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"since your wife is so dishonest to you, you are too honest to her to own her for your wife; but that," said I, "is what I have nothing to do with."

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Nay," says he, "I do think to clear my hands of her, for, to be plain with you, madam," added he, "I am no contented cuckold neither; on the other hand, I assure you it provokes me to the highest degree, but I cannot help myself; she that will be a whore, will be a whore."

I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business, but I found he could not have done with it, so I let him alone, and he went on to tell me all the circumstances of his case, too long to relate here particularly, that having been abroad out of England some time before he came to the post he was in, she had had two children in the meantime by an officer of the army; and that when he came to England, and, upon her submission, took her again, and maintained her very well, yet she ran away from him with a linen-draper's apprentice; robbed him of what she could come at, and continued to live from him still; "so that, madam," says he, "she is a whore not by necessity, which is the common bait of your sex, but by inclination, and for the sake of the vice."

Well, I pitied him, and wished him well rid of her, and still would have talked of my business, but it would not do; at last he looks steadily at

me,

"Look you, madam," says he, "you came to ask advice of me, and I will serve you as faithfully as if you were my own sister; but I must turn the tables, since you oblige me to do it, and are so friendly to me, and I think I must ask advice of you; tell me what must a poor abused fellow do with a whore? What can I do to do myself justice upon her?"

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Alas! sir," says I, "it is a case too nice for me to advise in, but it seems she is run away from you, so you are rid of her fairly; what can you desire more?"

"Ay, she is gone indeed," said he, "but I am not clear of her for all that." "That's true," says I; "she may indeed run you into debt, but the law has furnished you with methods to prevent that also; you may cry her down, as they call it."

"No, no," says he, "that is not the case; have taken care of all that, 'tis not that part I speak of, but I would be rid of her, that I might marry again."

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Well, sir," says I, "then you must divorce her; if you can prove what you say, you may certainly get that done, and then, I suppose, you are free."

"That is very tedious and expensive,” says he.

"Why," says I, "if you can get any woman you like to take your word, I suppose your wife would not dispute their liberty with you that she takes herself."

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Ay," says he, "but it would be hard to bring an honest woman to do that; and for the other sort," says he, "I have had enough of her to meddle with any more whores."

It occurred to me presently, I would have taken your word with all my heart, if you had but asked me the question; but that was to myself; to him I replied, "Why, you shut the door

against any honest woman accepting you, for you condemn all that I should venture upon you at once, and conclude, that really, a woman that takes you now, cannot be honest."

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Why," says he, "I wish you would satisfy me that an honest woman would take me, would venture it," and then turns short upon me, "will you take me, madam?"

"That is not a fair question," says I, "after what you have said; however, lest you should think I wait only for a recantation of it, I shall answer you plainly, no, not I; my business is of another kind with you, and I did not expect you would have turned my serious application to you in my own distracted case into a comedy." Why, madam," says he, "my case is as distracted as yours can be, and I stand in as much need of advice as you do, for I think, if I have not relief somewhere, I shall be mad myself, and I know not what course to take, I protest to you."

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"Why, sir," says I, "it is easier to give advice in your case, much easier than it is in mine."

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Speak then," says he, "I beg of you, for now you encourage me."

"Why," says I, "if your case is so plain as you say it is, you may be legally divorced, and then you may find honest women enough to ask the question of fairly; the sex is not so scarce that you can want a wife."

"Well then," said he, "I am in earnest, I will take your advice; but shall I ask you one question seriously beforehand?"

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Any question," said I, “but that you did before."

"No, that answer will not do," said he, "for, in short, that is the question I shall ask."

"You may ask what question you please; but you have my answer to that already. Besides, sir," said I, "can you think so ill of me as that I would give any answer to such a question beforehand? Can any woman alive believe you in earnest, or think you design anything but to banter her?" 'Well, well," says he, "I do not banter you;

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I am in earnest : consider of it."

