to persuade Amelia that I was really in love inanother place, and had literally expressed my meaning when I asked heradvice and desired her to be my confidante. "I therefore forged a meeting to have been between me and my imaginarymistress since I had last seen Amelia, and related the particulars, aswell as I could invent them, which had passed at our conversation. "Poor Amelia presently swallowed this bait; and, as she hath told mesince, absolutely believed me to be in earnest. Poor dear love! howshould the sincerest of hearts have any idea of deceit? for, with allher simplicity, I assure you she is the most sensible woman in theworld. " "It is highly generous and good in you, " said Miss Matthews, with asly sneer, "to impute to honesty what others would, perhaps, callcredulity. " "I protest, madam, " answered he, "I do her no more than justice. Agood heart will at all times betray the best head in the world. ---Well, madam, my angel was now, if possible, more confused than before. She looked so silly, you can hardly believe it. " "Yes, yes, I can, " answered the lady, with a laugh, "I can believeit. --Well, well, go on. "--"After some hesitation, " cried he, "myAmelia said faintly to me, 'Mr. Booth, you use me very ill; you desireme to be your confidante, and conceal from me the name of yourmistress. ' "Is it possible then, madam, " answered I, "that you cannot guess her, when I tell you she is one of your acquaintance, and lives in thistown?" "'My acquaintance!' said she: 'La! Mr. Booth--In this town! I--I--Ithought I could have guessed for once; but I have an ill talent thatway--I will never attempt to guess anything again. ' Indeed I do her aninjury when I pretend to represent her manner. Her manner, look, voice, everything was inimitable; such sweetness, softness, innocence, modesty!--Upon my soul, if ever man could boast of his resolution, Ithink I might now, that I abstained from falling prostrate at herfeet, and adoring her. However, I triumphed; pride, I believe, triumphed, or perhaps love got the better of love. We once moreparted, and I promised, the next time I saw her, to reveal the name ofmy mistress. "I now had, I thought, gained a complete victory over myself; and nosmall compliments did I pay to my own resolution. In short, Itriumphed as cowards and niggards do when they flatter themselves withhaving given some supposed instance of courage or generosity; and mytriumph lasted as long; that is to say, till my ascendant passion hada proper opportunity of displaying itself in its true and naturalcolours. "Having hitherto succeeded so well in my own opinion, and obtainedthis mighty self-conquest, I now entertained a design of exerting themost romantic generosity, and of curing that unhappy passion which Iperceived I had raised in Amelia. "Among the ladies who had expressed the greatest satisfaction at myAmelia's misfortune, Miss Osborne had distinguished herself in a veryeminent degree; she was, indeed, the next in beauty to my angel, nay, she had disputed the preference, and had some among her admirers whowere blind enough to give it in her favour. " "Well, " cries the lady, "I will allow you to call them blind; but MissOsborne was a charming girl. " "She certainly was handsome, " answered he, "and a very considerablefortune; so I thought my Amelia would have little difficulty inbelieving me when I fixed on her as my mistress. And I concluded thatmy thus placing my affections on her known enemy would be the surestmethod of eradicating every tender idea with which I had been everhonoured by Amelia. "Well, then, to Amelia I went; she received me with more than usualcoldness and reserve; in which, to confess the truth, there appearedto me more of anger than indifference, and more of dejection than ofeither. After some short introduction, I revived the discourse of myamour, and presently mentioned Miss Osborne as the lady whose name Ihad concealed; adding, that the true reason why I did not mention herbefore was, that I apprehended there was some little distance betweenthem, which I hoped to have the happiness of accommodating. "Amelia answered with much gravity, 'If you know, sir, that there isany distance between us, I suppose you know the reason of thatdistance; and then, I think, I could not have expected to be affrontedby her name. I would not have you think, Mr. Booth, that I hate MissOsborne. No! Heaven is my witness, I despise her too much. --Indeed, when I reflect how much I loved the woman who hath treated me socruelly, I own it gives me pain--when I lay, as I then imagined, andas all about me believed, on my deathbed, in all the agonies of painand misery, to become the object of laughter to my dearest friend. --O, Mr. Booth, it is a cruel reflection! and could I after this haveexpected from you--but why not from you, to whom I am a personentirely indifferent, if such a friend could treat me so barbarously?' "During the greatest part of this speech the tears streamed from herbright eyes. I could endure it no longer. I caught up the wordindifferent, and repeated it, saying, Do you think then, madam, thatMiss Emily is indifferent to me? "'Yes, surely, I do, ' answered she: 'I know I am; indeed, why should Inot be indifferent to you?' "Have my eyes, " said I, "then declared nothing?" "'O! there is no need of your eyes' answered she; 'your tongue hathdeclared that you have singled out of all womankind my greatest, Iwill say, my basest enemy. I own I once thought that character wouldhave been no recommendation to you;--but why did I think so? I wasborn to deceive myself. ' "I then fell on my knees before her; and, forcing her hand, cried out, O, my Amelia! I can bear no longer. You are the only mistress of myaffections; you are the deity I adore. In this stile I ran on forabove two or three minutes, what it is impossible to repeat, till atorrent of contending passions, together with the surprize, overpowered her gentle spirits, and she fainted away in my arms. "To describe my sensation till she returned to herself is not in mypower. "--"You need not, " cried Miss Matthews. --"Oh, happy Amelia! whyhad I not been blest with such a passion?"--"I am convinced, madam, "continued he, "you cannot expect all the particulars of the tenderscene which ensued. I was not enough in my senses to remember it all. Let it suffice to say, that that behaviour with which Amelia, whileignorant of its motive, had been so much displeased, when she becamesensible of that motive, proved the strongest recommendation to herfavour, and she was pleased to call it generous. " "Generous!" repeated the lady, "and so it was, almost beyond the reachof humanity. I question whether you ever had an equal. " Perhaps the critical reader may have the same doubt with MissMatthews; and lest he should, we will here make a gap in our history, to give him an opportunity of accurately considering whether thisconduct of Mr. Booth was natural or no; and consequently, whether wehave, in this place, maintained or deviated from that strict adherenceto universal truth which we profess above all other historians. Chapter iii. _The narrative continued. More of the touchstone. _ Booth made a proper acknowledgment of Miss Matthew's civility, andthen renewed his story. "We were upon the footing of lovers; andAmelia threw off her reserve more and more, till at length I found allthat return of my affection which the tenderest lover can require. "My situation would now have been a paradise, had not my happinessbeen interrupted with the same reflections I have already mentioned;had I not, in short, concluded, that I must derive all my joys fromthe almost certain ruin of that dear creature to whom I should owethem. "This thought haunted me night and day, till I at last grew unable tosupport it: I therefore resolved in the strongest manner, to lay itbefore Amelia. "One evening then, after the highest professions of the mostdisinterested love, in which Heaven knows my sincerity, I took anoccasion to speak to Amelia in the following manner:-- "Too true it is, I am afraid, my dearest creature, that the highesthuman happiness is imperfect. How rich would be my cup, was it not forone poisonous drop which embitters the whole! O, Amelia! what must bethe consequence of my ever having the honour to call you mine!--Youknow my situation in life, and you know your own: I have nothing morethan the poor provision of an ensign's commission to depend on; yoursole dependence is on your mother; should any act of disobediencedefeat your expectations, how wretched must your lot be with me! O, Amelia! how ghastly an object to my mind is the apprehension of yourdistress! Can I bear to reflect a moment on the certainty of yourforegoing all the conveniences of life? on the possibility of yoursuffering all its most dreadful inconveniencies? what must be mymisery, then, to see you in such a situation, and to upbraid myselfwith being the accursed cause of bringing you to it? Suppose too insuch a season I should be summoned from you. Could I submit to see youencounter all the hazards, the fatigues of war, with me? you could notyourself, however willing, support them a single campaign. What then;must I leave you to starve alone, deprived of the tenderness of ahusband, deprived too of the tenderness of the best of mothers, through my means? a woman most dear to me, for being the parent, thenurse, and the friend of my Amelia. ---But oh! my sweet creature, carryyour thoughts a little further. Think of the tenderest consequences, the dearest pledges of our love. Can I bear to think of entailingbeggary on the posterity of my Amelia? on our---Oh, Heavens!--on ourchildren!--On the other side, is it possible even to mention the word--I will not, must not, cannot, cannot part with you. ---What must wedo, Amelia? It is now I sincerely ask your advice. " "'What advice can I give you, ' said she, 'in such an alternative?Would to Heaven we had never met!' "These words were accompanied with a sigh, and a look inexpressiblytender, the tears at the same time overflowing all her lovely cheeks. I was endeavouring to reply when I was interrupted by what soon put anend to the scene. "Our amour had already been buzzed all over the town; and it came atlast to the ears of Mrs. Harris: I had, indeed, observed of late agreat alteration in that lady's behaviour towards me whenever Ivisited at the house; nor could I, for a long time before thisevening, ever obtain a private interview with Amelia; and now, itseems, I owed it to her mother's intention of overhearing all thatpassed between us. "At the period then above mentioned, Mrs. Harris burst from the closetwhere she had hid herself, and surprised her daughter, reclining on mybosom in all that tender sorrow I have just described. I will notattempt to paint the rage of the mother, or the daughter's confusion, or my own. 'Here are very fine doings, indeed, ' cries Mrs. Harris:'you have made a noble use, Amelia, of my indulgence, and the trust Ireposed in you. --As for you, Mr. Booth, I will not accuse you; youhave used my child as I ought to have expected; I may thank myself forwhat hath happened;' with much more of the same kind, before she wouldsuffer me to speak; but at last I obtained a hearing, and offered toexcuse my poor Amelia, who was ready to sink into the earth under theoppression of grief, by taking as much blame as I could on myself. Mrs. Harris answered, 'No, sir, I must say you are innocent incomparison of her; nay, I can say I have heard you use dissuasivearguments; and I promise you they are of weight. I have, I thankHeaven, one dutiful child, and I shall henceforth think her my onlyone. '--She then forced the poor, trembling, fainting Amelia out of theroom; which when she had done, she began very coolly to reason with meon the folly, as well as iniquity, which I had been guilty of; andrepeated to me almost every word I had before urged to her daughter. In fine, she at last obtained of me a promise that I would soon go tomy regiment, and submit to any misery rather than that of being theruin of Amelia. "I now, for many days, endured the greatest torments which the humanmind is, I believe, capable of feeling; and I can honestly say I triedall the means, and applied every argument which I could raise, to cureme of my love. And to make these the more effectual, I spent everynight in walking backwards and forwards in the sight of Mrs. Harris'shouse, where I never failed to find some object or other which raisedsome tender idea of my lovely Amelia, and almost drove me todistraction. " "And don't you think, sir, " said Miss Matthews, "you took a mostpreposterous method to cure yourself?" "Alas, madam, " answered he, "you cannot see it in a more absurd lightthan I do; but those know little of real love or grief who do not knowhow much we deceive ourselves when we pretend to aim at the cure ofeither. It is with these, as it is with some distempers of the body, nothing is in the least agreeable to us but what serves to heightenthe disease. "At the end of a fortnight, when I was driven almost to the highestdegree of despair, and could contrive no method of conveying a letterto Amelia, how was I surprised when Mrs. Harris's servant brought me acard, with an invitation from the mother herself to drink tea thatevening at her house! "You will easily believe, madam, that I did not fail so agreeable anappointment: on my arrival I was introduced into a large company ofmen and women, Mrs. Harris and my Amelia being part of the company. "Amelia seemed in my eyes to look more beautiful than ever, andbehaved with all the gaiety imaginable. The old lady treated me withmuch civility, but the young lady took little notice of me, andaddressed most of her discourse to another gentleman present. Indeed, she now and then gave me a look of no discouraging kind, and Iobserved her colour change more than once when her eyes met mine;circumstances, which, perhaps, ought to have afforded me sufficientcomfort, but they could not allay the thousand doubts and fears withwhich I was alarmed, for my anxious thoughts suggested no less to methan that Amelia had made her peace with her mother at the price ofabandoning me forever, and of giving her ear to some other lover. Allmy prudence now vanished at once; and I would that instant have gladlyrun away with Amelia, and have married her without the leastconsideration of any consequences. "With such thoughts I had tormented myself for near two hours, tillmost of the company had taken their leave. This I was myself incapableof doing, nor do I know when I should have put an end to my visit, hadnot Dr Harrison taken me away almost by force, telling me in a whisperthat he had something to say to me of great consequence. --You know thedoctor, madam--" "Very well, sir, " answered Miss Matthews, "and one of the best men inthe world he is, and an honour to the sacred order to which hebelongs. " "You will judge, " replied Booth, "by the sequel, whether I have reasonto think him so. "--He then proceeded as in the next chapter. Chapter iv _The story of Mr. Booth continued. In this chapter the reader willperceive a glimpse of the character of a very good divine, with somematters of a very tender kind. _ "The doctor conducted me into his study, and I then, desiring me tosit down, began, as near as I can remember, in these words, or atleast to this purpose: "'You cannot imagine, young gentleman, that your love for Miss Emilyis any secret in this place; I have known it some time, and have been, I assure you, very much your enemy in this affair. ' "I answered, that I was very much obliged to him. "'Why, so you are, ' replied he; 'and so, perhaps, you will thinkyourself when you know all. --I went about a fortnight ago to Mrs. Harris, to acquaint her with my apprehensions on her daughter'saccount; for, though the matter was much talked of, I thought it mightpossibly not have reached her ears. I will be very plain with you. Iadvised her to take all possible care of the young lady, and even tosend her to some place, where she might be effectually kept out ofyour reach while you remained in the town. ' "And do you think, sir, said I, that this was acting a kind part byme? or do you expect that I should thank you on this occasion? "'Young man, ' answered he, 'I did not intend you any kindness, nor doI desire any of your thanks. My intention was to preserve a worthylady from a young fellow of whom I had heard no good character, andwhom I imagined to have a design of stealing a human creature for thesake of her fortune. ' "It was very kind of you, indeed, answered I, to entertain such anopinion of me. "'Why, sir, ' replied the doctor, 'it is the opinion which, I believe, most of you young gentlemen of the order of the rag deserve. I haveknown some instances, and have heard of more, where such young fellowshave committed robbery under the name of marriage. ' "I was going to interrupt him with some anger when he desired me tohave a little patience, and then informed me that he had visited Mrs. Harris with the above-mentioned design the evening after the discoveryI have related; that Mrs. Harris, without waiting for his information, had recounted to him all which had happened the evening before; and, indeed, she must have an excellent memory, for I think she repeatedevery word I said, and added, that she had confined her daughter toher chamber, where she kept her a close prisoner, and had not seen hersince. "I cannot express, nor would modesty suffer me if I could, all thatnow past. The doctor took me by the hand and burst forth into thewarmest commendations of the sense and generosity which he was pleasedto say discovered themselves in my speech. You know, madam, his strongand singular way of expressing himself on all occasions, especiallywhen he is affected with anything. 'Sir, ' said he, 'if I knew half adozen such instances in the army, the painter should put red liveriesupon all the saints in my closet. ' "From this instant, the doctor told me, he had become my friend andzealous advocate with Mrs. Harris, on whom he had at last prevailed, though not without the greatest difficulty, to consent to my marryingAmelia, upon condition that I settled every penny which the mothershould lay down, and that she would retain a certain sum in her handswhich she would at any time deposit for my advancement in the army. "You will, I hope, madam, conceive that I made no hesitation at theseconditions, nor need I mention the joy which I felt on this occasion, or the acknowledgment I paid the doctor, who is, indeed, as you say, one of the best of men. "The next morning I had permission to visit Amelia, who received me insuch a manner, that I now concluded my happiness to be complete. "Everything was now agreed on all sides, and lawyers employed toprepare the writings, when an unexpected cloud arose suddenly in ourserene sky, and all our joys were obscured in a moment. "When matters were, as I apprehended, drawing near a conclusion, Ireceived an express, that a sister whom I tenderly loved was seizedwith a violent fever, and earnestly desired me to come to her. Iimmediately obeyed the summons, and, as it was then about two in themorning, without staying even to take leave of Amelia, for whom I lefta short billet, acquainting her with the reason of my absence. "The gentleman's house where my sister then was stood at fifty miles'distance, and, though I used the utmost expedition, the unmercifuldistemper had, before my arrival, entirely deprived the poor girl ofher senses, as it soon after did of her life. "Not all the love I bore Amelia, nor the tumultuous delight with whichthe approaching hour of possessing her filled my heart, could, for awhile, allay my grief at the loss of my beloved Nancy. Upon my soul, Icannot yet mention her name without tears. Never brother and sisterhad, I believe, a higher friendship for each other. Poor dear girl!whilst I sat by her in her light-head fits, she repeated scarce anyother name but mine; and it plainly appeared that, when her dearreason was ravished away from her, it had left my image on her fancy, and that the last use she made of it was to think on me. 'Send for mydear Billy immediately, ' she cried; 'I know he will come to me in amoment. Will nobody fetch him to me? pray don't kill me before I seehim once more. You durst not use me so if he was here. '--Every accentstill rings in my ears. Oh, heavens! to hear this, and at the sametime to see the poor delirious creature deriving the greatest horrorsfrom my sight, and mistaking me for a highwayman who had a littlebefore robbed her. But I ask your pardon; the sensations I felt are tobe known only from experience, and to you must appear dull andinsipid. At last, she seemed for a moment to know me, and cried, 'Oheavens! my dearest brother!' upon which she fell into immediateconvulsions, and died away in my arms. " Here Mr. Booth stopped a moment, and wiped his eyes; and MissMatthews, perhaps out of complaisance, wiped hers. Chapter v. _Containing strange revolutions of fortune_ Booth proceeded thus: "This loss, perhaps, madam, you will think had made me miserableenough; but Fortune did not think so; for, on the day when my Nancywas to be buried, a courier arrived from Dr Harrison, with a letter, in which the doctor acquainted me that he was just come from Mrs. Harris when he despatched the express, and earnestly desired me toreturn the very instant I received his letter, as I valued my Amelia. 'Though if the daughter, ' added he, 'should take after her mother (asmost of them do) it will be, perhaps, wiser in you to stay away. ' "I presently sent for the messenger into my room, and with muchdifficulty extorted from him that a great squire in his coach and sixwas come to Mrs. Harris's, and that the whole town said he was shortlyto be married to Amelia. "I now soon perceived how much superior my love for Amelia was toevery other passion; poor Nancy's idea disappeared in a moment; Iquitted the dear lifeless corpse, over which I had shed a thousandtears, left the care of her funeral to others, and posted, I mayalmost say flew, back to Amelia, and alighted at the doctor's house, as he had desired me in his letter. "The good man presently acquainted me with what had happened in myabsence. Mr. Winckworth had, it seems, arrived the very day of mydeparture, with a grand equipage, and, without delay, had made formalproposals to Mrs. Harris, offering to settle any part of his vastestate, in whatever manner she pleased, on Amelia. These proposals theold lady had, without any deliberation, accepted, and had insisted, inthe most violent manner, on her daughter's compliance, which Ameliahad as peremptorily refused to give; insisting, on her part, on theconsent which her mother had before given to our marriage, in whichshe was heartily seconded by the doctor, who declared to her, as henow did to me, 'that we ought as much to be esteemed man and wife asif the ceremony had already past between us. ' "These remonstrances, the doctor told me, had worked no effect on Mrs. Harris, who still persisted in her avowed resolution of marrying herdaughter to Winckworth, whom the doctor had likewise attacked, tellinghim that he was paying his addresses to another man's wife; but all tono purpose; the young gentleman was too much in love to hearken to anydissuasives. "We now entered into a consultation what means to employ. The doctorearnestly protested against any violence to be offered to the personof Winckworth, which, I believe, I had rashly threatened; declaringthat, if I made any attempt of that kind, he would for ever abandon mycause. I made him a solemn promise of forbearance. At last hedetermined to pay another visit to Mrs. Harris, and, if he found herobdurate, he said he thought himself at liberty to join us togetherwithout any further consent of the mother, which every parent, hesaid, had a right to refuse, but not retract when given, unless theparty himself, by some conduct of his, gave a reason. "The doctor having made his visit with no better success than before, the matter now debated was, how to get possession of Amelia bystratagem, for she was now a closer prisoner than ever; was hermother's bedfellow by night, and never out of her sight by day. "While we were deliberating on this point a wine-merchant of the towncame to visit the doctor, to inform him that he had just bottled off ahogshead of excellent old port, of which he offered to spare him ahamper, saying that he was that day to send in twelve dozen to Mrs. Harris. "The doctor now smiled at a conceit which came into his head; and, taking me aside, asked me if I had love enough for the young lady toventure into the house in a hamper. I joyfully leapt at the proposal, to which the merchant, at the doctor's intercession, consented; for Ibelieve, madam, you know the great authority which that worthy marthad over the whole town. The doctor, moreover, promised to procure alicense, and to perform the office for us at his house, if I couldfind any means of conveying Amelia thither. "In this hamper, then, I was carried to the house, and deposited inthe entry, where I had not lain long before I was again removed andpacked up in a cart in order to be sent five miles into the country;for I heard the orders given as I lay in the entry; and there Ilikewise heard that Amelia and her mother were to follow me the nextmorning. "I was unloaded from my cart, and set down with the rest of the lumberin a great hall. Here I remained above three hours, impatientlywaiting for the evening, when I determined to quit a posture which wasbecome very uneasy, and break my prison; but Fortune contrived torelease me sooner, by the following means: The house where I now washad been left in the care of one maid-servant. This faithful creaturecame into the hall with the footman who had driven the cart. A sceneof the highest fondness having past between them, the fellow proposed, and the maid consented, to open the hamper and drink a bottletogether, which, they agreed, their mistress would hardly miss in sucha quantity. They presently began to execute their purpose. They openedthe hamper, and, to their great surprise, discovered the contents. "I took an immediate advantage of the consternation which appeared inthe countenances of both the servants, and had sufficient presence ofmind to improve the knowledge of those secrets to which I was privy. Itold them that it entirely depended on their behaviour to me whethertheir mistress should ever be acquainted, either with what they haddone or with what they had intended to do; for that if they would keepmy secret I would reciprocally keep theirs. I then acquainted themwith my purpose of lying concealed in the house, in order to watch anopportunity of obtaining a private interview with Amelia. [Illustration: They opened The Hamper] "In the situation in which these two delinquents stood, you may beassured it was not difficult for me to seal up their lips. In short, they agreed to whatever I proposed. I lay that evening in my dearAmelia's bedchamber, and was in the morning conveyed into an oldlumber-garret, where I was to wait till Amelia (whom the maidpromised, on her arrival, to inform of my place of concealment) couldfind some opportunity of seeing me. " "I ask pardon for interrupting you, " cries Miss Matthews, "but youbring to my remembrance a foolish story which I heard at that time, though at a great distance from you: That an officer had, inconfederacy with Miss Harris, broke open her mother's cellar and stoleaway a great quantity of her wine. I mention it only to shew you whatsort of foundations most stories have. " Booth told her he had heard some such thing himself, and thencontinued his story as in the next chapter. Chapter vi. _Containing many surprising adventures. _ "There, " continued he, "I remained the whole day in hopes of ahappiness, the expected approach of which gave me such a delight thatI would not have exchanged my poor lodgings for the finest palace inthe universe. "A little after it was dark Mrs. Harris arrived, together with Ameliaand her sister. I cannot express how much my heart now began toflutter; for, as my hopes every moment encreased, strange fears, whichI had not felt before, began now to intermingle with them. "When I had continued full two hours in these circumstances, I heard awoman's step tripping upstairs, which I fondly hoped was my Amelia;but all on a sudden the door flew open, and Mrs. Harris herselfappeared at it, with a countenance pale as death, her whole bodytrembling, I suppose with anger; she fell upon me in the most bitterlanguage. It is not necessary to repeat what she said, nor indeed canI, I was so shocked and confounded on this occasion. In a word, thescene ended with my departure without seeing Amelia. " "And pray, " cries Miss Matthews, "how happened this unfortunatediscovery?" Booth answered, That the lady at supper ordered a bottle of wine, "which neither myself, " says he, "nor the servants had presence ofmind to provide. Being told there was none in the house, though shehad been before informed that the things came all safe, she had sentfor the maid, who, being unable to devise any excuse, had fallen onher knees, and, after confessing her design of opening a bottle, whichshe imputed to the fellow, betrayed poor me to her mistress. "Well, madam, after a lecture of about a quarter of an hour's durationfrom Mrs. Harris, I suffered her to conduct me to the outward gate ofher court-yard, whence I set forward in a disconsolate condition ofmind towards my lodgings. I had five miles to walkin a dark and rainynight: but how can I mention these trifling circumstances as anyaggravation of my disappointment!" "How was it possible, " cried Miss Matthews, "that you could be got outof the house without seeing Miss Harris?" "I assure you, madam, " answered Booth, "I have often wondered at itmyself; but my spirits were so much sunk at the sight of her mother, that no man was ever a greater coward than I was at that instant. Indeed, I believe my tender concern for the terrors of Amelia were theprincipal cause of my submission. However it was, I left the house, and walked about a hundred yards, when, at the corner of the garden-wall, a female voice, in a whisper, cried out, 'Mr. Booth. ' The personwas extremely near me, but it was so dark I could scarce see her; nordid I, in the confusion I was in, immediately recognize the voice. Ianswered in a line of Congreve's, which burst from my lipsspontaneously; for I am sure I had no intention to quote plays at thattime. "'Who calls the wretched thing that was Alphonso?' "Upon which a woman leapt into my arms, crying out--'O! it is indeedmy Alphonso, my only Alphonso!'--O Miss Matthews! guess what I feltwhen I found I had my Amelia in my arms. I embraced her with anecstasy not to be described, at the same instant pouring a thousandtendernesses into her ears; at least, if I could express so many toher in a minute, for in that time the alarm began at the house; Mrs. Harris had mist her daughter, and the court was presently full oflights and noises of all kinds. "I now lifted Amelia over a gate, and, jumping after, we crept alongtogether by the side of a hedge, a different way from what led to thetown, as I imagined that would be the road through which they wouldpursue us. In this opinion I was right; for we heard them pass alongthat road, and the voice of Mrs. Harris herself, who ran with therest, notwithstanding the darkness and the rain. By these means weluckily made our escape, and clambring over hedge and ditch, my Ameliaperforming the part of a heroine all the way, we at length arrived ata little green lane, where stood a vast spreading oak, under which wesheltered ourselves from a violent storm. "When this was over and the moon began to appear, Amelia declared sheknew very well where she was; and, a little farther striking intoanother lane to the right, she said that would lead us to a housewhere we should be both safe and unsuspected. I followed herdirections, and we at length came to a little cottage about threemiles distant from Mrs. Harris's house. "As it now rained very violently, we entered this cottage, in which weespied a light, without any ceremony. Here we found an elderly womansitting by herself at a little fire, who had no sooner viewed us thanshe instantly sprung from her seat, and starting back gave thestrongest tokens of amazement; upon which Amelia said, 'Be notsurprised, nurse, though you see me in a strange pickle, I own. ' Theold woman, after having several times blessed herself, and expressedthe most tender concern for the lady who stood dripping before her, began to bestir herself in making up the fire; at the same timeentreating Amelia that she might be permitted to furnish her with somecloaths, which, she said, though not fine, were clean and wholesomeand much dryer than her own. I seconded this motion so vehemently, that Amelia, though she declared herself under no apprehension ofcatching cold (she hath indeed the best constitution in the world), atlast consented, and I retired without doors under a shed, to give myangel an opportunity of dressing herself in the only room which thecottage afforded belowstairs. "At my return into the room, Amelia insisted on my exchanging my coatfor one which belonged to the old woman's son. " "I am very glad, "cried Miss Matthews, "to find she did not forget you. I own I thoughtit somewhat cruel to turn you out into the rain. "--"O, Miss Matthews!"continued he, taking no notice of her observation, "I had now anopportunity of contemplating the vast power of exquisite beauty, whichnothing almost can add to or diminish. Amelia, in the poor rags of herold nurse, looked scarce less beautiful than I have seen her appear ata ball or an assembly. " "Well, well, " cries Miss Matthews, "to be sureshe did; but pray go on with your story. " "The old woman, " continued he, "after having equipped us as well asshe could, and placed our wet cloaths before the fire, began to growinquisitive; and, after some ejaculations, she cried--'O, my dearyoung madam! my mind misgives me hugeously; and pray who is this fineyoung gentleman? Oh! Miss Emmy, Miss Emmy, I am afraid madam knowsnothing of all this matter. ' 'Suppose he should be my husband, nurse, 'answered Amelia. 