Chapter iii.
A further explanation of the foregoing design.
Though the reader may have long since concluded Lady Bellaston to be amember (and no inconsiderable one) of the great world; she was inreality a very considerable member of the little world; by whichappellation was distinguished a very worthy and honourable societywhich not long since flourished in this kingdom.
Among other good principles upon which this society was founded, therewas one very remarkable; for, as it was a rule of an honourable clubof heroes, who assembled at the close of the late war, that all themembers should every day fight once at least; so 'twas in this, thatevery member should, within the twenty-four hours, tell at least onemerry fib, which was to be propagated by all the brethren andsisterhood.
Many idle stories were told about this society, which from a certainquality may be, perhaps not unjustly, supposed to have come from thesociety themselves. As, that the devil was the president; and that hesat in person in an elbow-chair at the upper end of the table; but,upon very strict enquiry, I find there is not the least truth in anyof those tales, and that the assembly consisted in reality of a set ofvery good sort of people, and the fibs which they propagated were of aharmless kind, and tended only to produce mirth and good humour.
Edwards was likewise a member of this comical society. To himtherefore Lady Bellaston applied as a proper instrument for herpurpose, and furnished him with a fib, which he was to vent wheneverthe lady gave him her cue; and this was not to be till the evening,when all the company but Lord Fellamar and himself were gone, andwhile they were engaged in a rubber at whist.
To this time then, which was between seven and eight in the evening,we will convey our reader; when Lady Bellaston, Lord Fellamar, MissWestern, and Tom, being engaged at whist, and in the last game oftheir rubbers, Tom received his cue from Lady Bellaston, which was, "Iprotest, Tom, you are grown intolerable lately; you used to tell usall the news of the town, and now you know no more of the world thanif you lived out of it."
Mr Edwards then began as follows: "The fault is not mine, madam: itlies in the dulness of the age, that doth nothing worth talkingof.----O la! though now I think on't there hath a terrible accidentbefallen poor Colonel Wilcox.----Poor Ned.----You know him, my lord,everybody knows him; faith! I am very much concerned for him."
"What is it, pray?" says Lady Bellaston.
"Why, he hath killed a man this morning in a duel, that's all."
His lordship, who was not in the secret, asked gravely, whom he hadkilled? To which Edwards answered, "A young fellow we none of us know;a Somersetshire lad just came to town, one Jones his name is; a nearrelation of one Mr Allworthy, of whom your lordship I believe hathheard. I saw the lad lie dead in a coffee-house.--Upon my soul, he isone of the finest corpses I ever saw in my life!"
Sophia, who had just began to deal as Tom had mentioned that a man waskilled, stopt her hand, and listened with attention (for all storiesof that kind affected her), but no sooner had he arrived at the latterpart of the story than she began to deal again; and having dealt threecards to one, and seven to another, and ten to a third, at last droptthe rest from her hand, and fell back in her chair.
The company behaved as usually on these occasions. The usualdisturbance ensued, the usual assistance was summoned, and Sophia atlast, as it is usual, returned again to life, and was soon after, ather earnest desire, led to her own apartment; where, at my lord'srequest, Lady Bellaston acquainted her with the truth, attempted tocarry it off as a jest of her own, and comforted her with repeatedassurances, that neither his lordship nor Tom, though she had taughthim the story, were in the true secret of the affair.
There was no farther evidence necessary to convince Lord Fellamar howjustly the case had been represented to him by Lady Bellaston; andnow, at her return into the room, a scheme was laid between these twonoble persons, which, though it appeared in no very heinous light tohis lordship (as he faithfully promised, and faithfully resolved too,to make the lady all the subsequent amends in his power by marriage),yet many of our readers, we doubt not, will see with just detestation.
The next evening at seven was appointed for the fatal purpose, whenLady Bellaston undertook that Sophia should be alone, and his lordshipshould be introduced to her. The whole family were to be regulated forthe purpose, most of the servants despatched out of the house; and forMrs Honour, who, to prevent suspicion, was to be left with hermistress till his lordship's arrival, Lady Bellaston herself was toengage her in an apartment as distant as possible from the scene ofthe intended mischief, and out of the hearing of Sophia.
Matters being thus agreed on, his lordship took his leave, and herladyship retired to rest, highly pleased with a project, of which shehad no reason to doubt the success, and which promised so effectuallyto remove Sophia from being any further obstruction to her amour withJones, by a means of which she should never appear to be guilty, evenif the fact appeared to the world; but this she made no doubt ofpreventing by huddling up a marriage, to which she thought theravished Sophia would easily be brought to consent, and at which allthe rest of her family would rejoice.
But affairs were not in so quiet a situation in the bosom of the otherconspirator; his mind was tost in all the distracting anxiety so noblydescribed by Shakespear--
"Between the acting of a dreadful thing, And the first motion, all the interim is Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream; The genius and the mortal instruments Are then in council; and the state of man, Like to a little kingdom, suffers then The nature of an insurrection."----
Though the violence of his passion had made him eagerly embrace thefirst hint of this design, especially as it came from a relation ofthe lady, yet when that friend to reflection, a pillow, had placed theaction itself in all its natural black colours before his eyes, withall the consequences which must, and those which might probably attendit, his resolution began to abate, or rather indeed to go over to theother side; and after a long conflict, which lasted a whole night,between honour and appetite, the former at length prevailed, and hedetermined to wait on Lady Bellaston, and to relinquish the design.
Lady Bellaston was in bed, though very late in the morning, and Sophiasitting by her bed-side, when the servant acquainted her that LordFellamar was below in the parlour; upon which her ladyship desired himto stay, and that she would see him presently; but the servant was nosooner departed than poor Sophia began to intreat her cousin not toencourage the visits of that odious lord (so she called him, though alittle unjustly) upon her account. "I see his design," said she; "forhe made downright love to me yesterday morning; but as I am resolvednever to admit it, I beg your ladyship not to leave us alone togetherany more, and to order the servants that, if he enquires for me, I maybe always denied to him."
"La! child," says Lady Bellaston, "you country girls have nothing butsweethearts in your head; you fancy every man who is civil to you ismaking love. He is one of the most gallant young fellows about town,and I am convinced means no more than a little gallantry. Make love toyou indeed! I wish with all my heart he would, and you must be anarrant mad woman to refuse him."
"But as I shall certainly be that mad woman," cries Sophia, "I hopehis visits shall not be intruded upon me."
"O child!" said Lady Bellaston, "you need not be so fearful; if youresolve to run away with that Jones, I know no person who can hinderyou."
"Upon my honour, madam," cries Sophia, "your ladyship injures me. Iwill never run away with any man; nor will I ever marry contrary to myfather's inclinations."
"Well, Miss Western," said the lady, "if you are not in a humour tosee company this morning, you may retire to your own apartment; for Iam not frightened at his lordship, and must send for him up into mydressing-room."
Sophia thanked her ladyship, and withdrew; and presently afterwardsFellamar was admitted upstairs.