moll flanders - charles dickens

8/2/2019 Moll Flanders - Charles Dickens

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Moll Flanders

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe #1 inour series by Daniel Defoe

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Title3 Moll Flanders

4uthor3 Daniel Defoe

+elease Date3 Dece&ber, 1..5 6EBook #7/89 6This %le "as lastu!dated on March 5, :8879

Edition3 11

;anguage3 English

haracter set encoding3 4-((

*** -T4+T


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The Fortunes A Misfortunes of the Fa&ous Moll Flanders Ac$

0ho "as Born in ?e"gate, and during a ;ife of continud ariety forThreescore )ears, besides her hildhood, "as T"ele )ear a 0hore, %e

ti&es a 0ife C"hereof once to her o"n Brother, T"ele )ear a Thief,Eight )ear a Trans!orted Felon in irginia, at last gre" +ich, lidonest, and dies a Penitent$ 0ritten fro& her o"n Me&orandu&s $ $ $

by Daniel Defoe

TE 4>T


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seeral other !arts are ery &uch shortened$ 0hat is left tis ho!ed "illnot oend the chastest reader or the &odest hearer and as the bestuse is &ade een of the "orst story, the &oral tis ho!ed "ill kee! thereader serious, een "here the story &ight incline hi& to be other"ise$To gie the history of a "icked life re!ented of, necessarily reIuires

that the "icked !art should be &ake as "icked as the real history of it"ill bear, to illustrate and gie a beauty to the !enitent !art, "hich iscertainly the best and brightest, if related "ith eIual s!irit and life$

(t is suggested there cannot be the sa&e life, the sa&e brightness andbeauty, in relating the !enitent !art as is in the cri&inal !art$ (f there isany truth in that suggestion, ( &ust be allo"ed to say tis becausethere is not the sa&e taste and relish in the reading, and indeed it is totrue that the dierence lies not in the real "orth of the subject so &uchas in the gust and !alate of the reader$

But as this "ork is chieJy reco&&ended to those "ho kno" ho" toread it, and ho" to &ake the good uses of it "hich the story all alongreco&&ends to the&, so it is to be ho!ed that such readers "ill be&ore leased "ith the &oral than the fable, "ith the a!!lication than"ith the relation, and "ith the end of the "riter than "ith the life of the!erson "ritten of$

There is in this story abundance of delightful incidents, and all of the&usefully a!!lied$ There is an agreeable turn artfully gien the& in therelating, that naturally instructs the reader, either one "ay or other$The %rst !art of her le"d life "ith the young gentle&an at olchesterhas so &any ha!!y turns gien it to eH!ose the cri&e, and "arn all"hose circu&stances are ada!ted to it, of the ruinous end of suchthings, and the foolish, thoughtless, and abhorred conduct of both the!arties, that it abundantly atones for all the liely descri!tion she giesof her folly and "ickedness$

The re!entance of her loer at the Bath, and ho" brought by the justalar& of his %t of sickness to abandon her the just caution gien thereagainst een the la"ful inti&acies of the dearest friends, and ho"unable they are to !resere the &ost sole&n resolutions of irtue"ithout diine assistance these are !arts "hich, to a just discern&ent,"ill a!!ear to hae &ore real beauty in the& all the a&orous chain ofstory "hich introduces it$

(n a "ord, as the "hole relation is carefully garbled of all the leity andlooseness that "as in it, so it all a!!lied, and "ith the ut&ost care, toirtuous and religious uses$ ?one can, "ithout being guilty of &anifestinjustice, cast any re!roach u!on it, or u!on our design in !ublishing it$

The adocates for the stage hae, in all ages, &ade this the great


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argu&ent to !ersuade !eo!le that their !lays are useful, and that theyought to be allo"ed in the &ost ciilised and in the &ost religiousgoern&ent na&ely, that they are a!!lied to irtuous !ur!oses, andthat by the &ost liely re!resentations, they fail not to reco&&endirtue and generous !rinci!les, and to discourage and eH!ose all sorts

of ice and corru!tion of &anners and "ere it true that they did so,and that they constantly adhered to that rule, as the test of theiracting on the theatre, &uch &ight be said in their faour$

Throughout the in%nite ariety of this book, this funda&ental is &oststrictly adhered to there is not a "icked action in any !art of it, but is%rst and last rendered unha!!y and unfortunate there is not asu!erlatie illain brought u!on the stage, but either he is brought toan unha!!y end, or brought to be a !enitent there is not an ill thing&entioned but it is conde&ned, een in the relation, nor a irtuous,just thing but it carries its !raise along "ith it$ 0hat can &ore eHactly

ans"er the rule laid do"n, to reco&&end een those re!resentationsof things "hich hae so &any other just objections leaing againstthe&K na&ely, of eHa&!le, of bad co&!any, obscene language, andthe like$

>!on this foundation this book is reco&&ended to the reader as a"ork fro& eery !art of "hich so&ething &ay be learned, and so&ejust and religious inference is dra"n, by "hich the reader "ill haeso&ething of instruction, if he !leases to &ake use of it$

4ll the eH!loits of this lady of fa&e, in her de!redations u!on &ankind,stand as so &any "arnings to honest !eo!le to be"are of the&,inti&ating to the& by "hat &ethods innocent !eo!le are dra"n in,!lundered and robbed, and by conseIuence ho" to aoid the&$ errobbing a little innocent child, dressed %ne by the anity of the &other,to go to the dancingLschool, is a good &e&ento to such !eo!lehereafter, as is like"ise her !icking the gold "atch fro& the youngladys side in the Park$

er getting a !arcel fro& a hareLbrained "ench at the coaches in -t$=ohn -treet her booty &ade at the %re, and again at ar"ich, all gieus eHcellent "arnings in such cases to be &ore !resent to ourseles insudden sur!rises of eery sort$

er a!!lication to a sober life and industrious &anage&ent at last inirginia, "ith her trans!orted s!ouse, is a story fruitful of instruction toall the unfortunate creatures "ho are obliged to seek their reLestablish&ent abroad, "hether by the &isery of trans!ortation or otherdisaster letting the& kno" that diligence and a!!lication hae theirdue encourage&ent, een in the re&otest !arts of the "orld, and thatno case can be so lo", so des!icable, or so e&!ty of !ros!ect, but that


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an un"earied industry "ill go a great "ay to delier us fro& it, "ill inti&e raise the &eanest creature to a!!ear again the "orld, and giehi& a ne" case for his life$

There are a fe" of the serious inferences "hich "e are led by the hand

to in this book, and these are fully sucient to justify any &an inreco&&ending it to the "orld, and &uch &ore to justify the !ublicationof it$

There are t"o of the &ost beautiful !arts still behind, "hich this storygies so&e idea of, and lets us into the !arts of the&, but they areeither of the& too long to be brought into the sa&e olu&e, andindeed are, as ( &ay call the&, "hole olu&es of the&seles, i$3 1$The life of her goerness, as she calls her, "ho had run through, itsee&s, in a fe" years, all the e&inent degrees of a gentle"o&an, a"hore, and a ba"d a &id"ife and a &id"ifeLkee!er, as they are

called a !a"nbroker, a childtaker, a receier of thiees, and of thiees!urchase, that is to say, of stolen goods and in a "ord, herself a thief,a breeder u! of thiees and the like, and yet at last a !enitent$

The second is the life of her trans!orted husband, a high"ay&an, "hoit see&s, lied a t"ele years life of successful illainy u!on the road,and een at last ca&e o so "ell as to be a olunteer trans!ort, not aconict and in "hose life there is an incredible ariety$

But, as ( hae said, these are things too long to bring in here, soneither can ( &ake a !ro&ise of the co&ing out by the&seles$

0e cannot say, indeed, that this history is carried on Iuite to the endof the life of this fa&ous Moll Flanders, as she calls herself, for nobodycan "rite their o"n life to the full end of it, unless they can "rite itafter they are dead$ But her husbands life, being "ritten by a thirdhand, gies a full account of the& both, ho" long they lied together inthat country, and ho" they both ca&e to England again, after abouteight years, in "hich ti&e they "ere gro"n ery rich, and "here shelied, it see&s, to be ery old, but "as not so eHtraordinary a !enitentas she "as at %rst it see&s only that indeed she al"ays s!oke "ithabhorrence of her for&er life, and of eery !art of it$

(n her last scene, at Maryland and irginia, &any !leasant thingsha!!ened, "hich &akes that !art of her life ery agreeable, but theyare not told "ith the sa&e elegancy as those accounted for by herselfso it is still to the &ore adantage that "e break o here$

My true na&e is so "ell kno"n in the records or registers at ?e"gate,


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and in the


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This is too near the %rst hours of &y life for &e to relate anything of&yself but by hearsay it is enough to &ention, that as ( "as born insuch an unha!!y !lace, ( had no !arish to hae recourse to for &ynourish&ent in &y infancy nor can ( gie the least account ho" ( "aske!t alie, other than that, as ( hae been told, so&e relation of &y

&others took &e a"ay for a "hile as a nurse, but at "hose eH!ense,or by "hose direction, ( kno" nothing at all of it$

The %rst account that ( can recollect, or could eer learn of &yself, "asthat ( had "andered a&ong a cre" of those !eo!le they call gy!sies, orEgy!tians but ( beliee it "as but a ery little "hile that ( had beena&ong the&, for ( had not had &y skin discoloured or blackened, asthey do ery young to all the children they carry about "ith the& norcan ( tell ho" ( ca&e a&ong the&, or ho" ( got fro& the&$

(t "as at olchester, in EsseH, that those !eo!le left &e and ( hae a

notion in &y head that ( left the& there Cthat is, that ( hid &yself and"ould not go any farther "ith the&, but ( a& not able to be !articularin that account only this ( re&e&ber, that being taken u! by so&e ofthe !arish ocers of olchester, ( gae an account that ( ca&e into theto"n "ith the gy!sies, but that ( "ould not go any farther "ith the&,and that so they had left &e, but "hither they "ere gone that ( kne"not, nor could they eH!ect it of &e for though they send round thecountry to inIuire after the&, it see&s they could not be found$

