IX. Letters from Emerance to Lucy. Tranflated from the French of Madame Le Prince de Beaumont. In II Vols. 12mo. Pr. 55. Nourfe. TH HE hiftories contained in thefe Letters are fo various and complicated, if not confused, that they scarcely admit of our giving even their outlines. The two ladies mentioned in the title-page appear as the heroines of the fable. Lucy marries the old marquis de Villeneuve preferably to his fon, who proves to be a rake and a fcoundrel, and fhe is happy in her choice. The hiftory of Emerance contains the very quinteffence of romance-Unus et alter-affuitur pannus.-There is not an incident that ever fell from the pen of Scudery, Behn, Richardfon, Fielding, and all the numerous tribe of romancers and novelifts, which does not prefent itself in fome shape of other within the compass of these two volumes; but, to the praife of the author be it faid, they are fo judiciously introduced, and fo artfully difguifed, that it is with difficulty we know them again. The fummary of Emerance's hiftory is as follows: She was the only daughter of a poor nobleman, who left her mother a widow. While Emerance was very young, he was preffed by her mother to marry an ugly old fellow, one de Marfin. From this match, however, the was privately diffuaded by a faithful nurfe, who had a daughter about fixteen that lived in a convent, This daughter is fent for to be a companion to Emerance, to whom he is introduced under the name of Annet; and Emerance is wonderfully delighted with her company. To avoid the odious marriage, the two friends make an elopement; but this fame Annet proves to be the young marquis of Sainville, who had feen and fallen in love with Emerance, and had prevailed with the nurfe to introduce him to her as her daughter. When the two fugitives were out of danger, Sainville, whofe father was a man of high quality, acknowleges his impofture, marries Emerance, and carries her to refide at Paris till his father fhould be reconciled to the match. They lived there very retiredly; Sainville improv'd himself wonderfully in his learning; the life of the young couple was extremely happy; but Sainville durft not divulge his marriage to his father, who was a very inflexible man, and lived at Turin. In the mean while, Emerance is brought to bed of a daughter; and now comes the hurlothrumbo part of the ftory, which the fair author fhall relate in her own words. More than two years paffed rapidly away, and Sainville, to move his father's compaffion in my behalf, determined to prefent prefent my daughter to him. I had not the fortitude to agree to this I thought if I ft fight of my child, that I fhould be totally deprived of it, and he could not prevail upon me to give it up. He was then obliged to take other measures. He had a refpectable friend at Paris, in whom the old marquis placed an entire confidence; and he undertook to bring him over to our intereft. This friend was one of thofe fenfible philofophers who value vulgar opinions as they deferve to be valued. Far from feeking to mortify Sainville by unfeafonable reproaches (as there could be no other remedy for the evil, if it was an evil, than the annulling of a marriage which this worthy friend thought to be valid in the fight of God) he gave him, all the confolation in his power, and defired to fee me. After fome vifits, he told me, at parting, that I was fuch a woman as he would wish for his own fon if he had one, and that his impatience to confirm, and fecure our union, would engage him to take a journey to Turin to reconcile the marquis to a fault which was attended with fuch agreeable confequences. However confolatory these promifes might have been, we faw him depart with terrour, and waited with trembling the event of his negotiations. Sometimes we flattered ourselves that we vere on the brink of happiness ; at others we thought we heard an angry judge reproach us for rebelling against the facred authority of parents. Alas! my friend! it was not from that quarter the dreadful accidents were to come which overwhelmed me in those misfortunes of which I have not yet feen the end. • You remember I had taken a nurfe for my daughter. This woman was fo well-natured, and fo fond of the child, that I was unwilling to wean the little creature, which (for reasons not unknown to you) we called Annette. Befides the goodness of her difpofition, this nurse was a very agreeable woman. Her hufband, who was a man of bad conduct, had run in debt, and left her in great mifery; the was fo grateful for the little kindneffes the had received from me, that she was quite happy when The found fhe was to continue with the child. But not many days had paffed before fhe came to me with tears in her eyes, and defired to be difmiffed. Surprised at her tears and her requeft, after the fatisfaction she had expressed, I infifted on knowing the occafion of this. She made fome difficulties, but finding that I fhould accufe her of ingratitude, fhe told me that for fome months fhe had been expofed to the importunities of Dubois. The wretch having loft all hope of gaining her by kindness, had recourfe to violence: but as he was a stout woman, the escaped his brutality, and bore on her face the marks of his violence; for it had been covered with blood. My hufband, who I acquainted with the crime of his valet de chamVOL. XXI. June, 1756. Ff bre, bre, was justly irritated at the attempt, and forgetting that a mafter lofes the right of correcting a fervant, whom he has made the minifter and confidant of his paffions, he reproached Dubois for his impudence, and threatened to difmifs him. The valet infolently anfwered, that he had as much right to gratify himself as his master, that I was nothing more than his mistress, and that his pretended marriage with me was nothing but a farce, which did not diftinguish me from other kept women: for, added he, your father will confider and treat it as fuch, when he shall be acquainted with your conduct. • Upon any other occafion, the fear of this villain's discoveries might have prevailed on Sainville to ftifle his refentment, but he had the fame day received a letter from his friend, in which he informed him, that he had overcome the marquis's anger; and that he had defired to be acquainted with the real circumftances of this adventure-That, in confequence of this, he fhould go himself to Nice, to get intelligence concerning my family and elopement; and if, faid this worthy friend, you have told me nothing but the truth, we fhall have a meeting at Paris, where you will receive your dear Emerance from the hand of your father. Sainville, affured of the marquis's indulgence, did not reftrain his anger against Dubois, but drove him out immediately, without troubling himself about his infolent menaces. A fecond letter informed us, that the marquis, fatisfied with the