"But, sir," says I, a little gravely, "I came to you about my own business; I beg of you let me know what you will advise me to do?"

"I will be prepared," says he, " against you come again."

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Nay," says I, "you have forbid my coming any more."

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Why so," said he, and looked a little surprised.

"Because," said I, "you cannot expect I should visit you on the account you talk of."

"Well," says he, "you shall promise me to come again, however, and I will not say any more of it till I have gotten the divorce, but I desire you will prepare to be better conditioned when that is done, for you shall be the woman, or I will not be divorced at all. Why, I owe it to your unlooked-for kindness, if it were to nothing else, but I have other reasons too."

He could not have said anything in the world that pleased me better; however, I knew that the way to secure him was to stand off while the thing was so remote as it appeared to be, and

offering anything to me that was dishonourable, and if I thought so, he would choose to say no more of it.

that it was time enough to accept of it when he || his thoughts about me, and was very far from was able to perform it; so I said very respectfully to him it was time enough to consider of these things when he was in a condition to talk of them; in the meantime I told him I was going a great way from him, and he would find objects enough to please him better. We broke off here for the present, and he made me promise him to come again the next day for his resolutions upon my own business, which after some pressing I did; though, had he seen farther into me, I wanted no pressing on that account.

That part I did not relish at all. I told him I was ready to hear anything he had to say, cepending that he would say nothing unworthy of himself, or unfit for me to hear. Upon this he told me his proposal was this, that I woud marry him, though he had not yet obtained the divorce from the whore his wife; and to satisfy me that he meant honourably, he would promise I came the next evening accordingly, and not to desire me to live with him, or go to bed to brought my maid with me, to let him see that I him, till the divorce was obtained. My heart kept a maid, but I sent her away as soon as I said yes to this offer at first word, but it was was gone in. He would have had me let the necessary to play the hypocrite a little more with maid have stayed, but I would not, but ordered him, so I seemed to decline the motion with some her to come for me again about nine o'clock; but || warmth, and besides a little condemning the thing he forbid that, and told me he would see me safe as unfair, told him, that such a proposal could be home himself, which I was not very well pleased of no signification, but to entangle us both in with, supposing that he might do that to inquire great difficulties; for if he should not at last into my character and circumstances. obtain the divorce, yet we could not dissolve the marriage, neither could we proceed in it; so that, if he was disappointed in the divorce, I left him to consider what a condition we should both be in.

I told him such a thing was more rational than the other. But as this was the first time that ever I could imagine him weak enough to be in earnest in this affair, I did not choose to say yes at first asking, I would consider of it.

I played with this lover as an angler does with a trout. I found I had him fast on the hook, so I jested with his new proposal, and put him off. I told him he knew little of me, and bade him inquire about me; I let him also go home with me to my lodgings, though I would not ask him to go in, for I told him it was not decent.

However, I ventured that; for all that the people there or thereabout knew of me was to my advantage, and all the character he had of me, after he had inquired, was, that I was a woman of fortune, and that I was a very modest, In short, I carried on the argument against sober body; which, whether true or not in the this so far, that I convinced him it was not a main, yet you may see how necessary it is for all || proposal that had any sense in it. Well, then, he women who expect anything in the world to pre- went from it to another, and that was, that I serve the character of their virtue, even when would sign and seal a contract with him, condiperhaps they may have sacrificed the thing itself. tioning to marry him as soon as the divorce I found, and was not a little pleased with it, was obtained, and to be void if he could not obthat he had provided a supper for me: I found tain it. also he lived very handsomely, and had a house very handsomely furnished, all which I was rejoiced at indeed, for I looked upon it as all my own. We had now a second conference upon the subject matter of the last conference. He laid his business very home indeed; he protested his affection to me, and indeed I had no room to doubt it. He declared that it began from the first moment I talked with him, and long before I had mentioned leaving my effects with him. It is no matter when it begun, thought I, if it will but hold it will be well enough. He then told me how much the offer I had made of trusting him with my effects, and leaving them to him, had engaged him; so I intended it should, thought I, but then I thought you had been a single man too. After we had supped, I observed he pressed me very hard to drink two or three glasses of wine, which, however, I declined; but drank one glass or two. He then said he had a proposal to make to me, which I should promise him I would not take ill, if I should not grant it. I told him I hoped he would make no dishonourable proposal to me, especially in his own house; and that if it was such, I desired he would not propose it, that I might not be obliged to offer any resentment to him that did not become the respect I professed for him, and the trust I had placed in him in coming to his house; and begged of him he would give me leave to go away, and accordingly began to put on my gloves and prepare to be gone, though, at the same time, I no more intended it than he in-count of it, I would come up to London, and tended to let me.