( "as no" in a "ay to be !roided for for though ( "as not a !arishcharge u!on this or that !art of the to"n by la", yet as &y case ca&eto be kno"n, and that ( "as too young to do any "ork, being not aboethree years old, co&!assion &oed the &agistrates of the to"n toorder so&e care to be taken of &e, and ( beca&e one of their o"n as&uch as if ( had been born in the !lace$

(n the !roision they &ade for &e, it "as &y good ha! to be !ut tonurse, as they call it, to a "o&an "ho "as indeed !oor but had been inbetter circu&stances, and "ho got a little lielihood by taking such as ("as su!!osed to be, and kee!ing the& "ith all necessaries, till they"ere at a certain age, in "hich it &ight be su!!osed they &ight go toserice or get their o"n bread$

This "o&an had also had a little school, "hich she ke!t to teachchildren to read and to "ork and haing, as ( hae said, lied beforethat in good fashion, she bred u! the children she took "ith a greatdeal of art, as "ell as "ith a great deal of care$

But that "hich "as "orth all the rest, she bred the& u! eryreligiously, being herself a ery sober, !ious "o&an, ery houseL "ifelyand clean, and ery &annerly, and "ith good behaiour$ -o that in a


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"ord, eH!ecting a !lain diet, coarse lodging, and &ean clothes, "e"ere brought u! as &annerly and as genteelly as if "e had been at thedancingLschool$

( "as continued here till ( "as eight years old, "hen ( "as terri%ed "ith

ne"s that the &agistrates Cas ( think they called the& had orderedthat ( should go to serice$ ( "as able to do but ery little serice"hereer ( "as to go, eHce!t it "as to run of errands and be a drudgeto so&e cook&aid, and this they told &e of often, "hich !ut &e into agreat fright for ( had a thorough aersion to going to serice, as theycalled it Cthat is, to be a serant, though ( "as so young and ( told &ynurse, as "e called her, that ( belieed ( could get &y liing "ithoutgoing to serice, if she !leased to let &e for she had taught &e to"ork "ith &y needle, and s!in "orsted, "hich is the chief trade of thatcity, and ( told her that if she "ould kee! &e, ( "ould "ork for her, and( "ould "ork ery hard$

( talked to her al&ost eery day of "orking hard and, in short, ( didnothing but "ork and cry all day, "hich grieed the good, kind "o&anso &uch, that at last she began to be concerned for &e, for she loed&e ery "ell$


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0hen she sa" that ( "as not !aci%ed yet, she began to be angry "ith&e$ 4nd "hat "ould you haeK says she dont ( tell you that youshall not go to serice till your are biggerK 4y, said (, but then ( &ustgo at last$ 0hy, "hatK said she is the girl &adK 0hat "ould you beLL a gentle"o&anK )es, says (, and cried heartily till ( roared out

again$

This set the old gentle"o&an aLlaughing at &e, as you &ay be sure it"ould$ 0ell, &ada&, forsooth, says she, gibing at &e, you "ould be agentle"o&an and !ray ho" "ill you co&e to be a gentle"o&anK0hat2 "ill you do it by your %ngers endK

)es, says ( again, ery innocently$

0hy, "hat can you earnK says she "hat can you get at your "orkK

Three!ence, said (, "hen ( s!in, and four!ence "hen ( "ork !lain

"ork$

4las2 !oor gentle"o&an, said she again, laughing, "hat "ill that dofor theeK

(t "ill kee! &e, says (, if you "ill let &e lie "ith you$ 4nd this ( saidin such a !oor !etitioning tone, that it &ade the !oor "o&ans heartyearn to &e, as she told &e after"ards$

But, says she, that "ill not kee! you and buy you clothes too and"ho &ust buy the little gentle"o&an clothesK says she, and s&iled all

the "hile at &e$

( "ill "ork harder, then, says (, and you shall hae it all$

Poor child2 it "ont kee! you, says she it "ill hardly kee! you inictuals$

Then ( "ill hae no ictuals, says (, again ery innocently let &e butlie "ith you$

0hy, can you lie "ithout ictualsK says she$

)es, again says (, ery &uch like a child, you &ay be sure, and still (cried heartily$

( had no !olicy in all this you &ay easily see it "as all nature but it"as joined "ith so &uch innocence and so &uch !assion that, in short,it set the good &otherly creature aL"ee!ing too, and she cried at lastas fast as ( did, and then took &e and led &e out of the teachingLroo&$o&e, says she, you shant go to serice you shall lie "ith &e and


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this !aci%ed &e for the !resent$

-o&e ti&e after this, she going to "ait on the Mayor, and talking ofsuch things as belonged to her business, at last &y story ca&e u!, and&y good nurse told Mr$ Mayor the "hole tale$ e "as so !leased "ith

it, that he "ould call his lady and his t"o daughters to hear it, and it&ade &irth enough a&ong the&, you &ay be sure$

o"eer, not a "eek had !assed oer, but on a sudden co&es Mrs$Mayoress and her t"o daughters to the house to see &y old nurse, andto see her school and the children$ 0hen they had looked about the&a little, 0ell, Mrs$ LLLL, says the Mayoress to &y nurse, and !ray "hichis the little lass that intends to be a gentle"o&anK ( heard her, and ("as terribly frighted at %rst, though ( did not kno" "hy neither butMrs$ Mayoress co&es u! to &e$ 0ell, &iss, says she, and "hat areyou at "ork u!onK The "ord &iss "as a language that had hardly

been heard of in our school, and ( "ondered "hat sad na&e it "as shecalled &e$ o"eer, ( stood u!, &ade a curtsy, and she took &y "orkout of &y hand, looked on it, and said it "as ery "ell then she tooku! one of the hands$ ?ay, says she, the child &ay co&e to be agentle"o&an for aught anybody kno"s she has a gentle"o&anshand, says she$ This !leased &e &ightily, you &ay be sure but Mrs$Mayoress did not sto! there, but giing &e &y "ork again, she !ut herhand in her !ocket, gae &e a shilling, and bid &e &ind &y "ork, andlearn to "ork "ell, and ( &ight be a gentle"o&an for aught she kne"$

?o" all this "hile &y good old nurse, Mrs$ Mayoress, and all the rest ofthe& did not understand &e at all, for they &eant one sort of thing bythe "ord gentle"o&an, and ( &eant Iuite another for alas2 all (understood by being a gentle"o&an "as to be able to "ork for &yself,and get enough to kee! &e "ithout that terrible bugbear going toserice, "hereas they &eant to lie great, rich and high, and ( kno"not "hat$

0ell, after Mrs$ Mayoress "as gone, her t"o daughters ca&e in, andthey called for the gentle"o&an too, and they talked a long "hile to&e, and ( ans"ered the& in &y innocent "ay but al"ays, if theyasked &e "hether ( resoled to be a gentle"o&an, ( ans"ered )es$ 4tlast one of the& asked &e "hat a gentle"o&an "asK That !uled &e&uch but, ho"eer, ( eH!lained &yself negatiely, that it "as one thatdid not go to serice, to do house"ork$ They "ere !leased to befa&iliar "ith &e, and like &y little !rattle to the&, "hich, it see&s,"as agreeable enough to the&, and they gae &e &oney too$

4s for &y &oney, ( gae it all to &y &istressLnurse, as ( called her, andtold her she should hae all ( got for &yself "hen ( "as agentle"o&an, as "ell as no"$ By this and so&e other of &y talk, &y


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old tutoress began to understand &e about "hat ( &eant by being agentle"o&an, and that ( understood by it no &ore than to be able toget &y bread by &y o"n "ork and at last she asked &e "hether it"as not so$

( told her, yes, and insisted on it, that to do so "as to be agentle"o&an for, says (, there is such a one, na&ing a "o&an that&ended lace and "ashed the ladies lacedLheads she, says (, is agentle"o&an, and they call her &ada&$

'Poor child, says &y good old nurse, you &ay soon be such agentle"o&an as that, for she is a !erson of ill fa&e, and has had t"oor three bastards$

( did not understand anything of that but ( ans"ered, ( a& sure theycall her &ada&, and she does not go to serice nor do house"ork andtherefore ( insisted that she "as a gentle"o&an, and ( "ould be such agentle"o&an as that$

The ladies "ere told all this again, to be sure, and they &adethe&seles &erry "ith it, and eery no" and then the young ladies,Mr$ Mayors daughters, "ould co&e and see &e, and ask "here thelittle gentle"o&an "as, "hich &ade &e not a little !roud of &yself$

This held a great "hile, and ( "as often isited by these young ladies,and so&eti&es they brought others "ith the& so that ( "as kno"n byit al&ost all oer the to"n$

( "as no" about ten years old, and began to look a little "o&anish, for( "as &ighty grae and hu&ble, ery &annerly, and as ( had oftenheard the ladies say ( "as !retty, and "ould be a ery handso&e"o&an, so you &ay be sure that hearing the& say so &ade &e not alittle !roud$ o"eer, that !ride had no ill eect u!on &e yet only, asthey often gae &e &oney, and ( gae it to &y old nurse, she, honest"o&an, "as so just to &e as to lay it all out again for &e, and gae &eheadLdresses, and linen, and gloes, and ribbons, and ( "ent ery neat,and al"ays clean for that ( "ould do, and if ( had rags on, ( "ouldal"ays be clean, or else ( "ould dabble the& in "ater &yself but, (say, &y good nurse, "hen ( had &oney gien &e, ery honestly laid it

out for &e, and "ould al"ays tell the ladies this or that "as bought"ith their &oney and this &ade the& oftenti&es gie &e &ore, till atlast ( "as indeed called u!on by the &agistrates, as ( understood it, togo out to serice but then ( "as co&e to be so good a "ork"o&an&yself, and the ladies "ere so kind to &e, that it "as !lain ( could&aintain &yselfLLthat is to say, ( could earn as &uch for &y nurse asshe "as able by it to kee! &eLLso she told the& that if they "ould gieher leae, she "ould kee! the gentle"o&an, as she called &e, to be


