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at the stair-head,) in a horrible rage, and out of breath, cried I.

In sight came the trembling devil-but standing aloof, from the report made her by Will of the passion I was in, as well as from what she had heard.

Flash came out my sword immediately; for I had it ready on-Cursed, confounded, villainous bribery and corruption

Up runs she to her lady's door, screaming out for safety and protection.

Good your honour, interposed Will, for God's sake!-O Lord, O Lord!—receiving a good cuff.

Take that, varlet, for saving the ungrateful wretch from my vengeance.

Wretch! I intended to say: but, if it were some other word of like ending, passion must be my

excuse.

Up ran two or three of the sisterhood, What's the matter! What's the matter!

The matter! (for still my beloved opened not the door; on the contrary, drew another bolt,) This abominable Dorcas !-(call her aunt up!— let her see what a traitress she has placed about me! and let her bring the toad to answer for herself)—has taken a bribe, a provision for life, to betray her trust; by that means to perpetuate a quarrel between a man and his wife, and frustrate forever all hopes of reconciliation between us!

Let me perish, Belford, if I have patience to proceed with the farce!

IF I must resume, I must

Up came the aunt, puffing and blowing-As she hoped for mercy, she was not privy to it! She never knew such a plotting, perverse lady in her life!-Well might servants be at the pass they were, when such ladies as Mrs Lovelace made no conscience of corrupting them. For her part she desired no mercy for the wretch; no niece of hers, if she were not faithful to her trust— But what was the proof?

She was shewn the paper

But too evident!-Cursed, cursed toad, devil, jade, passed from each mouth :-and the vileness of the corrupted, and the unworthiness of the corruptress, were inveighed against.

Up we all went, passing the lady's door into the dining room, to proceed to trial.

Stamp, stamp, stamp up, each on her heels; rave, rave, rave, every tongue

Bring up the creature before us all this instant!

And would she have got out of the house, say you?

These the noises and the speeches as we clattered by the door of the fair bribress.

Up was brought Dorcas (whimpering) between two, both bawling out-You must go

You shall go 'Tis fit you should answer for yourself—you are a discredit to all worthy servants-as they pulled and pushed her up stairs. -She whining, I cannot see his honour-I cannot look so good and so generous a gentleman in the face-O how shall I bear my aunt's ravings?

Comeup, and be damned-Bring her forward, her imperial judge-What a plague, it is the detection, not the crime, that confounds you. You could be quiet enough for days together, as I see by the date, under the villainy. Tell me, ungrateful devil, tell me, who made the first advances?

Ay, disgrace to my family and blood, cried the old one-tell his honour-tell the truth!-Who made the first advances?

Ay, cursed creature, cried Sally, who made the first advances?

I have betrayed one trust already!—O let me not betray another !-My lady is a good lady!— O let not her suffer!

Tell all you know. Tell the whole truth, Dorcas, cried Polly Horton.-His honour loves his lady too well to make her suffer much; little as she requites his love!

Everybody sees that, cried Sally-too well, indeed, for his honour, I was going to say.

Till now, I thought she deserved my loveBut to bribe a servant thus, who she supposed had orders to watch her steps, for fear of another elopement; and to impute that precaution to me as a crime!-Yet I must love her-Ladies, forgive my weakness!

Curse upon my grimaces!-if I have patience to repeat them!-But thou shalt have it allthou canst not despise me more than I despise myself!

BUT suppose, sir, said Sally, you have my lady and the wench face to face! You see she

cares not to confess.

O my carelessness! cried Dorcas-Don't let my poor lady suffer!-Indeed, if you knew all that I know, you would say her ladyship has been cruelly treated

See, see, see, see !-repeatedly, every one at once-Only sorry for the detection, as your honour said-not for the fault.

Cursed creature, and devilish creature! from every mouth.

Your lady won't, she dare not, come out to save you, cried Sally; though it is more his honour's mercy, than your desert, if he does not cut your vile throat this instant.