informations he had received, confented to our union, and that we should fee him in a few days. This news was received with transport, and my husband being defirous that my first appearance fhould be ftriking, would have me magnificently dreffed. It was about the time of St. Laurence's fair, and I had determined to go to the palace to make choice of fome drefles for myfelf and for my daughter-The marquis proposed that we fhould take the fair in our way from the pa lace, and I agreed to it. As he would not have me appear in public before the arrival of his father, he put up the blinds of the coach we had hired for these two expeditions; and, upon our arrival at the fair, we ordered the coachman to wait. We ftaid an hour at the fair, and when we returned it was impoffible to find him. After he had been feveral times called, we got into another hackney coach that had plied us, and drew up the blinds, not for fear of being feen, for it was now growing dark, but because the evening was cold; and as it was a long way to Vaugirard street, we were not surprised to be fo long upon the road. At the fame time, we were so taken up with the marquis's arrival, whom we expected in three days, that we did not at firft perceive that the coach was got off the ftones. My chambermaid, who accompanied us, made the obfervation obfervation. The marquis opened one of the windows, and perceived through the dusk fome men on horseback, who threatened to fhoot him in the coach, if he made the leaft motion. At first, he thought that they were robbers, and offered them all he had about him. It is not your purfe that we want, faid one of them; be still, or the life of your lady is at stake. Nothing but a menace of that kind was capable of making Sainville acquiefce; for, otherwife, he would not have regarded the danger. We went on about a quarter of an hour, and then our escort made the chambermaid alight, and left her in the middle of the road. Two men mafqued then got into the coach, and renewed their menaces, fwearing that they would fire upon me, if we spoke a single word. We perceived that they had put fresh horfes to the carriage by the expedition with which we travelled all night. During this whole time our attendants did not utter a fingle word. But when the break of the day difcovered me half dead in the arms of the marquis, they defired me to take courage, and affured me I should come to no harm. About five in the morning we ftopped at a byehouse, where we were offered fome refreshments. I have not told you what I fuffered during that cruel night: but you may fuppofe it, and, at prefent, I dare fay that you experience fome part of thofe pains and anxieties I then felt. The greatest of all was that I could not speak to my husband-He preffed me all along to his bofom, and I perceived his heart beat in fo violent a manner, that I thought it would have burst through his breaft. All the comfort and encouragement that embraces could give he gave me. I at first refufed what was offered me in the house where we ftopped; but a look from Sainville giving me to understand that we should not fink under our misfortunes, I took fome nourishment: this feemed to fatisfy our attendants, one of whom affured me, that they had no orders to attempt our lives, unless we should oblige them to use violent measures, and that we were at liberty to fpeak. They afterwards conducted us to a kind of barn, where, having fecured the door, they left us. Even this little confolation was fomething: after mutually deploring our diftrefs, we naturally confidered who could be the authors of this violence. Had I been carried off alone, I should have been afraid that one of thofe wretches who ftop at nothing to gratify their appetite, had marked me for his prey; but then they had retained my hufband, whom they could have difiniffed as easily as they did my chambermaid. This circumftance confounded us; and we then concluded that the marquis de Sainville had deceived his friend, and had pretended to forgive his fon only to make his revenge, more fure. A long imprisonment in order to extort our confent to the diffolution of our marriage, we thought was the worst we had to fear. Our conftancy offered us a certain remedy; fince it would weary out the cruelty of our perfecutor. These reflections would have afforded us fome confolation, had not the fate of our child created those miferable anxieties which nothing could appeafe, and which cannot be conceived till they are felt. You, my dear Lucy, will foon become a mother, and you will then have an idea of what we suffered. What should become of that poor infant? The barbarous man who tore it from our tenderness, would he have any pity for a child of his own offspring? Would it not be facrificed as an obstacle to his deteftable defigns? This was a circumftance in which we could find no confolation, and this alone was the painful object of our thoughts, during the five days, or rather the five nights, of our dreadful journey; for at day-break we were always conveyed into bye-places, where they moft commonly kept us out of fight but as to the reft they treated us civilly, and permitted us to converfe. This conduct confirmed us in our opinion, that the old marquis had procured us to be carried off— You too make the fame conclufion, madam; but you are mistaken, and must be undeçeived. 'I told you that my husband, confiding in the indulgence of his father, had difmiffed Dubois. The wretch left us in the utmost rage, and was determined to revenge himself in our deftruction. While he was meditating how he might execute his purpofe, he met one of his friends who had applied to him to procure him a place at the time when he was fure of his OWN. This fellow told him that he had entered, two days before, into the fervice of the baron de compté of Nice, whofe name was De Marfin. At that word, Dubois conceived hopes of our ruin. He waited upon my old lover, told him the circumftances previous to our flight, and part of those that followed but he neither fpoke of the rank of the marquis, nor of the marriage he had contracted with me. In fhort, he reprefented me as a woman loft to virtue, who was kept by a giddy young fellow of no name. He concluded with affuring him, that if he would accept of his fervices, he would find means to put me into his hands; and that he might engage him to it the more readily, he exaggerated the improvements that time had made in my perfon, boafted of my wit, and was fuccessful enough to rekindle that paffion he had fo long and fo obligingly entertained. De Marfin promifed the wretch a large reward if he could execute what he had propofed ; and Dubois determined to take advantage of the firft moment of my hufband's abfence to carry me off. He kept up a correfpondence with my cook, to whom he had promifed mar: age, and the poor |