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her assistant and teach the children, "hich ( "as ery "ell able to dofor ( "as ery ni&ble at &y "ork, and had a good hand "ith &yneedle, though ( "as yet ery young$

But the kindness of the ladies of the to"n did not end here, for "hen

they ca&e to understand that ( "as no &ore &aintained by the !ublicallo"ance as before, they gae &e &oney oftener than for&erly andas ( gre" u! they brought &e "ork to do for the&, such as linen to&ake, and laces to &end, and heads to dress u!, and not only !aid &efor doing the&, but een taught &e ho" to do the& so that no" ( "asa gentle"o&an indeed, as ( understood that "ord, ( not only found&yself clothes and !aid &y nurse for &y kee!ing, but got &oney in &y!ocket too beforehand$

The ladies also gae &e clothes freIuently of their o"n or theirchildrens so&e stockings, so&e !etticoats, so&e go"ns, so&e one

thing, so&e another, and these &y old "o&an &anaged for &e like a&ere &other, and ke!t the& for &e, obliged &e to &end the&, andturn the& and t"ist the& to the best adantage, for she "as a rarehouse"ife$

4t last one of the ladies took so &uch fancy to &e that she "ould hae&e ho&e to her house, for a &onth, she said, to be a&ong herdaughters$

?o", though this "as eHceeding kind in her, yet, as &y old good"o&an said to her, unless she resoled to kee! &e for good and all,she "ould do the little gentle"o&an &ore har& than good$ 0ell, saysthe lady, thats true and therefore (ll only take her ho&e for a "eek,then, that ( &ay see ho" &y daughters and she agree together, andho" ( like her te&!er, and then (ll tell you &ore and in the &eanti&e,if anybody co&es to see her as they used to do, you &ay only tellthe& you hae sent her out to &y house$

This "as !rudently &anaged enough, and ( "ent to the ladys housebut ( "as so !leased there "ith the young ladies, and they so !leased"ith &e, that ( had enough to do to co&e a"ay, and they "ere asun"illing to !art "ith &e$

o"eer, ( did co&e a"ay, and lied al&ost a year &ore "ith &yhonest old "o&an, and began no" to be ery hel!ful to her for ( "asal&ost fourteen years old, "as tall of &y age, and looked a little"o&anish but ( had such a taste of genteel liing at the ladys housethat ( "as not so easy in &y old Iuarters as ( used to be, and ( thoughtit "as %ne to be a gentle"o&an indeed, for ( had Iuite other notions ofa gentle"o&an no" than ( had before and as ( thought, ( say, that it"as %ne to be a gentle"o&an, so ( loed to be a&ong gentle"o&en,


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and therefore ( longed to be there again$

4bout the ti&e that ( "as fourteen years and a Iuarter old, &y goodnurse, &other ( rather to call her, fell sick and died$ ( "as then in a sadcondition indeed, for as there is no great bustle in !utting an end to a

!oor bodys fa&ily "hen once they are carried to the grae, so the!oor good "o&an being buried, the !arish children she ke!t "erei&&ediately re&oed by the churchL"ardens the school "as at anend, and the children of it had no &ore to do but just stay at ho&e tillthey "ere sent so&e"here else and as for "hat she left, her daughter,a &arried "o&an "ith siH or seen children, ca&e and s"e!t it alla"ay at once, and re&oing the goods, they had no &ore to say to &ethan to jest "ith &e, and tell &e that the little gentle"o&an &ight setu! for herself if she !leased$

( "as frighted out of &y "its al&ost, and kne" not "hat to do, for (

"as, as it "ere, turned out of doors to the "ide "orld, and that "hich"as still "orse, the old honest "o&an had t"oLandL t"enty shillings of&ine in her hand, "hich "as all the estate the little gentle"o&an hadin the "orld and "hen ( asked the daughter for it, she hued &e andlaughed at &e, and told &e she had nothing to do "ith it$

(t "as true the good, !oor "o&an had told her daughter of it, and thatit lay in such a !lace, that it "as the childs &oney, and had calledonce or t"ice for &e to gie it &e, but ( "as, unha!!ily, out of the "ayso&e"here or other, and "hen ( ca&e back she "as !ast being in acondition to s!eak of it$ o"eer, the daughter "as so honestafter"ards as to gie it &e, though at %rst she used &e cruelly aboutit$

?o" "as ( a !oor gentle"o&an indeed, and ( "as just that ery nightto be turned into the "ide "orld for the daughter re&oed all thegoods, and ( had not so &uch as a lodging to go to, or a bit of bread toeat$ But it see&s so&e of the neighbours, "ho had kno"n &ycircu&stances, took so &uch co&!assion of &e as to acIuaint the ladyin "hose fa&ily ( had been a "eek, as ( &entioned aboe andi&&ediately she sent her &aid to fetch &e a"ay, and t"o of herdaughters ca&e "ith the &aid though unsent$ -o ( "ent "ith the&,bag and baggage, and "ith a glad heart, you &ay be sure$ The fright of&y condition had &ade such an i&!ression u!on &e, that ( did not"ant no" to be a gentle"o&an, but "as ery "illing to be a serant,and that any kind of serant they thought %t to hae &e be$

But &y ne" generous &istress, for she eHceeded the good "o&an ("as "ith before, in eerything, as "ell as in the &atter of estate ( say,in eerything eHce!t honesty and for that, though this "as a lady &osteHactly just, yet ( &ust not forget to say on all occasions, that the %rst,


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though !oor, "as as u!rightly honest as it "as !ossible for any one tobe$

( "as no sooner carried a"ay, as ( hae said, by this goodgentle"o&an, but the %rst lady, that is to say, the Mayoress that "as,

sent her t"o daughters to take care of &e and another fa&ily "hichhad taken notice of &e "hen ( "as the little gentle"o&an, and hadgien &e "ork to do, sent for &e after her, so that ( "as &ightily &adeof, as "e say nay, and they "ere not a little angry, es!ecially &ada&the Mayoress, that her friend had taken &e a"ay fro& her, as shecalled it for, as she said, ( "as hers by right, she haing been the %rstthat took any notice of &e$ But they that had &e "ould not !art "ith&e and as for &e, though ( should hae been ery "ell treated "ithany of the others, yet ( could not be better than "here ( "as$

ere ( continued till ( "as bet"een seenteen and eighteen years old,

and here ( had all the adantages for &y education that could bei&agined the lady had &asters ho&e to the house to teach herdaughters to dance, and to s!eak French, and to "rite, and other toteach the& &usic and ( "as al"ays "ith the&, ( learned as fast asthey and though the &asters "ere not a!!ointed to teach &e, yet (learned by i&itation and inIuiry all that they learned by instruction anddirection so that, in short, ( learned to dance and s!eak French as "ellas any of the&, and to sing &uch better, for ( had a better oice thanany of the&$ ( could not so readily co&e at !laying on the har!sichordor s!inet, because ( had no instru&ent of &y o"n to !ractice on, andcould only co&e at theirs in the interals "hen they left it, "hich "as

uncertain but yet ( learned tolerably "ell too, and the young ladies atlength got t"o instru&ents, that is to say, a har!sichord and a s!inettoo, and then they taught &e the&seles$ But as to dancing, theycould hardly hel! &y learning countryLdances, because they al"ays"anted &e to &ake u! een nu&ber and, on the other hand, they"ere as heartily "illing to learn &e eerything that they had beentaught the&seles, as ( could be to take the learning$

By this &eans ( had, as ( hae said aboe, all the adantages ofeducation that ( could hae had if ( had been as &uch a gentle"o&anas they "ere "ith "ho& ( lied and in so&e things ( had the

adantage of &y ladies, though they "ere &y su!eriors but they "ereall the gifts of nature, and "hich all their fortunes could not furnish$First, ( "as a!!arently handso&er than any of the& secondly, ( "asbetter sha!ed and, thirdly, ( sang better, by "hich ( &ean ( had abetter oice in all "hich you "ill, ( ho!e, allo" &e to say, ( do nots!eak &y o"n conceit of &yself, but the o!inion of all that kne" thefa&ily$


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( had "ith all these the co&&on anity of &y seH, i$ that being reallytaken for ery handso&e, or, if you !lease, for a great beauty, ( ery"ell kne" it, and had as good an o!inion of &yself as anybody elsecould hae of &e and !articularly ( loed to hear anybody s!eak of it,"hich could not but ha!!en to &e so&eti&es, and "as a great

satisfaction to &e$

Thus far ( hae had a s&ooth story to tell of &yself, and in all this !artof &y life ( not only had the re!utation of liing in a ery good fa&ily,and a fa&ily noted and res!ected eery"here for irtue and sobriety,and for eery aluable thing but ( had the character too of a erysober, &odest, and irtuous young "o&an, and such ( had al"aysbeen neither had ( yet any occasion to think of anything else, or tokno" "hat a te&!tation to "ickedness &eant$

But that "hich ( "as too ain of "as &y ruin, or rather &y anity "as

the cause of it$ The lady in the house "here ( "as had t"o sons, younggentle&en of ery !ro&ising !arts and of eHtraordinary behaiour, andit "as &y &isfortune to be ery "ell "ith the& both, but they&anaged the&seles "ith &e in a Iuite dierent &anner$

The eldest, a gay gentle&an that kne" the to"n as "ell as thecountry, and though he had leity enough to do an illLnatured thing,yet had too &uch judg&ent of things to !ay too dear for his !leasureshe began "ith the unha!!y snare to all "o&en, i$ taking notice u!onall occasions ho" !retty ( "as, as he called it, ho" agreeable, ho" "ellLcarriaged, and the like and this he contried so subtly, as if he hadkno"n as "ell ho" to catch a "o&an in his net as a !artridge "hen he"ent aLsetting for he "ould contrie to be talking this to his sisters"hen, though ( "as not by, yet "hen he kne" ( "as not far o but that( should be sure to hear hi&$ is sisters "ould return softly to hi&,ush, brother, she "ill hear you she is but in the neHt roo&$ Then he"ould !ut it o and talk softlier, as if he had not kno" it, and begin toackno"ledge he "as "rong and then, as if he had forgot hi&self, he"ould s!eak aloud again, and (, that "as so "ell !leased to hear it, "assure to listen for it u!on all occasions$