Say, repeated Polly, was it your lady that made the first advances, or was it you, you crea

ture

If the lady has so much honour, bawled the mother, excuse me, so-Excuse me, sir, [confound the old wretch! she had like to have said son!-If the lady has so much honour, as we

have supposed, she will appear to vindicate a poor servant, misled, as she has been, by such large promises!-But I hope, sir, you will do them both justice: I hope you will!-Good lack! Good lack!-clapping her hands together, to grant her everything she could ask-to indulge her in her unworthy hatred to my poor innocent house!to let her go to Hampstead, though your honour told us, you could get no condescension from her; no, not the least-O sir, O sir-I hopeI hope-if your lady will not come out-I hope you will find a way to hear this cause in her presence. I value not my doors on such an occasion as this. Justice I ever loved. I desire you will come at the bottom of it in clearance to me. I'll be sworn I had no privity in this black corruption.

Just then we heard the lady's door unbar, unlock, unbolt

Now, sir!

Now, Mr Lovelace!

Now, sir! from every encouraging mouth! But, O Jack! Jack! Jack! I can write no more!

IF you must have it all, you must!

Now, Belford, see us all sitting in judgment, resolved to punish the fair bribress-I, and the mother, the hitherto dreaded mother, the nieces Sally, Polly, the traitress Dorcas, and Mabell, a guard over Dorcas, that she might not run away, and hide herself;-all pre-determined, and of necessity pre-determined, from the journey I was going to take, and my precarious situation with her and hear her unbolt, unlock, unbar, the door; then, as it proved afterwards, put the key into the lock on the outside, lock the door, and put it in her pocket-Will, I knew, who was below, would give me notice, if, while we were all above, she should mistake her way, and go down stairs, instead of coming into the dining-room: the street-door also doubly secured, and every shutter to the windows round the house fastened, that no noise or screaming should be heard -[such was the brutal preparation]-and then hear her step towards us, and instantly see her enter among us, confiding in her own innocence; and with a majesty in her person and manner, that is natural to her; but which then shone out in all its glory!-Every tongue silent, every eye awed, every heart quaking, mine, in a partícular manner, sunk, throbless, and twice below its usual region, to once at my throat :—a shameful recreant:-She silent too, looking round her, first on me; then on the mother, as no longer fearing her; then on Sally, Polly, and the culprit Dorcas!-such the glorious power of innocence exerted at that awful moment!

She would have spoken, but could not, looking down my guilt into confusion. A mouse might have been heard passing over the floor: her own light feet and rustling silks could not

1

have prevented it; for she seemed to tread air, and to be all soul. She passed backwards and forwards, now towards me, now towards the door, several times, before speech could get the better of indignation; and, at last, after twice or thrice hemming to recover her articulate voice -O thou contemptible and abandoned Lovelace, thinkest thou that I see not through this poor villainous plot of thine, and of these thy wicked accomplices?

Thou, woman, [looking at the mother once my terror! always my dislike! but now my detestation! shouldst once more (for thine, perhaps, was the preparation) have provided for me intoxicating potions, to rob me of my senses—

And then, thus, wretch, [turning to me,] mightest thou more securely have depended upon such a low contrivance as this!

And ye, vile women, who, perhaps, have been the ruin, body and soul, of hundreds of innocents (you shew me how, in full assembly,) know, that I am not married-ruined as I am, by your help, I bless God, I am not married to this miscreant and I have friends that will demand my honour at your hands!—and to whose authority I will apply; for none has this man over me. Look to it then, what farther insults you offer me, or incite him to offer me. I am a person, though thus vilely betrayed, of rank and fortune. I never will be his; and, to your utter ruin, will find friends to pursue you: and now I have this full proof of your detestable wickedness, and have heard your base incitements, will have no mercy on you!

They could not laugh at the poor figure I made.-Lord! how every devil, conscienceshaken, trembled !—

What a dejection must ever fall to the lot of guilt, were it given to innocence always thus to exert itself!

And, as for thee, thou vile Dorcas! thou double deceiver !-whining out thy pretended love for me!-Begone, wretch !-Nobody will hurt thee! -Begone, I say!-Thou hast too well acted thy part to be blamed by any here but myself-Thou art safe: thy guilt is thy security in such a house as this!-thy shameful, thy poor part, thou hast as well acted as the low farce could give thee to act! as well as they, each of them (thy superiors, though not thy betters) thou seest, can act theirs.

Steal away into darkness! No inquiry after this will be made, whose the first advances, thine or mine.