'Oh! good! and if he be, ' replies the nurse, 'I hopehe is some great gentleman or other, with a vast estate and a coachand six: for to be sure, if an he was the greatest lord in the land, you would deserve it all. ' But why do I attempt to mimic the honestcreature? In short, she discovered the greatest affection for myAmelia; with which I was much more delighted than I was offended atthe suspicions she shewed of me, or the many bitter curses which shedenounced against me, if I ever proved a bad husband to so sweet ayoung lady. "I so well improved the hint given me by Amelia, that the old womanhad no doubt of our being really married; and, comforting herselfthat, if it was not as well as it might have been, yet madam hadenough for us both, and that happiness did not always depend on greatriches, she began to rail at the old lady for having turned us out ofdoors, which I scarce told an untruth in asserting. And when Ameliasaid, 'She hoped her nurse would not betray her, ' the good womananswered with much warmth--'Betray you, my dear young madam! no, thatI would not, if the king would give me all that he is worth: no, notif madam herself would give me the great house, and the whole farmbelonging to it. ' "The good woman then went out and fetched a chicken from the roost, which she killed, and began to pick, without asking any questions. Then, summoning her son, who was in bed, to her assistance, she beganto prepare this chicken for our supper. This she afterwards set beforeus in so neat, I may almost say elegant, a manner, that whoever wouldhave disdained it either doth not know the sensation of hunger, ordoth not deserve to have it gratified. Our food was attended with someale, which our kind hostess said she intended not to have tapped tillChristmas; 'but, ' added she, 'I little thought ever to have the honourof seeing my dear honoured lady in this poor place. ' "For my own part, no human being was then an object of envy to me, andeven Amelia seemed to be in pretty good spirits; she softly whisperedto me that she perceived there might be happiness in a cottage. " "A cottage!" cries Miss Matthews, sighing, "a cottage, with the manone loves, is a palace. " "When supper was ended, " continued Booth, "the good woman began tothink of our further wants, and very earnestly recommended her bed tous, saying, it was a very neat, though homely one, and that she couldfurnish us with a pair of clean sheets. She added some persuasiveswhich painted my angel all over with vermilion. As for myself, Ibehaved so awkwardly and foolishly, and so readily agreed to Amelia'sresolution of sitting up all night, that, if it did not give the nurseany suspicion of our marriage, it ought to have inspired her with theutmost contempt for me. "We both endeavoured to prevail with nurse to retire to her own bed, but found it utterly impossible to succeed; she thanked Heaven sheunderstood breeding better than that. And so well bred was the goodwoman, that we could scarce get her out of the room the whole night. Luckily for us, we both understood French, by means of which weconsulted together, even in her presence, upon the measures we were totake in our present exigency. At length it was resolved that I shouldsend a letter by this young lad, whom I have just before mentioned, toour worthy friend the doctor, desiring his company at our hut, sincewe thought it utterly unsafe to venture to the town, which we knewwould be in an uproar on our account before the morning. " Here Booth made a full stop, smiled, and then said he was going tomention so ridiculous a distress, that he could scarce think of itwithout laughing. What this was the reader shall know in the nextchapter. Chapter vii. _The story of Booth continued. --More surprising adventures. _ From what trifles, dear Miss Matthews, " cried Booth, "may some of ourgreatest distresses arise! Do you not perceive I am going to tell youwe had neither pen, ink, nor paper, in our present exigency? "A verbal message was now our only resource; however, we contrived todeliver it in such terms, that neither nurse nor her son couldpossibly conceive any suspicion from it of the present situation ofour affairs. Indeed, Amelia whispered me, I might safely place anydegree of confidence in the lad; for he had been her foster-brother, and she had a great opinion of his integrity. He was in truth a boy ofvery good natural parts; and Dr Harrison, who had received him intohis family, at Amelia's recommendation, had bred him up to write andread very well, and had taken some pains to infuse into him theprinciples of honesty and religion. He was not, indeed, even nowdischarged from the doctor's service, but had been at home with hismother for some time, on account of the small-pox, from which he waslately recovered. "I have said so much, " continued Booth, "of the boy's character, thatyou may not be surprised at some stories which I shall tell you of himhereafter. "I am going now, madam, to relate to you one of those strangeaccidents which are produced by such a train of circumstances, thatmere chance hath been thought incapable of bringing them together; andwhich have therefore given birth, in superstitious minds, to Fortune, and to several other imaginary beings. "We were now impatiently expecting the arrival of the doctor; ourmessenger had been gone much more than a sufficient time, which to us, you may be assured, appeared not at all shorter than it was, whennurse, who had gone out of doors on some errand, came running hastilyto us, crying out, 'O my dear young madam, her ladyship's coach isjust at the door!' Amelia turned pale as death at these words; indeed, I feared she would have fainted, if I could be said to fear, who hadscarce any of my senses left, and was in a condition little betterthan my angel's. "While we were both in this dreadful situation, Amelia fallen back inher chair with the countenance in which ghosts are painted, myself ather feet, with a complexion of no very different colour, and nursescreaming out and throwing water in Amelia's face, Mrs. Harris enteredthe room. At the sight of this scene she threw herself likewise into achair, and called immediately for a glass of water, which Miss Bettyher daughter supplied her with; for, as to nurse, nothing was capableof making any impression on her whilst she apprehended her youngmistress to be in danger. "The doctor had now entered the room, and, coming immediately up toAmelia, after some expressions of surprize, he took her by the hand, called her his little sugar-plum, and assured her there were none butfriends present. He then led her tottering across the room to Mrs. Harris. Amelia then fell upon her knees before her mother; but thedoctor caught her up, saying, 'Use that posture, child, only to theAlmighty!' but I need not mention this singularity of his to you whoknow him so well, and must have heard him often dispute againstaddressing ourselves to man in the humblest posture which we usetowards the Supreme Being. "I will tire you with no more particulars: we were soon satisfied thatthe doctor had reconciled us and our affairs to Mrs. Harris; and wenow proceeded directly to church, the doctor having before provided alicence for us. " "But where is the strange accident?" cries Miss Matthews; "sure youhave raised more curiosity than you have satisfied. " "Indeed, madam, " answered he, "your reproof is just; I had like tohave forgotten it; but you cannot wonder at me when you reflect onthat interesting part of my story which I am now relating. --But beforeI mention this accident I must tell you what happened after Amelia'sescape from her mother's house. Mrs. Harris at first ran out into thelane among her servants, and pursued us (so she imagined) along theroad leading to the town; but that being very dirty, and a violentstorm of rain coming, she took shelter in an alehouse about half amile from her own house, whither she sent for her coach; she thendrove, together with her daughter, to town, where, soon after herarrival, she sent for the doctor, her usual privy counsellor in allher affairs. They sat up all night together, the doctor endeavouring, by arguments and persuasions, to bring Mrs. Harris to reason; but allto no purpose, though, as he hath informed me, Miss Betty seconded himwith the warmest entreaties. " Here Miss Matthews laughed; of which Booth begged to know the reason:she, at last, after many apologies, said, "It was the first good thingshe ever heard of Miss Betty; nay, " said she, "and asking your pardonfor my opinion of your sister, since you will have it, I alwaysconceived her to be the deepest of hypocrites. " Booth fetched a sigh, and said he was afraid she had not always actedso kindly;--and then, after a little hesitation, proceeded: "You will be pleased, madam, to remember the lad was sent with averbal message to the doctor: which message was no more than toacquaint him where we were, and to desire the favour of his company, or that he would send a coach to bring us to whatever place he wouldplease to meet us at. This message was to be delivered to the doctorhimself, and the messenger was ordered, if he found him not at home, to go to him wherever he was. He fulfilled his orders and told it tothe doctor in the presence of Mrs. Harris. " "Oh, the idiot!" cries Miss Matthews. "Not at all, " answered Booth:"he is a very sensible fellow, as you will, perhaps, say hereafter. Hehad not the least reason to suspect that any secrecy was necessary;for we took the utmost care he should not suspect it. --Well, madam, this accident, which appeared so unfortunate, turned in the highestdegree to our advantage. Mrs. Harris no sooner heard the messagedelivered than she fell into the most violent passion imaginable, andaccused the doctor of being in the plot, and of having confederatedwith me in the design of carrying off her daughter. "The doctor, who had hitherto used only soothing methods, now talkedin a different strain. He confessed the accusation and justified hisconduct. He said he was no meddler in the family affairs of others, nor should he have concerned himself with hers, but at her ownrequest; but that, since Mrs. Harris herself had made him an agent inthis matter, he would take care to acquit himself with honour, andabove all things to preserve a young lady for whom he had the highestesteem; 'for she is, ' cries he, and, by heavens, he said true, 'themost worthy, generous, and noble of all human beings. You haveyourself, madam, ' said he, 'consented to the match. I have, at yourrequest, made the match;' and then he added some particulars relatingto his opinion of me, which my modesty forbids me to repeat. "--"Nay, but, " cries Miss Matthews, "I insist on your conquest of that modestyfor once. We women do not love to hear one another's praises, and Iwill be made amends by hearing the praises of a man, and of a manwhom, perhaps, " added she with a leer, "I shall not think much thebetter of upon that account. "--"In obedience to your commands, then, madam, " continued he, "the doctor was so kind to say he had enquiredinto my character and found that I had been a dutiful son and anaffectionate brother. Relations, said he, in which whoever dischargeshis duty well, gives us a well-grounded hope that he will behave asproperly in all the rest. He concluded with saying that Amelia'shappiness, her heart, nay, her very reputation, were all concerned inthis matter, to which, as he had been made instrumental, he wasresolved to carry her through it; and then, taking the licence fromhis pocket, declared to Mrs. Harris that he would go that instant andmarry her daughter wherever he found her. This speech, the doctor'svoice, his look, and his behaviour, all which are sufficientlycalculated to inspire awe, and even terror, when he pleases, frightened poor Mrs. Harris, and wrought a more sensible effect thanit was in his power to produce by all his arguments and entreaties;and I have already related what followed. "Thus the strange accident of our wanting pen, ink, and paper, and ournot trusting the boy with our secret, occasioned the discovery to Mrs. Harris; that discovery put the doctor upon his metal, and producedthat blessed event which I have recounted to you, and which, as mymother hath since confessed, nothing but the spirit which he hadexerted after the discovery could have brought about. "Well, madam, you now see me married to Amelia; in which situation youwill, perhaps, think my happiness incapable of addition. Perhaps itwas so; and yet I can with truth say that the love which I then boreAmelia was not comparable to what I bear her now. " "Happy Amelia!"cried Miss Matthews. "If all men were like you, all women would beblessed; nay, the whole world would be so in a great measure; for, upon my soul, I believe that from the damned inconstancy of your sexto ours proceeds half the miseries of mankind. " That we may give the reader leisure to consider well the foregoingsentiment, we will here put an end to this chapter. Chapter viii. _In which our readers will probably be divided in their opinion ofMr. Booth's conduct. _ Booth proceeded as follows:-- "The first months of our marriage produced nothing remarkable enoughto mention. I am sure I need not tell Miss Matthews that I found in myAmelia every perfection of human nature. Mrs. Harris at first gave ussome little uneasiness. She had rather yielded to the doctor thangiven a willing consent to the match; however, by degrees, she becamemore and more satisfied, and at last seemed perfectly reconciled. Thiswe ascribed a good deal to the kind offices of Miss Betty, who hadalways appeared to be my friend. She had been greatly assisting toAmelia in making her escape, which I had no opportunity of mentioningto you before, and in all things behaved so well, outwardly at least, to myself as well as her sister, that we regarded her as our sincerestfriend. "About half a year after our marriage two additional companies wereadded to our regiment, in one of which I was preferred to the commandof a lieutenant. Upon this occasion Miss Betty gave the firstintimation of a disposition which we have since too severelyexperienced. " "Your servant, sir, " says Miss Matthews; "then I find I was notmistaken in my opinion of the lady. --No, no, shew me any goodness in acensorious prude, and--" As Miss Matthews hesitated for a simile or an execration, Boothproceeded: "You will please to remember, madam, there was formerly anagreement between myself and Mrs. Harris that I should settle all myAmelia's fortune on her, except a certain sum, which was to be laidout in my advancement in the army; but, as our marriage was carried onin the manner you have heard, no such agreement was ever executed. Andsince I was become Amelia's husband not a word of this matter was evermentioned by the old lady; and as for myself, I declare I had not yetawakened from that delicious dream of bliss in which the possession ofAmelia had lulled me. " Here Miss Matthews sighed, and cast the tenderest of looks on Booth, who thus continued his story:-- "Soon after my promotion Mrs. Harris one morning took an occasion tospeak to me on this affair. She said, that, as I had been promotedgratis to a lieutenancy, she would assist me with money to carry meyet a step higher; and, if more was required than was formerlymentioned, it should not be wanting, since she was so perfectlysatisfied with my behaviour to her daughter. Adding that she hoped Ihad still the same inclination to settle on my wife the remainder ofher fortune. "I answered with very warm acknowledgments of my mother's goodness, and declared, if I had the world, I was ready to lay it at my Amelia'sfeet. --And so, Heaven knows, I would ten thousand worlds. "Mrs. Harris seemed pleased with the warmth of my sentiments, and saidshe would immediately send to her lawyer and give him the necessaryorders; and thus ended our conversation on this subject. "From this time there was a very visible alteration in Miss Betty'sbehaviour. She grew reserved to her sister as well as to me. She wasfretful and captious on the slightest occasion; nay, she affected muchto talk on the ill consequences of an imprudent marriage, especiallybefore her mother; and if ever any little tenderness or endearmentsescaped me in public towards Amelia, she never failed to make somemalicious remark on the short duration of violent passions; and, whenI have expressed a fond sentiment for my wife, her sister would kindlywish she might hear as much seven years hence. "All these matters have been since suggested to us by reflection; for, while they actually past, both Amelia and myself had our thoughts toohappily engaged to take notice of what discovered itself in the mindof any other person. "Unfortunately for us, Mrs. Harris's lawyer happened at this time tobe at London, where business detained him upwards of a month, and, asMrs. Harris would on no occasion employ any other, our affair wasunder an entire suspension till his return. "Amelia, who was now big with child, had often expressed the deepestconcern at her apprehensions of my being some time commanded abroad; acircumstance, which she declared if it should ever happen to her, eventhough she should not then be in the same situation as at present, would infallibly break her heart. These remonstrances were made withsuch tenderness, and so much affected me, that, to avoid anyprobability of such an event, I endeavoured to get an exchange intothe horse-guards, a body of troops which very rarely goes abroad, unless where the king himself commands in person. I soon found anofficer for my purpose, the terms were agreed on, and Mrs. Harris hadordered the money which I was to pay to be ready, notwithstanding theopposition made by Miss Betty, who openly dissuaded her mother fromit; alledging that the exchange was highly to my disadvantage; that Icould never hope to rise in the army after it; not forgetting, at thesame time, some insinuations very prejudicial to my reputation as asoldier. "When everything was agreed on, and the two commissions were actuallymade out, but not signed by the king, one day, at my return fromhunting, Amelia flew to me, and eagerly embracing me, cried out, 'OBilly, I have news for you which delights my soul. Nothing sure wasever so fortunate as the exchange you have made. The regiment you wasformerly in is ordered for Gibraltar. ' "I received this news with far less transport than it was delivered. Ianswered coldly, since the case was so, I heartily hoped thecommissions might be both signed. 'What do you say?' replied Ameliaeagerly; 'sure you told me everything was entirely settled. That lookof yours frightens me to death. '--But I am running into too minuteparticulars. In short, I received a letter by that very post from theofficer with whom I had exchanged, insisting that, though his majestyhad not signed the commissions, that still the bargain was valid, partly urging it as a right, and partly desiring it as a favour, thathe might go to Gibraltar in my room. "This letter convinced me in every point. I was now informed that thecommissions were not signed, and consequently that the exchange wasnot compleated; of consequence the other could have no right to insiston going; and, as for granting him such a favour, I too clearly saw Imust do it at the expense of my honour. I was now reduced to adilemma, the most dreadful which I think any man can experience; inwhich, I am not ashamed to own, I found love was not so overmatched byhonour as he ought to have been. The thoughts of leaving Amelia in herpresent condition to misery, perhaps to death or madness, wereinsupportable; nor could any other consideration but that which nowtormented me on the other side have combated them a moment. " "No woman upon earth, " cries Miss Matthews, "can despise want ofspirit in a man more than myself; and yet I cannot help thinking youwas rather too nice on this occasion. " "You will allow, madam, " answered Booth, "that whoever offends againstthe laws of honour in the least instance is treated as the highestdelinquent. Here is no excuse, no pardon; and he doth nothing wholeaves anything undone. But if the conflict was so terrible withmyself alone, what was my situation in the presence of Amelia? howcould I support her sighs, her tears, her agonies, her despair? couldI bear to think myself the cruel cause of her sufferings? for so Iwas: could I endure the thought of having it in my power to give herinstant relief, for so it was, and refuse it her? "Miss Betty was now again become my friend. She had scarce been civilto me for a fortnight last past, yet now she commended me to theskies, and as severely blamed her sister, whom she arraigned of themost contemptible weakness in preferring my safety to my honour: shesaid many ill-natured things on the occasion, which I shall not nowrepeat. "In the midst of this hurricane the good doctor came to dine with Mrs. Harris, and at my desire delivered his opinion on the matter. " Here Mr. Booth was interrupted in his narrative by the arrival of aperson whom we shall introduce in the next chapter. Chapter ix. _Containing a scene of a different kind from any of the preceding. _ The gentleman who now arrived was the keeper; or, if you please (forso he pleased to call himself), the governor of the prison. He used so little ceremony at his approach, that the bolt, which wasvery slight on the inside, gave way, and the door immediately flewopen. He had no sooner entered the room than he acquainted MissMatthews that he had brought her very good news, for which he demandeda bottle of wine as his due. This demand being complied with, he acquainted Miss Matthews that thewounded gentleman was not dead, nor was his wound thought to bemortal: that loss of blood, and perhaps his fright, had occasioned hisfainting away; "but I believe, madam, " said he, "if you take theproper measures you may be bailed to-morrow. I expect the lawyer herethis evening, and if you put the business into his hands I warrant itwill be done. Money to be sure must be parted with, that's to be sure. People to be sure will expect to touch a little in such cases. For myown part, I never desire to keep a prisoner longer than the lawallows, not I; I always inform them they can be bailed as soon as Iknow it; I never make any bargain, not I; I always love to leave thosethings to the gentlemen and ladies themselves. I never suspectgentlemen and ladies of wanting generosity. " Miss Matthews made a very slight answer to all these friendlyprofessions. She said she had done nothing she repented of, and wasindifferent as to the event. "All I can say, " cries she, "is, that ifthe wretch is alive there is no greater villain in life than himself;"and, instead of mentioning anything of the bail, she begged the keeperto leave her again alone with Mr. Booth. The keeper replied, "Nay, madam, perhaps it may be better to stay a little longer here, if youhave not bail ready, than to buy them too dear. Besides, a day or twohence, when the gentleman is past all danger of recovery, to be suresome folks that would expect an extraordinary fee now cannot expect totouch anything. And to be sure you shall want nothing here. The bestof all things are to be had here for money, both eatable anddrinkable: though I say it, I shan't turn my back to any of thetaverns for either eatables or wind. The captain there need not havebeen so shy of owning himself when he first came in; we have hadcaptains and other great gentlemen here before now; and no shame tothem, though I say it. Many a great gentleman is sometimes found inplaces that don't become them half so well, let me tell them that, Captain Booth, let me tell them that. " "I see, sir, " answered Booth, a little discomposed, "that you areacquainted with my title as well as my name. " "Ay, sir, " cries the keeper, "and I honour you the more for it. I lovethe gentlemen of the army. I was in the army myself formerly; in theLord of Oxford's horse. It is true I rode private; but I had moneyenough to have bought in quarter-master, when I took it into my headto marry, and my wife she did not like that I should continue asoldier, she was all for a private life; and so I came to thisbusiness. " "Upon my word, sir, " answered Booth, "you consulted your wife'sinclinations very notably; but pray will you satisfy my curiosity intelling me how you became acquainted that I was in the army? for mydress I think could not betray me. " "Betray!" replied the keeper; "there is no betraying here, I hope--Iam not a person to betray people. --But you are so shy and peery, youwould almost make one suspect there was more in the matter. And ifthere be, I promise you, you need not be afraid of telling it me. Youwill excuse me giving you a hint; but the sooner the better, that'sall. Others may be beforehand with you, and first come first served onthese occasions, that's all. Informers are odious, there's no doubt ofthat, and no one would care to be an informer if he could help it, because of the ill-usage they always receive from the mob: yet it isdangerous to trust too much; and when safety and a good part of thereward too are on one side and the gallows on the other--I know whicha wise man would chuse. " "What the devil do you mean by all this?" cries Booth. "No offence, I hope, " answered the keeper: "I speak for your good; andif you have been upon the snaffling lay--you understand me, I amsure. " "Not I, " answered Booth, "upon my honour. " "Nay, nay, " replied the keeper, with a contemptuous sneer, "if you areso peery as that comes to, you must take the consequence. --But for mypart, I know I would not trust Robinson with twopence untold. " "What do you mean?" cries Booth; "who is Robinson?" "And you don't know Robinson?" answered the keeper with great emotion. To which Booth replying in the negative, the keeper, after some tokensof amazement, cried out, "Well, captain, I must say you are the bestat it of all the gentlemen I ever saw. However, I will tell you this:the lawyer and Mr. Robinson have been laying their heads togetherabout you above half an hour this afternoon. I overheard them mentionCaptain Booth several times, and, for my part, I would not answer thatMr. Murphy is not now gone about the business; but if you will impeachany to me of the road, or anything else, I will step away to hisworship Thrasher this instant, and I am sure I have interest enoughwith him to get you admitted an evidence. " "And so, " cries Booth, "you really take me for a highwayman?" "No offence, captain, I hope, " said the keeper; "as times go, thereare many worse men in the world than those. Gentlemen may be driven todistress, and when they are, I know no more genteeler way than theroad. It hath been many a brave man's case, to my knowledge, and menof as much honour too as any in the world. " "Well, sir, " said Booth, "I assure you I am not that gentleman ofhonour you imagine me. " Miss Matthews, who had long understood the keeper no better than Mr. Booth, no sooner heard his meaning explained than she was fired withgreater indignation than the gentleman had expressed. "How dare you, sir, " said she to the keeper, "insult a man of fashion, and who hathhad the honour to bear his majesty's commission in the army? as youyourself own you know. If his misfortunes have sent him hither, surewe have no laws that will protect such a fellow as you in insultinghim. " "Fellow!" muttered the keeper--"I would not advise you, madam, to use such language to me. "--"Do you dare threaten me?" replied MissMatthews in a rage. "Venture in the least instance to exceed yourauthority with regard to me, and I will prosecute you with the utmostvengeance. " A scene of very high altercation now ensued, till Booth interposed andquieted the keeper, who was, perhaps, enough inclined to anaccommodation; for, in truth, he waged unequal war. He was besidesunwilling to incense Miss Matthews, whom he expected to be bailed outthe next day, and who had more money left than he intended she shouldcarry out of the prison with her; and as for any violent orunjustifiable methods, the lady had discovered much too great a spiritto be in danger of them. The governor, therefore, in a very gentletone, declared that, if he had given any offence to the gentleman, heheartily asked his pardon; that, if he had known him to be really acaptain, he should not have entertained any such suspicions; but thecaptain was a very common title in that place, and belonged to severalgentlemen that had never been in the army, or, at most, had ridprivate like himself. "To be sure, captain, " said he, "as you yourselfown, your dress is not very military" (for he had on a plain fustiansuit); "and besides, as the lawyer says, _noscitur a sosir_, is a verygood rule. And I don't believe there is a greater rascal upon earththan that same Robinson that I was talking of. Nay, I assure you, Iwish there may be no mischief hatching against you. But if there is Iwill do all I can with the lawyer to prevent it. To be sure, Mr. Murphy is one of the cleverest men in the world at the law; that evenhis enemies must own, and as I recommend him to all the business I can(and it is not a little to be sure that arises in this place), why onegood turn deserves another. And I may expect that he will not beconcerned in any plot to ruin any friend of mine, at least when Idesire him not. I am sure he could not be an honest man if he would. " Booth was then satisfied that Mr. Robinson, whom he did not yet knowby name, was the gamester who had won his money at play. And now MissMatthews, who had very impatiently borne this long interruption, prevailed on the keeper to withdraw. As soon as he was gone Mr. Boothbegan to felicitate her upon the news of the wounded gentleman beingin a fair likelihood of recovery. To which, after a short silence, sheanswered, "There is something, perhaps, which you will not easilyguess, that makes your congratulations more agreeable to me than thefirst account I heard of the villain's having escaped the fate hedeserves; for I do assure you, at first, it did not make me amends forthe interruption of my curiosity. Now I hope we shall be disturbed nomore till you have finished your whole story. --You left off, I think, somewhere in the struggle about leaving Amelia--the happy Amelia. ""And can you call her happy at such a period?" cries Booth. "Happy, ay, happy, in any situation, " answered Miss Matthews, "with such ahusband. I, at least, may well think so, who have experienced the veryreverse of her fortune; but I was not born to be happy. I may say withthe poet, "The blackest ink of fate was sure my lot, And when fate writ my name, it made a blot. " "Nay, nay, dear Miss Matthews, " answered Booth, "you must and shallbanish such gloomy thoughts. Fate hath, I hope, many happy days instore for you. "--"Do you believe it, Mr. Booth?" replied she; "indeedyou know the contrary--you must know--for you can't have forgot. NoAmelia in the world can have quite obliterated--forgetfulness is notin our own power. If it was, indeed, I have reason to think--but Iknow not what I am saying. --Pray do proceed in that story. " Booth so immediately complied with this request that it is possible hewas pleased with it. To say the truth, if all which unwittingly droptfrom Miss Matthews was put together, some conclusions might, it seems, be drawn from the whole, which could not convey a very agreeable ideato a constant husband. Booth, therefore, proceeded to relate what iswritten in the third book of this history. BOOK III. Chapter i. _In which Mr. Booth resumes his story. _ "If I am not mistaken, madam, " continued Booth, "I was just going toacquaint you with the doctor's opinion when we were interrupted by thekeeper. "The doctor, having heard counsel on both sides, that is to say, Mrs. Harris for my staying, and Miss Betty for my going, at last deliveredhis own sentiments. As for Amelia, she sat silent, drowned in hertears; nor was I myself in a much better situation. "'As the commissions are not signed, ' said the doctor, 'I think youmay be said to remain in your former regiment; and therefore I thinkyou ought to go on this expedition; your duty to your king andcountry, whose bread you have eaten, requires it; and this is a dutyof too high a nature to admit the least deficiency. Regard to yourcharacter, likewise, requires you to go; for the world, which mightjustly blame your staying at home if the case was even fairly stated, will not deal so honestly by you: you must expect to have everycircumstance against you heightened, and most of what makes for yourdefence omitted; and thus you will be stigmatized as a coward withoutany palliation. As the malicious disposition of mankind is too wellknown, and the cruel pleasure which they take in destroying thereputations of others, the use we are to make of this knowledge is toafford no handle to reproach; for, bad as the world is, it seldomfalls on any man who hath not given some slight cause for censure, though this, perhaps, is often aggravated ten thousand-fold; and, whenwe blame the malice of the aggravation we ought not to forget our ownimprudence in giving the occasion. Remember, my boy, your honour is atstake; and you know how nice the honour of a soldier is in thesecases. This is a treasure which he must be your enemy, indeed, whowould attempt to rob you of. Therefore, you ought to consider everyone as your enemy who, by desiring you to stay, would rob you of yourhonour. ' "'Do you hear that, sister?' cries Miss Betty. --'Yes, I do hear it'answered Amelia, with more spirit than I ever saw her exert before, and would preserve his honour at the expense of my life. 'I willpreserve it if it should be at that expense; and since it is DrHarrison's opinion that he ought to go, I give my consent. Go, my dearhusband, ' cried she, falling upon her knees: 'may every angel ofheaven guard and preserve you!'