4fter he had thus baited his hook, and found easily enough the &ethodho" to lay it in &y "ay, he !layed an o!ener ga&e and one day,going by his sisters cha&ber "hen ( "as there, doing so&ething aboutdressing her, he co&es in "ith an air of gaiety$


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been talking about$ ?ay, says he, tis so far fro& talking har& of her,that "e hae been talking a great deal of good, and a great &any %nethings hae been said of Mrs$ Betty, ( assure you and !articularly, thatshe is the handso&est young "o&an in olchester and, in short, theybegin to toast her health in the to"n$

( "onder at you, brother, says the sister$ Betty "ants but one thing,but she had as good "ant eerything, for the &arket is against our seHjust no" and if a young "o&an hae beauty, birth, breeding, "it,sense, &anners, &odesty, and all these to an eHtre&e, yet if she haenot &oney, shes nobody, she had as good "ant the& all for nothingbut &oney no" reco&&ends a "o&an the &en !lay the ga&e all intotheir o"n hands$

er younger brother, "ho "as by, cried, old, sister, you run too fast (a& an eHce!tion to your rule$ ( assure you, if ( %nd a "o&an so

acco&!lished as you talk of, ( say, ( assure you, ( "ould not trouble&yself about the &oney$


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younger brother indeed, the elder brother, in his distant, re&ote "ay,had said a great &any things as in jest, "hich ( had the folly to beliee"ere in earnest, or to Jatter &yself "ith the ho!es of "hat ( ought tohae su!!osed he neer intended, and !erha!s neer thought of$

(t ha!!ened one day that he ca&e running u!stairs, to"ards the roo&"here his sisters used to sit and "ork, as he often used to do andcalling to the& before he ca&e in, as "as his "ay too, (, being therealone, ste!!ed to the door, and said, -ir, the ladies are not here, theyare "alked do"n the garden$ 4s ( ste!!ed for"ard to say this, to"ardsthe door, he "as just got to the door, and clas!ing &e in his ar&s, as ifit had been by chance,


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4fter this attack it "as not long but he found an o!!ortunity to catch&e again, and al&ost in the sa&e !osture indeed, it had &ore ofdesign in it on his !art, though not on &y !art$ (t "as thus3 the youngladies "ere all gone aLisiting "ith their &other his brother "as out ofto"n and as for his father, he had been in ;ondon for a "eek before$

e had so "ell "atched &e that he kne" "here ( "as, though ( did notso &uch as kno" that he "as in the house and he briskly co&es u!the stairs and, seeing &e at "ork, co&es into the roo& to &e directly,and began just as he did before, "ith taking &e in his ar&s, andkissing &e for al&ost a Iuarter of an hour together$

(t "as his younger sisters cha&ber that ( "as in, and as there "asnobody in the house but the &aids belo"Lstairs, he "as, it &ay be, theruder in short, he began to be in earnest "ith &e indeed$ Perha!s hefound &e a little too easy, for God kno"s ( &ade no resistance to hi&"hile he only held &e in his ar&s and kissed &e indeed, ( "as too "ell

!leased "ith it to resist hi& &uch$

o"eer, as it "ere, tired "ith that kind of "ork, "e sat do"n, andthere he talked "ith &e a great "hile he said he "as char&ed "ith&e, and that he could not rest night or day till he had told &e ho" he"as in loe "ith &e, and, if ( "as able to loe hi& again, and "ould&ake hi& ha!!y, ( should be the saing of his life, and &any such %nethings$ ( said little to hi& again, but easily discoered that ( "as a fool,and that ( did not in the least !erceie "hat he &eant$

Then he "alked about the roo&, and taking &e by the hand, ( "alked"ith hi& and by and by, taking his adantage, he thre" &e do"nu!on the bed, and kissed &e there &ost iolently but, to gie hi& hisdue, oered no &anner of rudeness to &e, only kissed a great "hile$4fter this he thought he had heard so&ebody co&e u!stairs, so got ofro& the bed, lifted &e u!, !rofessing a great deal of loe for &e, buttold &e it "as all an honest aection, and that he &eant no ill to &eand "ith that he !ut %e guineas into &y hand, and "ent a"aydo"nstairs$

( "as &ore confounded "ith the &oney than ( "as before "ith the loe,and began to be so eleated that ( scarce kne" the ground ( stood on$ (a& the &ore !articular in this !art, that if &y story co&es to be readby any innocent young body, they &ay learn fro& it to guardthe&seles against the &ischiefs "hich attend an early kno"ledge oftheir o"n beauty$ (f a young "o&an once thinks herself handso&e, sheneer doubts the truth of any &an that tells her he is in loe "ith herfor if she beliees herself char&ing enough to ca!tiate hi&, tisnatural to eH!ect the eects of it$

This young gentle&an had %red his inclination as &uch as he had &y


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anity, and, as if he had found that he had an o!!ortunity and "assorry he did not take hold of it, he co&es u! again in half an hour orthereabouts, and falls to "ork "ith &e again as before, only "ith alittle less introduction$

4nd %rst, "hen he entered the roo&, he turned about and shut thedoor$ Mrs$ Betty, said he, ( fancied before so&ebody "as co&ingu!stairs, but it "as not so ho"eer, adds he, if they %nd &e in theroo& "ith you, they shant catch &e aLkissing of you$ ( told hi& ( didnot kno" "ho should be co&ing u!stairs, for ( belieed there "asnobody in the house but the cook and the other &aid, and they neerca&e u! those stairs$ 0ell, &y dear, says he, tis good to be sure,ho"eer and so he sits do"n, and "e began to talk$ 4nd no", though( "as still all on %re "ith his %rst isit, and said little, he did as it "ere!ut "ords in &y &outh, telling &e ho" !assionately he loed &e, andthat though he could not &ention such a thing till he ca&e to this

estate, yet he "as resoled to &ake &e ha!!y then, and hi&self toothat is to say, to &arry &e, and abundance of such %ne things, "hich (,!oor fool, did not understand the drift of, but acted as if there "as nosuch thing as any kind of loe but that "hich tended to &atri&onyand if he had s!oke of that, ( had no roo&, as "ell as no !o"er, to haesaid no but "e "ere not co&e that length yet$

0e had not sat long, but he got u!, and, sto!!ing &y ery breath "ithkisses, thre" &e u!on the bed again but then being both "ell"ar&ed, he "ent farther "ith &e than decency !er&its &e to&ention, nor had it been in &y !o"er to hae denied hi& at that

&o&ent, had he oered &uch &ore than he did$

o"eer, though he took these freedo&s "ith &e, it did not go to that"hich they call the last faour, "hich, to do hi& justice, he did notatte&!t and he &ade that selfLdenial of his a !lea for all his freedo&s"ith &e u!on other occasions after this$ 0hen this "as oer, he stayedbut a little "hile, but he !ut al&ost a handful of gold in &y hand, andleft &e, &aking a thousand !rotestations of his !assion for &e, and ofhis loing &e aboe all the "o&en in the "orld$

(t "ill not be strange if ( no" began to think, but alas2 it "as but "ithery little solid reJection$ ( had a &ost unbounded stock of anity and!ride, and but a ery little stock of irtue$ ( did indeed case so&eti&es"ith &yself "hat young &aster ai&ed at, but thought of nothing butthe %ne "ords and the gold "hether he intended to &arry &e, or notto &arry &e, see&ed a &atter of no great conseIuence to &e nor did&y thoughts so &uch as suggest to &e the necessity of &aking anyca!itulation for &yself, till he ca&e to &ake a kind of for&al !ro!osalto &e, as you shall hear !resently$


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Thus ( gae u! &yself to a readiness of being ruined "ithout the leastconcern and a& a fair &e&ento to all young "o&en "hose anity!reails oer their irtue$ ?othing "as eer so stu!id on both sides$ad ( acted as beca&e &e, and resisted as irtue and honour reIuire,this gentle&an had either desisted his attacks, %nding no roo& to

eH!ect the acco&!lish&ent of his design, or had &ade fair andhonourable !ro!osals of &arriage in "hich case, "hoeer had bla&edhi&, nobody could hae bla&ed &e$ (n short, if he had kno"n &e, andho" easy the triJe he ai&ed at "as to be had, he "ould hae troubledhis head no farther, but hae gien &e four or %e guineas, and haelain "ith &e the neHt ti&e he had co&e at &e$ 4nd if ( had kno"n histhoughts, and ho" hard he thought ( "ould be to be gained, ( &ighthae &ade &y o"n ter&s "ith hi& and if ( had not ca!itulated for ani&&ediate &arriage, ( &ight for a &aintenance till &arriage, and&ight hae had "hat ( "ould for he "as already rich to eHcess,besides "hat he had in eH!ectation but ( see&ed "holly to hae

abandoned all such thoughts as these, and "as taken u! only "ith the!ride of &y beauty, and of being beloed by such a gentle&an$ 4s forthe gold, ( s!ent "hole hours in looking u!on it ( told the guineas oerand oer a thousand ti&es a day$ ?eer !oor ain creature "as so"ra!t u! "ith eery !art of the story as ( "as, not considering "hat"as before &e, and ho" near &y ruin "as at the door indeed, ( think (rather "ished for that ruin than studied to aoid it$

(n the &eanti&e, ho"eer, ( "as cunning enough not to gie the leastroo& to any in the fa&ily to sus!ect &e, or to i&agine that ( had theleast corres!ondence "ith this young gentle&an$ ( scarce eer looked

to"ards hi& in !ublic, or ans"ered if he s!oke to &e "hen anybody"as near us but for all that, "e had eery no" and then a littleencounter, "here "e had roo& for a "ord or t"o, an no" and then akiss, but no fair o!!ortunity for the &ischief intended and es!eciallyconsidering that he &ade &ore circu&locution than, if he had kno"nby thoughts, he had occasion for and the "ork a!!earing dicult tohi&, he really &ade it so$