And, as I hope to live, the wench, confoundedly frightened, slunk away; so did her sentinel Mabell; though I, endeavouring to rally, cried out for Dorcas to stay-but I believe the devil could not have stopt her, when an angel bid her begone.

Madam, said I, let me tell you-and was advancing towards her with a fierce aspect, most cursedly vexed, and ashamed too

But she turned to me:-Stop where thou art,

O vilest and most abandoned of men!-Stop where thou art!-nor, with that determined face, offer to touch me, if thou wouldst not that I should be a corpse at thy feet!

To my astonishment, she held forth a penknife in her hand, the point to her own bosom, grasping resolutely the whole handle, so that there was no offering to take it from her.

I offer not mischief to anybody but myself. You, sir, and ye, women, are safe from every violence of mine. The LAW shall be all my resource; the LAW, and she spoke the word with emphasis, the LAW! that to such people carries natural terror with it, and now struck a panic into them.

No wonder, since those who will damn themselves to procure ease and plenty in this world, will tremble at everything that seems to threaten their methods of obtaining that ease and plenty.

The LAW only shall be my refuge !The infamous mother whispered me, that it were better to make terms with this strange lady, and let her go.

Sally, notwithstanding all her impudent bravery at other times, said, If Mr Lovelace had told them what was not true, of her being his

wife

And Polly Horton, That she must needs say, the lady, if she were not my wife, had been very much injured; that was all.

That is not now a matter to be disputed, cried I you and I know, madam

We do, said she; and I thank God, I am not thine-once more, I thank God for it-I have no doubt of the farther baseness that thou hast intended me, by this vile and low trick: but I have my SENSES, Lovelace; and from my heart I despise thee, thou very poor Lovelace! How canst thou stand in my presence!-Thou, that

Madam, madam, madam-these are insults not be borne-and was approaching her.

She withdrew to the door, and set her back against it, holding the pointed knife to her heaving bosom; while the women held me, beseeching me not to provoke the violent lady for their house sake, and be curs'd to them, they besought me and all three hung upon mewhile the truly heroic lady braved me at that distance.

Approach me, Lovelace, with resentment, if thou wilt. I dare die. It is in defence of my honour. God will be merciful to my poor soul! expect no mercy from thee! I have gained this distance, and two steps nearer me, and thou shalt see what I dare do!

Leave me, women, to myself, and to my angel!-[They retired at a distance.]-O my beloved creature, how you terrify me! Holding out my arms, and kneeling on one knee-not a step, not a step farther, except to receive my death at that injured hand which is thus held

VOL. VII.

up against a life far dearer to me than my own! I am a villain! the blackest of villains!-Say you will sheath your knife in the injurer's, not the injured's heart, and then will I indeed approach you, but not else.

The mother twang'd her d-n'd nose; and Sally and Polly pulled out their handkerchiefs, and turned from us. They never in their lives, they told me afterwards, beheld such a sceneInnocence so triumphant; villainy so debased, they must mean!

Unawares to myself, I had moved onward to my angel-And, dost thou, dost thou, still disclaiming, still advancing-dost thou, dost thou, still insidiously move toward me?-[And her hand was extended.]—I dare—I dare not rashly neither-my heart from principle abhors the act, which thou makest necessary!-God, in thy mercy! [lifting up her eyes and hands] God, in thy mercy!

I threw myself to the farther end of the room. An ejaculation, a silent ejaculation, employing her thoughts that moment; Polly says the whites of her lovely eyes were only visible; and, in the instant that she extended her hand, assuredly to strike the fatal blow, [how the very recital terrifies me! she cast her eye towards me, and saw me at the utmost distance the room would allow, and heard my broken voice-my voice was utterly broken; nor knew I what I said, or whether to the purpose or not-and her charming cheeks, that were all in a glow before, turned pale, as if terrified at her own purpose; and lifting up her eyes:-Thank God! Thank God! said the angel-delivered for the present; for the present delivered-from myself-Keep, sir, keep that distance; [looking down towards me, who was prostrate on the floor, my heart pierced, as with an hundred daggers; that distance has saved a life; to what reserved, the Almighty only

knows!