Well, he importuned me not to talk of going; he assured me he had no dishonourable thing in

In a word, I ventured to avoid signing a contract, and the reason why I did it was, because the lady that had invited me to go with her into Lancashire insisted so positively upon it, and promised me such great fortunes and fine things there, that I was tempted to go and try. "Perhaps," said I, "I may mend myself very much;" and then I made no scruple of quitting my ho nest citizen, who I was not so much in love with as not to leave him for a richer."

In a word, I avoided signing the contract; but told him I would go into the north, that he should know where to write to me on the business I had entrusted with him; that I would give him a sufficient pledge of my respect for him, for I would leave almost all I had in the world in his hands; and I would thus far give him my word, that as soon as he had sued out a divorce from his first wife, if he would send me an ac

that then we would talk seriously of the matter. It was a base design I went with, that I must confess, though I was invited thither with a design

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much worse than mine was, as the sequel will discover.

Well, I went with my friend, as I called her, into Lancashire. All the way we went she caressed me with the utmost appearance of a sincere, undissembled affection; treated me, except my coach hire, all the way; and her brother brought a gentleman's coach to Warrington to receive us, and we were carried from thence to Liverpool with as much ceremony as I could desire. We were also entertained at a merchant's house in Liverpool three or four days very handsomely. I forbear to tell his name, because of what followed. Then she told me she would carry me to an uncle's house of hers, where we should be nobly entertained. She did so; her uncle, as she called him, sent a coach and four horses for us, and we were carried near forty miles, I know not whither.

We came, however, to a gentleman's seat, where was a numerous family, a large park, extraordinary company indeed, and where she was called cousin. I told her if she had resolved to bring me into such company as this, she should have let me have prepared myself, and have furnished myself with better clothes. The ladies took notice of that, and told me very genteelly,|| they did not value people in their country so much by their clothes as they did in London; that their cousin had fully informed them of my quality, and that I did not want clothes to set me off. In short, they entertained me not like what I was, but like what they thought I had|| been, namely, a widow, a lady of a great for

tune.

The first discovery I made here was, that the family were all Roman Catholics, and the cousin too. Nothing in the world could behave better to me, and I had all the civility shown me that I could have had if I had been of their opinion. The truth is, I had not so much principle of any kind as to be nice in point of religion, and I presently learned to speak favourably of the Romish Church; particularly, I told them I saw little but the prejudice of education in all the differences that were among Christians about religion, and if it had so happened that my father had been a Roman Catholic, I doubted not that I should have been as well pleased with their religion as my own.

This obliged them in the highest degree, and as I was besieged day and night with good company and pleasant discourse, so I had two or three old ladies that lay at me on the subject of religion too. I was so complaisant, that though I would not completely engage, yet I made no scruple to be present at their mass, and to conform to all their gestures as they showed me the pattern; but I would not come too cheap, so that I only in the main encouraged them to expect I would turn Roman Catholic if I was instructed in the Catholic doctrine, as they called it, and so the matter rested.