But as the deil is an un"earied te&!ter, so he neer fails to %ndo!!ortunity for that "ickedness he inites to$ (t "as one eening that ("as in the garden, "ith his t"o younger sisters and hi&self, and all

ery innocently &erry, "hen he found &eans to coney a note into &yhand, by "hich he directed &e to understand that he "ould toL&orro"desire &e !ublicly to go of an errand for hi& into the to"n, and that (should see hi& so&e"here by the "ay$

4ccordingly, after dinner, he ery graely says to &e, his sisters beingall by, Mrs$ Betty, ( &ust ask a faour of you$ 0hats thatK says hissecond sister$ ?ay, sister, says he ery graely, if you cant s!are


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Mrs$ Betty toLday, any other ti&e "ill do$ )es, they said, they coulds!are her "ell enough, and the sister begged !ardon for asking, "hichthey did but of &ere course, "ithout any &eaning$ 0ell, but, brother,says the eldest sister, you &ust tell Mrs$ Betty "hat it is if it be any!riate business that "e &ust not hear, you &ay call her out$ There

she is$ 0hy, sister, says the gentle&an ery graely, "hat do you&eanK ( only desire her to go into the igh -treet Cand then he !ullsout a turnoer, to such a sho! and then he tells the& a long story oft"o %ne neckcloths he had bid &oney for, and he "anted to hae &ego and &ake an errand to buy a neck to the turnoer that he sho"ed,to see if they "ould take &y &oney for the neckcloths to bid a shilling&ore, and haggle "ith the& and then he &ade &ore errands, and socontinued to hae such !etty business to do, that ( should be sure tostay a good "hile$

0hen he had gien &e &y errands, he told the& a long story of a isit

he "as going to &ake to a fa&ily they all kne", and "here "as to besuchLandLsuch gentle&en, and ho" &erry they "ere to be, and eryfor&ally asks his sisters to go "ith hi&, and they as for&ally eHcusedthe&seles, because of co&!any that they had notice "as to co&eand isit the& that afternoon "hich, by the "ay, he had contried on!ur!ose$

e had scarce done s!eaking to the&, and giing &e &y errand, buthis &an ca&e u! to tell hi& that -ir 0LLLL LLLLs coach sto!!ed at thedoor so he runs do"n, and co&es u! again i&&ediately$ 4las2 sayshe aloud, theres all &y &irth s!oiled at once sir 0LLLL has sent his

coach for &e, and desires to s!eak "ith &e u!on so&e earnestbusiness$ (t see&s this -ir 0LLLL "as a gentle&an "ho lied aboutthree &iles out of to"n, to "ho& he had s!oken on !ur!ose the daybefore, to lend hi& his chariot for a !articular occasion, and hada!!ointed it to call for hi&, as it did, about three oclock$

(&&ediately he calls for his best "ig, hat, and s"ord, and ordering his&an to go to the other !lace to &ake his eHcuseLL that "as to say, he&ade an eHcuse to send his &an a"ayLLhe !re!ares to go into thecoach$ 4s he "as going, he sto!!ed a "hile, and s!eaks &ightyearnestly to &e about his business, and %nds an o!!ortunity to say

ery softly to &e, o&e a"ay, &y dear, as soon as eer you can$ (said nothing, but &ade a curtsy, as if ( had done so to "hat he said in!ublic$ (n about a Iuarter of an hour ( "ent out too ( had no dressother than before, eHce!t that ( had a hood, a &ask, a fan, and a !airof gloes in &y !ocket so that there "as not the least sus!icion in thehouse$ e "aited for &e in the coach in a backLlane, "hich he kne" (&ust !ass by, and had directed the coach&an "hither to go, "hich"as to a certain !lace, called Mile End, "here lied a con%dant of his,


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"here "e "ent in, and "here "as all the conenience in the "orld tobe as "icked as "e !leased$

0hen "e "ere together he began to talk ery graely to &e, and totell &e he did not bring &e there to betray &e that his !assion for &e

"ould not suer hi& to abuse &e that he resoled to &arry &e assoon as he ca&e to his estate that in the &eanti&e, if ( "ould granthis reIuest, he "ould &aintain &e ery honourably and &ade &e athousand !rotestations of his sincerity and of his aection to &e andthat he "ould neer abandon &e, and as ( &ay say, &ade a thousand&ore !rea&bles than he need to hae done$

o"eer, as he !ressed &e to s!eak, ( told hi& ( had no reason toIuestion the sincerity of his loe to &e after so &any !rotestations,butLLand there ( sto!!ed, as if ( left hi& to guess the rest$ But "hat,&y dearK says he$ ( guess "hat you &ean3 "hat if you should be "ith

childK (s not that itK 0hy, then, says he, (ll take care of you and!roide for you, and the child too and that you &ay see ( a& not injest, says he, heres an earnest for you, and "ith that he !ulls out asilk !urse, "ith an hundred guineas in it, and gae it &e$ 4nd (ll gieyou such another, says he, eery year till ( &arry you$

My colour ca&e and "ent, at the sight of the !urse and "ith the %re ofhis !ro!osal together, so that ( could not say a "ord, and he easily!erceied it so !utting the !urse into &y boso&, ( &ade no &oreresistance to hi&, but let hi& do just "hat he !leased, and as often ashe !leased and thus ( %nished &y o"n destruction at once, for fro&this day, being forsaken of &y irtue and &y &odesty, ( had nothing ofalue left to reco&&end &e, either to Gods blessing or &ansassistance$

But things did not end here$ ( "ent back to the to"n, did the businesshe !ublicly directed &e to, and "as at ho&e before anybody thought&e long$ 4s for &y gentle&an, he stayed out, as he told &e he "ould,till late at night, and there "as not the least sus!icion in the fa&ilyeither on his account or on &ine$

0e had, after this, freIuent o!!ortunities to re!eat our cri&e LLchieJyby his contrianceLLes!ecially at ho&e, "hen his &other and the young

ladies "ent abroad aLisiting, "hich he "atched so narro"ly as neerto &iss kno"ing al"ays beforehand "hen they "ent out, and thenfailed not to catch &e all alone, and securely enough so that "e tookour %ll of our "icked !leasure for near half a year and yet, "hich "asthe &ost to &y satisfaction, ( "as not "ith child$

But before this halfLyear "as eH!ired, his younger brother, of "ho& (hae &ade so&e &ention in the beginning of the story, falls to "ork


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"ith &e and he, %nding &e alone in the garden one eening, begins astory of the sa&e kind to &e, &ade good honest !rofessions of beingin loe "ith &e, and in short, !ro!oses fairly and honourably to &arry&e, and that before he &ade any other oer to &e at all$

( "as no" confounded, and drien to such an eHtre&ity as the like "asneer kno"n at least not to &e$ ( resisted the !ro!osal "ith obstinacyand no" ( began to ar& &yself "ith argu&ents$ ( laid before hi& theineIuality of the &atch the treat&ent ( should &eet "ith in the fa&ilythe ingratitude it "ould be to his good father and &other, "ho hadtaken &e into their house u!on such generous !rinci!les, and "hen ("as in such a lo" condition and, in short, ( said eerything to dissuadehi& fro& his design that ( could i&agine, eHce!t telling hi& the truth,"hich "ould indeed hae !ut an end to it all, but that ( durst not thinkof &entioning$

But here ha!!ened a circu&stance that ( did not eH!ect indeed, "hich!ut &e to &y shifts for this young gentle&an, as he "as !lain andhonest, so he !retended to nothing "ith &e but "hat "as so too and,kno"ing his o"n innocence, he "as not so careful to &ake his haing akindness for Mrs$ Betty a secret ( the house, as his brother "as$ 4ndthough he did not let the& kno" that he had talked to &e about it, yethe said enough to let his sisters !erceie he loed &e, and his &othersa" it too, "hich, though they took no notice of it to &e, yet they didto hi&, an i&&ediately ( found their carriage to &e altered, &ore thaneer before$

( sa" the cloud, though ( did not foresee the stor&$ (t "as easy, ( say,to see that their carriage to &e "as altered, and that it gre" "orse and"orse eery day till at last ( got infor&ation a&ong the serants that (should, in a ery little "hile, be desired to re&oe$

( "as not alar&ed at the ne"s, haing a full satisfaction that ( shouldbe other"ise !roided for and es!ecially considering that ( had reasoneery day to eH!ect ( should be "ith child, and that then ( should beobliged to re&oe "ithout any !retences for it$

4fter so&e ti&e the younger gentle&an took an o!!ortunity to tell &ethat the kindness he had for &e had got ent in the fa&ily$ e did not

charge &e "ith it, he said, for he kno" "ell enough "hich "ay it ca&eout$ e told &e his !lain "ay of talking had been the occasion of it, forthat he did not &ake his res!ect for &e so &uch a secret as he &ighthae done, and the reason "as, that he "as at a !oint, that if ( "ouldconsent to hae hi&, he "ould tell the& all o!enly that he loed &e,and that he intended to &arry &e that it "as true his father and&other &ight resent it, and be unkind, but that he "as no" in a "ay tolie, being bred to the la", and he did not fear &aintaining &e


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agreeable to "hat ( should eH!ect and that, in short, as he belieed ("ould not be asha&ed of hi&, so he "as resoled not to be asha&edof &e, and that he scorned to be afraid to o"n &e no", "ho& heresoled to o"n after ( "as his "ife, and therefore ( had nothing to dobut to gie hi& &y hand, and he "ould ans"er for all the rest$

( "as no" in a dreadful condition indeed, and no" ( re!ented heartily&y easiness "ith the eldest brother not fro& any reJection ofconscience, but fro& a ie" of the ha!!iness ( &ight hae enjoyed,and had no" &ade i&!ossible for though ( had no great scru!les ofconscience, as ( hae said, to struggle "ith, yet ( could not think ofbeing a "hore to one brother and a "ife to the other$ But then it ca&einto &y thoughts that the %rst brother had !ro&ised to &ade &e his"ife "hen he ca&e to his estate but ( !resently re&e&bered "hat (had often thought of, that he had neer s!oken a "ord of haing &efor a "ife after he had conIuered &e for a &istress and indeed, till

no", though ( said ( thought of it often, yet it gae &e no disturbanceat all, for as he did not see& in the least to lessen his aection to &e,so neither did he lessen his bounty, though he had the discretionhi&self to desire &e not to lay out a !enny of "hat he gae &e inclothes, or to &ake the least sho" eHtraordinary, because it "ouldnecessarily gie jealousy in the fa&ily, since eerybody kno" ( couldco&e at such things no &anner of ordinary "ay, but by so&e !riatefriendshi!, "hich they "ould !resently hae sus!ected$