--I cannot repeat her words withoutbeing affected, " said he, wiping his eyes, "the excellence of thatwoman no words can paint: Miss Matthews, she hath every perfection inhuman nature. "I will not tire you with the repetition of any more that past on thatoccasion, nor with the quarrel that ensued between Mrs. Harris and thedoctor; for the old lady could not submit to my leaving her daughterin her present condition. She fell severely on the army, and cursedthe day in which her daughter was married to a soldier, not sparingthe doctor for having had some share in the match. I will omit, likewise, the tender scene which past between Amelia and myselfprevious to my departure. " "Indeed, I beg you would not, " cries MissMatthews; "nothing delights me more than scenes of tenderness. Ishould be glad to know, if possible, every syllable which was utteredon both sides. " "I will indulge you then, " cries Booth, "as far as is in my power. Indeed, I believe I am able to recollect much the greatest part; forthe impression is never to be effaced from my memory. " He then proceeded as Miss Matthews desired; but, lest all our readersshould not be of her opinion, we will, according to our usual custom, endeavour to accommodate ourselves to every taste, and shall, therefore, place this scene in a chapter by itself, which we desireall our readers who do not love, or who, perhaps, do not know thepleasure of tenderness, to pass over; since they may do this withoutany prejudice to the thread of the narrative. Chapter ii. _Containing a scene of the tender kind. _ "The doctor, madam, " continued Booth, "spent his evening at Mrs. Harris's house, where I sat with him whilst he smoaked his pillowpipe, as his phrase is. Amelia was retired about half an hour to herchamber before I went to her. At my entrance I found her on her knees, a posture in which I never disturbed her. In a few minutes she arose, came to me, and embracing me, said she had been praying for resolutionto support the cruellest moment she had ever undergone or couldpossibly undergo. I reminded her how much more bitter a farewel wouldbe on a death-bed, when we never could meet, in this world at least, again. I then endeavoured to lessen all those objects which alarmedher most, and particularly the danger I was to encounter, upon whichhead I seemed a little to comfort her; but the probable length of myabsence and the certain length of my voyage were circumstances whichno oratory of mine could even palliate. 'O heavens!' said she, bursting into tears, 'can I bear to think that hundreds, thousands foraught I know, of miles or leagues, that lands and seas are between us?What is the prospect from that mount in our garden where I have sat somany happy hours with my Billy? what is the distance between that andthe farthest hill which we see from thence compared to the distancewhich will be between us? You cannot wonder at this idea; you mustremember, my Billy, at this place, this very thought came formerlyinto my foreboding mind. I then begged you to leave the army. Whywould you not comply?--did I not tell you then that the smallestcottage we could survey from the mount would be, with you, a paradiseto me? it would be so still--why can't my Billy think so? am I so muchhis superior in love? where is the dishonour, Billy? or, if there beany, will it reach our ears in our little hut? are glory and fame, andnot his Amelia, the happiness of my husband? go then, purchase them atmy expence. You will pay a few sighs, perhaps a few tears, at parting, and then new scenes will drive away the thoughts of poor Amelia fromyour bosom; but what assistance shall I have in my affliction? notthat any change of scene could drive you one moment from myremembrance; yet here every object I behold will place your loved ideain the liveliest manner before my eyes. This is the bed in which youhave reposed; that is the chair on which you sat. Upon these boardsyou have stood. These books you have read to me. Can I walk among ourbeds of flowers without viewing your favourites, nay, those which youhave planted with your own hands? can I see one beauty from ourbeloved mount which you have not pointed out to me?'--Thus she wenton, the woman, madam, you see, still prevailing. "--"Since you mentionit, " says Miss Matthews, with a smile, "I own the same observationoccurred to me. It is too natural to us to consider ourselves only, Mr. Booth. "--"You shall hear, " he cried. "At last the thoughts of herpresent condition suggested themselves. --' But if, ' said she, 'mysituation, even in health, will be so intolerable, how shall I, in thedanger and agonies of childbirth, support your absence?'--Here shestopt, and, looking on me with all the tenderness imaginable, criedout, 'And am I then such a wretch to wish for your presence at such aseason? ought I not to rejoice that you are out of the hearing of mycries or the knowledge of my pains? if I die, will you not haveescaped the horrors of a parting ten thousand times more dreadful thanthis? Go, go, my Billy; the very circumstance which made me most dreadyour departure hath perfectly reconciled me to it. I perceive clearlynow that I was only wishing to support my own weakness with yourstrength, and to relieve my own pains at the price of yours. Believeme, my love, I am ashamed of myself. '--I caught her in my arms withraptures not to be exprest in words, called her my heroine; sure noneever better deserved that name; after which we remained for some timespeechless, and locked in each other's embraces. "-- "I am convinced, " said Miss Matthews, with a sigh, "there are momentsin life worth purchasing with worlds. " "At length the fatal morning came. I endeavoured to hide every pang ofmy heart, and to wear the utmost gaiety in my countenance. Ameliaacted the same part. In these assumed characters we met the family atbreakfast; at their breakfast, I mean, for we were both full already. The doctor had spent above an hour that morning in discourse with Mrs. Harris, and had, in some measure, reconciled her to my departure. Henow made use of every art to relieve the poor distressed Amelia; notby inveighing against the folly of grief, or by seriously advising hernot to grieve; both of which were sufficiently performed by MissBetty. The doctor, on the contrary, had recourse to every means whichmight cast a veil over the idea of grief, and raise comfortable imagesin my angel's mind. He endeavoured to lessen the supposed length of myabsence by discoursing on matters which were more distant in time. Hesaid he intended next year to rebuild a part of his parsonage-house. 'And you, captain, ' says he, 'shall lay the corner-stone, I promiseyou:' with many other instances of the like nature, which produced, Ibelieve, some good effect on us both. "Amelia spoke but little; indeed, more tears than words dropt fromher; however, she seemed resolved to bear her affliction withresignation. But when the dreadful news arrived that the horses wereready, and I, having taken my leave of all the rest, at lastapproached her, she was unable to support the conflict with nature anylonger, and, clinging round my neck, she cried, 'Farewel, farewel forever; for I shall never, never see you more. ' At which words the bloodentirely forsook her lovely cheeks, and she became a lifeless corpsein my arms. "Amelia continued so long motionless, that the doctor, as well as Mrs. Harris, began to be under the most terrible apprehensions; so theyinformed me afterwards, for at that time I was incapable of making anyobservation. I had indeed very little more use of my senses than thedear creature whom I supported. At length, however, we were alldelivered from our fears; and life again visited the loveliest mansionthat human nature ever afforded it. "I had been, and yet was, so terrified with what had happened, andAmelia continued yet so weak and ill, that I determined, whatevermight be the consequence, not to leave her that day; which resolutionshe was no sooner acquainted with than she fell on her knees, crying, 'Good Heaven! I thank thee for this reprieve at least. Oh! that everyhour of my future life could be crammed into this dear day!' "Our good friend the doctor remained with us. He said he had intendedto visit a family in some affliction; 'but I don't know, ' says he, 'why I should ride a dozen miles after affliction, when we have enoughhere. '" Of all mankind the doctor is the best of comforters. As hisexcessive good-nature makes him take vast delight in the office, sohis great penetration into the human mind, joined to his greatexperience, renders him the most wonderful proficient in it; and he sowell knows when to soothe, when to reason, and when to ridicule, thathe never applies any of those arts improperly, which is almostuniversally the case with the physicians of the mind, and which itrequires very great judgment and dexterity to avoid. "The doctor principally applied himself to ridiculing the dangers ofthe siege, in which he succeeded so well, that he sometimes forced asmile even into the face of Amelia. But what most comforted her werethe arguments he used to convince her of the probability of my speedyif not immediate return. He said the general opinion was that theplace would be taken before our arrival there; in which case we shouldhave nothing more to do than to make the best of our way home again. "Amelia was so lulled by these arts that she passed the day muchbetter than I expected. Though the doctor could not make pride strongenough to conquer love, yet he exalted the former to make some standagainst the latter; insomuch that my poor Amelia, I believe, more thanonce flattered herself, to speak the language of the, world, that herreason had gained an entire victory over her passion; till lovebrought up a reinforcement, if I may use that term, of tender ideas, and bore down all before him. "In the evening the doctor and I passed another half-hour together, when he proposed to me to endeavour to leave Amelia asleep in themorning, and promised me to be at hand when she awaked, and to supporther with all the assistance in his power. He added that nothing wasmore foolish than for friends to take leave of each other. 'It istrue, indeed, ' says he, 'in the common acquaintance and friendship ofthe world, this is a very harmless ceremony; but between two personswho really love each other the church of Rome never invented a penancehalf so severe as this which we absurdly impose on ourselves' "I greatly approved the doctor's proposal; thanked him, and promised, if possible, to put it in execution. He then shook me by the hand, andheartily wished me well, saying, in his blunt way, 'Well, boy, I hopeto see thee crowned with laurels at thy return; one comfort I have atleast, that stone walls and a sea will prevent thee from runningaway. ' "When I had left the doctor I repaired to my Amelia, whom I found inher chamber, employed in a very different manner from what she hadbeen the preceding night; she was busy in packing up some trinkets ina casket, which she desired me to carry with me. This casket was herown work, and she had just fastened it as I came to her. "Her eyes very plainly discovered what had passed while she wasengaged in her work: however, her countenance was now serene, and shespoke, at least, with some chearfulness. But after some time, 'Youmust take care of this casket, Billy, ' said she. 'You must, indeed, Billy--for--' here passion almost choaked her, till a flood of tearsgave her relief, and then she proceeded--'For I shall be the happiestwoman that ever was born when I see it again. ' I told her, with theblessing of God, that day would soon come. 'Soon!' answered she. 'No, Billy, not soon: a week is an age;--but yet the happy day may come. Itshall, it must, it will! Yes, Billy, we shall meet never to partagain, even in this world, I hope. ' Pardon my weakness, Miss Matthews, but upon my soul I cannot help it, " cried he, wiping his eyes. "Well, I wonder at your patience, and I will try it no longer. Amelia, tiredout with so long a struggle between variety of passions, and havingnot closed her eyes during three successive nights, towards themorning fell into a profound sleep. In which sleep I left her, and, having drest myself with all the expedition imaginable, singing, whistling, hurrying, attempting by every method to banish thought, Imounted my horse, which I had over-night ordered to be ready, andgalloped away from that house where all my treasure was deposited. "Thus, madam, I have, in obedience to your commands, run through ascene which, if it hath been tiresome to you, you must yet acquit meof having obtruded upon you. This I am convinced of, that no one iscapable of tasting such a scene who hath not a heart full oftenderness, and perhaps not even then, unless he hath been in the samesituation. " Chapter iii. _In which Mr. Booth sets forward on his journey. _ "Well, madam, we have now taken our leave of Amelia. I rode a fullmile before I once suffered myself to look back; but now being come tothe top of a little hill, the last spot I knew which could give me aprospect of Mrs. Harris's house, my resolution failed: I stopped andcast my eyes backward. Shall I tell you what I felt at that instant? Ido assure you I am not able. So many tender ideas crowded at once intomy mind, that, if I may use the expression, they almost dissolved myheart. And now, madam, the most unfortunate accident came first intomy head. This was, that I had in the hurry and confusion left the dearcasket behind me. The thought of going back at first suggested itself;but the consequences of that were too apparent. I therefore resolvedto send my man, and in the meantime to ride on softly on my road. Heimmediately executed my orders, and after some time, feeding my eyeswith that delicious and yet heartfelt prospect, I at last turned myhorse to descend the hill, and proceeded about a hundred yards, when, considering with myself that I should lose no time by a secondindulgence, I again turned back, and once more feasted my sight withthe same painful pleasure till my man returned, bringing me thecasket, and an account that Amelia still continued in the sweet sleepI left her. I now suddenly turned my horse for the last time, and withthe utmost resolution pursued my journey. "I perceived my man at his return--But before I mention anything ofhim it may be proper, madam, to acquaint you who he was. He was thefoster-brother of my Amelia. This young fellow had taken it into hishead to go into the army; and he was desirous to serve under mycommand. The doctor consented to discharge him; his mother at lastyielded to his importunities, and I was very easily prevailed on tolist one of the handsomest young fellows in England. "You will easily believe I had some little partiality to one whosemilk Amelia had sucked; but, as he had never seen the regiment, I hadno opportunity to shew him any great mark of favour. Indeed he waitedon me as my servant; and I treated him with all the tenderness whichcan be used to one in that station. "When I was about to change into the horse-guards the poor fellowbegan to droop, fearing that he should no longer be in the same corpswith me, though certainly that would not have been the case. However, he had never mentioned one word of his dissatisfaction. He is indeed afellow of a noble spirit; but when he heard that I was to remain whereI was, and that we were to go to Gibraltar together, he fell intotransports of joy little short of madness. In short, the poor fellowhad imbibed a very strong affection for me; though this was what Iknew nothing of till long after. "When he returned to me then, as I was saying, with the casket, Iobserved his eyes all over blubbered with tears. I rebuked him alittle too rashly on this occasion. 'Heyday!' says I, 'what is themeaning of this? I hope I have not a milk-sop with me. If I thoughtyou would shew such a face to the enemy I would leave you behind. '--'Your honour need not fear that, ' answered he; 'I shall find nobodythere that I shall love well enough to make me cry. ' I was highlypleased with this answer, in which I thought I could discover bothsense and spirit. I then asked him what had occasioned those tearssince he had left me (for he had no sign of any at that time), andwhether he had seen his mother at Mrs. Harris's? He answered in thenegative, and begged that I would ask him no more questions; addingthat he was not very apt to cry, and he hoped he should never give mesuch another opportunity of blaming him. I mention this only as aninstance of his affection towards me; for I never could account forthose tears any otherwise than by placing them to the account of thatdistress in which he left me at that time. We travelled full fortymiles that day without baiting, when, arriving at the inn where Iintended to rest that night, I retired immediately to my chamber, withmy dear Amelia's casket, the opening of which was the nicest repast, and to which every other hunger gave way. "It is impossible to mention to you all the little matters with whichAmelia had furnished this casket. It contained medicines of all kinds, which her mother, who was the Lady Bountiful of that country, hadsupplied her with. The most valuable of all to me was a lock of herdear hair, which I have from that time to this worn in my bosom. Whatwould I have then given for a little picture of my dear angel, whichshe had lost from her chamber about a month before! and which we hadthe highest reason in the world to imagine her sister had taken away;for the suspicion lay only between her and Amelia's maid, who was ofall creatures the honestest, and whom her mistress had often trustedwith things of much greater value; for the picture, which was set ingold, and had two or three little diamonds round it, was worth abouttwelve guineas only; whereas Amelia left jewels in her care of muchgreater value. " "Sure, " cries Miss Matthews, "she could not be such a paultrypilferer. " "Not on account of the gold or the jewels, " cries Booth. "We imputedit to mere spite, with which, I assure you, she abounds; and she knewthat, next to Amelia herself, there was nothing which I valued so muchas this little picture; for such a resemblance did it bear of theoriginal, that Hogarth himself did never, I believe, draw a strongerlikeness. Spite, therefore, was the only motive to this crueldepredation; and indeed her behaviour on the occasion sufficientlyconvinced us both of the justice of our suspicion, though we neitherof us durst accuse her; and she herself had the assurance to insistvery strongly (though she could not prevail) with Amelia to turn awayher innocent maid, saying, she would not live in the house with athief. " Miss Matthews now discharged some curses on Miss Betty, not much worthrepeating, and then Mr. Booth proceeded in his relation. Chapter iv. _A sea piece. _ "The next day we joined the regiment, which was soon after to embark. Nothing but mirth and jollity were in the countenance of every officerand soldier; and as I now met several friends whom I had not seen forabove a year before, I passed several happy hours, in which poorAmelia's image seldom obtruded itself to interrupt my pleasure. Toconfess the truth, dear Miss Matthews, the tenderest of passions iscapable of subsiding; nor is absence from our dearest friends sounsupportable as it may at first appear. Distance of time and place doreally cure what they seem to aggravate; and taking leave of ourfriends resembles taking leave of the world; concerning which it hathbeen often said that it is not death, but dying, which is terrible. "--Here Miss Matthews burst into a fit of laughter, and cried, "Isincerely ask your pardon; but I cannot help laughing at the gravityof your philosophy. " Booth answered, That the doctrine of the passionshad been always his favourite study; that he was convinced every manacted entirely from that passion which was uppermost. "Can I thenthink, " said he, "without entertaining the utmost contempt for myself, that any pleasure upon earth could drive the thoughts of Amelia oneinstant from my mind? "At length we embarked aboard a transport, and sailed for Gibraltar;but the wind, which was at first fair, soon chopped about; so that wewere obliged, for several days, to beat to windward, as the sea phraseis. During this time the taste which I had of a seafaring life did notappear extremely agreeable. We rolled up and down in a little narrowcabbin, in which were three officers, all of us extremely sea-sick;our sickness being much aggravated by the motion of the ship, by theview of each other, and by the stench of the men. But this was but alittle taste indeed of the misery which was to follow; for we were gotabout six leagues to the westward of Scilly, when a violent stormarose at north-east, which soon raised the waves to the height ofmountains. The horror of this is not to be adequately described tothose who have never seen the like. The storm began in the evening, and, as the clouds brought on the night apace, it was soon entirelydark; nor had we, during many hours, any other light than what wascaused by the jarring elements, which frequently sent forth flashes, or rather streams of fire; and whilst these presented the mostdreadful objects to our eyes, the roaring of the winds, the dashing ofthe waves against the ship and each other, formed a sound altogetheras horrible for our ears; while our ship, sometimes lifted up, as itwere, to the skies, and sometimes swept away at once as into thelowest abyss, seemed to be the sport of the winds and seas. Thecaptain himself almost gave up all for lost, and exprest hisapprehension of being inevitably cast on the rocks of Scilly, and beatto pieces. And now, while some on board were addressing themselves tothe Supreme Being, and others applying for comfort to strong liquors, my whole thoughts were entirely engaged by my Amelia. A thousandtender ideas crouded into my mind. I can truly say that I had not asingle consideration about myself in which she was not concerned. Dying to me was leaving her; and the fear of never seeing her more wasa dagger stuck in my heart. Again, all the terrors with which thisstorm, if it reached her ears, must fill her gentle mind on myaccount, and the agonies which she must undergo when she heard of myfate, gave me such intolerable pangs, that I now repented myresolution, and wished, I own I wished, that I had taken her advice, and preferred love and a cottage to all the dazzling charms of honour. "While I was tormenting myself with those meditations, and hadconcluded myself as certainly lost, the master came into the cabbin, and with a chearful voice assured us that we had escaped the danger, and that we had certainly past to westward of the rock. This wascomfortable news to all present; and my captain, who had been sometime on his knees, leapt suddenly up, and testified his joy with agreat oath. "A person unused to the sea would have been astonished at thesatisfaction which now discovered itself in the master or in any onboard; for the storm still raged with great violence, and thedaylight, which now appeared, presented us with sights of horrorsufficient to terrify minds which were not absolute slaves to thepassion of fear; but so great is the force of habit, that whatinspires a landsman with the highest apprehension of danger gives notthe least concern to a sailor, to whom rocks and quicksands are almostthe only objects of terror. "The master, however, was a little mistaken in the present instance;for he had not left the cabbin above an hour before my man camerunning to me, and acquainted me that the ship was half full of water;that the sailors were going to hoist out the boat and save themselves, and begged me to come that moment along with him, as I tendered mypreservation. With this account, which was conveyed to me in awhisper, I acquainted both the captain and ensign; and we all togetherimmediately mounted the deck, where we found the master making use ofall his oratory to persuade the sailors that the ship was in nodanger; and at the same time employing all his authority to set thepumps a-going, which he assured them would keep the water under, andsave his dear Lovely Peggy (for that was the name of the ship), whichhe swore he loved as dearly as his own soul. "Indeed this sufficiently appeared; for the leak was so great, and thewater flowed in so plentifully, that his Lovely Peggy was half filledbefore he could be brought to think of quitting her; but now the boatwas brought alongside the ship, and the master himself, notwithstanding all his love for her, quitted his ship, and leapt intothe boat. Every man present attempted to follow his example, when Iheard the voice of my servant roaring forth my name in a kind ofagony. I made directly to the ship-side, but was too late; for theboat, being already overladen, put directly off. And now, madam, I amgoing to relate to you an instance of heroic affection in a poorfellow towards his master, to which love itself, even among persons ofsuperior education, can produce but few similar instances. My poorman, being unable to get me with him into the boat, leapt suddenlyinto the sea, and swam back to the ship; and, when I gently rebukedhim for his rashness, he answered, he chose rather to die with me thanto live to carry the account of my death to my Amelia: at the sametime bursting into a flood of tears, he cried, 'Good Heavens! whatwill that poor lady feel when she hears of this!' This tender concernfor my dear love endeared the poor fellow more to me than the gallantinstance which he had just before given of his affection towardsmyself. "And now, madam, my eyes were shocked with a sight, the horror ofwhich can scarce be imagined; for the boat had scarce got four hundredyards from the ship when it was swallowed up by the merciless waves, which now ran so high, that out of the number of persons which were inthe boat none recovered the ship, though many of them we saw miserablyperish before our eyes, some of them very near us, without anypossibility of giving them the least assistance. "But, whatever we felt for them, we felt, I believe, more forourselves, expecting every minute when we should share the same fate. Amongst the rest, one of our officers appeared quite stupified withfear. I never, indeed, saw a more miserable example of the great powerof that passion: I must not, however, omit doing him justice, bysaying that I afterwards saw the same man behave well in anengagement, in which he was wounded; though there likewise he was saidto have betrayed the same passion of fear in his countenance. "The other of our officers was no less stupified (if I may so expressmyself) with fool-hardiness, and seemed almost insensible of hisdanger. To say the truth, I have, from this and some other instanceswhich I have seen, been almost inclined to think that the courage aswell as cowardice of fools proceeds from not knowing what is or whatis not the proper object of fear; indeed, we may account for theextreme hardiness of some men in the same manner as for the terrors ofchildren at a bugbear. The child knows not but that the bugbear is theproper object of fear, the blockhead knows not that a cannon-ball isso. "As to the remaining part of the ship's crew and the soldiery, most ofthem were dead drunk, and the rest were endeavouring, as fast as theycould, to prepare for death in the same manner. "In this dreadful situation we were taught that no human conditionshould inspire men with absolute despair; for, as the storm had ceasedfor some time, the swelling of the sea began considerably to abate;and we now perceived the man of war which convoyed us, at no greatdistance astern. Those aboard her easily perceived our distress, andmade towards us. When they came pretty near they hoisted out two boatsto our assistance. These no sooner approached the ship than they wereinstantaneously filled, and I myself got a place in one of them, chiefly by the aid of my honest servant, of whose fidelity to me onall occasions I cannot speak or think too highly. Indeed, I got intothe boat so much the more easily, as a great number on board the shipwere rendered, by drink, incapable of taking any care for themselves. There was time, however, for the boat to pass and repass; so that, when we came to call over names, three only, of all that remained inthe ship after the loss of her own boat, were missing. "The captain, ensign, and myself, were received with manycongratulations by our officers on board the man of war. --The sea-officers too, all except the captain, paid us their compliments, though these were of the rougher kind, and not without several jokeson our escape. As for the captain himself, we scarce saw him duringmany hours; and, when he appeared, he presented a view of majestybeyond any that I had ever seen. The dignity which he preserved didindeed give me rather the idea of a Mogul, or a Turkish emperor, thanof any of the monarchs of Christendom. To say the truth, I couldresemble his walk on the deck to nothing but the image of CaptainGulliver strutting among the Lilliputians; he seemed to think himselfa being of an order superior to all around him, and more especially tous of the land service. Nay, such was the behaviour of all the sea-officers and sailors to us and our soldiers, that, instead ofappearing to be subjects of the same prince, engaged in one quarrel, and joined to support one cause, we land-men rather seemed to becaptives on board an enemy's vessel. This is a grievous misfortune, and often proves so fatal to the service, that it is great pity somemeans could not be found of curing it. " Here Mr. Booth stopt a while to take breath. We will therefore givethe same refreshment to the reader. Chapter v. _The arrival of Booth at Gibraltar, with what there befel him. _ "The adventures, " continued Booth, "which I happened to me from thisday till my arrival at Gibraltar are not worth recounting to you. After a voyage the remainder of which was tolerably prosperous, wearrived in that garrison, the natural strength of which is so wellknown to the whole world. "About a week after my arrival it was my fortune to be ordered on asally party, in which my left leg was broke with a musket-ball; and Ishould most certainly have either perished miserably, or must haveowed my preservation to some of the enemy, had not my faithful servantcarried me off on his shoulders, and afterwards, with the assistanceof one of his comrades, brought me back into the garrison. "The agony of my wound was so great, that it threw me into a fever, from whence my surgeon apprehended much danger. I now began again tofeel for my Amelia, and for myself on her account; and the disorder ofmy mind, occasioned by such melancholy contemplations, very highlyaggravated the distemper of my body; insomuch that it would probablyhave proved fatal, had it not been for the friendship of one CaptainJames, an officer of our regiment, and an old acquaintance, who isundoubtedly one of the pleasantest companions and one of the best-natured men in the world. This worthy man, who had a head and a heartperfectly adequate to every office of friendship, stayed with mealmost day and night during my illness; and by strengthening my hopes, raising my spirits, and cheering my thoughts, preserved me fromdestruction. "The behaviour of this man alone is a sufficient proof of the truth ofmy doctrine, that all men act entirely from their passions; for BobJames can never be supposed to act from any motives of virtue orreligion, since he constantly laughs at both; and yet his conducttowards me alone demonstrates a degree of goodness which, perhaps, fewof the votaries of either virtue or religion can equal. " "You need nottake much pains, " answered Miss Matthews, with a smile, "to convinceme of your doctrine. I have been always an advocate for the same. Ilook upon the two words you mention to serve only as cloaks, underwhich hypocrisy may be the better enabled to cheat the world. I havebeen of that opinion ever since I read that charming fellow Mandevil. " "Pardon me, madam, " answered Booth; "I hope you do not agree withMandevil neither, who hath represented human nature in a picture ofthe highest deformity. He hath left out of his system the best passionwhich the mind can possess, and attempts to derive the effects orenergies of that passion from the base impulses of pride or fear. Whereas it is as certain that love exists in the mind of man as thatits opposite hatred doth; and the same reasons will equally prove theexistence of the one as the existence of the other. " "I don't know, indeed, " replied the lady, "I never thought much aboutthe matter. This I know, that when I read Mandevil I thought all hesaid was true; and I have been often told that he proves religion andvirtue to be only mere names. However, if he denies there is any suchthing as love, that is most certainly wrong. --I am afraid I can givehim the lye myself. " "I will join with you, madam, in that, " answered Booth, "at any time. " "Will you join with me?" answered she, looking eagerly at him--"O, Mr. Booth! I know not what I was going to say--What--Where did you leaveoff?--I would not interrupt you--but I am impatient to knowsomething. " "What, madam?" cries Booth; "if I can give you any satisfaction--" "No, no, " said she, "I must hear all; I would not for the world breakthe thread of your story. Besides, I am afraid to ask--Pray, pray, sir, go on. " "Well, madam, " cries Booth, "I think I was mentioning theextraordinary acts of friendship done me by Captain James; nor can Ihelp taking notice of the almost unparalleled fidelity of poorAtkinson (for that was my man's name), who was not only constant inthe assiduity of his attendance, but during the time of my dangerdemonstrated a concern for me which I can hardly account for, as myprevailing on his captain to make him a sergeant was the first favourhe ever received at my hands, and this did not happen till I wasalmost perfectly recovered of my broken leg. Poor fellow! I shallnever forget the extravagant joy his halbert gave him; I remember itthe more because it was one of the happiest days of my own life; forit was upon this day that I received a letter from my dear Amelia, after a long silence, acquainting me that she was out of all dangerfrom her lying-in. "I was now once more able to perform my duty; when (so unkind was thefortune of war), the second time I mounted the guard, I received aviolent contusion from the bursting of a bomb. I was felled to theground, where I lay breathless by the blow, till honest Atkinson cameto my assistance, and conveyed me to my room, where a surgeonimmediately attended me. "The injury I had now received was much more dangerous in my surgeon'sopinion than the former; it caused me to spit blood, and was attendedwith a fever, and other bad symptoms; so that very fatal consequenceswere apprehended. "In this situation, the image of my Amelia haunted me day and night;and the apprehensions of never seeing her more were so intolerable, that I had thoughts of resigning my commission, and returning home, weak as I was, that I might have, at least, the satisfaction of dyingin the arms of my love. Captain James, however, persisted indissuading me from any such resolution. He told me my honour was toomuch concerned, attempted to raise my hopes of recovery to the utmostof his power; but chiefly he prevailed on me by suggesting that, ifthe worst which I apprehended should happen, it was much better forAmelia that she should be absent than present in so melancholy anhour. 