To be happy, madam ; and to make happy!— And, O let me hope for your favour for to-morrow-I will put off my journey till then-and may God

Śwear not, sir!-with an awful and piercing aspect-you have too, too often sworn !-God's eye is upon us!-His more immediate eye; and looked wildly. But the women looked up to the ceiling, as if afraid of God's eye, and treinbled. And well they might, and I too, who so very lately had each of us the devil in our hearts.

If not to-morrow, madam, say but next Thursday, your uncle's birth-day; say but next Thursday!

This I say, of this you may assure yourself, I never, never will be yours.-And let me hope, that I may be entitled to the performance of your promise, to be permitted to leave this innocent house, as one called it, (but long have my ears been accustomed to such inversions of words,) as soon as the day breaks.

Did my perdition depend upon it, that you 2 c

cannot, madam, but upon terms. And I hope you will not terrify me-still dreading the accursed knife.

Nothing less than an attempt upon my honour shall make me desperate. I have no view but to defend my honour; with such a view only I entered into treaty with your infamous agent below. The resolution you have seen, I trust, God will give me again, upon the same occasion. But for a less, I wish not for it.-Only take notice, women, that I am no wife of this man; basely as he has used me, I am not his wife. He has no authority over me. If he go away by-andby, and you act by his authority to detain me, look to it.

Then, taking one of the lights, she turned from us; and away she went, unmolested.-Not a soul was able to molest her.

Mabell saw her, tremblingly, and in a hurry, take the key of her chamber-door out of her pocket, and unlock it; and, as soon as she entered, heard her double-lock, bar, and bolt it.

By her taking cut her key, when she came out of her chamber to us, she no doubt suspected my design; which was, to have carried her in my arms thither, if she made such force necessary, after I had intimidated her; and to have been her companion for that night.

She was to have had several bed-chamberwomen to assist to undress her upon occasion; but from the moment she entered the diningroom with so much intrepidity, it was absolutely impossible to think of prosecuting my villainous designs against her.

THIS, this, Belford, was the hand I made of a contrivance from which I expected so much! And now I am ten times worse off than before.

Thou never sawest people in thy life look so like fools upon one another, as the mother, her partners, and I, did, for a few minutes. And at last, the two devilish nymphs broke out into insulting ridicule upon me; while the old wretch was concerned for her house, the reputation of her house. I cursed them all together; and, retiring to my chamber, locked myself in.

And now it is time to set out; all I have gained, detection, disgrace, fresh guilt by repeated perjuries, and to be despised by her I doat upon; and, what is still worse to a proud heart, by myself.

Success, success in projects, is everything. What an admirable contriver did I think myself till now! Even for this scheme among the rest! But how pitifully foolish does it now appear to me! Scratch out, erase, never to be read, every part of my preceding letters, where I have boastingly mentioned it. And never presume to rally me upon the cursed subject; for I cannot bear

it.

But for the lady, by my soul, I love her. I admire her more than ever! I must have her. I will have her still-with honour or without, as I have often vowed. My cursed fright at her accidental bloody nose, so lately, put her upon improving upon me thus. Had she threatened ME, I should soon have been master of one arm, and in both! But for so sincere a virtue to threaten herself, and not to offer to intimidate any other, and with so much presence of mind, as to distinguish, in the very passionate intention, the necessity of the act, defence of her honour, and so fairly to disavow lesser occasions; shewed such a deliberation, such a choice, such a principle; and then keeping me so watchfully at a distance, that I could not seize her hand, so soon as she could have given the fatal blow; how impossible not to be subdued by so true and so discreet a magnanimity!

But she is not gone. She shall not go. I will press her with letters for the Thursday. She shall yet be mine, legally mine. For, as to cohabitation, there is no such thing to be thought of.

The captain shall give her away, as proxy for her uncle. My Lord will die. My fortune will help my will, and set me above everything and everybody. But here is the curse-s -she despises me, Jack! What man, as I have heretofore said, can bear to be despised-especially by his wife!-O Lord! -O Lord! What a hand, what a cursed hand, have I made of this plot !-And here ends

The history of the lady and the penknife!— The devil take the penknife!-It goes against

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MY DEAREST LIFE,

Ir you do not impute to love, and to terror raised by love, the poor figure I made before you last night, you will not do me justice. I thought I would try to the very last moment, if, by complying with you in everything, I could prevail upon you to promise to be mine on Thursday next, since you refused me an earlier day. Could I have been so happy, you had not been hindered going to Hampstead, or wherever else you pleased. But, when I could not prevail upon you to give me this assurance, what room had I, (my demerit so great,) to suppose, that your going thither would not be to lose you for ever?