But ( "as no" in a great strait, and kne" not "hat to do$ The &aindiculty "as this3 the younger brother not only laid close siege to &e,

but suered it to be seen$ e "ould co&e into his sisters roo&, andhis &others roo&, and sit do"n, and talk a thousand kind things of&e, and to &e, een before their faces, and "hen they "ere all there$This gre" so !ublic that the "hole house talked of it, and his &otherre!roed hi& for it, and their carriage to &e a!!eared Iuite altered$ (nshort, his &other had let fall so&e s!eeches, as if she intended to !ut&e out of the fa&ily that is, in English, to turn &e out of doors$ ?o" ("as sure this could not be a secret to his brother, only that he &ightnot think, as indeed nobody else yet did, that the youngest brother had&ade any !ro!osal to &e about it but as ( easily could see that it"ould go farther, so ( sa" like"ise there "as an absolute necessity to

s!eak of it to hi&, or that he "ould s!eak of it to &e, and "hich to do%rst ( kne" not that is, "hether ( should break it to hi& or let it alonetill he should break it to &e$

>!on serious consideration, for indeed no" ( began to consider thingsery seriously, and neer till no" ( say, u!on serious consideration, (resoled to tell hi& of it %rst and it "as not long before ( had ano!!ortunity, for the ery neHt day his brother "ent to ;ondon u!on


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so&e business, and the fa&ily being out aLisiting, just as it hadha!!ened before, and as indeed "as often the case, he ca&eaccording to his custo&, to s!end an hour or t"o "ith Mrs$ Betty$

0hen he ca&e had had sat do"n a "hile, he easily !erceied there

"as an alteration in &y countenance, that ( "as not so free and!leasant "ith hi& as ( used to be, and !articularly, that ( had been aLcrying he "as not long before he took notice of it, and asked &e inery kind ter&s "hat "as the &atter, and if anything troubled &e$ ("ould hae !ut it o if ( could, but it "as not to be concealed so aftersuering &any i&!ortunities to dra" that out of &e "hich ( longed as&uch as !ossible to disclose, ( told hi& that it "as true so&ething didtrouble &e, and so&ething of such a nature that ( could not concealfro& hi&, and yet that ( could not tell ho" to tell hi& of it neither thatit "as a thing that not only sur!rised &e, but greatly !er!leHed &e,and that ( kne" not "hat course to take, unless he "ould direct &e$ e

told &e "ith great tenderness, that let it be "hat it "ould, ( should notlet it trouble &e, for he "ould !rotect &e fro& all the "orld$

( then began at a distance, and told hi& ( "as afraid the ladies had gotso&e secret infor&ation of our corres!ondence for that it "as easy tosee that their conduct "as ery &uch changed to"ards &e for a great"hile, and that no" it "as co&e to that !ass that they freIuentlyfound fault "ith &e, and so&eti&es fell Iuite out "ith &e, though (neer gae the& the least occasion that "hereas ( used al"ays to lie"ith the eldest sister, ( "as lately !ut to lie by &yself, or "ith one ofthe &aids and that ( had oerheard the& seeral ti&es talking ery

unkindly about &e but that "hich con%r&ed it all "as, that one of theserants had told &e that she had heard ( "as to be turned out, andthat it "as not safe for the fa&ily that ( should be any longer in thehouse$

e s&iled "hen he herd all this, and ( asked hi& ho" he could &ake solight of it, "hen he &ust needs kno" that if there "as any discoery ("as undone for eer, and that een it "ould hurt hi&, though not ruinhi& as it "ould &e$ ( u!braided hi&, that he "as like all the rest of theseH, that, "hen they had the character and honour of a "o&an at their&ercy, oftenti&es &ade it their jest, and at least looked u!on it as a

triJe, and counted the ruin of those they had had their "ill of as a thingof no alue$

e sa" &e "ar& and serious, and he changed his style i&&ediatelyhe told &e he "as sorry ( should hae such a thought of hi& that hehad neer gien &e the least occasion for it, but had been as tender of&y re!utation as he could be of his o"n that he "as sure ourcorres!ondence had been &anaged "ith so &uch address, that not


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one creature in the fa&ily had so &uch as a sus!icion of it that if hes&iled "hen ( told hi& &y thoughts, it "as at the assurance he latelyreceied, that our understanding one another "as not so &uch askno"n or guessed at and that "hen he had told &e ho" &uch reasonhe had to be easy, ( should s&ile as he did, for he "as ery certain it

"ould gie &e a full satisfaction$

This is a &ystery ( cannot understand, says (, or ho" it should be to&y satisfaction that ( a& to be turned out of doors for if ourcorres!ondence is not discoered, ( kno" not "hat else ( hae done tochange the countenances of the "hole fa&ily to &e, or to hae the&treat &e as they do no", "ho for&erly used &e "ith so &uchtenderness, as if ( had been one of their o"n children$

0hy, look you, child, says he, that they are uneasy about you, that istrue but that they hae the least sus!icion of the case as it is, and as

it res!ects you and (, is so far fro& being true, that they sus!ect &ybrother +obin and, in short, they are fully !ersuaded he &akes loe toyou nay, the fool has !ut it into their heads too hi&self, for he iscontinually bantering the& about it, and &aking a jest of hi&self$ (confess ( think he is "rong to do so, because he cannot but see iteHes the&, and &akes the& unkind to you but tis a satisfaction to&e, because of the assurance it gies &e, that they do not sus!ect &ein the least, and ( ho!e this "ill be to your satisfaction too$

-o it is, says (, one "ay but this does not reach &y case at all, nor isthis the chief thing that troubles &e, though ( hae been concernedabout that too$ 0hat is it, thenK says he$ 0ith "hich ( fell to tears,and could say nothing to hi& at all$ e stroe to !acify &e all he could,but began at last to be ery !ressing u!on &e to tell "hat it "as$ 4tlast ( ans"ered that ( thought ( ought to tell hi& too, and that he hadso&e right to kno" it besides, that ( "anted his direction in the case,for ( "as in such !er!leHity that ( kne" not "hat course to take, andthen ( related the "hole aair to hi&$ ( told hi& ho" i&!rudently hisbrother had &anaged hi&self, in &aking hi&self so !ublic for that ifhe had ke!t it a secret, as such a thing out to hae been, ( could buthae denied hi& !ositiely, "ithout giing any reason for it, and he"ould in ti&e hae ceased his solicitations but that he had the anity,

%rst, to de!end u!on it that ( "ould not deny hi&, and then had takenthe freedo& to tell his resolution of haing &e to the "hole house$

( told hi& ho" far ( had resisted hi&, and told hi& ho" sincere andhonourable his oers "ere$ But, says (, &y case "ill be doubly hardfor as they carry it ill to &e no", because he desires to hae &e, theyllcarry it "orse "hen they shall %nd ( hae denied hi& and they "ill!resently say, theres so&ething else in it, and then out it co&es that (


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a& &arried already to so&ebody else, or that ( "ould neer refuse a&atch so &uch aboe &e as this "as$

This discourse sur!rised hi& indeed ery &uch$ e told &e that it "asa critical !oint indeed for &e to &anage, and he did not see "hich "ay

( should get out of it but he "ould consider it, and let &e kno" neHtti&e "e &et, "hat resolution he "as co&e to about it and in the&eanti&e desired ( "ould not gie &y consent to his brother, nor yetgie hi& a Jat denial, but that ( "ould hold hi& in sus!ense a "hile$

( see&ed to start at his saying ( should not gie hi& &y consent$ ( toldhi& he kne" ery "ell ( had no consent to gie that he had engagedhi&self to &arry &e, and that &y consent "as the sa&e ti&e engagedto hi& that he had all along told &e ( "as his "ife, and ( looked u!on&yself as eectually so as if the cere&ony had !assed and that it "asfro& his o"n &outh that ( did so, he haing all along !ersuaded &e to

call &yself his "ife$0ell, &y dear, says he, dont be concerned at that no" if ( a& notyour husband, (ll be as good as a husband to you and do not let thosethings trouble you no", but let &e look a little farther into this aair,and ( shall be able to say &ore neHt ti&e "e &eet$

e !aci%ed &e as "ell as he could "ith this, but ( found he "as erythoughtful, and that though he "as ery kind to &e and kissed &e athousand ti&es, and &ore ( beliee, and gae &e &oney too, yet heoered no &ore all the "hile "e "ere together, "hich "as aboe t"ohours, and "hich ( &uch "ondered at indeed at that ti&e, consideringho" it used to be, and "hat o!!ortunity "e had$

is brother did not co&e fro& ;ondon for %e or siH days, and it "ast"o days &ore before he got an o!!ortunity to talk "ith hi& but thengetting hi& by hi&self he began to talk ery close to hi& about it, andthe sa&e eening got an o!!ortunity Cfor "e had a long conferencetogether to re!eat all their discourse to &e, "hich, as near as ( canre&e&ber, "as to the !ur!ose follo"ing$ e told hi& he heard strangene"s of hi& since he "ent, i$ that he &ade loe to Mrs$ Betty$ 0ell,says his brother a little angrily, and so ( do$ 4nd "hat thenK 0hat hasanybody to do "ith thatK ?ay, says his brother, dont be angry,

+obin ( dont !retend to hae anything to do "ith it nor do ( !retendto be angry "ith you about it$ But ( %nd they do concern the&selesabout it, and that they hae used the !oor girl ill about it, "hich (should take as done to &yself$ 0ho& do you &ean by TE)K says+obin$ ( &ean &y &other and the girls, says the elder brother$ Buthark ye, says his brother, are you in earnestK Do you really loe thisgirlK )ou &ay be free "ith &e, you kno"$ 0hy, then, says +obin, ( "illbe free "ith you ( do loe her aboe all the "o&en in the "orld, and (