'I know' cried he, 'the extreme joy which must arise in you frommeeting again with Amelia, and the comfort of expiring in her arms;but consider what she herself must endure upon the dreadful occasion, and you would not wish to purchase any happiness at the price of somuch pain to her. ' This argument at length prevailed on me; and it wasafter many long debates resolved, that she should not even know mypresent condition, till my doom either for life or death wasabsolutely fixed. " "Oh! Heavens! how great! how generous!" cried Miss Matthews. "Booth, thou art a noble fellow; and I scarce think there is a woman uponearth worthy so exalted a passion. " Booth made a modest answer to the compliment which Miss Matthews hadpaid him. This drew more civilities from the lady, and these againmore acknowledgments; all which we shall pass by, and proceed with ourhistory. Chapter vi. _Containing matters which will please some readers. _ "Two months and more had I continued in a state of incertainty, sometimes with more flattering, and sometimes with more alarmingsymptoms; when one afternoon poor Atkinson came running into my room, all pale and out of breath, and begged me not to be surprized at hisnews. I asked him eagerly what was the matter, and if it was anythingconcerning Amelia? I had scarce uttered the dear name when she herselfrushed into the room, and ran hastily to me, crying, 'Yes, it is, itis your Amelia herself. ' "There is nothing so difficult to describe, and generally so dull whendescribed, as scenes of excessive tenderness. " "Can you think so?" says Miss Matthews; "surely there is nothing socharming!--Oh! Mr. Booth, our sex is d--ned by the want of tendernessin yours. O, were they all like you--certainly no man was ever yourequal. " "Indeed, madam, " cries Booth, "you honour me too much. But--well--whenthe first transports of our meeting were over, Amelia began gently tochide me for having concealed my illness from her; for, in threeletters which I had writ her since the accident had happened, therewas not the least mention of it, or any hint given by which she couldpossibly conclude I was otherwise than in perfect health. And when Ihad excused myself, by assigning the true reason, she cried--'O Mr. Booth! and do you know so little of your Amelia as to think I could orwould survive you? Would it not be better for one dreadful sight tobreak my heart all at once than to break it by degrees?--O Billy! cananything pay me for the loss of this embrace?'---But I ask yourpardon--how ridiculous doth my fondness appear in your eyes!" "How often, " answered she, "shall I assert the contrary? What wouldyou have me say, Mr. Booth? Shall I tell you I envy Mrs. Booth of allthe women in the world? would you believe me if I did? I hope you--what am I saying? Pray make no farther apology, but go on. " "After a scene, " continued he, "too tender to be conceived by many, Amelia informed me that she had received a letter from an unknownhand, acquainting her with my misfortune, and advising her, if sheever desired to see me more, to come directly to Gibraltar. She saidshe should not have delayed a moment after receiving this letter, hadnot the same ship brought her one from me written with rather morethan usual gaiety, and in which there was not the least mention of myindisposition. This, she said, greatly puzzled her and her mother, andthe worthy divine endeavoured to persuade her to give credit to myletter, and to impute the other to a species of wit with which theworld greatly abounds. This consists entirely in doing various kindsof mischief to our fellow-creatures, by belying one, deceivinganother, exposing a third, and drawing in a fourth, to expose himself;in short, by making some the objects of laughter, others of contempt;and indeed not seldom by subjecting them to very great inconveniences, perhaps to ruin, for the sake of a jest. "Mrs. Harris and the doctor derived the letter from this species ofwit. Miss Betty, however, was of a different opinion, and advised poorAmelia to apply to an officer whom the governor had sent over in thesame ship, by whom the report of my illness was so strongly confirmed, that Amelia immediately resolved on her voyage. "I had a great curiosity to know the author of this letter, but notthe least trace of it could be discovered. The only person with whom Ilived in any great intimacy was Captain James, and he, madam, fromwhat I have already told you, you will think to be the last person Icould suspect; besides, he declared upon his honour that he knewnothing of the matter, and no man's honour is, I believe, more sacred. There was indeed an ensign of another regiment who knew my wife, andwho had sometimes visited me in my illness; but he was a very unlikelyman to interest himself much in any affairs which did not concern him;and he too declared he knew nothing of it. " "And did you never discover this secret?" cried Miss Matthews. "Never to this day, " answered Booth. "I fancy, " said she, "I could give a shrewd guess. What so likely asthat Mrs. Booth, when you left her, should have given her foster-brother orders to send her word of whatever befel you? Yet stay--thatcould not be neither; for then she would not have doubted whether sheshould leave dear England on the receipt of the letter. No, it musthave been by some other means;--yet that I own appeared extremelynatural to me; for if I had been left by such a husband I think Ishould have pursued the same method. " "No, madam, " cried Booth, "it must have been conveyed by some otherchannel; for my Amelia, I am certain, was entirely ignorant of themanner; and as for poor Atkinson, I am convinced he would not haveventured to take such a step without acquainting me. Besides, the poorfellow had, I believe, such a regard for my wife, out of gratitude forthe favours she hath done his mother, that I make no doubt he washighly rejoiced at her absence from my melancholy scene. Well, whoeverwrit it is a matter very immaterial; yet, as it seemed so odd andunaccountable an incident, I could not help mentioning it. "From the time of Amelia's arrival nothing remarkable happened till myperfect recovery, unless I should observe her remarkable behaviour, sofull of care and tenderness, that it was perhaps without a parallel. " "O no, Mr. Booth, " cries the lady; "it is fully equalled, I am sure, by your gratitude. There is nothing, I believe, so rare as gratitudein your sex, especially in husbands. So kind a remembrance is, indeed, more than a return to such an obligation; for where is the mightyobligation which a woman confers, who being possessed of aninestimable jewel, is so kind to herself as to be careful and tenderof it? I do not say this to lessen your opinion of Mrs. Booth. I haveno doubt but that she loves you as well as she is capable. But I wouldnot have you think so meanly of our sex as to imagine there are not athousand women susceptible of true tenderness towards a meritoriousman. Believe me, Mr. Booth, if I had received such an account of anaccident having happened to such a husband, a mother and a parsonwould not have held me a moment. I should have leapt into the firstfishing-boat I could have found, and bid defiance to the winds andwaves. --Oh! there is no true tenderness but in a woman of spirit. Iwould not be understood all this while to reflect on Mrs. Booth. I amonly defending the cause of my sex; for, upon my soul, suchcompliments to a wife are a satire on all the rest of womankind. " "Sure you jest, Miss Matthews, " answered Booth with a smile; "however, if you please, I will proceed in my story. " Chapter vii. _The captain, continuing his story, recounts some particulars which, we doubt not, to many good people, will appear unnatural. _ I was scarce sooner recovered from my indisposition than Ameliaherself fell ill. This, I am afraid, was occasioned by the fatigueswhich I could not prevent her from undergoing on my account; for, asmy disease went off with violent sweats, during which the surgeonstrictly ordered that I should lie by myself, my Amelia could not beprevailed upon to spend many hours in her own bed. During my restlessfits she would sometimes read to me several hours together; indeed itwas not without difficulty that she ever quitted my bedside. Thesefatigues, added to the uneasiness of her mind, overpowered her weakspirits, and threw her into one of the worst disorders that canpossibly attend a woman; a disorder very common among the ladies, andour physicians have not agreed upon its name. Some call it fever onthe spirits, some a nervous fever, some the vapours, and some thehysterics. " "O say no more, " cries Miss Matthews; "I pity you, I pity you from mysoul. A man had better be plagued with all the curses of Egypt thanwith a vapourish wife. " "Pity me! madam, " answered Booth; "pity rather that dear creature who, from her love and care of my unworthy self, contracted a distemper, the horrors of which are scarce to be imagined. It is, indeed, a sortof complication of all diseases together, with almost madness added tothem. In this situation, the siege being at an end, the governor gaveme leave to attend my wife to Montpelier, the air of which was judgedto be most likely to restore her to health. Upon this occasion shewrote to her mother to desire a remittance, and set forth themelancholy condition of her health, and her necessity for money, insuch terms as would have touched any bosom not void of humanity, though a stranger to the unhappy sufferer. Her sister answered it, andI believe I have a copy of the answer in my pocket. I keep it by me asa curiosity, and you would think it more so could I shew you myAmelia's letter. " He then searched his pocket-book, and finding theletter among many others, he read it in the following words: "'DEAR SISTER, --My mamma being much disordered, hath commanded me totell you she is both shocked and surprized at your extraordinaryrequest, or, as she chuses to call it, order for money. You know, mydear, she says that your marriage with this red-coat man was entirelyagainst her consent and the opinion of all your family (I am sure Imay here include myself in that number); and yet, after this fatal actof disobedience, she was prevailed on to receive you as her child;not, however, nor are you so to understand it, as the favourite whichyou was before. She forgave you; but this was as a Christian and aparent; still preserving in her own mind a just sense of yourdisobedience, and a just resentment on that account. And yet, notwithstanding this resentment, she desires you to remember that, when you a second time ventured to oppose her authority, and nothingwould serve you but taking a ramble (an indecent one, I can't helpsaying) after your fellow, she thought fit to shew the excess of amother's tenderness, and furnished you with no less than fifty poundsfor your foolish voyage. How can she, then, be otherwise thansurprized at your present demand? which, should she be so weak tocomply with, she must expect to be every month repeated, in order tosupply the extravagance of a young rakish officer. You say she willcompassionate your sufferings; yes, surely she doth greatlycompassionate them, and so do I too, though you was neither so kindnor so civil as to suppose I should. But I forgive all your slights tome, as well now as formerly. Nay, I not only forgive, but I pray dailyfor you. But, dear sister, what could you expect less than what hathhappened? you should have believed your friends, who were wiser andolder than you. I do not here mean myself, though I own I am elevenmonths and some odd weeks your superior; though, had I been younger, Imight, perhaps, have been able to advise you; for wisdom and what somemay call beauty do not always go together. You will not be offended atthis; for I know in your heart, you have always held your head abovesome people, whom, perhaps, other people have thought better of; butwhy do I mention what I scorn so much? No, my dear sister, Heavenforbid it should ever be said of me that I value myself upon my face--not but if I could believe men perhaps--but I hate and despise men--you know I do, my dear, and I wish you had despised them as much; but_jacta est jalea_, as the doctor says. You are to make the best ofyour fortune--what fortune, I mean, my mamma may please to give you, for you know all is in her power. Let me advise you, then, to bringyour mind to your circumstances, and remember (for I can't helpwriting it, as it is for your own good) the vapours are a distemperwhich very ill become a knapsack. Remember, my dear, what you havedone; remember what my mamma hath done; remember we have something ofyours to keep, and do not consider yourself as an only child; no, noras a favourite child; but be pleased to remember, Dear sister, Your most affectionate sister, and most obedient humble servant, E. HARRIS. '" "O brave Miss Betty!" cried Miss Matthews; "I always held her in highesteem; but I protest she exceeds even what I could have expected fromher. " "This letter, madam, " cries Booth, "you will believe, was an excellentcordial for my poor wife's spirits. So dreadful indeed was the effectit had upon her, that, as she had read it in my absence, I found her, at my return home, in the most violent fits; and so long was it beforeshe recovered her senses, that I despaired of that blest event everhappening; and my own senses very narrowly escaped from beingsacrificed to my despair. However, she came at last to herself, and Ibegan to consider of every means of carrying her immediately toMontpelier, which was now become much more necessary than before. "Though I was greatly shocked at the barbarity of the letter, yet Iapprehended no very ill consequence from it; for, as it was believedall over the army that I had married a great fortune, I had receivedoffers of money, if I wanted it, from more than one. Indeed, I mighthave easily carried my wife to Montpelier at any time; but she wasextremely averse to the voyage, being desirous of our returning toEngland, as I had leave to do; and she grew daily so much better, that, had it not been for the receipt of that cursed--which I havejust read to you, I am persuaded she might have been able to return toEngland in the next ship. "Among others there was a colonel in the garrison who had not onlyoffered but importuned me to receive money of him; I now, therefore, repaired to him; and, as a reason for altering my resolution, Iproduced the letter, and, at the same time, acquainted him with thetrue state of my affairs. The colonel read the letter, shook his head, and, after some silence, said he was sorry I had refused to accept hisoffer before; but that he had now so ordered matters, and disposed ofhis money, that he had not a shilling left to spare from his ownoccasions. "Answers of the same kind I had from several others, but not one pennycould I borrow of any; for I have been since firmly persuaded that thehonest colonel was not content with denying me himself, but tookeffectual means, by spreading the secret I had so foolishly trustedhim with, to prevent me from succeeding elsewhere; for such is thenature of men, that whoever denies himself to do you a favour isunwilling that it should be done to you by any other. "This was the first time I had ever felt that distress which arisesfrom the want of money; a distress very dreadful indeed in a marriedstate; for what can be more miserable than to see anything necessaryto the preservation of a beloved creature, and not be able to supplyit? "Perhaps you may wonder, madam, that I have not mentioned CaptainJames on this occasion; but he was at that time laid up at Algiers(whither he had been sent by the governor) in a fever. However, hereturned time enough to supply me, which he did with the utmostreadiness on the very first mention of my distress; and the goodcolonel, notwithstanding his having disposed of his money, discountedthe captain's draft. You see, madam, an instance in the generousbehaviour of my friend James, how false are all universal satiresagainst humankind. He is indeed one of the worthiest men the worldever produced. "But, perhaps, you will be more pleased still with the extravagantgenerosity of my sergeant. The day before the return of Mr. James, thepoor fellow came to me with tears in his eyes, and begged I would notbe offended at what he was going to mention. He then pulled a pursefrom his pocket, which contained, he said, the sum of twelve pounds, and which he begged me to accept, crying, he was sorry it was not inhis power to lend me whatever I wanted. I was so struck with thisinstance of generosity and friendship in such a person, that I gavehim an opportunity of pressing me a second time before I made him ananswer. Indeed, I was greatly surprised how he came to be worth thatlittle sum, and no less at his being acquainted with my own wants. Inboth which points he presently satisfied me. As to the first, it seemshe had plundered a Spanish officer of fifteen pistoles; and as to thesecond, he confessed he had it from my wife's maid, who had overheardsome discourse between her mistress and me. Indeed people, I believe, always deceive themselves, who imagine they can conceal distrestcircumstances from their servants; for these are always extremelyquicksighted on such occasions. " "Good heavens!" cries Miss Matthews, "how astonishing is suchbehaviour in so low a fellow!" "I thought so myself, " answered Booth; "and yet I know not, on a morestrict examination into the matter, why we should be more surprised tosee greatness of mind discover itself in one degree or rank of lifethan in another. Love, benevolence, or what you will please to callit, may be the reigning passion in a beggar as well as in a prince;and wherever it is, its energies will be the same. "To confess the truth, I am afraid we often compliment what we callupper life, with too much injustice, at the expense of the lower. Asit is no rare thing to see instances which degrade human nature inpersons of the highest birth and education, so I apprehend thatexamples of whatever is really great and good have been sometimesfound amongst those who have wanted all such advantages. In reality, palaces, I make no doubt, do sometimes contain nothing but drearinessand darkness, and the sun of righteousness hath shone forth with allits glory in a cottage. " Chapter viii. _The story of Booth continued. _ "Mr. Booth thus went on: "We now took leave of the garrison, and, having landed at Marseilles, arrived at Montpelier, without anything happening to us worthremembrance, except the extreme sea-sickness of poor Amelia; but I wasafterwards well repaid for the terrors which it occasioned me by thegood consequences which attended it; for I believe it contributed, even more than the air of Montpelier, to the perfect re-establishmentof her health. " "I ask your pardon for interrupting you, " cries Miss Matthews, "butyou never satisfied me whether you took the sergeant's money. You havemade me half in love with that charming fellow. " "How can you imagine, madam, " answered Booth, "I should have takenfrom a poor fellow what was of so little consequence to me, and at thesame time of so much to him? Perhaps, now, you will derive this fromthe passion of pride. " "Indeed, " says she, "I neither derive it from the passion of pride norfrom the passion of folly: but methinks you should have accepted theoffer, and I am convinced you hurt him very much when you refused it. But pray proceed in your story. " Then Booth went on as follows: "As Amelia recovered her health and spirits daily, we began to passour time very pleasantly at Montpelier; for the greatest enemy to theFrench will acknowledge that they are the best people in the world tolive amongst for a little while. In some countries it is almost aseasy to get a good estate as a good acquaintance. In England, particularly, acquaintance is of almost as slow growth as an oak; sothat the age of man scarce suffices to bring it to any perfection, andfamilies seldom contract any great intimacy till the third, or atleast the second generation. So shy indeed are we English of letting astranger into our houses, that one would imagine we regarded all suchas thieves. Now the French are the very reverse. Being a strangeramong them entitles you to the better place, and to the greater degreeof civility; and if you wear but the appearance of a gentleman, theynever suspect you are not one. Their friendship indeed seldom extendsas far as their purse; nor is such friendship usual in othercountries. To say the truth, politeness carries friendship far enoughin the ordinary occasions of life, and those who want thisaccomplishment rarely make amends for it by their sincerity; forbluntness, or rather rudeness, as it commonly deserves to be called, is not always so much a mark of honesty as it is taken to be. "The day after our arrival we became acquainted with Mons. Bagillard. He was a Frenchman of great wit and vivacity, with a greater share oflearning than gentlemen are usually possessed of. As he lodged in thesame house with us, we were immediately acquainted, and I liked hisconversation so well that I never thought I had too much of hiscompany. Indeed, I spent so much of my time with him, that Amelia (Iknow not whether I ought to mention it) grew uneasy at ourfamiliarity, and complained of my being too little with her, from myviolent fondness for my new acquaintance; for, our conversationturning chiefly upon books, and principally Latin ones (for we readseveral of the classics together), she could have but littleentertainment by being with us. When my wife had once taken it intoher head that she was deprived of my company by M. Bagillard, it wasimpossible to change her opinion; and, though I now spent more of mytime with her than I had ever done before, she still grew more andmore dissatisfied, till at last she very earnestly desired me to quitmy lodgings, and insisted upon it with more vehemence than I had everknown her express before. To say the truth, if that excellent womancould ever be thought unreasonable, I thought she was so on thisoccasion. "But in what light soever her desires appeared to me, as theymanifestly arose from an affection of which I had daily the mostendearing proofs, I resolved to comply with her, and accordinglyremoved to a distant part of the town; for it is my opinion that wecan have but little love for the person whom we will never indulge inan unreasonable demand. Indeed, I was under a difficulty with regardto Mons. Bagillard; for, as I could not possibly communicate to himthe true reason for quitting my lodgings, so I found it as difficultto deceive him by a counterfeit one; besides, I was apprehensive Ishould have little less of his company than before. I could, indeed, have avoided this dilemma by leaving Montpelier, for Amelia hadperfectly recovered her health; but I had faithfully promised CaptainJames to wait his return from Italy, whither he was gone some timebefore from Gibraltar; nor was it proper for Amelia to take any longjourney, she being now near six months gone with child. "This difficulty, however, proved to be less than I had imagined it;for my French friend, whether he suspected anything from my wife'sbehaviour, though she never, as I observed, shewed him the leastincivility, became suddenly as cold on his side. After our leaving thelodgings he never made above two or three formal visits; indeed histime was soon after entirely taken up by an intrigue with a certaincountess, which blazed all over Montpelier. "We had not been long in our new apartments before an English officerarrived at Montpelier, and came to lodge in the same house with us. This gentleman, whose name was Bath, was of the rank of a major, andhad so much singularity in his character, that, perhaps, you neverheard of any like him. He was far from having any of those bookishqualifications which had before caused my Amelia's disquiet. It istrue, his discourse generally turned on matters of no feminine kind;war and martial exploits being the ordinary topics of hisconversation: however, as he had a sister with whom Amelia was greatlypleased, an intimacy presently grew between us, and we four lived inone family. "The major was a great dealer in the marvellous, and was constantlythe little hero of his own tale. This made him very entertaining toAmelia, who, of all the persons in the world, hath the truest tasteand enjoyment of the ridiculous; for, whilst no one sooner discoversit in the character of another, no one so well conceals her knowledgeof it from the ridiculous person. I cannot help mentioning a sentimentof hers on this head, as I think it doth her great honour. 'If I hadthe same neglect, ' said she, 'for ridiculous people with thegenerality of the world, I should rather think them the objects oftears than laughter; but, in reality, I have known several who, insome parts of their characters, have been extremely ridiculous, inothers have been altogether as amiable. For instance, ' said she, 'hereis the major, who tells us of many things which he has never seen, andof others which he hath never done, and both in the most extravagantexcess; and yet how amiable is his behaviour to his poor sister, whomhe hath not only brought over hither for her health, at his ownexpence, but is come to bear her company. ' I believe, madam, I repeather very words; for I am very apt to remember what she says. "You will easily believe, from a circumstance I have just mentioned inthe major's favour, especially when I have told you that his sisterwas one of the best of girls, that it was entirely necessary to hidefrom her all kind of laughter at any part of her brother's behaviour. To say the truth, this was easy enough to do; for the poor girl was soblinded with love and gratitude, and so highly honoured and reverencedher brother, that she had not the least suspicion that there was aperson in the world capable of laughing at him. "Indeed, I am certain she never made the least discovery of ourridicule; for I am well convinced she would have resented it: for, besides the love she bore her brother, she had a little family pride, which would sometimes appear. To say the truth, if she had any fault, it was that of vanity, but she was a very good girl upon the whole;and none of us are entirely free from faults. " "You are a good-natured fellow, Will, " answered Miss Matthews; "butvanity is a fault of the first magnitude in a woman, and often theoccasion of many others. " To this Booth made no answer, but continued his story. "In this company we passed two or three months very agreeably, tillthe major and I both betook ourselves to our several nurseries; mywife being brought to bed of a girl, and Miss Bath confined to herchamber by a surfeit, which had like to have occasioned her death. " Here Miss Matthews burst into a loud laugh, of which when Booth askedthe reason, she said she could not forbear at the thoughts of two suchnurses. "And did you really, " says she, "make your wife's caudle yourself?" "Indeed, madam, " said he, "I did; and do you think that soextraordinary?" "Indeed I do, " answered she; "I thought the best husbands had lookedon their wives' lying-in as a time of festival and jollity. What! didyou not even get drunk in the time of your wife's delivery? tell mehonestly how you employed yourself at this time. " "Why, then, honestly, " replied he, "and in defiance of your laughter, I lay behind her bolster, and supported her in my arms; and, upon mysoul, I believe I felt more pain in my mind than she underwent in herbody. And now answer me as honestly: Do you really think it a propertime of mirth, when the creature one loves to distraction isundergoing the most racking torments, as well as in the most imminentdanger? and--but I need not express any more tender circumstances. " "I am to answer honestly, " cried she. "Yes, and sincerely, " criesBooth. "Why, then, honestly and sincerely, " says she, "may I never seeheaven if I don't think you an angel of a man!" "Nay, madam, " answered Booth--"but, indeed, you do me too much honour;there are many such husbands. Nay, have we not an example of the liketenderness in the major? though as to him, I believe, I shall make youlaugh. While my wife lay-in, Miss Bath being extremely ill, I went oneday to the door of her apartment, to enquire after her health, as wellas for the major, whom I had not seen during a whole week. I knockedsoftly at the door, and being bid to open it, I found the major in hissister's ante-chamber warming her posset. His dress was certainlywhimsical enough, having on a woman's bedgown and a very dirty flannelnightcap, which, being added to a very odd person (for he is a veryawkward thin man, near seven feet high), might have formed, in theopinion of most men, a very proper object of laughter. The majorstarted from his seat at my entering into the room, and, with muchemotion, and a great oath, cried out, 'Is it you, sir?' I thenenquired after his and his sister's health. He answered, that hissister was better, and he was very well, 'though I did not expect, sir, ' cried he, with not a little confusion, 'to be seen by you inthis situation. ' I told him I thought it impossible he could appear ina situation more becoming his character. 'You do not?' answered he. 'By G-- I am very much obliged to you for that opinion; but, Ibelieve, sir, however my weakness may prevail on me to descend fromit, no man can be more conscious of his own dignity than myself. ' Hissister then called to him from the inner room; upon which he rang thebell for her servant, and then, after a stride or two across the room, he said, with an elated aspect, 'I would not have you think, Mr. Booth, because you have caught me in this deshabille, by coming uponme a little too abruptly--I cannot help saying a little too abruptly--that I am my sister's nurse. I know better what is due to the dignityof a man, and I have shewn it in a line of battle. I think I have madea figure there, Mr. Booth, and becoming my character; by G-- I oughtnot to be despised too much if my nature is not totally without itsweaknesses. ' He uttered this, and some more of the same kind, withgreat majesty, or, as he called it, dignity. Indeed, he used some hardwords that I did not understand; for all his words are not to be foundin a dictionary. Upon the whole, I could not easily refrain fromlaughter; however, I conquered myself, and soon after retired fromhim, astonished that it was possible for a man to possess truegoodness, and be at the same time ashamed of it. "But, if I was surprized at what had past at this visit, how much morewas I surprized the next morning, when he came very early to mychamber, and told me he had not been able to sleep one wink at whathad past between us! 'There were some words of yours, ' says he, 'whichmust be further explained before we part. You told me, sir, when youfound me in that situation, which I cannot bear to recollect, that youthought I could not appear in one more becoming my character; thesewere the words--I shall never forget them. Do you imagine that thereis any of the dignity of a man wanting in my character? do you thinkthat I have, during my sister's illness, behaved with a weakness thatsavours too much of effeminacy? I know how much it is beneath a man towhine and whimper about a trifling girl as well as you or any man;and, if my sister had died, I should have behaved like a man on theoccasion. I would not have you think I confined myself from companymerely upon her account. I was very much disordered myself. And whenyou surprized me in that situation--I repeat again, in that situation--her nurse had not left the room three minutes, and I was blowing thefire for fear it should have gone out. '--In this manner he ran onalmost a quarter of an hour before he would suffer me to speak. Atlast, looking steadfastly in his face, I asked him if I must concludethat he was in earnest? 'In earnest!' says he, repeating my words, 'doyou then take my character for a jest?'--Lookee, sir, said I, verygravely, I think we know one another very well; and I have no reasonto suspect you should impute it to fear when I tell you I was so farfrom intending to affront you, that I meant you one of the highestcompliments. Tenderness for women is so far from lessening, that itproves a true manly character. The manly Brutus shewed the utmosttenderness to his Portia; and the great king of Sweden, the bravest, and even fiercest of men, shut himself up three whole days in themidst of a campaign, and would see no company, on the death of afavourite sister. At these words I saw his features soften; and hecried out, 'D--n me, I admire the king of Sweden of all the men in theworld; and he is a rascal that is ashamed of doing anything which theking of Sweden did. --And yet, if any king of Sweden in France was totell me that his sister had more merit than mine, by G-- I'd knock hisbrains about his ears. Poor little Betsy! she is the honestest, worthiest girl that ever was born. Heaven be praised, she isrecovered; for, if I had lost her, I never should have enjoyed anotherhappy moment. ' In this manner he ran on some time, till the tearsbegan to overflow; which when he perceived, he stopt; perhaps he wasunable to go on; for he seemed almost choaked: after a short silence, however, having wiped his eyes with his handkerchief, he fetched adeep sigh, and cried, 'I am ashamed you should see this, Mr. Booth;but d--n me, nature will get the better of dignity. ' I now comfortedhim with the example of Xerxes, as I had before done with that of theking of Sweden; and soon after we sat down to breakfast together withmuch cordial friendship; for I assure you, with all his oddity, thereis not a better-natured man in the world than the major. " "Good-natured, indeed!" cries Miss Matthews, with great scorn. "Afool! how can you mention such a fellow with commendation?" Booth spoke as much as he could in defence of his friend; indeed, hehad represented him in as favourable a light as possible, and hadparticularly left out those hard words with which, as he hath observeda little before, the major interlarded his discourse. Booth thenproceeded as in the next chapter. Chapter ix. _Containing very extraordinary matters. _ "Miss Bath, " continued Booth, "now recovered so fast, that she wasabroad as soon as my wife. Our little partie quarree began to growagreeable again; and we mixed with the company of the place more thanwe had done before. Mons. Bagillard now again renewed his intimacy, for the countess, his mistress, was gone to Paris; at which my wife, at first, shewed no dissatisfaction; and I imagined that, as she had afriend and companion of her own sex (for Miss Bath and she hadcontracted the highest fondness for each other), that she would theless miss my company. However, I was disappointed in this expectation;for she soon began to express her former uneasiness, and herimpatience for the arrival of Captain James, that we might entirelyquit Montpelier. "I could not avoid conceiving some little displeasure at this humourof my wife, which I was forced to think a little unreasonable. "--"Alittle, do you call it?" says Miss Matthews: "Good Heavens! what ahusband are you!"