I stayed here about six weeks; and then my conductor led me back to a country village about six miles from Liverpool, where her brother, as she called him, came to visit me in his own chariot, and in a very good figure, with two footmen in a good livery, and the next thing was to make love to me. As it had happened to me,

one would think I could not have been cheated, and, indeed, I thought, so myself, having a safe card at home, which I resolved not to quit unless I could mend myself very much. However, in all appearance, this brother was a match worth listening to; and the least his estate was valued at was a thousand a year, but the sister said it was worth fifteen hundred a year, and lay most of it in Ireland.

I, that was a great fortune, and passed for such, was above being asked how much my estate was; and my false friend, taking it upon a foolish hearsay, had raised it from five hundred to five thousand, and by the time she came into the country she called it fifteen thousand. The Irishman, for such I understood him to be, was stark mad at this bait. In short, he courted me, made me presents, and run in debt like a madman for the expenses of his equipage and of his courtship. He had, to give him his due, the appearance of an extraordinary fine gentleinan; he was tall, well-shaped, and had an extraordinary address; talked as naturally of his park and his stables, of his horses, his game-keepers, his woods, his tenants, and his servants, as if we had been in the mansion-house, and I had seen them all about me.

He never so much as asked me about my fortune or estate; but he assured me that when we came to Dublin he would jointure me in six hundred pounds a year in good land; and that he would enter into a deed of settlement, or contract here, for the performance of it.

This was such language, indeed, as I had not been used to, and I was here beaten out of all my measures. I had a she devil in my bosom, every hour telling me how great her brother lived. One time she would come for my orders, how I would have my coaches painted and how lined; and another time what clothes my page should wear. In short, my eyes were dazzled, I had now lost my power of saying no, and, to cut the story short, I consented to be married; but, to be the more private, we were carried farther into the country, and married by a Romish clergyman, which I was assured would marry us as effectually as a church of England (par

son.

I cannot say but I had some reflections in this affair, upon the dishonourable forsaking my faithful citizen; who loved me sincerely, and who was endeavouring to quit himself of a scandalous whore, by whom he had been indeed barbarously used, and promised himself infinite happiness in his new choice; which choice was now giving up herself to another in a manner almost as scandalous as hers could be.

But the glittering show of a great estate, and of fine things, which the deceived creature that was now my deceiver represented every hour to my imagination, hurried me away and gave me no time to think of London, or of anything there, much less of the obligation I had to a person of infinitely more real merit than what was now before me.

But the thing was done, I was now in the arms of my new spouse, who appeared still the same as before; great even to magnificence, and nothing less than 10001. a year could support the ordinary equipage he appeared in.

After we had been married about a month he began to talk of my going to West Chester, in order to embark for Ireland. However, he did not hurry me, for we stayed near three weeks longer, and then he sent to Chester for a coach to meet us at the Black Rock, as they called it, over against Liverpool. Thither we went in a fine boat they call a pinnace, with six oars, his servants, and horses, and baggage going in the ferry-boat. He made his excuse to me, that he had no acquaintance at Chester, but he would go before and get some handsome apartment for me at a private house. I asked him how long we should stay at Chester? He said, not at all any longer than one night or two, but he would immediately hire a coach to go to Holyhead. Then I told him he should by no means give himself the trouble to get private lodgings for one night or two, for that Chester being a great place, I made no doubt but that there would be very good inns and accommodation enough; so we lodged at an inn in the West street, not far from the cathedral, I forget what sign it was at. Here my spouse, talking of my going to Ireland, asked me if I had no affairs to settle at London before we went off. I told him no, not of any great consequence, but what might be done as well by letters from Dublin. "Madam," says he, very respectfully, "I suppose the greatest part of your estate, which my sister tells me is most of in money in the Bank of England, lies secure enough; but in case it be required transferring, or any way altering its property, it might be necessary to go up to London, and settle those things before we went over.

I seemed to look strange at it, and told him I knew not what he meant; that I had no effects in the Bank of England that I knew of, and I hoped he could not say that I had ever told him had.

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No," he said. "I had not told him so, but his sister had said the greatest part of my estate lay there. And I only mentioned it, my dear," said he, "that if there was any occasion to settle it, or order anything about it, we might not be obliged to the hazard and trouble of another voyage back again," for, he added, that he did not care to venture me too much upon the sea.