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"ill hae her, let the& say and do "hat they "ill$ ( beliee the girl "illnot deny &e$

(t struck &e to the heart "hen he told &e this, for though it "as &ostrational to think ( "ould not deny hi&, yet ( kne" in &y o"n

conscience ( &ust deny hi&, and ( sa" &y ruin in &y being obliged todo so but ( kne" it "as &y business to talk other"ise then, so (interru!ted hi& in his story thus$

4y2, said (, does he think ( cannot deny hi&K But he shall %nd ( candeny hi&, for all that$

0ell, &y dear, says he, but let &e gie you the "hole story as it "enton bet"een us, and then say "hat you "ill$

Then he "ent on and told &e that he re!lied thus3 But, brother, youkno" she has nothing, and you &ay hae seeral ladies "ith good

fortunes$

Tis no &atter for that, said +obin ( loe the girl, and ( "ill neer!lease &y !ocket in &arrying, and not !lease &y fancy$ 4nd so, &ydear, adds he, there is no o!!osing hi&$

)es, yes, says (, you shall see ( can o!!ose hi& ( hae learnt to say?o, no" though ( had not learnt it before if the best lord in the landoered &e &arriage no", ( could ery cheerfully say ?o to hi&$

0ell, but, &y dear, says he, "hat can you say to hi&K )ou kno", as

you said "hen "e talked of it before, he "ell ask you &any Iuestionsabout it, and all the house "ill "onder "hat the &eaning of it shouldbe$

0hy, says (, s&iling, ( can sto! all their &ouths at one cla! by tellinghi&, and the& too, that ( a& &arried already to his elder brother$

e s&iled a little too at the "ord, but ( could see it startled hi&, and hecould not hide the disorder it !ut hi& into$ o"eer, he returned, 0hy,though that &ay be true in so&e sense, yet ( su!!ose you are but injest "hen you talk of giing such an ans"er as that it &ay not be

conenient on &any accounts$

?o, no, says ( !leasantly, ( a& not so fond of letting the secret co&eout "ithout your consent$

But "hat, then, can you say to hi&, or to the&, says he, "hen they%nd you !ositie against a &atch "hich "ould be a!!arently so &uchto your adantageK


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0hy, says (, should ( be at a lossK First of all, ( a& not obliged to gie&e any reason at all on the other hand, ( &ay tell the& ( a& &arriedalready, and sto! there, and that "ill be a full sto! too to hi&, for hecan hae no reason to ask one Iuestion after it$

4y, says he but the "hole house "ill tease you about that, een tofather and &other, and if you deny the& !ositiely, they "ill bedisobliged at you, and sus!icious besides$

0hy, says (, "hat can ( doK 0hat "ould hae &e doK ( "as in straightenough before, and as ( told you, ( "as in !er!leHity before, andacIuainted you "ith the circu&stances, that ( &ight hae your adice$

My dear, says he, ( hae been considering ery &uch u!on it, you&ay be sure, and though it is a !iece of adice that has a great &any&orti%cations in it to &e, and &ay at %rst see& strange to you, yet, allthings considered, ( see no better "ay for you than to let hi& go onand if you %nd hi& hearty and in earnest, &arry hi&$

( gae hi& a look full of horror at those "ords, and, turning !ale asdeath, "as at the ery !oint of sinking do"n out of the chair ( sat in"hen, giing a start, My dear, says he aloud, "hats the &atter "ithyouK 0here are you aLgoingK and a great &any such things and "ithjogging and called to &e, fetched &e a little to &yself, though it "as agood "hile before ( fully recoered &y senses, and "as not able tos!eak for seeral &inutes &ore$

0hen ( "as fully recoered he began again$ My dear, says he, "hat

&ade you so sur!rised at "hat ( saidK ( "ould hae you considerseriously of itK )ou &ay see !lainly ho" the fa&ily stand in this case,and they "ould be stark &ad if it "as &y case, as it is &y brothersand for aught ( see, it "ould be &y ruin and yours too$

4y2 says (, still s!eaking angrily are all your !rotestations and o"sto be shaken by the dislike of the fa&ilyK Did ( not al"ays object that toyou, and you &ade light thing of it, as "hat you "ere aboe, and"ould alue and is it co&e to this no"K said ($ (s this your faith andhonour, your loe, and the solidity of your !ro&isesK

e continued !erfectly cal&, not"ithstanding all &y re!roaches, and ("as not s!aring of the& at all but he re!lied at last, My dear, ( haenot broken one !ro&ise "ith you yet ( did tell you ( "ould &arry you"hen ( "as co&e to &y estate but you see &y father is a hale, healthy&an, and &ay lie these thirty years still, and not be older thanseeral are round us in to"n and you neer !ro!osed &y &arryingyou sooner, because you kne" it &ight be &y ruin and as to all therest, ( hae not failed you in anything, you hae "anted for nothing$


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( could not deny a "ord of this, and had nothing to say to it in general$But "hy, then, says (, can you !ersuade &e to such a horrid ste! asleaing you, since you hae not left &eK 0ill you allo" no aection, noloe on &y side, "here there has been so &uch on your sideK ae (&ade you no returnsK ae ( gien no testi&ony of &y sincerity and of

&y !assionK 4re the sacri%ces ( hae &ade of honour and &odesty toyou no !roof of &y being tied to you in bonds too strong to be brokenK

But here, &y dear, says he, you &ay co&e into a safe station, anda!!ear "ith honour and "ith s!lendour at once, and the re&e&branceof "hat "e hae done &ay be "ra!t u! in an eternal silence, as if ithad neer ha!!ened you shall al"ays hae &y res!ect, and &ysincere aection, only then it shall be honest, and !erfectly just to &ybrother you shall be &y dear sister, as no" you are &y dearLLLL andthere he sto!!ed$

)our dear "hore, says (, you "ould hae said if you had gone on, andyou &ight as "ell hae said it but ( understand you$ o"eer, ( desireyou to re&e&ber the long discourses you hae had "ith &e, and the&any hours !ains you hae taken to !ersuade &e to beliee &yself anhonest "o&an that ( "as your "ife intentionally, though not in theeyes of the "orld, and that it "as as eectual a &arriage that had!assed bet"een us as is "e had been !ublicly "edded by the !arson ofthe !arish$ )ou kno" and cannot but re&e&ber that these hae beenyour o"n "ords to &e$

( found this "as a little too close u!on hi&, but ( &ade it u! in "hatfollo"s$ e stood stockLstill for a "hile and said nothing, and ( "ent onthus3 )ou cannot, says (, "ithout the highest injustice, beliee that (yielded u!on all these !ersuasions "ithout a loe not to be Iuestioned,not to be shaken again by anything that could ha!!en after"ard$ (f youhae such dishonourable thoughts of &e, ( &ust ask you "hatfoundation in any of &y behaiour hae ( gien for such a suggestionK

(f, then, ( hae yielded to the i&!ortunities of &y aection, and if (hae been !ersuaded to beliee that ( a& really, and in the essence ofthe thing, your "ife, shall ( no" gie the lie to all those argu&ents andcall &yself your "hore, or &istress, "hich is the sa&e thingK 4nd "illyou transfer &e to your brotherK an you transfer &y aectionK anyou bid &e cease loing you, and bid &e loe hi&K (t is in &y !o"er,think you, to &ake such a change at de&andK ?o, sir, said (, de!endu!on it tis i&!ossible, and "hateer the change of your side &ay be, ("ill eer be true and ( had &uch rather, since it is co&e that unha!!ylength, be your "hore than your brothers "ife$

e a!!eared !leased and touched "ith the i&!ression of this lastdiscourse, and told &e that he stood "here he did before that he had


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not been unfaithful to &e in any one !ro&ise he had eer &ade yet,but that there "ere so &any terrible things !resented the&seles tohis ie" in the aair before &e, and that on &y account in !articular,that he had thought of the other as a re&edy so eectual as nothingcould co&e u! to it$ That he thought this "ould not be entire !arting

us, but "e &ight loe as friends all our days, and !erha!s "ith &oresatisfaction than "e should in the station "e "ere no" in, as things&ight ha!!en that he durst say, ( could not a!!rehend anything fro&hi& as to betraying a secret, "hich could not but be the destruction ofus both, if it ca&e out that he had but one Iuestion to ask of &e thatcould lie in the "ay of it, and if that Iuestion "as ans"ered in thenegatie, he could not but think still it "as the only ste! ( could take$

( guessed at his Iuestion !resently, na&ely, "hether ( "as sure ( "asnot "ith childK 4s to that, ( told hi& he need not be concerned about it,for ( "as not "ith child$ 0hy, then, &y dear, says he, "e hae no

ti&e to talk further no"$ onsider of it, and think closely about it (cannot but be of the o!inion still, that it "ill be the best course you cantake$ 4nd "ith this he took his leae, and the &ore hastily too, his&other and sisters ringing at the gate, just at the &o&ent that he hadrisen u! to go$

e left &e in the ut&ost confusion of thought and he easily !erceiedit the neHt day, and all the rest of the "eek, for it "as but Tuesdayeening "hen "e talked but he had no o!!ortunity to co&e at &e allthat "eek, till the -unday after, "hen (, being indis!osed, did not go tochurch, and he, &aking so&e eHcuse for the like, stayed at ho&e$

4nd no" he had &e an hour and a half again by &yself, and "e fellinto the sa&e argu&ents all oer again, or at least so near the sa&e,as it "ould be to no !ur!ose to re!eat the&$ 4t last ( asked hi&"ar&ly, "hat o!inion he &ust hae of &y &odesty, that he couldsu!!ose ( should so &uch as entertain a thought of lying "ith t"obrothers, and assured hi& it could neer be$ ( added, if he "as to tell&e that he "ould neer see &e &ore, than "hich nothing but deathcould be &ore terrible, yet ( could neer entertain a thought sodishonourable to &yself, and so base to hi& and therefore, ( entreatedhi&, if he had one grain of res!ect or aection left for &e, that he

