Chapter iii.
An odd accident which befel Mr Allworthy at his return home. Thedecent behaviour of Mrs Deborah Wilkins, with some properanimadversions on bastards.
I have told my reader, in the preceding chapter, that Mr Allworthyinherited a large fortune; that he had a good heart, and no family.Hence, doubtless, it will be concluded by many that he lived like anhonest man, owed no one a shilling, took nothing but what was his own,kept a good house, entertained his neighbours with a hearty welcome athis table, and was charitable to the poor, i.e. to those who hadrather beg than work, by giving them the offals from it; that he diedimmensely rich and built an hospital.
And true it is that he did many of these things; but had he donenothing more I should have left him to have recorded his own merit onsome fair freestone over the door of that hospital. Matters of a muchmore extraordinary kind are to be the subject of this history, or Ishould grossly mis-spend my time in writing so voluminous a work; andyou, my sagacious friend, might with equal profit and pleasure travelthrough some pages which certain droll authors have been facetiouslypleased to call _The History of England_.
Mr Allworthy had been absent a full quarter of a year in London, onsome very particular business, though I know not what it was; butjudge of its importance by its having detained him so long from home,whence he had not been absent a month at a time during the space ofmany years. He came to his house very late in the evening, and after ashort supper with his sister, retired much fatigued to his chamber.Here, having spent some minutes on his knees--a custom which he neverbroke through on any account--he was preparing to step into bed, when,upon opening the cloathes, to his great surprize he beheld an infant,wrapt up in some coarse linen, in a sweet and profound sleep, betweenhis sheets. He stood some time lost in astonishment at this sight;but, as good nature had always the ascendant in his mind, he soonbegan to be touched with sentiments of compassion for the littlewretch before him. He then rang his bell, and ordered an elderlywoman-servant to rise immediately, and come to him; and in themeantime was so eager in contemplating the beauty of innocence,appearing in those lively colours with which infancy and sleep alwaysdisplay it, that his thoughts were too much engaged to reflect that hewas in his shirt when the matron came in. She had indeed given hermaster sufficient time to dress himself; for out of respect to him,and regard to decency, she had spent many minutes in adjusting herhair at the looking-glass, notwithstanding all the hurry in which shehad been summoned by the servant, and though her master, for aught sheknew, lay expiring in an apoplexy, or in some other fit.
It will not be wondered at that a creature who had so strict a regardto decency in her own person, should be shocked at the least deviationfrom it in another. She therefore no sooner opened the door, and sawher master standing by the bedside in his shirt, with a candle in hishand, than she started back in a most terrible fright, and mightperhaps have swooned away, had he not now recollected his beingundrest, and put an end to her terrors by desiring her to stay withoutthe door till he had thrown some cloathes over his back, and wasbecome incapable of shocking the pure eyes of Mrs Deborah Wilkins,who, though in the fifty-second year of her age, vowed she had neverbeheld a man without his coat. Sneerers and prophane wits may perhapslaugh at her first fright; yet my graver reader, when he considers thetime of night, the summons from her bed, and the situation in whichshe found her master, will highly justify and applaud her conduct,unless the prudence which must be supposed to attend maidens at thatperiod of life at which Mrs Deborah had arrived, should a littlelessen his admiration.
When Mrs Deborah returned into the room, and was acquainted by hermaster with the finding the little infant, her consternation wasrather greater than his had been; nor could she refrain from cryingout, with great horror of accent as well as look, "My good sir! what'sto be done?" Mr Allworthy answered, she must take care of the childthat evening, and in the morning he would give orders to provide it anurse. "Yes, sir," says she; "and I hope your worship will send outyour warrant to take up the hussy its mother, for she must be one ofthe neighbourhood; and I should be glad to see her committed toBridewell, and whipt at the cart's tail. Indeed, such wicked slutscannot be too severely punished. I'll warrant 'tis not her first, byher impudence in laying it to your worship." "In laying it to me,Deborah!" answered Allworthy: "I can't think she hath any such design.I suppose she hath only taken this method to provide for her child;and truly I am glad she hath not done worse." "I don't know what isworse," cries Deborah, "than for such wicked strumpets to lay theirsins at honest men's doors; and though your worship knows your owninnocence, yet the world is censorious; and it hath been many anhonest man's hap to pass for the father of children he never begot;and if your worship should provide for the child, it may make thepeople the apter to believe; besides, why should your worship providefor what the parish is obliged to maintain? For my own part, if it wasan honest man's child, indeed--but for my own part, it goes against meto touch these misbegotten wretches, whom I don't look upon as myfellow-creatures. Faugh! how it stinks! It doth not smell like aChristian. If I might be so bold to give my advice, I would have itput in a basket, and sent out and laid at the churchwarden's door. Itis a good night, only a little rainy and windy; and if it was wellwrapt up, and put in a warm basket, it is two to one but it lives tillit is found in the morning. But if it should not, we have dischargedour duty in taking proper care of it; and it is, perhaps, better forsuch creatures to die in a state of innocence, than to grow up andimitate their mothers; for nothing better can be expected of them."
There were some strokes in this speech which perhaps would haveoffended Mr Allworthy, had he strictly attended to it; but he had nowgot one of his fingers into the infant's hand, which, by its gentlepressure, seeming to implore his assistance, had certainly out-pleadedthe eloquence of Mrs Deborah, had it been ten times greater than itwas. He now gave Mrs Deborah positive orders to take the child to herown bed, and to call up a maid-servant to provide it pap, and otherthings, against it waked. He likewise ordered that proper cloathesshould be procured for it early in the morning, and that it should bebrought to himself as soon as he was stirring.
Such was the discernment of Mrs Wilkins, and such the respect she boreher master, under whom she enjoyed a most excellent place, that herscruples gave way to his peremptory commands; and she took the childunder her arms, without any apparent disgust at the illegality of itsbirth; and declaring it was a sweet little infant, walked off with itto her own chamber.
Allworthy here betook himself to those pleasing slumbers which a heartthat hungers after goodness is apt to enjoy when thoroughly satisfied.As these are possibly sweeter than what are occasioned by any otherhearty meal, I should take more pains to display them to the reader,if I knew any air to recommend him to for the procuring such anappetite.