--"How little worthy, " answered he, "as you will sayhereafter, of such a wife as my Amelia. One day, as we were sittingtogether, I heard a violent scream; upon which my wife, starting up, cried out, 'Sure that's Miss Bath's voice;' and immediately rantowards the chamber whence it proceeded. I followed her; and when wearrived, we there beheld the most shocking sight imaginable; Miss Bathlying dead on the floor, and the major all bloody kneeling by her, androaring out for assistance. Amelia, though she was herself in littlebetter condition than her friend, ran hastily to her, bared her neck, and attempted to loosen her stays, while I ran up and down, scarceknowing what I did, calling for water and cordials, and despatchingseveral servants one after another for doctors and surgeons. "Water, cordials, and all necessary implements being brought, MissBath was at length recovered, and placed in her chair, when the majorseated himself by her. And now, the young lady being restored to life, the major, who, till then, had engaged as little of his own as of anyother person's attention, became the object of all our considerations, especially his poor sister's, who had no sooner recovered sufficientstrength than she began to lament her brother, crying out that he waskilled; and bitterly bewailing her fate, in having revived from herswoon to behold so dreadful a spectacle. While Amelia applied herselfto soothe the agonies of her friend, I began to enquire into thecondition of the major, in which I was assisted by a surgeon, who nowarrived. The major declared, with great chearfulness, that he did notapprehend his wound to be in the least dangerous, and therefore beggedhis sister to be comforted, saying he was convinced the surgeon wouldsoon give her the same assurance; but that good man was not so liberalof assurances as the major had expected; for as soon as he had probedthe wound he afforded no more than hopes, declaring that it was a veryugly wound; but added, by way of consolation, that he had cured manymuch worse. "When the major was drest his sister seemed to possess his wholethoughts, and all his care was to relieve her grief. He solemnlyprotested that it was no more than a flesh wound, and not very deep, nor could, as he apprehended, be in the least dangerous; and as forthe cold expressions of the surgeon, he very well accounted for themfrom a motive too obvious to be mentioned. From these declarations ofher brother, and the interposition of her friends, and, above all, Ibelieve, from that vast vent which she had given to her fright, MissBath seemed a little pacified: Amelia, therefore, at last prevailed;and, as terror abated, curiosity became the superior passion. Itherefore now began to enquire what had occasioned that accidentwhence all the uproar arose. "The major took me by the hand, and, looking very kindly at me, said, 'My dear Mr. Booth, I must begin by asking your pardon; for I havedone you an injury for which nothing but the height of friendship inme can be an excuse; and therefore nothing but the height offriendship in you can forgive. ' This preamble, madam, you will easilybelieve, greatly alarmed all the company, but especially me. Ianswered, Dear major, I forgive you, let it be what it will; but whatis it possible you can have done to injure me? 'That, ' replied he, 'which I am convinced a man of your honour and dignity of nature, byG--, must conclude to be one of the highest injuries. I have taken outof your own hands the doing yourself justice. I am afraid I havekilled the man who hath injured your honour. I mean that villainBagillard--but I cannot proceed; for you, madam, ' said he to my wife, 'are concerned, and I know what is due to the dignity of your sex. 'Amelia, I observed, turned pale at these words, but eagerly begged himto proceed. 'Nay, madam, ' answered he, 'if I am commanded by a lady, it is a part of my dignity to obey. ' He then proceeded to tell us thatBagillard had rallied him upon a supposition that he was pursuing mywife with a view of gallantry; telling him that he could neversucceed; giving hints that, if it had been possible, he should havesucceeded himself; and ending with calling my poor Amelia anaccomplished prude; upon which the major gave Bagillard a box in theear, and both immediately drew their swords. "The major had scarce ended his speech when a servant came into theroom, and told me there was a fryar below who desired to speak with mein great haste. I shook the major by the hand, and told him I not onlyforgave him, but was extremely obliged to his friendship; and then, going to the fryar, I found that he was Bagillard's confessor, fromwhom he came to me, with an earnest desire of seeing me, that he mightask my pardon and receive my forgiveness before he died for the injuryhe had intended me. My wife at first opposed my going, from somesudden fears on my account; but when she was convinced they weregroundless she consented. "I found Bagillard in his bed; for the major's sword had passed up tothe very hilt through his body. After having very earnestly asked mypardon, he made me many compliments on the possession of a woman who, joined to the most exquisite beauty, was mistress of the mostimpregnable virtue; as a proof of which he acknowledged the vehemenceas well as ill success of his attempts: and, to make Amelia's virtueappear the brighter, his vanity was so predominant he could notforbear running over the names of several women of fashion who hadyielded to his passion, which, he said, had never raged so violentlyfor any other as for my poor Amelia; and that this violence, which hehad found wholly unconquerable, he hoped would procure his pardon atmy hands. It is unnecessary to mention what I said on the occasion. Iassured him of my entire forgiveness; and so we parted. To say thetruth, I afterwards thought myself almost obliged to him for a meetingwith Amelia the most luxuriously delicate that can be imagined. "I now ran to my wife, whom I embraced with raptures of love andtenderness. When the first torrent of these was a little abated, 'Confess to me, my dear, ' said she, 'could your goodness prevent youfrom thinking me a little unreasonable in expressing so muchuneasiness at the loss of your company, while I ought to have rejoicedin the thoughts of your being so well entertained; I know you must;and then consider what I must have felt, while I knew I was dailylessening myself in your esteem, and forced into a conduct which I wassensible must appear to you, who was ignorant of my motive, to bemean, vulgar, and selfish. And yet, what other course had I to takewith a man whom no denial, no scorn could abash? But, if this was acruel task, how much more wretched still was the constraint I wasobliged to wear in his presence before you, to shew outward civilityto the man whom my soul detested, for fear of any fatal consequencefrom your suspicion; and this too while I was afraid he would construeit to be an encouragement? Do you not pity your poor Amelia when youreflect on her situation?' Pity! cried I; my love! is pity an adequateexpression for esteem, for adoration? But how, my love, could he carrythis on so secretly?--by letters? 'O no, he offered me many; but Inever would receive but one, and that I returned him. Good G--! Iwould not have such a letter in my possession for the universe; Ithought my eyes contaminated with reading it. '" "O brave!" cried MissMatthews; "heroic, I protest. "'Had I a wish that did not bear The stamp and image of my dear, I'd pierce my heart through ev'ry vein, And die to let it out again. '" "And you can really, " cried he, "laugh at so much tenderness?" "Ilaugh at tenderness! O, Mr. Booth!" answered she, "thou knowest butlittle of Calista. " "I thought formerly, " cried he, "I knew a greatdeal, and thought you, of all women in the world, to have thegreatest---of all women!" "Take care, Mr. Booth, " said she. "Byheaven! if you thought so, you thought truly. But what is the objectof my tenderness--such an object as--" "Well, madam, " says he, "I hopeyou will find one. " "I thank you for that hope, however, " says she, "cold as it is. But pray go on with your story;" which command heimmediately obeyed. Chapter x. _Containing a letter of a very curious kind. _ "The major's wound, " continued Booth, "was really as slight as hebelieved it; so that in a very few days he was perfectly well; nor wasBagillard, though run through the body, long apprehending to be in anydanger of his life. The major then took me aside, and, wishing meheartily joy of Bagillard's recovery, told me I should now, by thegift (as it were) of Heaven, have an opportunity of doing myselfjustice. I answered I could not think of any such thing; for that whenI imagined he was on his death-bed I had heartily and sincerelyforgiven him. 'Very right, ' replied the major, 'and consistent withyour honour, when he was on his death-bed; but that forgiveness wasonly conditional, and is revoked by his recovery. ' I told him I couldnot possibly revoke it; for that my anger was really gone. --'What hathanger, ' cried he, 'to do with the matter? the dignity of my naturehath been always my reason for drawing my sword; and when that isconcerned I can as readily fight with the man I love as with the man Ihate. '--I will not tire you with the repetition of the whole argument, in which the major did not prevail; and I really believe I sunk alittle in his esteem upon that account, till Captain James, whoarrived soon after, again perfectly reinstated me in his favour. "When the captain was come there remained no cause of our longer stayat Montpelier; for, as to my wife, she was in a better state of healththan I had ever known her; and Miss Bath had not only recovered herhealth but her bloom, and from a pale skeleton was become a plump, handsome young woman. James was again my cashier; for, far fromreceiving any remittance, it was now a long time since I had receivedany letter from England, though both myself and my dear Amelia hadwritten several, both to my mother and sister; and now, at ourdeparture from Montpelier, I bethought myself of writing to my goodfriend the doctor, acquainting him with our journey to Paris, whitherI desired he would direct his answer. "At Paris we all arrived without encountering any adventure on theroad worth relating; nor did anything of consequence happen hereduring the first fortnight; for, as you know neither Captain James norMiss Bath, it is scarce worth telling you that an affection, whichafterwards ended in a marriage, began now to appear between them, inwhich it may appear odd to you that I made the first discovery of thelady's flame, and my wife of the captain's. "The seventeenth day after our arrival at Paris I received a letterfrom the doctor, which I have in my pocket-book; and, if you please, Iwill read it you; for I would not willingly do any injury to hiswords. " The lady, you may easily believe, desired to hear the letter, andBooth read it as follows: "MY DEAR CHILDREN--For I will now call you so, as you have neither ofyou now any other parent in this world. Of this melancholy news Ishould have sent you earlier notice if I had thought you ignorant ofit, or indeed if I had known whither to have written. If your sisterhath received any letters from you she hath kept them a secret, andperhaps out of affection to you hath reposited them in the same placewhere she keeps her goodness, and, what I am afraid is much dearer toher, her money. The reports concerning you have been various; so isalways the case in matters where men are ignorant; for, when no manknows what the truth is, every man thinks himself at liberty to reportwhat he pleases. Those who wish you well, son Booth, say simply thatyou are dead: others, that you ran away from the siege, and wascashiered. As for my daughter, all agree that she is a saint above;and there are not wanting those who hint that her husband sent herthither. From this beginning you will expect, I suppose, better newsthan I am going to tell you; but pray, my dear children, why may notI, who have always laughed at my own afflictions, laugh at yours, without the censure of much malevolence? I wish you could learn thistemper from me; for, take my word for it, nothing truer ever came fromthe mouth of a heathen than that sentence: '---_Leve fit quod bene fertur onus_. '[Footnote: The burthen becomes light by being well borne. ] And though I must confess I never thought Aristotle (whom I do nottake for so great a blockhead as some who have never read him) dothnot very well resolve the doubt which he hath raised in his Ethics, viz. , How a man in the midst of King Priam's misfortunes can be calledhappy? yet I have long thought that there is no calamity so great thata Christian philosopher may not reasonably laugh at it; if the heathenCicero, doubting of immortality (for so wise a man must have doubtedof that which had such slender arguments to support it), could assertit as the office of wisdom, _Humanas res despicere atque infra sepositas arbitrari. _[Footnote: To look down on all human affairs asmatters below his consideration. ] "Which passage, with much more to the same purpose, you will find inthe third book of his Tusculan Questions. "With how much greater confidence may a good Christian despise, andeven deride, all temporary and short transitory evils! If the poorwretch, who is trudging on to his miserable cottage, can laugh at thestorms and tempests, the rain and whirlwinds, which surround him, while his richest hope is only that of rest; how much more chearfullymust a man pass through such transient evils, whose spirits are buoyedup with the certain expectation of finding a noble palace and the mostsumptuous entertainment ready to receive him! I do not much like thesimile; but I cannot think of a better. And yet, inadequate as thesimile is, we may, I think, from the actions of mankind, conclude thatthey will consider it as much too strong; for, in the case I have putof the entertainment, is there any man so tender or poor-spirited asnot to despise, and often to deride, the fiercest of theseinclemencies which I have mentioned? but in our journey to theglorious mansions of everlasting bliss, how severely is every littlerub, every trifling accident, lamented! and if Fortune showers downany of her heavier storms upon us, how wretched do we presently appearto ourselves and to others! The reason of this can be no other thanthat we are not in earnest in our faith; at the best, we think withtoo little attention on this our great concern. While the most paultrymatters of this world, even those pitiful trifles, those childishgewgaws, riches and honours, are transacted with the utmostearnestness and most serious application, the grand and weighty affairof immortality is postponed and disregarded, nor ever brought into theleast competition with our affairs here. If one of my cloth shouldbegin a discourse of heaven in the scenes of business or pleasure; inthe court of requests, at Garraway's, or at White's; would he gain ahearing, unless, perhaps, of some sorry jester who would desire toridicule him? would he not presently acquire the name of the madparson, and be thought by all men worthy of Bedlam? or would he not betreated as the Romans treated their Aretalogi, [Footnote: A set ofbeggarly philosophers who diverted great men at their table withburlesque discourses on virtue. ] and considered in the light of abuffoon? But why should I mention those places of hurry and worldlypursuit? What attention do we engage even in the pulpit? Here, if asermon be prolonged a little beyond the usual hour, doth it not sethalf the audience asleep? as I question not I have by this time bothmy children. Well, then, like a good-natured surgeon, who prepares hispatient for a painful operation by endeavouring as much as he can todeaden his sensation, I will now communicate to you, in yourslumbering condition, the news with which I threatened you. Your goodmother, you are to know, is dead at last, and hath left her wholefortune to her elder daughter. --This is all the ill news I have totell you. Confess now, if you are awake, did you not expect it wasmuch worse; did not you apprehend that your charming child was dead?Far from it, he is in perfect health, and the admiration of everybody:what is more, he will be taken care of, with the tenderness of aparent, till your return. What pleasure must this give you! if indeedanything can add to the happiness of a married couple who areextremely and deservedly fond of each other, and, as you write me, inperfect health. A superstitious heathen would have dreaded the maliceof Nemesis in your situation; but as I am a Christian, I shall ventureto add another circumstance to your felicity, by assuring you that youhave, besides your wife, a faithful and zealous friend. Do not, therefore, my dear children, fall into that fault which the excellentThucydides observes is too common in human nature, to bear heavily thebeing deprived of the smaller good, without conceiving, at the sametime, any gratitude for the much greater blessings which we aresuffered to enjoy. I have only farther to tell you, my son, that, whenyou call at Mr. Morand's, Rue Dauphine, you will find yourself worth ahundred pounds. Good Heaven! how much richer are you than millions ofpeople who are in want of nothing! farewel, and know me for yoursincere and affectionate friend. " "There, madam, " cries Booth, "how do you like the letter?" "Oh! extremely, " answered she: "the doctor is a charming man; I alwaysloved dearly to hear him preach. I remember to have heard of Mrs. Harris's death above a year before I left the country, but never knewthe particulars of her will before. I am extremely sorry for it, uponmy honour. " "Oh, fy! madam, " cries Booth; "have you so soon forgot the chiefpurport of the doctor's letter?" "Ay, ay, " cried she; "these are very pretty things to read, Iacknowledge; but the loss of fortune is a serious matter; and I amsure a man of Mr. Booth's understanding must think so. " "Oneconsideration, I must own, madam, " answered he, "a good deal baffledall the doctor's arguments. This was the concern for my little growingfamily, who must one day feel the loss; nor was I so easy uponAmelia's account as upon my own, though she herself put on the utmostchearfulness, and stretched her invention to the utmost to comfort me. But sure, madam, there is something in the doctor's letter to admirebeyond the philosophy of it; what think you of that easy, generous, friendly manner, in which he sent me the hundred pounds?" "Very noble and great indeed, " replied she. "But pray go on with yourstory; for I long to hear the whole. " Chapter xi. _In which Mr. Booth relates his return to England. _ "Nothing remarkable, as I remember, happened during our stay at Paris, which we left soon after and came to London. Here we rested only twodays, and then, taking leave of our fellow-travellers, we set out forWiltshire, my wife being so impatient to see the child which she hadleft behind her, that the child she carried with her was almost killedwith the fatigue of the journey. "We arrived at our inn late in the evening. Amelia, though she had nogreat reason to be pleased with any part of her sister's behaviour, resolved to behave to her as if nothing wrong had ever happened. Shetherefore sent a kind note to her the moment of our arrival, givingher her option, whether she would come to us at the inn, or whether weshould that evening wait on her. The servant, after waiting an hour, brought us an answer, excusing her from coming to us so late, as shewas disordered with a cold, and desiring my wife by no means to thinkof venturing out after the fatigue of her journey; saying, she would, on that account, defer the great pleasure of seeing her till themorning, without taking any more notice of your humble servant than ifno such person had been in the world, though I had very civilly sentmy compliments to her. I should not mention this trifle, if it was notto shew you the nature of the woman, and that it will be a kind of keyto her future conduct. "When the servant returned, the good doctor, who had been with usalmost all the time of his absence, hurried us away to his house, where we presently found a supper and a bed prepared for us. My wifewas eagerly desirous to see her child that night; but the doctor wouldnot suffer it; and, as he was at nurse at a distant part of the town, and the doctor assured her he had seen him in perfect health thatevening, she suffered herself at last to be dissuaded. "We spent that evening in the most agreeable manner; for the doctor'swit and humour, joined to the highest chearfulness and good nature, made him the most agreeable companion in the world: and he was now inthe highest spirits, which he was pleased to place to our account. Wesat together to a very late hour; for so excellent is my wife'sconstitution, that she declared she was scarce sensible of any fatiguefrom her late journeys. "Amelia slept not a wink all night, and in the morning early thedoctor accompanied us to the little infant. The transports we felt onthis occasion were really enchanting, nor can any but a fond parentconceive, I am certain, the least idea of them. Our imaginationssuggested a hundred agreeable circumstances, none of which had, perhaps, any foundation. We made words and meaning out of every sound, and in every feature found out some resemblance to my Amelia, as shedid to me. "But I ask your pardon for dwelling on such incidents, and willproceed to scenes which, to most persons, will be more entertaining. "We went hence to pay a visit to Miss Harris, whose reception of uswas, I think, truly ridiculous; and, as you know the lady, I willendeavour to describe it particularly. At our first arrival we wereushered into a parlour, where we were suffered to wait almost an hour. At length the lady of the house appeared in deep mourning, with aface, if possible, more dismal than her dress, in which, however, there was every appearance of art. Her features were indeed skrewed upto the very height of grief. With this face, and in the most solemngait, she approached Amelia, and coldly saluted her. After which shemade me a very distant formal courtesy, and we all sat down. A shortsilence now ensued, which Miss Harris at length broke with a deepsigh, and said, 'Sister, here is a great alteration in this placesince you saw it last; Heaven hath been pleased to take my poor motherto itself. '--(Here she wiped her eyes, and then continued. )--'I hope Iknow my duty, and have learned a proper resignation to the divinewill; but something is to be allowed to grief for the best of mothers;for so she was to us both; and if at last she made any distinction, she must have had her reasons for so doing. I am sure I can truly sayI never wished, much less desired it. ' The tears now stood in poorAmelia's eyes; indeed, she had paid too many already for the memory ofso unnatural a parent. She answered, with the sweetness of an angel, that she was far from blaming her sister's emotions on so tender anoccasion; that she heartily joined with her in her grief; for thatnothing which her mother had done in the latter part of her life couldefface the remembrance of that tenderness which she had formerly shewnher. Her sister caught hold of the word efface, and rung the changesupon it. --'Efface!' cried she, 'O Miss Emily (for you must not expectme to repeat names that will be for ever odious), I wish indeedeverything could be effaced. --Effaced! O that that was possible! wemight then have still enjoyed my poor mother; for I am convinced shenever recovered her grief on a certain occasion. '--Thus she ran on, and, after many bitter strokes upon her sister, at last directlycharged her mother's death on my marriage with Amelia. I could besilent then no longer. I reminded her of the perfect reconciliationbetween us before my departure, and the great fondness which sheexpressed for me; nor could I help saying, in very plain terms, thatif she had ever changed her opinion of me, as I was not conscious ofhaving deserved such a change by my own behaviour, I was wellconvinced to whose good offices I owed it. Guilt hath very quick earsto an accusation. Miss Harris immediately answered to the charge. Shesaid, such suspicions were no more than she expected; that they wereof a piece with every other part of my conduct, and gave her oneconsolation, that they served to account for her sister Emily'sunkindness, as well to herself as to her poor deceased mother, and insome measure lessened the guilt of it with regard to her, since it wasnot easy to know how far a woman is in the power of her husband. Mydear Amelia reddened at this reflection on me, and begged her sisterto name any single instance of unkindness or disrespect in which shehad ever offended. To this the other answered (I am sure I repeat herwords, though I cannot mimic either the voice or air with which theywere spoken)--'Pray, Miss Emily, which is to be the judge, yourself orthat gentleman? I remember the time when I could have trusted to yourjudgment in any affair; but you are now no longer mistress ofyourself, and are not answerable for your actions. Indeed, it is myconstant prayer that your actions may not be imputed to you. It wasthe constant prayer of that blessed woman, my dear mother, who is nowa saint above; a saint whose name I can never mention without a tear, though I find you can hear it without one. I cannot help observingsome concern on so melancholy an occasion; it seems due to decency;but, perhaps (for I always wish to excuse you) you are forbid to cry. 'The idea of being bid or forbid to cry struck so strongly on my fancy, that indignation only could have prevented me from laughing. But mynarrative, I am afraid, begins to grow tedious. In short, afterhearing, for near an hour, every malicious insinuation which a fertilegenius could invent, we took our leave, and separated as persons whowould never willingly meet again. "The next morning after this interview Amelia received a long letterfrom Miss Harris; in which, after many bitter invectives against me, she excused her mother, alledging that she had been driven to do asshe did in order to prevent Amelia's ruin, if her fortune had falleninto my hands. She likewise very remotely hinted that she would beonly a trustee for her sister's children, and told her that on onecondition only she would consent to live with her as a sister. Thiswas, if she could by any means be separated from that man, as she waspleased to call me, who had caused so much mischief in the family. "I was so enraged at this usage, that, had not Amelia intervened, Ibelieve I should have applied to a magistrate for a search-warrant forthat picture, which there was so much reason to suspect she hadstolen; and which I am convinced, upon a search, we should have foundin her possession. " "Nay, it is possible enough, " cries Miss Matthews; "for I believethere is no wickedness of which the lady is not capable. " "This agreeable letter was succeeded by another of the likecomfortable kind, which informed me that the company in which I was, being an additional one raised in the beginning of the war, wasreduced; so that I was now a lieutenant on half-pay. "Whilst we were meditating on our present situation the good doctorcame to us. When we related to him the manner in which my sister hadtreated us, he cried out, 'Poor soul! I pity her heartily;' for thisis the severest resentment he ever expresses; indeed, I have oftenheard him say that a wicked soul is the greatest object of compassionin the world. "--A sentiment which we shall leave the reader a littletime to digest. Chapter xii. _In which Mr. Booth concludes his story. _ "The next day the doctor set out for his parsonage, which was aboutthirty miles distant, whither Amelia and myself accompanied him, andwhere we stayed with him all the time of his residence there, beingalmost three months. "The situation of the parish under my good friend's care is verypleasant. It is placed among meadows, washed by a clear trout-stream, and flanked on both sides with downs. His house, indeed, would notmuch attract the admiration of the virtuoso. He built it himself, andit is remarkable only for its plainness; with which the furniture sowell agrees, that there is no one thing in it that may not beabsolutely necessary, except books, and the prints of Mr. Hogarth, whom he calls a moral satirist. "Nothing, however, can be imagined more agreeable than the life thatthe doctor leads in this homely house, which he calls his earthlyparadise. All his parishioners, whom he treats as his children, regardhim as their common father. Once in a week he constantly visits everyhouse in the parish, examines, commends, and rebukes, as he findsoccasion. This is practised likewise by his curate in his absence; andso good an effect is produced by this their care, that no quarrelsever proceed either to blows or law-suits; no beggar is to be found inthe whole parish; nor did I ever hear a very profane oath all the timeI lived in it. "But to return from so agreeable a digression, to myown affairs, that are much less worth your attention. In the midst ofall the pleasures I tasted in this sweet place and in the mostdelightful company, the woman and man whom I loved above all things, melancholy reflexions concerning my unhappy circumstances would oftensteal into my thoughts. My fortune was now reduced to less than fortypounds a-year; I had already two children, and my dear Amelia wasagain with child. "One day the doctor found me sitting by myself, and employed inmelancholy contemplations on this subject. He told me he had observedme growing of late very serious; that he knew the occasion, andneither wondered at nor blamed me. He then asked me if I had anyprospect of going again into the army; if not, what scheme of life Iproposed to myself? "I told him that, as I had no powerful friends, I could have butlittle expectations in a military way; that I was as incapable ofthinking of any other scheme, as all business required some knowledgeor experience, and likewise money to set up with; of all which I wasdestitute. "'You must know then, child, ' said the doctor, 'that I have beenthinking on this subject as well as you; for I can think, I promiseyou, with a pleasant countenance. ' These were his words. 'As to thearmy, perhaps means might be found of getting you another commission;but my daughter seems to have a violent objection to it; and to beplain, I fancy you yourself will find no glory make you amends foryour absence from her. And for my part, ' said he, 'I never think thosemen wise who, for any worldly interest, forego the greatest happinessof their lives. If I mistake not, ' says he, 'a country life, where youcould be always together, would make you both much happier people. ' "I answered, that of all things I preferred it most; and I believedAmelia was of the same opinion. "The doctor, after a little hesitation, proposed to me to turn farmer, and offered to let me his parsonage, which was then become vacant. Hesaid it was a farm which required but little stock, and that littleshould not be wanting. "I embraced this offer very eagerly, and with great thankfulness, andimmediately repaired to Amelia to communicate it to her, and to knowher sentiments. "Amelia received the news with the highest transports of joy; she saidthat her greatest fear had always been of my entring again into thearmy. She was so kind as to say that all stations of life were equalto her, unless as one afforded her more of my company than another. 'And as to our children, ' said she, 'let us breed them up to an humblefortune, and they will be contented with it; for none, ' added myangel, 'deserve happiness, or, indeed, are capable of it, who make anyparticular station a necessary ingredient. '" "Thus, madam, you see me degraded from my former rank in life; nolonger Captain Booth, but farmer Booth at your service. "During my first year's continuance in this new scene of life, nothing, I think, remarkable happened; the history of one day would, indeed, be the history of the whole year. " "Well, pray then, " said Miss Matthews, "do let us hear the history ofthat day; I have a strange curiosity to know how you could kill yourtime; and do, if possible, find out the very best day you can. " "If you command me, madam, " answered Booth, "you must yourself beaccountable for the dulness of the narrative. Nay, I believe, you haveimposed a very difficult task on me; for the greatest happiness isincapable of description. "I rose then, madam--" "O, the moment you waked, undoubtedly, " said Miss Matthews. "Usually, " said he, "between five and six. " "I will have no usually, " cried Miss Matthews, "you are confined to aday, and it is to be the best and happiest in the year. " "Nay, madam, " cries Booth, "then I must tell you the day in whichAmelia was brought to bed, after a painful and dangerous labour; forthat I think was the happiest day of my life. " "I protest, " said she, "you are become farmer Booth, indeed. What ahappiness have you painted to my imagination! you put me in mind of anewspaper, where my lady such-a-one is delivered of a son, to thegreat joy of some illustrious family. " "Why then, I do assure you, Miss Matthews, " cries Booth, "I scarceknow a circumstance that distinguished one day from another. The wholewas one continued series of love, health, and tranquillity. Our livesresembled a calm sea. "-- "The dullest of all ideas, " cries the lady. "I know, " said he, "it must appear dull in description, for who candescribe the pleasures which the morning air gives to one in perfecthealth; the flow of spirits which springs up from exercise; thedelights which parents feel from the prattle and innocent follies oftheir children; the joy with which the tender smile of a wife inspiresa husband; or lastly, the chearful, solid comfort which a fond coupleenjoy in each other's conversation?