he would detain you at the odious house, or wish you to stay, now you know what the 3 people are; fly him, whatever your prospects are, as well as them. In one of your next airings, if you have no other way, refuse to return with him. Name me for your intelligencer, that you are in a bad house, and if you think you cannot now break with him, seem rather to believe that he may not know it to be so; and that I do not believe he does: and yet this belief in us both must appear to be very gross. But suppose you desire to go out of town for the air, this sultry weather, and insist upon it? You may plead your health for so doing. He dare not resist such a plea. Your brother's foolish scheme, I am told, is certainly given up; so you need not be afraid on that account. If you do not fly the house upon reading of this, or some way or other get out of it, I shall judge of his power over you, by the little you will have over either him or yourself. think! No such person or house can be found, near any of the new streets or squares, where the lights I had from your letters led me to imagine her house might be ask him, what street the house is in, if he has not told you? And let me know. If he make a difficulty of that circumstance, it will amount to a detection.And yet, I think, you have enough without this. I shall send this long letter by Collins, who changes his day to oblige me; and that he may try (now I know where you are) to get it into your own hands. If he cannot, he will leave it at Wilson's. As none of our letters by that conveyance have miscarried when you have been in more apparently disagreeable situations than you are in at present, I hope that this will go safe, if Collins should be obliged to leave it there. I wrote a short letter to you in my first agitations. It contained not above twenty lines, all full of fright, alarm, and execration. But being afraid that my vehemence would too much affect you, I thought it better to wait a little, as well for the reasons already hinted at, as to be able to give you as many particulars as I could; and my thoughts upon all. And now, I think, taking to your aid other circumstances, as they have offered, or may offer, you will be sufficiently armed to resist all his machinations, heart, could be raised by. But be they what they will. I charge you, think not of coming One word more, command up without her indulgent perme up, if I can be of the least mission. I am too ill at present, service or pleasure to you. I my dear, to think of combating value not fame; I value not with this dreadful man; and flying censure; nor even life itself, I from this horrid house!' My bad verily think, as I do your writing will shew you this. But honour, and your friendship- my illness will be my present sefor, is not your honour my curity, should he indeed have honour? And is not your meditated villany. Forgive, O friendship the pride of my life? forgive me, my dearest friend, the May Heaven preserve you, trouble I have given you! All my dearest creature, in honour must soon But why add I grief and safety, is the prayer, the to grief, and trouble to trouble? hourly prayer, of But I charge you, my beloved affectionate Your ever faithful and creature, not to think of coming up without your mother's leave to the truly desolate and brokenspirited Thursday morn. I have written all night. ANNA HOWE. TO MISS HOWE. MY DEAREST CREATURE, CLARISSA HARLOWE. WELL, Jack! thinkest thou of this last letter? How you have shocked, con- Miss Howe values not either fame founded, surprised, astonished me, or censure; and thinkest thou, by your dreadful communication! that this letter will not bring the -My heart is too weak to bear up little fury up, though she could against such a stroke as this! procure no other conveyance than When all hope was with me! her higgler's paniers, one for herWhen my prospects were so much self, the other for her maid? She mended! But can there be such knows whither to come now. Many villany in men, as in this vile a little villain have I punished for principal, and equally vile agent! knowing more than I would have I am really ill- very ill-grief her know, and that by adding to and surprise, and, now I will say, her knowledge and experience. despair have overcome me! What thinkest thou, Belford, if, All, all, you have laid down as by getting hither this virago, and conjecture, appears to me now to giving cause for a lamentable be more than conjecture! letter from her to the fair fugitive, O that your mother would have I should be able to recover her? the goodness to permit me the Would she not visit that friend in presence of the only comforter her distress, thinkest thou, whose that my afflicted, my half-broken intended visit to her in hers brought her into the condition from which I love a good man. I hope one of she herself had so perfidiously these days to be a good man escaped? myself. Besides, I have heard Let me enjoy the thought! within this week something of this Shall I send this letter? honest fellow that shews he has a Thou seest I have left room, if I soul; when I thought, if he had fail in the exact imitation of so one that it lay a little of the charming a hand, to avoid too deepest to emerge to notice, exstrict a scrutiny. Do they not cept on very extraordinary ocboth deserve it of me? Seest thou casions; and that then it presently not how the raving girl threatens sunk again into its cellula adiposa. her mother? Ought she not to be The man is a plump man. punished? And can I be a worse Didst ever see him, Jack? devil, or villain, or monster, than But the principal reason that she calls me in the long letter I withholds me [for 'tis a tempting inclose (and has called me in her project!] is, for fear of being utformer letters) were I to punish terly blown up, if I should not be them both as my vengeance urges quick enough with my letter, or me to punish them? And when I if Miss Howe should deliberate on have executed that my vengeance, setting out, or try her mother's how charmingly satisfied may consent first; in which time a they both go down into the coun- letter from my frighted beauty try and keep house together, and might reach her; for I have no have a much better reason than doubt, wherever she has refuged, their pride could give them, for but her first work was to write to living the single life they have her vixen friend. I will therefore go on patiently; and take my both seemed so fond of? I will set about transcribing it revenge upon the little fury at my this moment, I think. I can re- leisure. solve afterwards. Yet what has But, in spite of my compassion poor Hickman done to deserve for Hickman, whose better chathis of me!