I was surprised at this talk, and began to consider very seriously what the meaning of it must be; and it presently occurred to me that my friend, who called him brother, had represented me in colours which were not my due; and I thought, since it was come to that pitch, that I would know the bottom of it before I went out of England, and before I should put myself into I knew not whose hands, in a strange country.

Upon this I called his sister into my chamber the next morning, and letting her know the discourse her brother and I had been upon the evening before, I conjured her to tell me what she had said to him, and upon what foot it was that she had made this marriage.

She owned that she had told him that I was a great fortune, and said that she was told so in London.

"Told so " says I, warmly; "did I ever tell

you so ?"

"No," she said, "it was true I did not tell her so,

but I had said several times that what I had was in my own disposal."

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"I did so," returned I, very quickly and hastily, "but I never told you I had anything called a fortune, no, not that I had 1001. or the value of 100%. in the world; and how did it consist with my being a fortune," said I, "that should come here into the north of England with you, only upon the account of living cheap?"

At these words, which I spoke warm, and sighed, my husband, and her brother, as she called him, came into the room; and I desired him to come and sit down, for I had something of moment to say before them both, which it was absolutely necessary he should hear.

He looked a little disturbed at the assurance with which I seemed to speak it, and came and sat down by me, having first shut the door; upon which I began, for I was very much provoked, and turning myself to him,

"I am afraid," says 1, "my dear," for I spoke with kindness on his side, "that you have a very great abuse put upon you, and an injury done you never to be repaired, in your marrying Ime, which, however, as I have had no hand in it, I desire I may be fairly acquitted of it; and that the blame may lie where it ought to lie and nowhere else, for I wash my hands of every part of it."

"What injury can be done me, my dear," says he, "in marrying you? I hope it is to my honour and advantage every way.'

"I will soon explain it to you," says I, “and I fear you will have no reason to think yourself well used. But I will convince you, my dear," says I again, “that I have had no hand in it," and there I stopped awhile.

He looked now scared and wild, and began, I believe, to suspect what followed; however, looking towards me, and saying only, “Go on," 1 he sat silent, as if to hear what I had more to say; so I went on.

"I asked you last night," said 1, speaking to him, "if ever I made any boast to you of my estate, or ever told you I had any estate in the Bank of England, or anywhere else, and you owned I had not, as is most true; and I desire you will tell me here, before your sister, if ever I gave you any reason from me to think so, or that ever we had any discourse about it ;" and he owned again I had not; but said, I had appeared always as a woman of fortune, and he depended on it that I was so, and hoped he was not deceived.

"I am not inquiring yet whether you have been deceived or not," said I; "I fear you have, and I too; but I am clearing myself from the unjust charge of being concerned in deceiving you. I have been now asking your sister if ever I told her of any fortune or estate I had, or gave her any particulars of it, and she owns I never did. And pray, madam," said I, turning myself to her, "be so just to me, before your brother, to charge me, if you can, if ever I pre tended to you that I had an estate; why, if I had, should I come down into this country with you on purpose to spare that little I had, and live cheap?"

She could not deny one word, but said she

had been told in London that I had a very great fortune, and that it lay in the Bank of England.

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And now, dear sir," said I, turning myself to my new spouse again, "be so just to me as to tell me who has abused both you and me so much as to make you believe I was a fortune, and prompt you to court me to this marriage?"