--All these pleasures and everyother of which our situation was capable we tasted in the highestdegree. Our happiness was, perhaps, too great; for fortune seemed togrow envious of it, and interposed one of the most cruel accidentsthat could have befallen us by robbing us of our dear friend thedoctor. " "I am sorry for it, " said Miss Matthews. "He was indeed a valuableman, and I never heard of his death before. " "Long may it be before any one hears of it!" cries Booth. "He is, indeed, dead to us; but will, I hope, enjoy many happy years of life. You know, madam, the obligations he had to his patron the earl;indeed, it was impossible to be once in his company without hearing ofthem. I am sure you will neither wonder that he was chosen to attendthe young lord in his travels as his tutor, nor that the good man, however disagreeable it might be (as in fact it was) to hisinclination, should comply with the earnest request of his friend andpatron. "By this means I was bereft not only of the best companion in theworld, but of the best counsellor; a loss of which I have since feltthe bitter consequence; for no greater advantage, I am convinced, canarrive to a young man, who hath any degree of understanding, than anintimate converse with one of riper years, who is not only able toadvise, but who knows the manner of advising. By this means alone, youth can enjoy the benefit of the experience of age, and that at atime of life when such experience will be of more service to a manthan when he hath lived long enough to acquire it of himself. "From want of my sage counsellor, I now fell into many errors. Thefirst of these was in enlarging my business, by adding a farm of onehundred a year to the parsonage, in renting which I had also as bad abargain as the doctor had before given me a good one. The consequenceof which was, that whereas, at the end of the first year, I was worthupwards of fourscore pounds; at the end of the second I was near halfthat sum worse (as the phrase is) than nothing. "A second folly I was guilty of in uniting families with the curate ofthe parish, who had just married, as my wife and I thought, a verygood sort of a woman. We had not, however, lived one month togetherbefore I plainly perceived this good sort of a woman had taken a greatprejudice against my Amelia, for which, if I had not known somethingof the human passions, and that high place which envy holds amongthem, I should not have been able to account, for, so far was my angelfrom having given her any cause of dislike, that she had treated hernot only with civility, but kindness. "Besides superiority in beauty, which, I believe, all the world wouldhave allowed to Amelia, there was another cause of this envy, which Iam almost ashamed to mention, as it may well be called my greatestfolly. You are to know then, madam, that from a boy I had been alwaysfond of driving a coach, in which I valued myself on having someskill. This, perhaps, was an innocent, but I allow it to have been achildish vanity. As I had an opportunity, therefore, of buying an oldcoach and harness very cheap (indeed they cost me but twelve pounds), and as I considered that the same horses which drew my waggons wouldlikewise draw my coach, I resolved on indulging myself in thepurchase. "The consequence of setting up this poor old coach is inconceivable. Before this, as my wife and myself had very little distinguishedourselves from the other farmers and their wives, either in our dressor our way of living, they treated us as their equals; but now theybegan to consider us as elevating ourselves into a state ofsuperiority, and immediately began to envy, hate, and declare waragainst us. The neighbouring little squires, too, were uneasy to see apoor renter become their equal in a matter in which they placed somuch dignity; and, not doubting but it arose in me from the sameostentation, they began to hate me likewise, and to turn my equipageinto ridicule, asserting that my horses, which were as well matched asany in the kingdom, were of different colours and sizes, with muchmore of that kind of wit, the only basis of which is lying. "But what will appear most surprizing to you, madam, was, that thecurate's wife, who, being lame, had more use of the coach than myAmelia (indeed she seldom went to church in any other manner), was oneof my bitterest enemies on the occasion. If she had ever any disputewith Amelia, which all the sweetness of my poor girl could notsometimes avoid, she was sure to introduce with a malicious sneer, 'Though my husband doth not keep a coach, madam. ' Nay, she took thisopportunity to upbraid my wife with the loss of her fortune, alledgingthat some folks might have had as good pretensions to a coach as otherfolks, and a better too, as they brought a better fortune to theirhusbands, but that all people had not the art of making brick withoutstraw. "You will wonder, perhaps, madam, how I can remember such stuff, which, indeed, was a long time only matter of amusement to both Ameliaand myself; but we at last experienced the mischievous nature of envy, and that it tends rather to produce tragical than comical events. Myneighbours now began to conspire against me. They nicknamed me inderision, the Squire Farmer. Whatever I bought, I was sure to buydearer, and when I sold I was obliged to sell cheaper, than any other. In fact, they were all united, and, while they every day committedtrespasses on my lands with impunity, if any of my cattle escaped intotheir fields, I was either forced to enter into a law-suit or to makeamends fourfold for the damage sustained. "The consequences of all this could be no other than that ruin whichensued. Without tiring you with particulars, before the end of fouryears I became involved in debt near three hundred pounds more thanthe value of all my effects. My landlord seized my stock for rent, and, to avoid immediate confinement in prison, I was forced to leavethe country with all that I hold dear in the world, my wife and mypoor little family. "In this condition I arrived in town five or six days ago. I had justtaken a lodging in the verge of the court, and had writ my dear Ameliaword where she might find me, when she had settled her affairs in thebest manner she could. That very evening, as I was returning home froma coffee-house, a fray happening in the street, I endeavoured toassist the injured party, when I was seized by the watch, and, afterbeing confined all night in the round-house, was conveyed in themorning before a justice of peace, who committed me hither; where Ishould probably have starved, had I not from your hands found a mostunaccountable preservation. --And here, give me leave to assure you, mydear Miss Matthews, that, whatever advantage I may have reaped fromyour misfortune, I sincerely lament it; nor would I have purchased anyrelief to myself at the price of seeing you in this dreadful place. " He spake these last words with great tenderness; for he was a man ofconsummate good nature, and had formerly had much affection for thisyoung lady; indeed, more than the generality of people are capable ofentertaining for any person whatsoever. BOOK IV. Chapter i. _Containing very mysterious matter_. Miss Matthews did not in the least fall short of Mr. Booth inexpressions of tenderness. Her eyes, the most eloquent orators on suchoccasions, exerted their utmost force; and at the conclusion of hisspeech she cast a look as languishingly sweet as ever Cleopatra gaveto Antony. In real fact, this Mr. Booth had been her first love, andhad made those impressions on her young heart, which the learned inthis branch of philosophy affirm, and perhaps truly, are never to beeradicated. When Booth had finished his story a silence ensued of some minutes; aninterval which the painter would describe much better than the writer. Some readers may, however, be able to make pretty pertinentconjectures by what I have said above, especially when they are toldthat Miss Matthews broke the silence by a sigh, and cried, "Why is Mr. Booth unwilling to allow me the happiness of thinking my misfortuneshave been of some little advantage to him? sure the happy Amelia wouldnot be so selfish to envy me that pleasure. No; not if she was as muchthe fondest as she is the happiest of women. " "Good heavens! madam, "said he, "do you call my poor Amelia the happiest of women?" "Indeed Ido, " answered she briskly. "O Mr. Booth! there is a speck of white inher fortune, which, when it falls to the lot of a sensible woman, makes her full amends for all the crosses which can attend her. Perhaps she may not be sensible of it; but if it had been my blestfate--O Mr. Booth! could I have thought, when we were firstacquainted, that the most agreeable man in the world had been capableof making the kind, the tender, the affectionate husband--happyAmelia, in those days, was unknown; Heaven had not then given her aprospect of the happiness it intended her; but yet it did intend ither; for sure there is a fatality in the affairs of love; and the moreI reflect on my own life, the more I am convinced of it. --O heavens!how a thousand little circumstances crowd into my mind! When you firstmarched into our town, you had then the colours in your hand; as youpassed under the window where I stood, my glove, by accident, droptinto the street; you stoopt, took up my glove, and, putting it uponthe spike belonging to your colours, lifted it up to the window. Uponthis a young lady who stood by said, 'So, miss, the young officer hathaccepted your challenge. ' I blushed then, and I blush now, when Iconfess to you I thought you the prettiest young fellow I had everseen; and, upon my soul, I believe you was then the prettiest fellowin the world. " Booth here made a low bow, and cried, "O dear madam, how ignorant was I of my own happiness!" "Would you really havethought so?" answered she. "However, there is some politeness if therebe no sincerity in what you say. "--Here the governor of the enchantedcastle interrupted them, and, entering the room without any ceremony, acquainted the lady and gentleman that it was locking-up time; and, addressing Booth by the name of captain, asked him if he would notplease to have a bed; adding, that he might have one in the next roomto the lady, but that it would come dear; for that he never let a bedin that room under a guinea, nor could he afford it cheaper to hisfather. No answer was made to this proposal; but Miss Matthews, who hadalready learnt some of the ways of the house, said she believed Mr. Booth would like to drink a glass of something; upon which thegovernor immediately trumpeted forth the praises of his rack-punch, and, without waiting for any farther commands, presently produced alarge bowl of that liquor. The governor, having recommended the goodness of his punch by a heartydraught, began to revive the other matter, saying that he was justgoing to bed, and must first lock up. --"But suppose, " said MissMatthews, with a smile, "the captain and I should have a mind to situp all night. "--"With all my heart, " said the governor; "but I expecta consideration for those matters. For my part, I don't enquire intowhat doth not concern me; but single and double are two things. If Ilock up double I expect half a guinea, and I'm sure the captain cannotthink that's out of the way; it is but the price of a bagnio. " Miss Matthews's face became the colour of scarlet at those words. However, she mustered up her spirits, and, turning to Booth, said, "What say you, captain? for my own part, I had never less inclinationto sleep; which hath the greater charms for you, the punch or thepillow?"--"I hope, madam, " answered Booth, "you have a better opinionof me than to doubt my preferring Miss Matthews's conversation toeither. "--"I assure you, " replied she, "it is no compliment to you tosay I prefer yours to sleep at this time. " The governor, then, having received his fee, departed; and, turningthe key, left the gentleman and the lady to themselves. In imitation of him we will lock up likewise a scene which we do notthink proper to expose to the eyes of the public. If any over-curiousreaders should be disappointed on this occasion, we will recommendsuch readers to the apologies with which certain gay ladies havelately been pleased to oblige the world, where they will possibly findeverything recorded that past at this interval. But, though we decline painting the scene, it is not our intention toconceal from the world the frailty of Mr. Booth, or of his fairpartner, who certainly past that evening in a manner inconsistent withthe strict rules of virtue and chastity. To say the truth, we are much more concerned for the behaviour of thegentleman than of the lady, not only for his sake, but for the sake ofthe best woman in the world, whom we should be sorry to consider asyoked to a man of no worth nor honour. We desire, therefore, the good-natured and candid reader will be pleased to weigh attentively theseveral unlucky circumstances which concurred so critically, thatFortune seemed to have used her utmost endeavours to ensnare poorBooth's constancy. Let the reader set before his eyes a fine youngwoman, in a manner, a first love, conferring obligations and usingevery art to soften, to allure, to win, and to enflame; let himconsider the time and place; let him remember that Mr. Booth was ayoung fellow in the highest vigour of life; and, lastly, let him addone single circumstance, that the parties were alone together; andthen, if he will not acquit the defendant, he must be convicted, for Ihave nothing more to say in his defence. Chapter ii. _The latter part of which we expect will please our reader betterthan the former. _ A whole week did our lady and gentleman live in this criminalconversation, in which the happiness of the former was much moreperfect than that of the latter; for, though the charms of MissMatthews, and her excessive endearments, sometimes lulled everythought in the sweet lethargy of pleasure, yet in the intervals of hisfits his virtue alarmed and roused him, and brought the image of poorinjured Amelia to haunt and torment him. In fact, if we regard thisworld only, it is the interest of every man to be either perfectlygood or completely bad. He had better destroy his conscience thangently wound it. The many bitter reflections which every bad actioncosts a mind in which there are any remains of goodness are not to becompensated by the highest pleasures which such an action can produce. So it happened to Mr. Booth. Repentance never failed to follow histransgressions; and yet so perverse is our judgment, and so slipperyis the descent of vice when once we are entered into it, the samecrime which he now repented of became a reason for doing that whichwas to cause his future repentance; and he continued to sin on becausehe had begun. His repentance, however, returned still heavier andheavier, till, at last, it flung him into a melancholy, which MissMatthews plainly perceived, and at which she could not avoidexpressing some resentment in obscure hints and ironical complimentson Amelia's superiority to her whole sex, who could not cloy a gayyoung fellow by many years' possession. She would then repeat thecompliments which others had made to her own beauty, and could notforbear once crying out, "Upon my soul, my dear Billy, I believe thechief disadvantage on my side is my superior fondness; for love, inthe minds of men, hath one quality, at least, of a fever, which is toprefer coldness in the object. Confess, dear Will, is there notsomething vastly refreshing in the cool air of a prude?" Booth fetcheda deep sigh, and begged her never more to mention Amelia's name. "OWill, " cries she, "did that request proceed from the motive I couldwish, I should be the happiest of womankind. "--"You would not, sure, madam, " said Booth, "desire a sacrifice which I must be a villain tomake to any?"--"Desire!" answered she, "are there any bounds to thedesires of love? have not I been sacrificed? hath not my first lovebeen torn from my bleeding heart? I claim a prior right. As forsacrifices, I can make them too, and would sacrifice the whole worldat the least call of my love. " Here she delivered a letter to Booth, which she had received within anhour, the contents of which were these:-- "DEAREST MADAM, --Those only who truly know what love is, can have anyconception of the horrors I felt at hearing of your confinement at myarrival in town, which was this morning. I immediately sent my lawyerto enquire into the particulars, who brought me the agreeable newsthat the man, whose heart's blood ought not to be valued at the rateof a single hair of yours, is entirely out of all danger, and that youmight be admitted to bail. I presently ordered him to go with two ofmy tradesmen, who are to be bound in any sum for your appearance, ifhe should be mean enough to prosecute you. Though you may expect myattorney with you soon, I would not delay sending this, as I hope thenews will be agreeable to you. My chariot will attend at the same timeto carry you wherever you please. You may easily guess what a violenceI have done to myself in not waiting on you in person; but I, who knowyour delicacy, feared it might offend, and that you might think meungenerous enough to hope from your distresses that happiness which Iam resolved to owe to your free gift alone, when your good natureshall induce you to bestow on me what no man living can merit. I begyou will pardon all the contents of this hasty letter, and do me thehonour of believing me, Dearest madam, Your most passionate admirer, and most obedient humble servant, DAMON. " Booth thought he had somewhere before seen the same hand, but in hispresent hurry of spirits could not recollect whose it was, nor did thelady give him any time for reflection; for he had scarce read theletter when she produced a little bit of paper and cried out, "Here, sir, here are the contents which he fears will offend me. " She thenput a bank-bill of a hundred pounds into Mr. Booth's hands, and askedhim with a smile if he did not think she had reason to be offendedwith so much insolence? Before Booth could return any answer the governor arrived, andintroduced Mr. Rogers the attorney, who acquainted the lady that hehad brought her discharge from her confinement, and that a chariotwaited at the door to attend her wherever she pleased. She received the discharge from Mr. Rogers, and said she was very muchobliged to the gentleman who employed him, but that she would not makeuse of the chariot, as she had no notion of leaving that wretchedplace in a triumphant manner; in which resolution, when the attorneyfound her obstinate, he withdrew, as did the governor, with many bowsand as many ladyships. They were no sooner gone than Booth asked the lady why she wouldrefuse the chariot of a gentleman who had behaved with such excessiverespect? She looked earnestly upon him, and cried, "How unkind is thatquestion! do you imagine I would go and leave you in such a situation?thou knowest but little of Calista. Why, do you think I would acceptthis hundred pounds from a man I dislike, unless it was to beserviceable to the man I love? I insist on your taking it as your ownand using whatever you want of it. " Booth protested in the solemnest manner that he would not touch ashilling of it, saying, he had already received too many obligationsat her hands, and more than ever he should be able, he feared, torepay. "How unkind, " answered she, "is every word you say, why willyou mention obligations? love never confers any. It doth everythingfor its own sake. I am not therefore obliged to the man whose passionmakes him generous; for I feel how inconsiderable the whole worldwould appear to me if I could throw it after my heart. " Much more of this kind past, she still pressing the bank-note uponhim, and he as absolutely refusing, till Booth left the lady to dressherself, and went to walk in the area of the prison. Miss Matthews now applied to the governor to know by what means shemight procure the captain his liberty. The governor answered, "As hecannot get bail, it will be a difficult matter; and money to be surethere must be; for people no doubt expect to touch on these occasions. When prisoners have not wherewithal as the law requires to entitlethemselves to justice, why they must be beholden to other people togive them their liberty; and people will not, to be sure, sufferothers to be beholden to them for nothing, whereof there is goodreason; for how should we all live if it was not for these things?""Well, well, " said she, "and how much will it cost?" "How much!"answered he, --"How much!--why, let me see. "--Here he hesitated sometime, and then answered "That for five guineas he would undertake toprocure the captain his discharge. "That being the sum which hecomputed to remain in the lady's pocket; for, as to the gentleman's, he had long been acquainted with the emptiness of it. Miss Matthews, to whom money was as dirt (indeed she may be thoughtnot to have known the value of it), delivered him the bank-bill, andbid him get it changed; for if the whole, says she, will procure himhis liberty, he shall have it this evening. "The whole, madam!" answered the governor, as soon as he had recoveredhis breath, for it almost forsook him at the sight of the black wordhundred--"No, no; there might be people indeed--but I am not one ofthose. A hundred! no, nor nothing like it. --As for myself, as I said, I will be content with five guineas, and I am sure that's littleenough. What other people will expect I cannot exactly say. To be surehis worship's clerk will expect to touch pretty handsomely; as for hisworship himself, he never touches anything, that is, not to speak of;but then the constable will expect something, and the watchman musthave something, and the lawyers on both sides, they must have theirfees for finishing. "--"Well, " said she, "I leave all to you. If itcosts me twenty pounds I will have him discharged this afternoon. --Butyou must give his discharge into my hands without letting the captainknow anything of the matter. " The governor promised to obey her commands in every particular; nay, he was so very industrious, that, though dinner was just then comingupon the table, at her earnest request he set out immediately on thepurpose, and went as he said in pursuit of the lawyer. All the other company assembled at table as usual, where poor Boothwas the only person out of spirits. This was imputed by all present toa wrong cause; nay, Miss Matthews herself either could not or wouldnot suspect that there was anything deeper than the despair of beingspeedily discharged that lay heavy on his mind. However, the mirth of the rest, and a pretty liberal quantity ofpunch, which he swallowed after dinner (for Miss Matthews had ordereda very large bowl at her own expense to entertain the good company ather farewell), so far exhilarated his spirits, that when the younglady and he retired to their tea he had all the marks of gayety in hiscountenance, and his eyes sparkled with good humour. The gentleman and lady had spent about two hours in tea andconversation, when the governor returned, and privately delivered tothe lady the discharge for her friend, and the sum of eighty-twopounds five shillings; the rest having been, he said, disbursed in thebusiness, of which he was ready at any time to render an exactaccount. Miss Matthews being again alone with Mr. Booth, she put the dischargeinto his hands, desiring him to ask her no questions; and adding, "Ithink, sir, we have neither of us now anything more to do at thisplace. " She then summoned the governor, and ordered a bill of thatday's expense, for long scores were not usual there; and at the sametime ordered a hackney coach, without having yet determined whithershe would go, but fully determined she was, wherever she went, to takeMr. Booth with her. The governor was now approaching with a long roll of paper, when afaint voice was heard to cry out hastily, "Where is he?"--andpresently a female spectre, all pale and breathless, rushed into theroom, and fell into Mr. Booth's arms, where she immediately faintedaway. Booth made a shift to support his lovely burden; though he was himselfin a condition very little different from hers. Miss Matthewslikewise, who presently recollected the face of Amelia, was struckmotionless with the surprize, nay, the governor himself, though noteasily moved at sights of horror, stood aghast, and neither offered tospeak nor stir. Happily for Amelia, the governess of the mansions had, out ofcuriosity, followed her into the room, and was the only useful personpresent on this occasion: she immediately called for water, and ran tothe lady's assistance, fell to loosening her stays, and performed allthe offices proper at such a season; which had so good an effect, thatAmelia soon recovered the disorder which the violent agitation of herspirits had caused, and found herself alive and awake in her husband'sarms. Some tender caresses and a soft whisper or two passed privatelybetween Booth and his lady; nor was it without great difficulty thatpoor Amelia put some restraint on her fondness in a place so improperfor a tender interview. She now cast her eyes round the room, and, fixing them on Miss Matthews, who stood like a statue, she soonrecollected her, and, addressing her by her name, said, "Sure, madam, I cannot be mistaken in those features; though meeting you here mightalmost make me suspect my memory. " Miss Matthews's face was now all covered with scarlet. The reader mayeasily believe she was on no account pleased with Amelia's presence;indeed, she expected from her some of those insults of which virtuouswomen are generally so liberal to a frail sister: but she wasmistaken; Amelia was not one Who thought the nation ne'er would thrive, Till all the whores were burnt alive. Her virtue could support itself with its own intrinsic worth, withoutborrowing any assistance from the vices of other women; and sheconsidered their natural infirmities as the objects of pity, not ofcontempt or abhorrence. When Amelia therefore perceived the visible confusion in Miss Matthewsshe presently called to remembrance some stories which she hadimperfectly heard; for, as she was not naturally attentive to scandal, and had kept very little company since her return to England, she wasfar from being a mistress of the lady's whole history. However, shehad heard enough to impute her confusion to the right cause; sheadvanced to her, and told her, she was extremely sorry to meet her insuch a place, but hoped that no very great misfortune was the occasionof it. Miss Matthews began, by degrees, to recover her spirits. She answered, with a reserved air, "I am much obliged to you, madam, for yourconcern; we are all liable to misfortunes in this world. Indeed, Iknow not why I should be much ashamed of being in any place where I amin such good company. " Here Booth interposed. He had before acquainted Amelia in a whisperthat his confinement was at an end. "The unfortunate accident, mydear, " said he, "which brought this young lady to this melancholyplace is entirely determined; and she is now as absolutely at herliberty as myself. " Amelia, imputing the extreme coldness and reserve of the lady to thecause already mentioned, advanced still more and more in proportion asshe drew back; till the governor, who had withdrawn some time, returned, and acquainted Miss Matthews that her coach was at the door;upon which the company soon separated. Amelia and Booth went togetherin Amelia's coach, and poor Miss Matthews was obliged to retire alone, after having satisfied the demands of the governor, which in one dayonly had amounted to a pretty considerable sum; for he, with greatdexterity, proportioned the bills to the abilities of his guests. It may seem, perhaps, wonderful to some readers, that Miss Matthewsshould have maintained that cold reserve towards Amelia, so as barelyto keep within the rules of civility, instead of embracing anopportunity which seemed to offer of gaining some degree of intimacywith a wife whose husband she was so fond of; but, besides that herspirits were entirely disconcerted by so sudden and unexpected adisappointment; and besides the extreme horrors which she conceived atthe presence of her rival, there is, I believe, something sooutrageously suspicious in the nature of all vice, especially whenjoined with any great degree of pride, that the eyes of those whom weimagine privy to our failings are intolerable to us, and we are apt toaggravate their opinions to our disadvantage far beyond the reality. Chapter iii. _Containing wise observations of the author, and other matters. _ There is nothing more difficult than to lay down any fixed and certainrules for happiness; or indeed to judge with any precision of thehappiness of others from the knowledge of external circumstances. There is sometimes a little speck of black in the brightest and gayestcolours of fortune, which contaminates and deadens the whole. On thecontrary, when all without looks dark and dismal, there is often asecret ray of light within the mind, which turns everything to realjoy and gladness. I have in the course of my life seen many occasions to make thisobservation, and Mr. Booth was at present a very pregnant instance ofits truth. He was just delivered from a prison, and in the possessionof his beloved wife and children; and (which might be imagined greatlyto augment his joy) fortune had done all this for him within an hour, without giving him the least warning or reasonable expectation of thestrange reverse in his circumstances; and yet it is certain that therewere very few men in the world more seriously miserable than he was atthis instant. A deep melancholy seized his mind, and cold damp sweatsoverspread his person, so that he was scarce animated; and poorAmelia, instead of a fond warm husband, bestowed her caresses on adull lifeless lump of clay. He endeavoured, however, at first, as muchas possible, to conceal what he felt, and attempted what is thehardest of all tasks, to act the part of a happy man; but he found nosupply of spirits to carry on this deceit, and would have probablysunk under his attempt, had not poor Amelia's simplicity helped him toanother fallacy, in which he had much better success. This worthy woman very plainly perceived the disorder in her husband'smind; and, having no doubt of the cause of it, especially when she sawthe tears stand in his eyes at the sight of his children, threw herarms round his neck, and, embracing him with rapturous fondness, criedout, "My dear Billy, let nothing make you uneasy. Heaven will, I doubtnot, provide for us and these poor babes. Great fortunes are notnecessary to happiness. For my own part, I can level my mind with anystate; and for those poor little things, whatever condition of life webreed them to, that will be sufficient to maintain them in. How manythousands abound in affluence whose fortunes are much lower than ours!for it is not from nature, but from education and habit, that ourwants are chiefly derived. Make yourself easy, therefore, my dearlove; for you have a wife who will think herself happy with you, andendeavour to make you so, in any situation. Fear nothing, Billy, industry will always provide us a wholesome meal; and I will take carethat neatness and chearfulness shall make it a pleasant one. " Booth presently took the cue which she had given him. He fixed hiseyes on her for a minute with great earnestness and inexpressibletenderness; and then cried, "O my Amelia, how much are you my superiorin every perfection! how wise, how great, how noble are yoursentiments! why can I not imitate what I so much admire? why can I notlook with your constancy on those dear little pledges of our loves?All my philosophy is baffled with the thought that my Amelia'schildren are to struggle with a cruel, hard, unfeeling world, and tobuffet those waves of fortune which have overwhelmed their father. --Here, I own I want your firmness, and am not without an excuse forwanting it; for am I not the cruel cause of all your wretchedness?have I not stept between you and fortune, and been the cursed obstacleto all your greatness and happiness?" "Say not so, my love, " answered she. "Great I might have been, butnever happy with any other man. Indeed, dear Billy, I laugh at thefears you formerly raised in me; what seemed so terrible at adistance, now it approaches nearer, appears to have been a merebugbear--and let this comfort you, that I look on myself at this dayas the happiest of women; nor have I done anything which I do notrejoice in, and would, if I had the gift of prescience, do again. " Booth was so overcome with this behaviour, that he had no words toanswer. To say the truth, it was difficult to find any worthy of theoccasion. He threw himself prostrate at her feet, whence poor Ameliawas forced to use all her strength as well as entreaties to raise andplace him in his chair. Such is ever the fortitude of perfect innocence, and such thedepression of guilt in minds not utterly abandoned. Booth wasnaturally of a sanguine temper; nor would any such apprehensions as hementioned have been sufficient to have restrained his joy at meetingwith his Amelia. In fact, a reflection on the injury he had done herwas the sole cause of his grief. This it was that enervated his heart, and threw him into agonies, which all that profusion of heroictenderness that the most excellent of women intended for his comfortserved only to heighten and aggravate; as the more she rose in hisadmiration, the more she quickened his sense of his own unworthiness. After a disagreeable evening, the first of that kind that he had everpassed with his Amelia, in which he had the utmost difficulty to forcea little chearfulness, and in which her spirits were at lengthoverpowered by discerning the oppression on his, they retired to rest, or rather to misery, which need not be described. The next morning at breakfast, Booth began to recover a little fromhis melancholy, and to taste the company of his children. He now firstthought of enquiring of Amelia by what means she had discovered theplace of his confinement. Amelia, after gently rebuking him for nothaving himself acquainted her with it, informed him that it was knownall over the country, and that she had traced the original of it toher sister; who had spread the news with a malicious joy, and added acircumstance which would have frightened her to death, had not herknowledge of him made her give little credit to it, which was, that hewas committed for murder. But, though she had discredited this part, she said the not hearing from him during several successive posts madeher too apprehensive of the rest; that she got a conveyance thereforefor herself and children to Salisbury, from whence the stage coach hadbrought them to town; and, having deposited the children at hislodging, of which he had sent her an account on his first arrival intown, she