"agreeable people in the world, was yet at the ex66 pence of your your mutual felicity. This circumstance "I mean, is your debt at Oxford; pray how doth "that stand? I am resolved it shall never disturb

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your happiness hereafter." At these words, the tears burst from my poor husband's eyes; and in an ecstasy of gratitude, he cried out, "Your lordship overcomes me with generosity. "if you go on in this manner, both my wife's gratitude and mine must be bankrupt."

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He

then acquainted my lord with the exact state of 'the case, and received assurances from him, that 'the debt should never trouble him. My husband

was again breaking out into the warmest expres⚫sions of gratitude; but my lord stopped him short, saying, If you have any obligation, it is to my little Charly here, from whose little innocent smiles 'I have received more than the value of this trifling 'debt in pleasure. I forgot to tell you, that when I 'offered to leave the room after dinner upon my 'child's account, my lord would not suffer me, but ordered the child to be brought to me.

He

now took it out of my arms, placed it upon his own knee, and fed it with some fruit from the ' desert. In short, it would be more tedious to you than to myself, to relate the thousand little ' tendernesses he shewed to the child. He gave it many baubles; amongst the rest was a coral, worth at least three pounds; and when my husband was confined near a fortnight to his chamber with a cold, he visited the child every day (for to this 'infant's account were all the visits placed); and ⚫ seldom failed of accompanying his visit with a present to the little thing.

Here, Mrs. Booth, I cannot help mentioning a doubt which hath often arisen in my mind, since I have been enough mistress of myself to reflect • on this horrid train which was laid to blow up my 'innocence. Wicked and barbarous it was to the

6

highest degree, without any question; but my doubt is, whether the art or folly of it be the more conspicuous; for however delicate and re'fined the art must be allowed to have been, the folly, I think, must upon a fair examination appear no less astonishing; for to lay all considerations of cruelty and crime out of the case, whạt a foolish bargain doth the man make for himself, who purchases so poor a pleasure at so, high a price!

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We had lived near three weeks with as much freedom as if we had been all of the same family; when, one afternoon, my lord proposed to my husband to ride down himself to solicit the surrender; for he said, the bishop had received an unsatisfactory answer from the parson, and had writ a second letter more pressing; which his lordship now promised us to strengthen by one of his ' own that my husband was to carry with him. Mr. 'Bennet agreed to this proposal with great thankfulness; and the next day was appointed for his journey. The distance was near seventy miles.

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But

'My husband set out on his journey; and he had scarce left me before Mrs. Ellison came into my and endeavoured to comfort me in his absence; to say the truth, though he was to be, from me but a few days, and the purpose of his going was to fix our happiness on a sound foundation for all our future days, I could scarce sup port my spirits under this first separation. though I then thought Mrs. Ellison's intentions. 'to be most kind and friendly, yet the means she used were utterly ineffectual, and appeared to me injudicious. Instead of soothing my uneasiness, which is always the first physic to be given to grief, she rallied me upon it, and began to talk in à very unusual style of gaiety, in which she treated conjugal love with much ridicule.

I gave her to understand, that she displeased me by this discourse; but she soon found 'means

to give such a turn to it, as made merit of all 'fhe had said. And now, when she had worked 'me into a good humour, she made a proposal to me, which I at first rejected; but at last fatally,— too fatally suffered myself to be over persuaded. This was to go to a masquerade at Ranelagh, for ⚫ which my lord had furnished her with tickets.'

At these words, Amelia turned pale as death, and hastily begged her friend to give her a glass of water, some air, or any thing. Mrs. Bennet having thrown open the window, and procured the water, which prevented Amelia from fainting, looked at her with much tenderness, and cried, I do not wonder, my dear Madam, that you are affected 'with my mentioning that fatal masquerade; since 'I firmly believe the same ruin was intended for you at the same place. The apprehension of which 'occasioned the letter I sent you this morning, and 'all the trial of your patience which I have made 'since.'

Amelia gave her a tender embrace, with many expressions of the warmest gratitude; assured her, she had pretty well recovered her spirits, and begged her to continue her story; which Mrs. Bennet then did. However, as our readers may likewise be glad to recover their spirits also, we shall here put an end to this chapter.

CHAP. VII.

The Story farther continued.

MRS. Bennet proceeded thus:

I was at length prevailed on to accompany Mrs. Ellison to the masquerade. Here, I must confess, the pleasantness of the place, the variety of the dresses, and the novelty of the thing, gave

me much delight, and raised my fancy to the highest pitch. As I was entirely void of all suspición, my mind threw off all reserve, and pleasure only filled my thoughts. Innocence, it is true, possessed my heart; but it was innocence unguarded, intoxicated with foolish desires, and liable 'to every temptation. During the first two hours, we had many trifling adventures not worth rentembering. At length my lord joined us, and 'continued with me all the evening; and we danced 'several dances together.

I need not, I believe, tell you, Madam, how engaging his conversation is. I wish I could with truth say, I was not pleased with it; or, at least, that I had a right to be pleased with it. But I 'will disguise nothing from you; I now began to 'discover that he had some affection for me; but he had already too firm a footing in my esteem, to make the discovery shocking. I will-I will ' own the truth; I was delighted with perceiving a passion in him, which I was not unwilling to think he had had from the beginning, and to derive his having concealed it so long from his awe of my 'virtue, and his respect to my understanding. I

assure you, Madam, at the same time, my inten'tions were never to exceed the bounds of innocence. I was charmed with the delicacy of his passion; and in the foolish, thoughtless turn of ' mind in which I then was, I fancied I might give 'some very distant encouragement to such a passion in such a man, with the utmost safety; that I might indulge my vanity and interest at once, without being guilty of the least injury,

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I know Mrs. Booth will condemn all these thoughts, and I condemn them no less myself; for it is now my stedfast opinion, that the woman who gives up the least outwork of her virtue, doth, in * that very moment, betray the citadel.

• About two o'clock we returned home, and

found a very handsome collation provided for us. I was asked to partake of it; and I did not, I ❝ could not refuse. I was not however, entirely void of all suspicion, and I made many resolutions; one of which was, not to drink a drop more than my usual stint. This was, at the utmost, little more than half a pint of small punch.

I adhered strictly to my quantity; but in the quality, I am convinced, I was deceived; for, before I left the rooom, I found my head giddy. What the villain gave me, I know not; but besides being intoxicated, I perceived effects from it which are not to be described.

'Here, Madam, I must draw a curtain over the residue of that fatal night. Let it suffice, that it involved me in the most dreadful ruin; a ruin, to which, I can truly say, I never consented; and of which I was scarce conscious, when the villainous man avowed it to my face in the morning.

Thus I have deduced my story to the most horrid period; happy had I been, had this been. the period of my life; but I was reserved for greater miseries; but before I enter on them, I will mention something very remarkable, with which I was now acquainted, and that will shew there was nothing of accident which had befallen me; but that all was the effect of a long, regular, premeditated design.

'You may remember, Madam, I told you that we were recommended to Mrs. Ellison by the woman at whose house we had before lodged. This woman, it seems, was one of my lord's pimps, and had before introduced me to his lordship's notice.

You are to know then, Madam, that this villain, this lord, now confessed to me, that he had first seen me in the gallery at the oratorio; whither I had gone with tickets, with which the woman where I first lodged, had presented me, and which were,