"ould s!eak no &ore of it to &e, or that he "ould !ull his s"ord outand kill &e$ e a!!eared sur!rised at &y obstinacy, as he called ittold &e ( "as unkind to &yself, and unkind to hi& in it that it "as acrisis unlooked for u!on us both, and i&!ossible for either of us toforesee, but that he did not see any other "ay to sae us both fro&ruin, and therefore he thought it the &ore unkind but that if he &ustsay no &ore of it to &e, he added "ith an unusual coldness, that hedid not kno" anything else "e had to talk of and so he rose u! to take


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his leae$ ( rose u! too, as if "ith the sa&e indierence but "hen heca&e to gie &e as it "ere a !arting kiss, ( burst out into such a!assion of crying, that though ( "ould hae s!oke, ( could not, and only!ressing his hand, see&ed to gie hi& the adieu, but cried ehe&ently$

e "as sensibly &oed "ith this so he sat do"n again, and said agreat &any kind things to &e, to abate the eHcess of &y !assion, butstill urged the necessity of "hat he had !ro!osed all the "hileinsisting, that if ( did refuse, he "ould not"ithstanding !roide for &ebut letting &e !lainly see that he "ould decline &e in the &ain !ointLLnay, een as a &istress &aking it a !oint of honour not to lie "ith the"o&an that, for aught he kne", &ight co&e to be his brothers "ife$

The bare loss of hi& as a gallant "as not so &uch &y aNiction as theloss of his !erson, "ho& indeed ( loed to distraction and the loss ofall the eH!ectations ( had, and "hich ( al"ays had built &y ho!es u!on,

of haing hi& one day for &y husband$ These things o!!ressed &y&ind so &uch, that, in short, ( fell ery ill the agonies of &y &ind, in a"ord, thre" &e into a high feer, and long it "as, that none in thefa&ily eH!ected &y life$

( "as reduced ery lo" indeed, and "as often delirious and lightLheaded but nothing lay so near &e as the fear that, "hen ( "as lightLheaded, ( should say so&ething or other to his !rejudice$ ( "asdistressed in &y &ind also to see hi&, and so he "as to see &e, for hereally loed &e &ost !assionately but it could not be there "as notthe least roo& to desire it on one side or other, or so &uch as to &akeit decent$

(t "as near %e "eeks that ( ke!t &y bed and though the iolence of&y feer abated in three "eeks, yet it seeral ti&es returned and the!hysicians said t"o or three ti&es, they could do no &ore for &e, butthat they &ust leae nature and the diste&!er to %ght it out, onlystrengthening the %rst "ith cordials to &aintain the struggle$ 4fter theend of %e "eeks ( gre" better, but "as so "eak, so altered, so&elancholy, and recoered so slo"ly, that they !hysiciansa!!rehended ( should go into a consu&!tion and "hich eHed &e&ost, they gae it as their o!inion that &y &ind "as o!!ressed, thatso&ething troubled &e, and, in short, that ( "as in loe$ >!on this, the"hole house "as set u!on &e to eHa&ine &e, and to !ress &e to tell"hether ( "as in loe or not, and "ith "ho& but as ( "ell &ight, (denied &y being in loe at all$

They had on this occasion a sIuabble one day about &e at table, thathad like to hae !ut the "hole fa&ily in an u!roar, and for so&e ti&edid so$ They ha!!ened to be all at table but the father as for &e, ( "asill, and in &y cha&ber$ 4t the beginning of the talk, "hich "as just as


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they had %nished their dinner, the old gentle"o&an, "ho had sent &eso&e"hat to eat, called her &aid to go u! and ask &e if ( "ould haeany &ore but the &aid brought do"n "ord ( had not eaten half "hatshe had sent &e already$

4las, says the old lady, that !oor girl2 ( a& afraid she "ill neer be"ell$

0ell2 says the elder brother, ho" should Mrs$ Betty be "ellK They sayshe is in loe$

( beliee nothing of it, says the old gentle"o&an$

( dont kno", says the eldest sister, "hat to say to it they hae &adesuch a rout about her being so handso&e, and so char&ing, and (kno" not "hat, and that in her hearing too, that has turned thecreatures head, ( beliee, and "ho kno"s "hat !ossessions &ay follo"

such doingsK For &y !art, ( dont kno" "hat to &ake of it$

0hy, sister, you &ust ackno"ledge she is ery handso&e, says theelder brother$

4y, and a great deal handso&er than you, sister, says +obin, andthats your &orti%cation$

0ell, "ell, that is not the Iuestion, says his sister that girl is "ellenough, and she kno"s it "ell enough she need not be told of it to&ake her ain$

0e are not talking of her being ain, says the elder brother, but ofher being in loe it &ay be she is in loe "ith herself it see&s &ysisters think so$

( "ould she "as in loe "ith &e, says +obin (d Iuickly !ut her out ofher !ain$

0hat dye &ean by that, son, says the old lady ho" can you talk soK

0hy, &ada&, says +obin, again, ery honestly, do you think (d letthe !oor girl die for loe, and of one that is near at hand to be had,tooK

Fie, brother2, says the second sister, ho" can you talk soK 0ould youtake a creature that has not a groat in the "orldK

Prithee, child, says +obin, beautys a !ortion, and goodL hu&our "ithit is a double !ortion ( "ish thou hadst half her stock of both for thy!ortion$ -o there "as her &outh sto!!ed$


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( %nd, says the eldest sister, if Betty is not in loe, &y brother is$ ("onder he has not broke his &ind to Betty ( "arrant she "ont say ?o$

They that yield "hen theyre asked, says +obin, are one ste! beforethe& that "ere neer asked to yield, sister, and t"o ste!s before the&

that yield before they are asked and thats an ans"er to you, sister$

This %red the sister, and she Je" into a !assion, and said, things "ereco&e to that !ass that it "as ti&e the "ench, &eaning &e, "as out ofthe fa&ily and but that she "as not %t to be turned out, she ho!ed herfather and &other "ould consider of it as soon as she could bere&oed$

+obin re!lied, that "as business for the &aster and &istress of thefa&ily, "ho "here not to be taught by one that had so little judg&entas his eldest sister$

(t ran u! a great deal farther the sister scolded, +obin rallied andbantered, but !oor Betty lost ground by it eHtre&ely in the fa&ily$ (heard of it, and ( cried heartily, and the old lady ca&e u! to &e,so&ebody haing told her that ( "as so &uch concerned about it$ (co&!lained to her, that it "as ery hard the doctors should !ass sucha censure u!on &e, for "hich they had no ground and that it "as stillharder, considering the circu&stances ( "as under in the fa&ily that (ho!ed ( had done nothing to lessen her estee& for &e, or gien anyoccasion for the bickering bet"een her sons and daughters, and ( had&ore need to think of a con than of being in loe, and begged she"ould not let &e suer in her o!inion for anybodys &istakes but &yo"n$

-he "as sensible of the justice of "hat ( said, but told &e, since therehad been such a cla&our a&ong the&, and that her younger sontalked after such a rattling "ay as he did, she desired ( "ould be sofaithful to her as to ans"er her but one Iuestion sincerely$ ( told her ("ould, "ith all &y heart, and "ith the ut&ost !lainness and sincerity$0hy, then, the Iuestion "as, "hether there "ay anything bet"een herson +obert and &e$ ( told her "ith all the !rotestations of sincerity that( "as able to &ake, and as ( &ight "ell, do, that there "as not, noreery had been ( told her that Mr$ +obert had rattled and jested, as

she kne" it "as his "ay, and that ( took it al"ays, as ( su!!osed he&eant it, to be a "ild airy "ay of discourse that had no signi%cation init and again assured her, that there "as not the least tittle of "hat sheunderstood by it bet"een us and that those "ho had suggested it haddone &e a great deal of "rong, and Mr$ +obert no serice at all$

The old lady "as fully satis%ed, and kissed &e, s!oke cheerfully to &e,and bid &e take care of &y health and "ant for nothing, and so took


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her leae$ But "hen she ca&e do"n she found the brother and all hissisters together by the ears they "ere angry, een to !assion, at hisu!braiding the& "ith their being ho&ely, and haing neer had anys"eethearts, neer haing been asked the Iuestion, and their being sofor"ard as al&ost to ask %rst$ e rallied the& u!on the subject of Mrs$

Betty ho" !retty, ho" goodLhu&oured, ho" she sung better then theydid, and danced better, and ho" &uch handso&er she "as and indoing this he o&itted no illLnatured thing that could eH the&, andindeed, !ushed too hard u!on the&$ The old lady ca&e do"n in theheight of it, and to !ut a sto! it to, told the& all the discourse she hadhad "ith &e, and ho" ( ans"ered, that there "as nothing bet"een Mr$+obert and ($

-hes "rong there, says +obin, for if there "as not a great dealbet"een us, "e should be closer together than "e are$ ( told her (loed her hugely, says he, but ( could neer &ake the jade beliee (

"as in earnest$ ( do not kno" ho" you should, says his &othernobody in their senses could beliee you "ere in earnest, to talk so toa !oor girl, "hose circu&stances you kno" so "ell$

But !rithee, son, adds she, since you tell &e that you could not &akeher beliee you "ere in earnest, "hat &ust "e beliee about itK Foryou ra&ble so in your discourse, that nobody kno"s "hether you are inearnest or in jest but as ( %nd the girl, by your o"n confession, hasans"ered truly, ( "ish you "ould do so too, and tell &e seriously, sothat ( &ay de!end u!on it$ (s there anything in it or noK 4re you inearnest or noK 4re you distracted, indeed, or are you notK Tis a

"eighty Iuestion, and ( "ish you "ould &ake us easy about it$

By &y faith, &ada&, says +obin, tis in ain to &ince the &atter ortell any &ore lies about it ( a& in earnest, as &uch as a &an is thatsgoing to be hanged$ (f Mrs$ Betty "ould say she loed &e, and that she"ould &arry &e, (d hae her to&orro" &orning fasting, and say, Tohae and to hold, in

moll flanders - charles dickens

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