took a hack, and came directly to the prison where she heardhe was, and where she found him. Booth excused himself, and with truth, as to his not having writ; for, in fact, he had writ twice from the prison, though he had mentionednothing of his confinement; but, as he sent away his letters afternine at night, the fellow to whom they were entrusted had burnt themboth for the sake of putting the twopence in his own pocket, or ratherin the pocket of the keeper of the next gin-shop. As to the accountwhich Amelia gave him, it served rather to raise than to satisfy hiscuriosity. He began to suspect that some person had seen both him andMiss Matthews together in the prison, and had confounded her case withhis; and this the circumstance of murder made the more probable. Butwho this person should be he could not guess. After giving himself, therefore, some pains in forming conjectures to no purpose, he wasforced to rest contented with his ignorance of the real truth. Two or three days now passed without producing anything remarkable;unless it were that Booth more and more recovered his spirits, and hadnow almost regained his former degree of chearfulness, when thefollowing letter arrived, again to torment him: "DEAR BILLY, "To convince you I am the most reasonable of women, I have given youup three whole days to the unmolested possession of my fortunaterival; I can refrain no longer from letting you know that I lodge inDean Street, not far from the church, at the sign of the Pelican andTrumpet, where I expect this evening to see you. "Believe me I am, with more affection than any other woman in theworld can be, my dear Billy, Your affectionate, fond, doating F. MATTHEWS. " Booth tore the letter with rage, and threw it into the fire, resolvingnever to visit the lady more, unless it was to pay her the money shehad lent him, which he was determined to do the very firstopportunity, for it was not at present in his power. This letter threw him back into his fit of dejection, in which he hadnot continued long when a packet from the country brought him thefollowing from his friend Dr Harrison: "Sir, _Lyons, January 21, N. S. _"Though I am now on my return home, I have taken up my pen tocommunicate to you some news I have heard from England, which gives memuch uneasiness, and concerning which I can indeed deliver mysentiments with much more ease this way than any other. In my answerto your last, I very freely gave you my opinion, in which it was mymisfortune to disapprove of every step you had taken; but those wereall pardonable errors. Can you be so partial to yourself, upon cooland sober reflexion, to think what I am going to mention is so? Ipromise you, it appears to me a folly of so monstrous a kind, that, had I heard it from any but a person of the highest honour, I shouldhave rejected it as utterly incredible. I hope you already guess whatI am about to name; since, Heaven forbid, your conduct should affordyou any choice of such gross instances of weakness. In a word, then, you have set up an equipage. What shall I invent in your excuse, either to others or to myself? In truth, I can find no excuse for you, and, what is more, I am certain you can find none for yourself. I mustdeal therefore very plainly and sincerely with you. Vanity is alwayscontemptible; but when joined with dishonesty, it becomes odious anddetestable. At whose expence are you to support this equipage? is itnot entirely at the expence of others? and will it not finally end inthat of your poor wife and children? you know you are two years inarrears to me. If I could impute this to any extraordinary or commonaccident I think I should never have mentioned it; but I will notsuffer my money to support the ridiculous, and, I must say, criminalvanity of any one. I expect, therefore, to find, at my return, thatyou have either discharged my whole debt, or your equipage. Let me begyou seriously to consider your circumstances and condition in life, and to remember that your situation will not justify any the leastunnecessary expence. _Simply to be poor, _ says my favourite Greekhistorian, _was not held scandalous by the wise Athenians, but highlyso to owe that poverty to our own indiscretion. _ "Present my affections to Mrs. Booth, and be assured that I shall not, without great reason, and great pain too, ever cease to be, Your most faithful friend, R. HARRISON. " Had this letter come at any other time, it would have given Booth themost sensible affliction; but so totally had the affair of MissMatthews possessed his mind, that, like a man in the most raging fitof the gout, he was scarce capable of any additional torture; nay, heeven made an use of this latter epistle, as it served to account toAmelia for that concern which he really felt on another account. Thepoor deceived lady, therefore, applied herself to give him comfortwhere he least wanted it. She said he might easily perceive that thematter had been misrepresented to the doctor, who would not, she wassure, retain the least anger against him when he knew the real truth. After a short conversation on this subject, in which Booth appeared tobe greatly consoled by the arguments of his wife, they parted. He wentto take a walk in the Park, and she remained at home to prepare himhis dinner. He was no sooner departed than his little boy, not quite six yearsold, said to Amelia, "La! mamma, what is the matter with poor papa, what makes him look so as if he was going to cry? he is not half somerry as he used to be in the country. " Amelia answered, "Oh! my dear, your papa is only a little thoughtful, he will be merry again soon. "--Then looking fondly on her children, she burst into an agony of tears, and cried, "Oh Heavens; what have these poor little infants done? whywill the barbarous world endeavour to starve them, by depriving us ofour only friend?--O my dear, your father is ruined, and we areundone!"--The children presently accompanied their mother's tears, andthe daughter cried--"Why, will anybody hurt poor papa? hath he doneany harm to anybody?"--"No, my dear child, " said the mother; "he isthe best man in the world, and therefore they hate him. " Upon whichthe boy, who was extremely sensible at his years, answered, "Nay, mamma, how can that be? have not you often told me that if I was goodeverybody would love me?" "All good people will, " answered she. "Whydon't they love papa then?" replied the child, "for I am sure he isvery good. " "So they do, my dear, " said the mother, "but there aremore bad people in the world, and they will hate you for yourgoodness. " "Why then, bad people, " cries the child, "are loved by morethan the good. "--"No matter for that, my dear, " said she; "the love ofone good person is more worth having than that of a thousand wickedones; nay, if there was no such person in the world, still you must bea good boy; for there is one in Heaven who will love you, and his loveis better for you than that of all mankind. " This little dialogue, we are apprehensive, will be read with contemptby many; indeed, we should not have thought it worth recording, was itnot for the excellent example which Amelia here gives to all mothers. This admirable woman never let a day pass without instructing herchildren in some lesson of religion and morality. By which means shehad, in their tender minds, so strongly annexed the ideas of fear andshame to every idea of evil of which they were susceptible, that itmust require great pains and length of habit to separate them. Thoughshe was the tenderest of mothers, she never suffered any symptom ofmalevolence to shew itself in their most trifling actions withoutdiscouragement, without rebuke, and, if it broke forth with anyrancour, without punishment. In which she had such success, that notthe least mark of pride, envy, malice, or spite discovered itself inany of their little words or deeds. Chapter iv. _In which Amelia appears in no unamiable light. _ Amelia, with the assistance of a little girl, who was their onlyservant, had drest her dinner, and she had likewise drest herself asneat as any lady who had a regular sett of servants could have done, when Booth returned, and brought with him his friend James, whom hehad met with in the Park; and who, as Booth absolutely refused to dineaway from his wife, to whom he had promised to return, had invitedhimself to dine with him. Amelia had none of that paultry pride whichpossesses so many of her sex, and which disconcerts their tempers, andgives them the air and looks of furies, if their husbands bring in anunexpected guest, without giving them timely warning to provide asacrifice to their own vanity. Amelia received her husband's friendwith the utmost complaisance and good humour: she made indeed someapology for the homeliness of her dinner; but it was politely turnedas a compliment to Mr. James's friendship, which could carry him wherehe was sure of being so ill entertained; and gave not the least hinthow magnificently she would have provided _had she expected the favourof so much good company. _ A phrase which is generally meant to containnot only an apology for the lady of the house, but a tacit satire onher guests for their intrusion, and is at least a strong insinuationthat they are not welcome. Amelia failed not to enquire very earnestly after her old friend Mrs. James, formerly Miss Bath, and was very sorry to find that she was notin town. The truth was, as James had married out of a violent likingof, or appetite to, her person, possession had surfeited him, and hewas now grown so heartily tired of his wife, that she had very littleof his company; she was forced therefore to content herself with beingthe mistress of a large house and equipage in the country ten monthsin the year by herself. The other two he indulged her with thediversions of the town; but then, though they lodged under the sameroof, she had little more of her husband's society than if they hadbeen one hundred miles apart. With all this, as she was a woman ofcalm passions, she made herself contented; for she had never had anyviolent affection for James: the match was of the prudent kind, and toher advantage; for his fortune, by the death of an uncle, was becomevery considerable; and she had gained everything by the bargain but ahusband, which her constitution suffered her to be very well satisfiedwithout. When Amelia, after dinner, retired to her children, James began totalk to his friend concerning his affairs. He advised Booth veryearnestly to think of getting again into the army, in which he himselfhad met with such success, that he had obtained the command of aregiment to which his brother-in-law was lieutenant-colonel. Thesepreferments they both owed to the favour of fortune only; for, thoughthere was no objection to either of their military characters, yetneither of them had any extraordinary desert; and, if merit in theservice was a sufficient recommendation, Booth, who had been twicewounded in the siege, seemed to have the fairest pretensions; but heremained a poor half-pay lieutenant, and the others were, as we havesaid, one of them a lieutenant-colonel, and the other had a regiment. Such rises we often see in life, without being able to give anysatisfactory account of the means, and therefore ascribe them to thegood fortune of the person. Both Colonel James and his brother-in-law were members of parliament;for, as the uncle of the former had left him, together with hisestate, an almost certain interest in a borough, so he chose to conferthis favour on Colonel Bath; a circumstance which would have beenhighly immaterial to mention here, but as it serves to set forth thegoodness of James, who endeavoured to make up in kindness to thefamily what he wanted in fondness for his wife. Colonel James then endeavoured all in his power to persuade Booth tothink again of a military life, and very kindly offered him hisinterest towards obtaining him a company in the regiment under hiscommand. Booth must have been a madman, in his present circumstances, to have hesitated one moment at accepting such an offer, and he wellknew Amelia, notwithstanding her aversion to the army, was much toowise to make the least scruple of giving her consent. Nor was he, asit appeared afterwards, mistaken in his opinion of his wife'sunderstanding; for she made not the least objection when it wascommunicated to her, but contented herself with an expressstipulation, that wherever he was commanded to go (for the regimentwas now abroad) she would accompany him. Booth, therefore, accepted his friend's proposal with a profusion ofacknowledgments; and it was agreed that Booth should draw up amemorial of his pretensions, which Colonel James undertook to presentto some man of power, and to back it with all the force he had. Nor did the friendship of the colonel stop here. "You will excuse me, dear Booth, " said he, "if, after what you have told me" (for he hadbeen very explicit in revealing his affairs to him), "I suspect youmust want money at this time. If that be the case, as I am certain itmust be, I have fifty pieces at your service. " This generosity broughtthe tears into Booth's eyes; and he at length confest that he had notfive guineas in the house; upon which James gave him a bank-bill fortwenty pounds, and said he would give him thirty more the next time hesaw him. Thus did this generous colonel (for generous he really was to thehighest degree) restore peace and comfort to this little family; andby this act of beneficence make two of the worthiest people two of thehappiest that evening. Here, reader, give me leave to stop a minute, to lament that so feware to be found of this benign disposition; that, while wantonness, vanity, avarice, and ambition are every day rioting and triumphing inthe follies and weakness, the ruin and desolation of mankind, scarceone man in a thousand is capable of tasting the happiness of others. Nay, give me leave to wonder that pride, which is constantlystruggling, and often imposing on itself, to gain some little pre-eminence, should so seldom hint to us the only certain as well aslaudable way of setting ourselves above another man, and that is, bybecoming his benefactor. Chapter v. _Containing an eulogium upon innocence, and other grave matters. _ Booth past that evening, and all the succeeding day, with his Amelia, without the interruption of almost a single thought concerning MissMatthews, after having determined to go on the Sunday, the only day hecould venture without the verge in the present state of his affairs, and pay her what she had advanced for him in the prison. But she hadnot so long patience; for the third day, while he was sitting withAmelia, a letter was brought to him. As he knew the hand, heimmediately put it into his pocket unopened, not without such analteration in his countenance, that had Amelia, who was then playingwith one of the children, cast her eyes towards him, she must haveremarked it. This accident, however, luckily gave him time to recoverhimself; for Amelia was so deeply engaged with the little one, thatshe did not even remark the delivery of the letter. The maid soonafter returned into the room, saying, the chairman desired to know ifthere was any answer to the letter. --"What letter?" cries Booth. --"Theletter I gave you just now, " answered the girl. --"Sure, " cries Booth, "the child is mad, you gave me no letter. "--"Yes, indeed, I did, sir, "said the poor girl. "Why then as sure as fate, " cries Booth, "I threwit into the fire in my reverie; why, child, why did you not tell me itwas a letter? bid the chairman come up, stay, I will go down myself;for he will otherwise dirt the stairs with his feet. " Amelia was gently chiding the girl for her carelessness when Boothreturned, saying it was very true that she had delivered him a letterfrom Colonel James, and that perhaps it might be of consequence. "However, " says he, "I will step to the coffee-house, and send him anaccount of this strange accident, which I know he will pardon in mypresent situation. " Booth was overjoyed at this escape, which poor Amelia's total want ofall jealousy and suspicion made it very easy for him to accomplish;but his pleasure was considerably abated when, upon opening theletter, he found it to contain, mixed with several very strongexpressions of love, some pretty warm ones of the upbraiding kind; butwhat most alarmed him was a hint that it was in her (Miss Matthews's)power to make Amelia as miserable as herself. Besides the generalknowledge of _----Furens quid faemina possit, _ he had more particular reasons to apprehend the rage of a lady who hadgiven so strong an instance how far she could carry her revenge. Shehad already sent a chairman to his lodgings with a positive commandnot to return without an answer to her letter. This might of itselfhave possibly occasioned a discovery; and he thought he had greatreason to fear that, if she did not carry matters so far as purposelyand avowedly to reveal the secret to Amelia, her indiscretion would atleast effect the discovery of that which he would at any price haveconcealed. Under these terrors he might, I believe, be considered asthe most wretched of human beings. O innocence, how glorious and happy a portion art thou to the breastthat possesses thee! thou fearest neither the eyes nor the tongues ofmen. Truth, the most powerful of all things, is thy strongest friend;and the brighter the light is in which thou art displayed, the more itdiscovers thy transcendent beauties. Guilt, on the contrary, like abase thief, suspects every eye that beholds him to be privy to histransgressions, and every tongue that mentions his name to beproclaiming them. Fraud and falsehood are his weak and treacherousallies; and he lurks trembling in the dark, dreading every ray oflight, lest it should discover him, and give him up to shame andpunishment. While Booth was walking in the Park with all these horrors in his mindhe again met his friend Colonel James, who soon took notice of thatdeep concern which the other was incapable of hiding. After somelittle conversation, Booth said, "My dear colonel, I am sure I must bethe most insensible of men if I did not look on you as the best andthe truest friend; I will, therefore, without scruple, repose aconfidence in you of the highest kind. I have often made you privy tomy necessities, I will now acquaint you with my shame, provided youhave leisure enough to give me a hearing: for I must open to you along history, since I will not reveal my fault without informing you, at the same time, of those circumstances which, I hope, will in somemeasure excuse it. " The colonel very readily agreed to give his friend a patient hearing. So they walked directly to a coffee-house at the corner of Spring-Garden, where, being in a room by themselves, Booth opened his wholeheart, and acquainted the colonel with his amour with Miss Matthews, from the very beginning to his receiving that letter which had causedall his present uneasiness, and which he now delivered into hisfriend's hand. The colonel read the letter very attentively twice over (he was silentindeed long enough to have read it oftener); and then, turning toBooth, said, "Well, sir, and is it so grievous a calamity to be theobject of a young lady's affection; especially of one whom you allowto be so extremely handsome?" "Nay, but, my dear friend, " cries Booth, "do not jest with me; you who know my Amelia. " "Well, my dear friend, "answered James, "and you know Amelia and this lady too. But what wouldyou have me do for you?" "I would have you give me your advice, " saysBooth, "by what method I shall get rid of this dreadful woman withouta discovery. "--"And do you really, " cries the other, "desire to getrid of her?" "Can you doubt it, " said Booth, "after what I havecommunicated to you, and after what you yourself have seen in myfamily? for I hope, notwithstanding this fatal slip, I do not appearto you in the light of a profligate. " "Well, " answered James, "and, whatever light I may appear to you in, if you are really tired of thelady, and if she be really what you have represented her, I'llendeavour to take her off your hands; but I insist upon it that you donot deceive me in any particular. " Booth protested in the most solemnmanner that every word which he had spoken was strictly true; andbeing asked whether he would give his honour never more to visit thelady, he assured James that he never would. He then, at his friend'srequest, delivered him Miss Matthews's letter, in which was a seconddirection to her lodgings, and declared to him that, if he could bringhim safely out of this terrible affair, he should think himself tohave a still higher obligation to his friendship than any which he hadalready received from it. Booth pressed the colonel to go home with him to dinner; but heexcused himself, being, as he said, already engaged. However, heundertook in the afternoon to do all in his power that Booth shouldreceive no more alarms from the quarter of Miss Matthews, whom thecolonel undertook to pay all the demands she had on his friend. Theythen separated. The colonel went to dinner at the King's Arms, andBooth returned in high spirits to meet his Amelia. The next day, early in the morning, the colonel came to the coffee-house and sent for his friend, who lodged but at a little distance. The colonel told him he had a little exaggerated the lady's beauty;however, he said, he excused that, "for you might think, perhaps, "cries he, "that your inconstancy to the finest woman in the worldmight want some excuse. Be that as it will, " said he, "you may makeyourself easy, as it will be, I am convinced, your own fault, if youhave ever any further molestation from Miss Matthews. " Booth poured forth very warmly a great profusion of gratitude on thisoccasion; and nothing more anywise material passed at this interview, which was very short, the colonel being in a great hurry, as he had, he said, some business of very great importance to transact thatmorning. The colonel had now seen Booth twice without remembering to give himthe thirty pounds. This the latter imputed intirely to forgetfulness;for he had always found the promises of the former to be equal invalue with the notes or bonds of other people. He was more surprizedat what happened the next day, when, meeting his friend in the Park, he received only a cold salute from him; and though he past him fiveor six times, and the colonel was walking with a single officer of nogreat rank, and with whom he seemed in no earnest conversation, yetcould not Booth, who was alone, obtain any further notice from him. This gave the poor man some alarm; though he could scarce persuadehimself that there was any design in all this coldness orforgetfulness. Once he imagined that he had lessened himself in thecolonel's opinion by having discovered his inconstancy to Amelia; butthe known character of the other presently cured him of his suspicion, for he was a perfect libertine with regard to women; that being indeedthe principal blemish in his character, which otherwise might havedeserved much commendation for good-nature, generosity, andfriendship. But he carried this one to a most unpardonable height; andmade no scruple of openly declaring that, if he ever liked a womanwell enough to be uneasy on her account, he would cure himself, if hecould, by enjoying her, whatever might be the consequence. Booth could not therefore be persuaded that the colonel would sohighly resent in another a fault of which he was himself mostnotoriously guilty. After much consideration he could derive thisbehaviour from nothing better than a capriciousness in his friend'stemper, from a kind of inconstancy of mind, which makes men grow wearyof their friends with no more reason than they often are of theirmistresses. To say the truth, there are jilts in friendship as well asin love; and, by the behaviour of some men in both, one would almostimagine that they industriously sought to gain the affections ofothers with a view only of making the parties miserable. This was the consequence of the colonel's behaviour to Booth. Formercalamities had afflicted him, but this almost distracted him; and themore so as he was not able well to account for such conduct, nor toconceive the reason of it. Amelia, at his return, presently perceived the disturbance in hismind, though he endeavoured with his utmost power to hide it; and hewas at length prevailed upon by her entreaties to discover to her thecause of it, which she no sooner heard than she applied as judicious aremedy to his disordered spirits as either of those great mentalphysicians, Tully or Aristotle, could have thought of. She used manyarguments to persuade him that he was in an error, and had mistakenforgetfulness and carelessness for a designed neglect. But, as this physic was only eventually good, and as its efficacydepended on her being in the right, a point in which she was not aptto be too positive, she thought fit to add some consolation of a morecertain and positive kind. "Admit, " said she, "my dear, that Mr. Jamesshould prove the unaccountable person you have suspected, and should, without being able to alledge any cause, withdraw his friendship fromyou (for surely the accident of burning his letter is too trifling andridiculous to mention), why should this grieve you? the obligations hehath conferred on you, I allow, ought to make his misfortunes almostyour own; but they should not, I think, make you see his faults sovery sensibly, especially when, by one of the greatest faults in theworld committed against yourself, he hath considerably lessened allobligations; for sure, if the same person who hath contributed to myhappiness at one time doth everything in his power maliciously andwantonly to make me miserable at another, I am very little obliged tosuch a person. And let it be a comfort to my dear Billy, that, howeverother friends may prove false and fickle to him, he hath one friend, whom no inconstancy of her own, nor any change of his fortune, nortime, nor age, nor sickness, nor any accident, can ever alter; but whowill esteem, will love, and doat on him for ever. " So saying, sheflung her snowy arms about his neck, and gave him a caress so tender, that it seemed almost to balance all the malice of his fate. And, indeed, the behaviour of Amelia would have made him completelyhappy, in defiance of all adverse circumstances, had it not been forthose bitter ingredients which he himself had thrown into his cup, andwhich prevented him from truly relishing his Amelia's sweetness, bycruelly reminding him how unworthy he was of this excellent creature. Booth did not long remain in the dark as to the conduct of James, which, at first, appeared to him to be so great a mystery; for thisvery afternoon he received a letter from Miss Matthews whichunravelled the whole affair. By this letter, which was full ofbitterness and upbraiding, he discovered that James was his rival withthat lady, and was, indeed, the identical person who had sent thehundred-pound note to Miss Matthews, when in the prison. He had reasonto believe, likewise, as well by the letter as by other circumstances, that James had hitherto been an unsuccessful lover; for the lady, though she had forfeited all title to virtue, had not yet so farforfeited all pretensions to delicacy as to be, like the dirt in thestreet, indifferently common to all. She distributed her favours onlyto those she liked, in which number that gentleman had not thehappiness of being included. When Booth had made this discovery, he was not so little versed inhuman nature, as any longer to hesitate at the true motive to thecolonel's conduct; for he well knew how odious a sight a happy rivalis to an unfortunate lover. I believe he was, in reality, glad toassign the cold treatment he had received from his friend to a causewhich, however injustifiable, is at the same time highly natural; andto acquit him of a levity, fickleness, and caprice, which he must havebeen unwillingly obliged to have seen in a much worse light. He now resolved to take the first opportunity of accosting thecolonel, and of coming to a perfect explanation upon the whole matter. He debated likewise with himself whether he should not throw himselfat Amelia's feet, and confess a crime to her which he found so littlehopes of concealing, and which he foresaw would occasion him so manydifficulties and terrors to endeavour to conceal. Happy had it beenfor him, had he wisely pursued this step; since, in all probability, he would have received immediate forgiveness from the best of women;but he had not sufficient resolution, or, to speak perhaps more truly, he had too much pride, to confess his guilt, and preferred the dangerof the highest inconveniences to the certainty of being put to theblush. Chapter vi. _In which may appear that violence is sometimes done to the name oflove. _ When that happy day came, in which unhallowed hands are forbidden tocontaminate the shoulders of the unfortunate, Booth went early to thecolonel's house, and, being admitted to his presence, began with greatfreedom, though with great gentleness, to complain of his not havingdealt with him with more openness. "Why, my dear colonel, " said he, "would you not acquaint me with that secret which this letter hathdisclosed?" James read the letter, at which his countenance changedmore than once; and then, after a short silence, said, "Mr. Booth, Ihave been to blame, I own it; and you upbraid me with justice. Thetrue reason was, that I was ashamed of my own folly. D--n me, Booth, if I have not been a most consummate fool, a very dupe to this woman;and she hath a particular pleasure in making me so. I know what theimpertinence of virtue is, and I can submit to it; but to be treatedthus by a whore--You must forgive me, dear Booth, but your success wasa kind of triumph over me, which I could not bear. I own, I have notthe least reason to conceive any anger against you; and yet, curse meif I should not have been less displeased at your lying with my ownwife; nay, I could almost have parted with half my fortune to you morewillingly than have suffered you to receive that trifle of my moneywhich you received at her hands. However, I ask your pardon, and Ipromise you I will never more think of you with the least ill-will onthe account of this woman; but as for her, d--n me if I do not enjoyher by some means or other, whatever it costs me; for I am alreadyabove two hundred pounds out of pocket, without having scarce had asmile in return. " Booth exprest much astonishment at this declaration; he said he couldnot conceive how it was possible to have such an affection for a womanwho did not shew the least inclination to return it. James gave her ahearty curse, and said, "Pox of her inclination; I want only thepossession of her person, and that, you will allow, is a very fineone. But, besides my passion for her, she hath now piqued my pride;for how can a man of my fortune brook being refused by a whore?"