I will own to you, madam, that yesterday af

ternoon I picked up the paper dropt by Dorcas; who has confessed that she would have assisted you in getting away, if she had had an opportunity so to do; and undoubtedly dropped it by accident. And could I have prevailed upon you as to Thursday next, I would have made no use of it; secure as I should then have been in your word given, to be mine. But when I found you inflexible, I was resolved to try, if, by resenting Dorcas's treachery, I could not make your pardon of me the condition of mine to her; and if not, to make a handle of it to revoke my consent to your going away from Mrs Sinclair's; since the consequence of that must have been so fatal

to me.

So far, indeed, was my proceeding low and artful; and when I was challenged with it, as such, in so high and noble a manner, I could not avoid taking shame to myself upon it. But you must permit me, madam, to hope, that you will not punish me too heavily for so poor a contrivance, since no dishonour was meant you; and since, in the moment of its execution, you had as great an instance of my incapacity to defend a wrong, a low measure, and at the same time, in your power over me, as mortal man could give-in a word, since you must have seen, that I was absolutely under the control both of

conscience and of love.

I will not offer to defend myself, for wishing you to remain where you are, till either you give me your word to meet me at the altar on Thursday; or till I have the honour of attending you, preparative to the solemnity which will make that day the happiest of my life.

I am but too sensible, that this kind of treatment may appear to you with the face of an arbitrary and illegal imposition; but as the consequences, not only to ourselves, but to both our families, may be fatal, if you cannot be moved in my favour; let me beseech you to forgive this act of compulsion, on the score of the necessity you your dear self have laid me under to be guilty of it; and to permit the solemnity of next Thursday to include an act of oblivion for all past offences.

The orders I have given to the people of the house are:-That you shall be obeyed in every particular that is consistent with my expectations of finding you there on my return to town on Wednesday next; that Mrs Sinclair and her nieces, having incurred your just displeasure, shall not, without your orders, come into your presence; that neither shall Dorcas, till she has fully cleared her conduct to your satisfaction, be permitted to attend you; but Mabell, in her place, of whom you seemed some time ago to express some liking. Will I have left behind me to attend your coinmands. If he be either negligent or impertinent, your dismission shall be a dismission of him from my service for ever. But, as to letters which may be sent you, or any which you may have to send, I must humbly

entreat, that none such pass from or to you, for the few days that I shall be absent. But I do assure you, madam, that the seals of both sorts shall be sacred; and the letters, if such be sent, the ceremony is performed, or before, if you reshall be given into your own hands the moment quire it.

how Miss Howe does; and to what, if I can be Meantime I will inquire, and send you word, informed, her long silence is owing.

Dr Perkins I found here, attending my lord, when I arrived with Dr S. He acquaints me that your father, mother, uncles, and the still less worthy persons of your family, are well; and intend to be all at your uncle Harlowe's next week; I presume, with intent to keep his anniversary. This can make no alteration, but a happy one, as to persons, on Thursday; because Mr Tomlinson assured me, that if anything fell out to hinder your uncle's coming up in person, (which, however, he did not then expect,) he would be satisfied if his friend the captain were proxy for him. I shall send a man and horse to-morrow to the captain, to be at greater certainty.

I send this by a special messenger, who will wait your pleasure in relation to the impatiently-wished-for Thursday; which I humbly hope will be signified by a line.

ful of everything but of your felicity, desires his My lord, though hardly sensible, and unmindmost affectionate compliments to you. He has . of jewels, which he hopes will be acceptable, in readiness to present to you a very valuable set whether he lives to see you adorn them or not.

Lady Sarah and Lady Betty have also their tokens of respect ready to court your acceptance; but may Heaven incline you to give the opportunity of receiving their personal compliments, and those of my cousins Montague, before the next week be out!

His lordship is exceeding ill. Dr S. has no hopes of him. The only consolation I can have for the death of a relation who loves me so well, if he do die, must arise from the additional power it will put into my hands of shewing how much I am,

My dearest life,

Your ever-affectionate, faithful LOVELACE.

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