He could not speak a word, but pointed to her, and after some more pause flew out in the most furious passion that ever I saw a man in my life; cursing her and calling her all the whores and hard names he could think of; and that she had ruined him, declaring that she had|| told him I had fifteen thousand pounds, and that she was to have five hundred pounds of him for procuring this match for him." He then added, directing his speech to me, that she was no sister of his, but had been his whore for two years before; that she had had one hundred pounds of him in part of this bargain, and that he was utterly undone if things were as I said; and in his raving he swore he would let her heart's blood out immediately, which frighted her and me too.

that I saw nothing before us but ruin; for as to me, it was my unhappiness that what little I had was not able to relieve us for a week, and with that I pulled out a bank bill of twenty pounds, and eleven guineas, which I told him I had saved out of my little income; and that by the account that creature had given me of the way of living in that country, I expected it would maintain me three or four years; that if it was taken from me I should be left destitute, and he knew what the condition of a woman among strangers must be if she had no money in her pocket. However, I told him if he would take it, there it was.

He told me with a great concern, and I thought I saw tears stand in his eyes, that he would not touch it, that he abhorred the thoughts of stripping me and making me miserable; that on the contrary, he had fifty guineas left, which was all he had in the world, and he pulled it out and threw it down on the table, bidding me take it, though he were to starve for the want of it.

I returned, with the same concern for him, that I could not bear to hear him talk so; that on the contrary, if he could propose any probable method of living, I would do any thing that became me on my part, and that I would live as close and as narrow as he could desire. He begged of me to talk no more at that he was bred a gentleman, though he was reduced to a low fortune; and that there was but one way left which he could think of, and that would not do unless I could answer him one question, which however, he said he would not press me to. I told him I would answer it honestly; whether it would be to his satisfaction or no, that I could not tell.

She cried, said she had been told so in the house where I lodged; but this aggravated him more than before, that she should put so far upon him, and run things such a length upon no other authority than a hearsay; and then turn-rate, for it would make him distracted; he said ing to me again, said very honestly, he was afraid we were both undone; "for to be plain, my dear, I have no estate," says he, "what little I had, this devil has made me run out in waiting on you, in putting me into this equipage." She took the opportunity of his being earnest in talking with me, and got out of the room, and I

never saw her more.

I was confounded now as much as he, and knew not what to say; I thought many ways that I had the worst of it, but his saying he was undone, and that he had no estate neither, put me into a mere distraction.

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Why," says I to him, "this has been a hellish juggle, for we are married here upon a double fraud; you are undone by the disappointment, it seems, and if I had had a fortune I had been cheated too, for you say you have nothing."

"You would indeed have been cheated, my dear," says he," but you would not have been undone, for fifteen thousand pounds would have maintained us handsomely in this country; and I assure you," added he, "I had resolved to have dedicated every groat of it to you; I would not have wronged you of a shilling, and the rest I would have made up in my affection to you, and tenderness of you, as long as I lived."

This was very honest indeed, and I really believe he spoke as he intended, and that he was a man that was as well qualified to make me happy, as to his temper and behaviour, as any man ever was; but his having no estate, and being run in debt on this ridiculous account in the country, made all the prospect dismal and dreadful, and I knew not what to say, or what to think of myself.

I told him it was very unhappy, that so much love, and so much good nature, as I discovered in him, should be thus precipitated into misery;

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Why then, my dear, tell me plainly," says he, "will the little you have keep us together in any figure, or in any station or place, or will it not ?"

It was my happiness hitherto that I had not discovered myself, or my circumstances at all. No, not so much as my name; and seeing there was nothing to be expected from him, however good humoured, and however honest he seemed to be, but to live on what I knew would soon be wasted, I resolved to conceal every thing but the bank bill and the eleven guineas which I had owned; and I would have been very glad to have lost that, and have been set down where he took me up. I had, indeed, another bank bill about me of thirty pounds, which was the whole of what I brought with me, as well to subsist on in the country, as not knowing what might offer; because this creature, the gobetween that had thus betrayed us both, had made me believe strange things of marrying to my advantage in the country, and I was not willing to be without money whatever might happen. This bill I concealed, and that made me freer of the rest, in consideration of his circumstances, for I really pitied him heartily.

But to return to his question; I told him I never willingly deceived him, and I never would. I was very sorry to tell him that the little I had would not subsist us; that it was not sufficient to subsist me alone in the south country; and that this was the reason that made me put

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