--"Since you are so set on the business, " cries Booth, "you will excusemy saying so, I fancy you had better change your method of applying toher; for, as she is, perhaps, the vainest woman upon earth, yourbounty may probably do you little service, nay, may rather actuallydisoblige her. Vanity is plainly her predominant passion, and, if youwill administer to that, it will infallibly throw her into your arms. To this I attribute my own unfortunate success. While she relieved mywants and distresses she was daily feeding her own vanity; whereas, asevery gift of yours asserted your superiority, it rather offended thanpleased her. Indeed, women generally love to be of the obliging side;and, if we examine their favourites, we shall find them to be muchoftener such as they have conferred obligations on than such as theyhave received them from. " There was something in this speech which pleased the colonel; and hesaid, with a smile, "I don't know how it is, Will, but you know womenbetter than I. "--"Perhaps, colonel, " answered Booth, "I have studiedtheir minds more. "--"I don't, however, much envy your knowledge, "replied the other, "for I never think their minds worth considering. However, I hope I shall profit a little by your experience with MissMatthews. Damnation seize the proud insolent harlot! the devil take meif I don't love her more than I ever loved a woman!" The rest of their conversation turned on Booth's affairs. The colonelagain reassumed the part of a friend, gave him the remainder of themoney, and promised to take the first opportunity of laying hismemorial before a great man. Booth was greatly overjoyed at this success. Nothing now lay on hismind but to conceal his frailty from Amelia, to whom he was afraidMiss Matthews, in the rage of her resentment, would communicate it. This apprehension made him stay almost constantly at home; and hetrembled at every knock at the door. His fear, moreover, betrayed himinto a meanness which he would have heartily despised on any otheroccasion. This was to order the maid to deliver him any letterdirected to Amelia; at the same time strictly charging her not toacquaint her mistress with her having received any such orders. A servant of any acuteness would have formed strange conjectures fromsuch an injunction; but this poor girl was of perfect simplicity; sogreat, indeed, was her simplicity, that, had not Amelia been void ofall suspicion of her husband, the maid would have soon after betrayedher master. One afternoon, while they were drinking tea, little Betty, so was themaid called, came into the room, and, calling her master forth, delivered him a card which was directed to Amelia. Booth, having readthe card, on his return into the room chid the girl for calling him, saying "If you can read, child, you must see it was directed to yourmistress. " To this the girl answered, pertly enough, "I am sure, sir, you ordered me to bring every letter first to you. " This hint, withmany women, would have been sufficient to have blown up the wholeaffair; but Amelia, who heard what the girl said, through the mediumof love and confidence, saw the matter in a much better light than itdeserved, and, looking tenderly on her husband, said, "Indeed, mylove, I must blame you for a conduct which, perhaps, I ought rather topraise, as it proceeds only from the extreme tenderness of youraffection. But why will you endeavour to keep any secrets from me?believe me, for my own sake, you ought not; for, as you cannot hidethe consequences, you make me always suspect ten times worse than thereality. While I have you and my children well before my eyes, I amcapable of facing any news which can arrive; for what ill news cancome (unless, indeed, it concerns my little babe in the country) whichdoth not relate to the badness of our circumstances? and those, Ithank Heaven, we have now a fair prospect of retrieving. Besides, dearBilly, though my understanding be much inferior to yours, I havesometimes had the happiness of luckily hitting on some argument whichhath afforded you comfort. This, you know, my dear, was the case withregard to Colonel James, whom I persuaded you to think you hadmistaken, and you see the event proved me in the right. " So happily, both for herself and Mr. Booth, did the excellence of this goodwoman's disposition deceive her, and force her to see everything inthe most advantageous light to her husband. The card, being now inspected, was found to contain the compliments ofMrs. James to Mrs. Booth, with an account of her being arrived intown, and having brought with her a very great cold. Amelia wasoverjoyed at the news of her arrival, and having drest herself in theutmost hurry, left her children to the care of her husband, and ranaway to pay her respects to her friend, whom she loved with a mostsincere affection. But how was she disappointed when, eager with theutmost impatience, and exulting with the thoughts of presently seeingher beloved friend, she was answered at the door that the lady was notat home! nor could she, upon telling her name, obtain any admission. This, considering the account she had received of the lady's cold, greatly surprized her; and she returned home very much vexed at herdisappointment. Amelia, who had no suspicion that Mrs. James was really at home, and, as the phrase is, was denied, would have made a second visit the nextmorning, had she not been prevented by a cold which she herself nowgot, and which was attended with a slight fever. This confined herseveral days to her house, during which Booth officiated as her nurse, and never stirred from her. In all this time she heard not a word from Mrs. James, which gave hersome uneasiness, but more astonishment. The tenth day, when she wasperfectly recovered, about nine in the evening, when she and herhusband were just going to supper, she heard a most violent thunderingat the door, and presently after a rustling of silk upon herstaircase; at the same time a female voice cried out pretty loud, "Bless me! what, am I to climb up another pair of stairs?" upon whichAmelia, who well knew the voice, presently ran to the door, andushered in Mrs. James, most splendidly drest, who put on as formal acountenance, and made as formal a courtesie to her old friend, as ifshe had been her very distant acquaintance. Poor Amelia, who was going to rush into her friend's arms, was struckmotionless by this behaviour; but re-collecting her spirits, as shehad an excellent presence of mind, she presently understood what thelady meant, and resolved to treat her in her own way. Down thereforethe company sat, and silence prevailed for some time, during whichMrs. James surveyed the room with more attention than she would havebestowed on one much finer. At length the conversation began, in whichthe weather and the diversions of the town were well canvassed. Amelia, who was a woman of great humour, performed her part toadmiration; so that a by-stander would have doubted, in every otherarticle than dress, which of the two was the most accomplished finelady. After a visit of twenty minutes, during which not a word of any formeroccurrences was mentioned, nor indeed any subject of discoursestarted, except only those two above mentioned, Mrs. James rose fromher chair and retired in the same formal manner in which she hadapproached. We will pursue her for the sake of the contrast during therest of the evening. She went from Amelia directly to a rout, whereshe spent two hours in a croud of company, talked again and again overthe diversions and news of the town, played two rubbers at whist, andthen retired to her own apartment, where, having past another hour inundressing herself, she went to her own bed. Booth and his wife, the moment their companion was gone, sat down tosupper on a piece of cold meat, the remains of their dinner. Afterwhich, over a pint of wine, they entertained themselves for a whilewith the ridiculous behaviour of their visitant. But Amelia, declaringshe rather saw her as the object of pity than anger, turned thediscourse to pleasanter topics. The little actions of their children, the former scenes and future prospects of their life, furnished themwith many pleasant ideas; and the contemplation of Amelia's recoverythrew Booth into raptures. At length they retired, happy in eachother. It is possible some readers may be no less surprized at the behaviourof Mrs. James than was Amelia herself, since they may have perhapsreceived so favourable an impression of that lady from the accountgiven of her by Mr. Booth, that her present demeanour may seemunnatural and inconsistent with her former character. But they will bepleased to consider the great alteration in her circumstances, from astate of dependency on a brother, who was himself no better than asoldier of fortune, to that of being wife to a man of a very largeestate and considerable rank in life. And what was her presentbehaviour more than that of a fine lady who considered form and showas essential ingredients of human happiness, and imagined allfriendship to consist in ceremony, courtesies, messages, and visits?in which opinion, she hath the honour to think with much the largerpart of one sex, and no small number of the other. Chapter vii. _Containing a very extraordinary and pleasant incident. _ The next evening Booth and Amelia went to walk in the park with theirchildren. They were now on the verge of the parade, and Booth wasdescribing to his wife the several buildings round it, when, on asudden, Amelia, missing her little boy, cried out, "Where's littleBilly?" Upon which, Booth, casting his eyes over the grass, saw afoot-soldier shaking the boy at a little distance. At this sight, without making any answer to his wife, he leapt over the rails, and, running directly up to the fellow, who had a firelock with a bayonetfixed in his hand, he seized him by the collar and tript up his heels, and, at the same time, wrested his arms from him. A serjeant uponduty, seeing the affray at some distance, ran presently up, and, beingtold what had happened, gave the centinel a hearty curse, and told himhe deserved to be hanged. A by-stander gave this information; forBooth was returned with his little boy to meet Amelia, who staggeredtowards him as fast as she could, all pale and breathless, and scarceable to support her tottering limbs. The serjeant now came up toBooth, to make an apology for the behaviour of the soldier, when, of asudden, he turned almost as pale as Amelia herself. He stood silentwhilst Booth was employed in comforting and recovering his wife; andthen, addressing himself to him, said, "Bless me! lieutenant, could Iimagine it had been your honour; and was it my little master that therascal used so?--I am glad I did not know it, for I should certainlyhave run my halbert into him. " Booth presently recognised his old faithful servant Atkinson, and gavehim a hearty greeting, saying he was very glad to see him in hispresent situation. "Whatever I am, " answered the serjeant, "I shallalways think I owe it to your honour. " Then, taking the little boy bythe hand he cried, "What a vast fine young gentleman master is grown!"and, cursing the soldier's inhumanity, swore heartily he would makehim pay for it. As Amelia was much disordered with her fright, she did not recollecther foster-brother till he was introduced to her by Booth; but she nosooner knew him than she bestowed a most obliging smile on him; and, calling him by the name of honest Joe, said she was heartily glad tosee him in England. "See, my dear, " cries Booth, "what preferment yourold friend is come to. You would scarce know him, I believe, in hispresent state of finery. " "I am very well pleased to see it, " answeredAmelia, "and I wish him joy of being made an officer with all myheart. " In fact, from what Mr. Booth said, joined to the serjeant'slaced coat, she believed that he had obtained a commission. So weakand absurd is human vanity, that this mistake of Amelia's possibly putpoor Atkinson out of countenance, for he looked at this instant moresilly than he had ever done in his life; and, making her a mostrespectful bow, muttered something about obligations, in a scarcearticulate or intelligible manner. The serjeant had, indeed, among many other qualities, that modestywhich a Latin author honours by the name of ingenuous: nature hadgiven him this, notwithstanding the meanness of his birth; and sixyears' conversation in the army had not taken it away. To say thetruth, he was a noble fellow; and Amelia, by supposing he had acommission in the guards, had been guilty of no affront to thathonourable body. Booth had a real affection for Atkinson, though, in fact, he knew nothalf his merit. He acquainted him with his lodgings, where heearnestly desired to see him. [Illustration: _He seized him by the collar. _] Amelia, who was far from being recovered from the terrors into whichthe seeing her husband engaged with the soldier had thrown her, desired to go home: nor was she well able to walk without someassistance. While she supported herself, therefore, on her husband'sarm, she told Atkinson she should be obliged to him if he would takecare of the children. He readily accepted the office; but, uponoffering his hand to miss, she refused, and burst into tears. Uponwhich the tender mother resigned Booth to her children, and putherself under the serjeant's protection; who conducted her safe home, though she often declared she feared she should drop down by the way;the fear of which so affected the serjeant (for, besides the honourwhich he himself had for the lady, he knew how tenderly his friendloved her) that he was unable to speak; and, had not his nerves beenso strongly braced that nothing could shake them, he had enough in hismind to have set him a trembling equally with the lady. When they arrived at the lodgings the mistress of the house opened thedoor, who, seeing Amelia's condition, threw open the parlour andbegged her to walk in, upon which she immediately flung herself into achair, and all present thought she would have fainted away. However, she escaped that misery, and, having drank a glass of water with alittle white wine mixed in it, she began in a little time to regainher complexion, and at length assured Booth that she was perfectlyrecovered, but declared she had never undergone so much, and earnestlybegged him never to be so rash for the future. She then called herlittle boy and gently chid him, saying, "You must never do so more, Billy; you see what mischief you might have brought upon your father, and what you have made me suffer. " "La! mamma, " said the child, "whatharm did I do? I did not know that people might not walk in the greenfields in London. I am sure if I did a fault, the man punished meenough for it, for he pinched me almost through my slender arm. " Hethen bared his little arm, which was greatly discoloured by the injuryit had received. Booth uttered a most dreadful execration at thissight, and the serjeant, who was now present, did the like. Atkinson now returned to his guard and went directly to the officer toacquaint him with the soldier's inhumanity, but he, who was aboutfifteen years of age, gave the serjeant a great curse and said thesoldier had done very well, for that idle boys ought to be corrected. This, however, did not satisfy poor Atkinson, who, the next day, assoon as the guard was relieved, beat the fellow most unmercifully, andtold him he would remember him as long as he stayed in the regiment. Thus ended this trifling adventure, which some readers will, perhaps, be pleased at seeing related at full length. None, I think, can faildrawing one observation from it, namely, how capable the mostinsignificant accident is of disturbing human happiness, and ofproducing the most unexpected and dreadful events. A reflexion whichmay serve to many moral and religious uses. This accident produced the first acquaintance between the mistress ofthe house and her lodgers; for hitherto they had scarce exchanged aword together. But the great concern which the good woman had shewn onAmelia's account at this time, was not likely to pass unobserved orunthanked either by the husband or wife. Amelia, therefore, as soon asshe was able to go up-stairs, invited Mrs. Ellison (for that was hername) to her apartment, and desired the favour of her to stay tosupper. She readily complied, and they past a very agreeable eveningtogether, in which the two women seemed to have conceived a mostextraordinary liking to each other. Though beauty in general doth not greatly recommend one woman toanother, as it is too apt to create envy, yet, in cases where thispassion doth not interfere, a fine woman is often a pleasing objecteven to some of her own sex, especially when her beauty is attendedwith a certain air of affability, as was that of Amelia in the highestdegree. She was, indeed, a most charming woman; and I know not whetherthe little scar on her nose did not rather add to than diminish herbeauty. Mrs. Ellison, therefore, was as much charmed with the loveliness ofher fair lodger as with all her other engaging qualities. She was, indeed, so taken with Amelia's beauty, that she could not refrain fromcrying out in a kind of transport of admiration, "Upon my word, Captain Booth, you are the happiest man in the world! Your lady is soextremely handsome that one cannot look at her without pleasure. " This good woman had herself none of these attractive charms to theeye. Her person was short and immoderately fat; her features were noneof the most regular; and her complexion (if indeed she ever had a goodone) had considerably suffered by time. Her good humour and complaisance, however, were highly pleasing toAmelia. Nay, why should we conceal the secret satisfaction which thatlady felt from the compliments paid to her person? since such of myreaders as like her best will not be sorry to find that she was awoman. Chapter viii. _Containing various matters. _ A fortnight had now passed since Booth had seen or heard from thecolonel, which did not a little surprize him, as they had parted sogood friends, and as he had so cordially undertaken his causeconcerning the memorial on which all his hopes depended. The uneasiness which this gave him farther encreased on finding thathis friend refused to see him; for he had paid the colonel a visit atnine in the morning, and was told he was not stirring; and at hisreturn back an hour afterwards the servant said his master was goneout, of which Booth was certain of the falsehood; for he had, duringthat whole hour, walked backwards and forwards within sight of thecolonel's door, and must have seen him if he had gone out within thattime. The good colonel, however, did not long suffer his friend to continuein the deplorable state of anxiety; for, the very next morning, Boothreceived his memorial enclosed in a letter, acquainting him that Mr. James had mentioned his affair to the person he proposed, but that thegreat man had so many engagements on his hands that it was impossiblefor him to make any further promises at this time. The cold and distant stile of this letter, and, indeed, the wholebehaviour of James, so different from what it had been formerly, hadsomething so mysterious in it, that it greatly puzzled and perplexedpoor Booth; and it was so long before he was able to solve it, thatthe reader's curiosity will, perhaps, be obliged to us for not leavinghim so long in the dark as to this matter. The true reason, then, ofthe colonel's conduct was this: his unbounded generosity, togetherwith the unbounded extravagance and consequently the great necessityof Miss Matthews, had at length overcome the cruelty of that lady, with whom he likewise had luckily no rival. Above all, the desire ofbeing revenged on Booth, with whom she was to the highest degreeenraged, had, perhaps, contributed not a little to his success; forshe had no sooner condescended to a familiarity with her new lover, and discovered that Captain James, of whom she had heard so much fromBooth, was no other than the identical colonel, than she employedevery art of which she was mistress to make an utter breach offriendship between these two. For this purpose she did not scruple toinsinuate that the colonel was not at all obliged to the charactergiven of him by his friend, and to the account of this latter sheplaced most of the cruelty which she had shewn to the former. Had the colonel made a proper use of his reason, and fairly examinedthe probability of the fact, he could scarce have been imposed upon tobelieve a matter so inconsistent with all he knew of Booth, and inwhich that gentleman must have sinned against all the laws of honourwithout any visible temptation. But, in solemn fact, the colonel wasso intoxicated with his love, that it was in the power of his mistressto have persuaded him of anything; besides, he had an interest ingiving her credit, for he was not a little pleased with finding areason for hating the man whom he could not help hating without anyreason, at least, without any which he durst fairly assign even tohimself. Henceforth, therefore, he abandoned all friendship for Booth, and was more inclined to put him out of the world than to endeavourany longer at supporting him in it. Booth communicated this letter to his wife, who endeavoured, as usual, to the utmost of her power, to console him under one of the greatestafflictions which, I think, can befal a man, namely, the unkindness ofa friend; but he had luckily at the same time the greatest blessing inhis possession, the kindness of a faithful and beloved wife. Ablessing, however, which, though it compensates most of the evils oflife, rather serves to aggravate the misfortune of distressedcircumstances, from the consideration of the share which she is tobear in them. This afternoon Amelia received a second visit from Mrs. Ellison, whoacquainted her that she had a present of a ticket for the oratorio, which would carry two persons into the gallery; and therefore beggedthe favour of her company thither. Amelia, with many thanks, acknowledged the civility of Mrs. Ellison, but declined accepting her offer; upon which Booth very strenuouslyinsisted on her going, and said to her, "My dear, if you knew thesatisfaction I have in any of your pleasures, I am convinced you wouldnot refuse the favour Mrs. Ellison is so kind to offer you; for, asyou are a lover of music, you, who have never been at an oratorio, cannot conceive how you will be delighted. " "I well know yourgoodness, my dear, " answered Amelia, "but I cannot think of leaving mychildren without some person more proper to take care of them thanthis poor girl. " Mrs. Ellison removed this objection by offering herown servant, a very discreet matron, to attend them; butnotwithstanding this, and all she could say, with the assistance ofBooth, and of the children themselves, Amelia still persisted in herrefusal; and the mistress of the house, who knew how far good breedingallows persons to be pressing on these occasions, took her leave. She was no sooner departed than Amelia, looking tenderly on herhusband, said, "How can you, my dear creature, think that music hathany charms for me at this time? or, indeed, do you believe that I amcapable of any sensation worthy the name of pleasure when neither younor my children are present or bear any part of it?" An officer of the regiment to which Booth had formerly belonged, hearing from Atkinson where he lodged, now came to pay him a visit. Hetold him that several of their old acquaintance were to meet the nextWednesday at a tavern, and very strongly pressed him to be one of thecompany. Booth was, in truth, what is called a hearty fellow, andloved now and then to take a chearful glass with his friends; but heexcused himself at this time. His friend declared he would take nodenial, and he growing very importunate, Amelia at length secondedhim. Upon this Booth answered, "Well, my dear, since you desire me, Iwill comply, but on one condition, that you go at the same time to theoratorio. " Amelia thought this request reasonable enough, and gave herconsent; of which Mrs. Ellison presently received the news, and withgreat satisfaction. It may perhaps be asked why Booth could go to the tavern, and not tothe oratorio with his wife? In truth, then, the tavern was withinhallowed ground, that is to say, in the verge of the court; for, offive officers that were to meet there, three, besides Booth, wereconfined to that air which hath been always found extremely wholesometo a broken military constitution. And here, if the good reader willpardon the pun, he will scarce be offended at the observation; since, how is it possible that, without running in debt, any person shouldmaintain the dress and appearance of a gentleman whose income is nothalf so good as that of a porter? It is true that this allowance, small as it is, is a great expense to the public; but, if several moreunnecessary charges were spared, the public might, perhaps, bear alittle encrease of this without much feeling it. They would not, I amsure, have equal reason to complain at contributing to the maintenanceof a sett of brave fellows, who, at the hazard of their health, theirlimbs, and their lives, have maintained the safety and honour of theircountry, as when they find themselves taxed to the support of a settof drones, who have not the least merit or claim to their favour, andwho, without contributing in any manner to the good of the hive, liveluxuriously on the labours of the industrious bee. Chapter ix. _In which Amelia, with her friend, goes to the oratorio. _ Nothing happened between the Monday and the Wednesday worthy a placein this history. Upon the evening of the latter the two ladies went tothe oratorio, and were there time enough to get a first row in thegallery. Indeed, there was only one person in the house when theycame; for Amelia's inclinations, when she gave a loose to them, werepretty eager for this diversion, she being a great lover of music, andparticularly of Mr. Handel's compositions. Mrs. Ellison was, Isuppose, a great lover likewise of music, for she was the moreimpatient of the two; which was rather the more extraordinary; asthese entertainments were not such novelties to her as they were topoor Amelia. Though our ladies arrived full two hours before they saw the back ofMr. Handel, yet this time of expectation did not hang extremely heavyon their hands; for, besides their own chat, they had the company ofthe gentleman whom they found at their first arrival in the gallery, and who, though plainly, or rather roughly dressed, very luckily forthe women, happened to be not only well-bred, but a person of verylively conversation. The gentleman, on his part, seemed highly charmedwith Amelia, and in fact was so, for, though he restrained himselfentirely within the rules of good breeding, yet was he in the highestdegree officious to catch at every opportunity of shewing his respect, and doing her little services. He procured her a book and wax-candle, and held the candle for her himself during the whole entertainment. At the end of the oratorio he declared he would not leave the ladiestill he had seen them safe into their chairs or coach; and at the sametime very earnestly entreated that he might have the honour of waitingon them. Upon which Mrs. Ellison, who was a very good-humoured woman, answered, "Ay, sure, sir, if you please; you have been very obligingto us; and a dish of tea shall be at your service at any time;" andthen told him where she lived. The ladies were no sooner seated in their hackney coach than Mrs. Ellison burst into a loud laughter, and cried, "I'll be hanged, madam, if you have not made a conquest to-night; and what is very pleasant, Ibelieve the poor gentleman takes you for a single lady. " "Nay, "answered Amelia very gravely, "I protest I began to think at last hewas rather too particular, though he did not venture at a word that Icould be offended at; but, if you fancy any such thing, I am sorry youinvited him to drink tea, " "Why so?" replied Mrs. Ellison. "Are youangry with a man for liking you? if you are, you will be angry withalmost every man that sees you. If I was a man myself, I declare Ishould be in the number of your admirers. Poor gentleman, I pity himheartily; he little knows that you have not a heart to dispose of. Formy own part, I should not be surprized at seeing a serious proposal ofmarriage: for I am convinced he is a man of fortune, not only by thepoliteness of his address, but by the fineness of his linen, and thatvaluable diamond ring on his finger. But you will see more of him whenhe comes to tea. " "Indeed I shall not, " answered Amelia, "though Ibelieve you only rally me; I hope you have a better opinion of me thanto think I would go willingly into the company of a man who had animproper liking for me. " Mrs. Ellison, who was one of the gayest womenin the world, repeated the words, improper liking, with a laugh; andcried, "My dear Mrs. Booth, believe me, you are too handsome and toogood-humoured for a prude. How can you affect being offended at what Iam convinced is the greatest pleasure of womankind, and chiefly, Ibelieve, of us virtuous women? for, I assure you, notwithstanding mygaiety, I am as virtuous as any prude in Europe. " "Far be it from me, madam, " said Amelia, "to suspect the contrary of abundance of womenwho indulge themselves in much greater freedoms than I should take, orhave any pleasure in taking; for I solemnly protest, if I know my ownheart, the liking of all men, but of one, is a matter quiteindifferent to me, or rather would be highly disagreeable. " This discourse brought them home, where Amelia, finding her childrenasleep, and her husband not returned, invited her companion to partakeof her homely fare, and down they sat to supper together. The clockstruck twelve; and, no news being arrived of Booth, Mrs. Ellison beganto express some astonishment at his stay, whence she launched into ageneral reflexion on husbands, and soon passed to some particularinvectives on her own. "Ah, my dear madam, " says she, "I know thepresent state of your mind, by what I have myself often felt formerly. I am no stranger to the melancholy tone of a midnight clock. It was mymisfortune to drag on a heavy chain above fifteen years with a sottishyoke-fellow. But how can I wonder at my fate, since I see even yoursuperior charms cannot confine a husband from the bewitching pleasuresof a bottle?" "Indeed, madam, " says Amelia, " I have no reason tocomplain; Mr. Booth is one of the soberest of men; but now and then tospend a late hour with his friend is, I think, highly excusable. "" O, no doubt! "cries Mrs. Ellison, "if he can excuse himself; but if I wasa man--" Here Booth came in and interrupted the discourse. Amelia'seyes flashed with joy the moment he appeared; and he discovered noless pleasure in seeing her. His spirits were indeed a little elevatedwith wine, so as to heighten his good humour, without in the leastdisordering his understanding, and made him such delightful company, that, though it was past one in the morning, neither his wife nor Mrs. Ellison thought of their beds during a whole hour. Early the next morning the serjeant came to Mr. Booth's lodgings, andwith a melancholy countenance acquainted him that he had been thenight before at an alehouse, where he heard one Mr. Murphy, anattorney, declare that he would get a warrant backed against oneCaptain Booth at the next board of greencloth. "I hope, sir, " said he, "your honour will pardon me, but, by what he said, I was afraid hemeant your honour; and therefore I thought it my duty to tell you; forI knew the same thing happen to a gentleman here the other day. " Booth gave Mr. Atkinson many thanks for his information. "I doubtnot, " said he, "but I am the person meant; for it would be foolish inme to deny that I am liable to apprehensions of that sort. " "I hope, sir, " said the serjeant, "your honour will soon have reason to fear noman living; but in the mean time, if any accident should happen, mybail is at your service as far as it will go; and I am a housekeeper, and can swear myself worth one hundred pounds. " Which hearty andfriendly declaration received all those acknowledgments from Boothwhich it really deserved. The poor gentleman was greatly alarmed at the news; but he wasaltogether as much surprized at Murphy's being the attorney employedagainst him, as all his debts, except only to Captain James, arose inthe country, where he did not know that Mr. Murphy had anyacquaintance. However, he made no doubt that he was the personintended, and resolved to remain a close prisoner in his own lodgings, till he saw the event of a proposal which had been made him theevening before at the tavern, where an honest gentleman, who had apost under the government, and who was one of the company, hadpromised to serve him with the secretary at war, telling him that hemade no doubt of procuring him whole pay in a regiment abroad, whichin his present circumstances was very highly worth his acceptance, when, indeed, that and a gaol seemed to be the only alternatives thatoffered themselves to his choice. Mr. Booth and his lady spent that afternoon with Mrs. Ellison--anincident which we should scarce have mentioned, had it not been thatAmelia gave, on this occasion, an instance of that prudence whichshould never be off its guard in married women of delicacy; for, before she would consent to drink tea with Mrs. Ellison, she madeconditions that the gentleman who had met them at the oratorio shouldnot be let in. Indeed, this circumspection proved unnecessary in thepresent instance, for no such visitor ever came; a circumstance whichgave great content to Amelia; for that lady had been a little uneasyat the raillery of Mrs. Ellison, and had upon reflexion magnifiedevery little compliment made her, and every little civility shewn herby the unknown gentleman, far beyond the truth. These imaginations nowall subsided again; and she imputed all that Mrs. Ellison had saideither to raillery or mistake. A young lady made a fourth with them at whist, and likewise stayed thewhole evening. Her name was Bennet. She was about the age of five-and-twenty; but sickness had given her an older look, and had a good dealdiminished her beauty; of which, young as she was, she plainlyappeared to have only the remains in her present possession. She wasin one particular the very reverse of Mrs. Ellison, being altogetheras remarkably grave as the other was gay. This gravity was not, however, attended with any sourness of temper; on the contrary, shehad much sweetness in her countenance, and was perfectly well bred. Inshort, Amelia imputed her grave deportment to her ill health, andbegan to entertain a compassion for her, which in good minds, that isto say, in minds capable of compassion, is certain to introduce somelittle degree of love or friendship. Amelia was in short so pleased with the conversation of this lady, that, though a woman of no impertinent curiosity, she could not helptaking the first opportunity of enquiring who she was. Mrs. Ellisonsaid that she was an unhappy lady, who had married a young clergymanfor love, who, dying of a consumption, had left her a widow in veryindifferent circumstances. This account made Amelia still pity hermore, and consequently added to the liking which she had alreadyconceived for her. Amelia, therefore, desired Mrs. Ellison to bringher acquainted with Mrs. Bennet, and said she would go any day withher to make that lady a visit. "There need be no ceremony, " cried Mrs. Ellison; "she is a woman of no form; and, as I saw plainly she wasextremely pleased with Mrs. Booth, I am convinced I can bring her todrink tea with you any afternoon you please. " The two next days Booth continued at home, highly to the satisfactionof his Amelia, who really knew no happiness out of his company, norscarce any misery in it. She had, indeed, at all times so much of hiscompany, when in his power, that she had no occasion to assign anyparticular reason for his staying with her, and consequently it couldgive her no cause of suspicion. The Saturday, one of her children wasa little disordered with a feverish complaint which confined her toher room, and prevented her drinking tea in the afternoon with herhusband in Mrs. Ellison's apartment, where a noble lord, a cousin ofMrs. Ellison's, happened to be present; for, though that lady wasreduced in her circumstances and obliged to let out part of her housein lodgings, she was born of a good family and had some considerablerelations. His lordship was not himself in any office of state, but his fortunegave him great authority with those who were. Mrs. Ellison, therefore, very bluntly took an opportunity of recommending Booth to hisconsideration. She took the first hint from my lord's calling thegentleman captain; to which she answered, "Ay, I wish your lordshipwould make him so. It would be an act of justice, and I know it is inyour power to do much greater things. " She then mentioned Booth'sservices, and the wounds he had received at the siege, of which shehad heard a faithful account from Amelia. Booth blushed, and was assilent as a young virgin at the hearing her own praises. His lordshipanswered, "Cousin Ellison, you know you may command my interest; nay, I shall have a pleasure in serving one of Mr. Booth's character: formy part, I think merit in all capacities ought to be encouraged, but Iknow the ministry are greatly pestered with solicitations at thistime. However, Mr. Booth may be assured I will take the firstopportunity; and in the mean time, I shall be glad of seeing him anymorning he pleases. " For all these declarations Booth was not wantingin acknowledgments to the generous peer any more than he was in secretgratitude to the lady who had shewn so friendly and uncommon a zeal inhis favour. The reader, when he knows the character of this nobleman, may, perhaps, conclude that his seeing Booth alone was a luckycircumstance, for he was so passionate an admirer of women, that hecould scarce have escaped the attraction of Amelia's beauty. And fewmen, as I have observed, have such disinterested generosity as toserve a husband the better because they are in love with his wife, unless she will condescend to pay a price beyond the reach of avirtuous woman. END OF VOL. I.