-But gloriously would racter is sometimes my envy, and it punish the mother (as well as who is one of those mortals that daughter) for all her sordid ava- bring clumsiness into credit with rice; and for her undutifulness the mothers, to the disgrace of us to honest Mr. Howe, whose heart clever fellows, and often to our she actually broke. I am on tiptoe, disappointment with the daughters; Jack, to enter upon this project. and who has been very busy in Is not one country as good to me assisting these double-armed as another, if I should be obliged to take another tour upon it? * * * beauties against me; I swear by all the Di majores, as well as minores, that I will have Miss But I will not venture. Hick- Howe, if I cannot have her more man is a good man, they tell me. exalted friend! And then, if there be as much flaming love between be vexed; but, by my soul, I these girls as they pretend, what cannot contradict thee. will my charmer profit by her escape? - But this, Belford, I hope that if I can turn the poison of the inclosed letter into wholesome aliment; that is to say, if I can make have thy free consent to do it. use of it to my advantage; I shall And now, that I shall permit Miss Howe to reign a little longer, let me ask thee, if thou hast not, in the inclosed letter, a fresh instance, that a great many of my I am always careful to open difficulties with her sister-toast covers cautiously, and to preserve seals entire. I will draw out from are owing to this flighty girl? "Tis true, that here was naturally Nor was Nick Rowe ever half so this cursed letter an alphabet. a confounded sharp wintry air; diligent to learn Spanish, at the thrown into the path, no wonder Quixote recommendation of a certhat it was instantly frozen; and tain peer, as I will be to gain the that the poor honest traveller mastery of this vixen's hand. and if a little cold water was found it next to impossible to keep his way; one foot sliding back as fast as the other advanced, to the endangering of his limbs or neck. But yet I think it impossible, that she should LETTER V. Miss Clarissa Harlowe to Miss Howe. Thursday evening, June 8 AFTER my last, so full of other have baffled me as she has done hopes, the contents of this will (novice as she is, and never before surprise you. O my dearest friend, from under her parents' wings) the man has at last proved himself to be a villain! had she not been armed by a virago, who was formerly very near shewing, that she could better advise than practise. But this, I believe, I have said more than once before. last night, that I preserved myself It was with the utmost difficulty from the vilest dishonour. He extorted from me a promise of forgiveness, and that I would see him next day, as if nothing had I am loth to reproach myself, happened: but if it were possible now the cruel creature has escaped to escape from a wretch, who, as me; for what would that do but I have too much reason to believe, add to my torment? since evils formed a plot to fire the house, to self-caused, and avoidable, admit frighten me, almost naked, into not of palliation or comfort. And his arms, how could I see him next yet, if thou tellest me, that all her day? Heaven be - And have strength was owing to my weak- I have escaped ness, and that I have been a praised that I have! cursed coward in this whole affair; now no other concern, than that why then, Jack, I may blush, and I fly from the only hope that could have made such an husband toler- light in which it really must apable to me; the reconciliation pear to every considerate person, with my friends, so agreeably who knows it. In the first place, undertaken by my uncle. the man, who has had the asAll my present hope is, to find surance to think me, and to ensome reputable family, or person deavour to make me, his property, of my own sex, who is obliged to will hunt me from place to place, go beyond sea, or who lives and search after me as a 'stray: abroad; I care not whither; but and he knows he may do so with if I might choose, in some one of impunity; for whom have I to our American colonies never to protect me from him? be heard of more by my relations, Then as to my estate, the envied whom I have so grievously of- estate, which has been the original fended. cause of all my misfortunes, it Nor let your generous heart be shall never be mine upon litigated moved at what I write. If I can terms. What is there in being escape the dreadfullest part of enabled to boast, that I am worth my father's malediction (for the more than I can use, or wish to use? temporary part is already in a And if my power is circumscribed, manner fulfilled, which makes me I shall not have that to answer tremble in apprehension of the for, which I should have, if I did other) I shall think the wreck of my worldly fortunes a happy composition. not use it as I ought: which very few do. I shall have no husband, of whose interest I ought to be so Neither is there need of the regardful, as to prevent me doing renewal of your so often tendered more than justice to others, that I goodness to me: for I have with may not do less to him. If thereme rings and other valuables, that fore my father will be pleased (as were sent me with my clothes, I shall presume, in proper time, which will turn into money to to propose to him) to pay two ananswer all I can want, till Pro- nuities out of it, one to my dear vidence shall be pleased to put me Mrs. Norton, which may make into some way to help myself, if, her easy for the remainder of her for my further punishment, my life, as she is now growing into life is to be lengthened beyond years; the other of 50l. per annum, my wishes. to the same good woman for the Impute not this scheme, my be- use of my poor, as I have had the loved friend, either to dejection vanity to call a certain set of on one hand, or to that romantic people, concerning whom she turn on the other, which we have knows all my mind: that so as supposed generally to obtain with few as possible may suffer by the our sex, from fifteen to twenty- consequences of my error; God two: for be pleased to consider bless them, and give them heart's my unhappy situation in the ease and content, with the rest! Clarissa. III, 3 |